''Empty'' is a six-episode

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

first broadcast on 28 February 2008. It stars Gregor Fisher and Billy Boyd as Jacky Allen and Tony MacBryan respectively, two men who work for the property maintenance company 'Greater Glasgow Building Services'.

Situation and plot

Each

episode An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a serial (radio and television), series intended for radio, television or Streaming media, streaming consumption. Etymology The noun ''episode'' is ...

mostly revolves around the dialogue of the two main characters as they discuss their lives (and unseen wives) and the things they find in the houses they clear. Jacky and Tony are also given to re-enacting silent comedy and

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routines, and always take a polaroid photo of themselves which they date and hide in a crevice somewhere. The pair also like to guess what they will find behind each door before they open it. As befits their personalities, Jacky's guesses are usually amusing and fanciful, while Tony's are often gruesome, even macabre. Although the main duo interact with various other characters over the course of the series, the only supporting character to appear in more than one episode is Barry, a plumber who dresses like

Super Mario (also known as and is a platform game series created by Nintendo starring their mascot, Mario. It is the central series of the greater Mario (franchise), ''Mario'' franchise. At least one ''Super Mario'' game has been released for every ma ...

and is nicknamed "Super Barrio" by Jacky and Tony (though he has never heard of the character and doesn't understand the joke). Barry is played by Tom Urie. The series is written by Robert Florence and Iain Connell, who wrote the series '' Burnistoun'', ''

Legit Legit, a slang abbreviation of the word '' legitimate'', may refer to: * Legit (professional wrestling) * ''Legit'' (2006 TV series), a Scottish sitcom * ''Legit'' (2013 TV series), created by comedian Jim Jefferies * Legit.ng, a Nigerian digi ...

'' and sketches for ''

Chewin' the Fat ''Chewin' the Fat'' is a Scottish comedy sketch show, starring Ford Kiernan, Greg Hemphill and Karen Dunbar. Comedians Paul Riley and Mark Cox also appeared regularly on the show among other actors such as Tom Urie. ''Chewin' the Fat'' ...

'', also produced by

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. Its headquarters are in Glasgow, employing approximately 1,250 staff as of 2017, to produce 15,000 hours of television and radio programming per year. BBC Scotla ...

Episode list

#"Nobody knows what goes on behind closed doors" – Tony and Jacky clear a house in which they discover a room full of elegant hand-crafted models of sailing ships, and are shocked by the callous attitude of a woman to comes to "collect" one. #"Is is" – The duo clear a house in which they find a number of curious objects, including a

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mural and a motorcycle in the bath, prompting a competition to provide the best explanation of what had been going on in there. There is a cameo appearance by writer Iain Connell. #"Happiness" – Tony and Jacky do repairs at the home of an elderly woman and become concerned that her dementia may put her in danger, but cannot agree on whether to tell her son. #"Protection" – The pair are sent to clear a crime scene, but are surprised to find it has been taken over by squatters. #"Night Moves" – Tony and Jacky spend the night in the office, setting practical jokes on their new boss. #"Ghosties" – While carrying out repairs in an old theatre, Tony tries to persuade Jacky that they should leave the company and go into business together.

Theme changes

The show signature theme by the Jam was changed for syndication, but when the show was uploaded to popular broadcasting platform

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it was noted to be a generic theme which merely sounded similar to the original, somewhat akin to how the ''

Still Game ''Still Game'' is a Scotland, Scottish sitcom produced by Effingee Productions, The Comedy Unit and BBC Scotland. It was created by Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill, who played the lead characters, Jack Jarvis (Still Game character), Jack Jarvis, ...

'' main theme was changed to avoid royalties issues.

References

External links

* * *{{British Comedy Guide, sitcom, empty, Empty 2000s British sitcoms 2008 Scottish television series debuts 2008 Scottish television series endings BBC television sitcoms Scottish television sitcoms Television shows set in Glasgow