''Over Here'' is a 2-part

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

drama made in 1996 by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

for

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

from 7 to 8 April 1996, this

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

serial chronicling the lives of

US Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strateg ...

crews on a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the ...

base during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Samuel West Samuel Alexander Joseph West (born 19 June 1966) is an English actor, theatre director, and narrator. He has directed on stage and radio, and worked as an actor in theatre, film, television, and radio. West was nominated for the BAFTA Award f ...

starred as the RAF pilot Archie Bunting.

Martin Clunes Alexander Martin Clunes (born 28 November 1961) is an English actor, director and television presenter. He is best known for portraying Martin Ellingham in the ITV comedy-drama series '' Doc Martin'', Gary Strang in the BBC sitcom ''Men Behavin ...

starred as

Group Captain Group captain (Gp Capt or G/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British influence. Group cap ...

Barker; a man who flinches at the mention of, and has an inability to say the word, "

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

". and Jay Goede as the New York City bred American soldier Hershel Lenko, who becomes the most unlikely friend to Archie in the film's second half.

Plot

In the early stages of their involvement in

a squadron of American bombers are en route to England. Due to an air raid their destination, a new base, is unavailable and they have to divert to a nearby base, RAF Lytchmere. News then reaches the inbound crews of unserviceable

RADAR Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

equipment and because of which the squadron is almost attacked by Archie Bunting. The personnel infrastructure leads to the overcrowding at RAF Lytchmere with the arrival of the Americans and various petty conflicts arise. The series is loosely based on an idea for a novel by Earnest Maxim, which was to be entitled ''Buddy & Chum'.'

Locations

Location venues for the filming were the village of

Castle Acre Castle Acre is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is located on the course of the River Nar, north of Swaffham and west of Norwich. History Castle Acre's name is of Anglo-Saxon and Norman origin and d ...

RAF West Raynham Royal Air Force West Raynham, or more simply RAF West Raynham, is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station located west of West Raynham, Norfolk and southwest of Fakenham, Norfolk, England. The airfield opened ...

and RAF Sculthorpe, Wolterton Hall, and Kimberley Hall in the English county of

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

References

External links

* * 1996 British television series debuts 1996 British television series endings 1990s British television miniseries Aviation television series BBC television dramas British comedy-drama television shows British English-language television shows World War II television drama series British World War II films 1990s British comedy-drama television series {{UK-tv-prog-stub