Butterflies (TV series)

Butterflies is a British sitcom written by Carla Lane that aired in the 9 pm timeslot on BBC2 from 10 November 1978 to 19 October 1983, with each series repeated on BBC1 a few months after the original transmissions.

The subject, the day-to-day life of the comfortable middle-class Parkinson family, is treated in a bittersweet style. There are traditional comedy themes (such as Ria's terrible cooking, and various family squabbles) as well as other more serious themes such as Ria's unconsummated relationship with the outwardly-successful Leonard. Ria is still in love with her husband, Ben, and has raised two teenage sons, yet finds herself unhappy and dissatisfied with her life and in need of something more. Throughout the series, Ria searches for that "something more", and finds some solace in her unconventional friendship with Leonard. In a 2002 interview, Carla Lane explained, "I wanted to write a comedy about a woman seriously contemplating adultery."

In the first episode, an expository discussion between Ria and Leonard alludes to the significance of the series' title: "We are all kids chasing butterflies. You see it, you want it, you grab it, and there it is, all squashed in your hand." She adds, "I am one of the few lucky ones, I have a pleasant house, a pleasant man and two pleasant sons. My butterfly didn't get squashed." Ria's husband Ben collects and studies butterflies.

Cast and setting

The show stars Wendy Craig as Ria Parkinson, a frustrated 'stay-at-home' housewife, and Geoffrey Palmer as her reserved and hard-working dentist husband, Ben, who is also an amateur lepidopterist. Ria's early dialogue in the first series suggests her age as early 40s, whereas her husband, Ben, describes himself as "the wrong side of 45".