Satellite City

Satellite City is a Welsh sitcom which started out originally as a radio show on BBC Radio Wales in 1994 and then evolved into a TV version made by BBC Wales and was first broadcast in 1996.

A pilot, eighteen 30-minute episodes and a one-hour special were made in all. The pilot was significantly different from the remainder of the series, portraying Idris as senile and deluded into believing that clothes pegs are talking to him.

In 1999, the series won a BAFTA Cymru Award for Best Light Entertainment.

Synopsis
The setting was an imaginary small town in the South Wales Valleys. The plot centered on the arrival of Randy (Michael Neill), an American visitor, who was taken in by the Price family (but had to share a bed with pensioner Idris, played by Islwyn Morris). Randy soon formed a relationship with local girl Mandy (Shelley Miranda Barrett). The other main characters were Idris's son, Gwynne (played by Boyd Clack, who also co-wrote the series), Gwynne's wife Moira (Ri Richards), barman Dai (Rhodri Hugh), and Mandy's friend Bridget (Einir Sion), replaced in the final series by the character of Donna (Kirsten Clark). In the final episode Randy moved into his own house with Mandy. There are continual references to Idris's ferret Sylvester (his beloved pet), and he eventually discovers that it is, in fact, a girl ferret.

The reason for the title is explained in the first episode: the district had been used for the initial testing of satellite dishes, but when the time came to return the dishes or pay for the service, no one returned them and no one paid. Satellite City thus suggests a run-down area.

Cast

 * Michael Neill as Randy
 * Islwyn Morris as Idris
 * Shelley Miranda Barrett as Mandy
 * Boyd Clack as Gwynne
 * Ri Richards as Moira
 * Rhodri Hugh as Dai
 * Einir Sion as Bridget
 * Kirsten Clark as Donna
 * Brian Hibbard As Spike

Series 1 (1996)
{{Episode table |background=#BB8F4D |overall=5 |title=30 |airdate=20 |episodes=

{{Episode list }} {{Episode list }} {{Episode list }} {{Episode list }} {{Episode list }} {{Episode list }}
 * EpisodeNumber=1
 * Title=The Lodger
 * OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1996|10|4|df=y}}
 * ShortSummary=English Stan the lodger is dead and Dad wants a new replacement, but Gwynne says no, until an American named Randy turns up and saves the day.
 * LineColor=#BB8F4D
 * EpisodeNumber=2
 * Title=Beer and Pickled Eggs
 * OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1996|10|11|df=y}}
 * ShortSummary=Gwynne borrows an executive toy from work which goes missing at the same time that local bad boy Spike Malarky turns up in the club. Dad eats too many pickled eggs and starts to dream.
 * LineColor=#BB8F4D
 * EpisodeNumber=3
 * Title=Does Broccoli Count?
 * OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1996|10|18|df=y}}
 * ShortSummary=Randy wants a new bed, but Idris won't budge on the idea. Postman Pat takes Moira to Southerndown for a day out, which makes Gwynne jealous, and Mandy and Randy become a couple.
 * LineColor=#BB8F4D
 * EpisodeNumber=4
 * Title=The Other Side
 * OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1996|10|25|df=y}}
 * ShortSummary=Dad is suffering from a bad case of boils, and Randy's alternative treatment causes Idris to have a visit from an old friend.
 * LineColor=#BB8F4D
 * EpisodeNumber=5
 * Title=The Rough Get Going
 * OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1996|11|1|df=y}}
 * ShortSummary=Randy starts looking for a job, so that he can stay in Wales, and Bridget is frightened by a group of dwarfs with machetes.
 * LineColor=#BB8F4D
 * EpisodeNumber=6
 * Title=Love and Rugby
 * OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1996|11|8|df=y}}
 * ShortSummary=Mandy wants Randy to prove that he loves her, but the men want to watch the international rugby match on the TV.
 * LineColor=#BB8F4D
 * }

Series 2
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