Original title
Only When I Laugh
Released
10/29/1979
Origin country
GB
Genre
Comedy
Production companies
Yorkshire Television
Status
Ended
Number of seasons
4
Number of episodes
29
Only When I Laugh is an ITV1 sitcom broadcast from 29 October 1979 to 16 December 1982 for four series with seven episodes each, and a Christmas special in 1981. The title is the answer to the question, "Does it hurt?" A naïve middle-class man is admitted to an NHS hospital ward, shared with a working-class layabout and an upper-class hypochondriac. The trio never fail to cause a nuisance for the poor, unsuspecting staff.
Norman arrives at the ward and is given the bed next to the window. A game of musical beds ensues as Figgis and Archie want it too...
Norman's due for his appendix operation and is rather upset about it. He turns to Figgis for comfort in his hour of need...
Thorpe is waiting for an important call from his wife as Victor, their dog, is seriously ill. Gupte misunderstands, thinking Victor is the Thorpes' son (actually named Tarquin); Figgis, smoking in a lavatory cubicle, overhears the resultant conversation and assumes that they are talking about him and that he is going to die. As the situation develops, both Norman and then Glover think they are under the shadow of death. When Gupte tells Glover he may be sent home at the end of the week, Glover decides to phone his hated boss and tell him exactly what he thinks of him.
Archie's lothario-like tendencies are coming back to haunt him when he's convinced he's being stalked by a Greek madman for besmirching his fiancée...
There's a lot of disatisfaction with the food being served in the hospital. The trio can stand the daily menu no longer and go on hunger strike. What they hadn't bargained for, however, was how hungry they would get...
Norman is reading a book about a pretty nurse when one actually comes onto the ward.
Fed up with lying in bed all day, Figgis gets hold of his outdoor clothes and sets off for a wander around the hospital. Naturally, he is mistaken for a doctor.
The trio get into a lather when a glamorous film star arrives on the ward.
A dirty old farmer is an unwelcome patient until it is realized he is very rich and about to make his will.
Despite being warned on a frequent basis, the patients are undeterred by the risks of smoking.
Much to the despair of the others, Figgis becomes preoccupied with signs & portents.
It's visiting day and Norman's mother has another dreary girl lined up for him, much to the others' amusement!
Figgis admits he's not been christened but sees the light when he meets a vicar.
The "regulars" plan a party, but unexpected guests turn up...
When a TV crew arrives to make a programme about the hospital, the patients fight for stardom.
An MP concerned with the spiralling costs of the NHS is admitted for treatment, but refuses to sign a petition to save the hospital.
The new young female doctor on the ward gets a mixed reception...
Agony Aunt Clare Butterfield receives a letter from Worried of Ward 3, but her reply only confuses things...
Norman has to decide whether to testify against Dr. Thorpe about an accident he witnessed.
When Norman keeps a diary about life on the ward, everyone is anxious to get their hands on it.
Fed up with hospital radio, the patients try to do better themselves.
A new patient arrives as the ward is decorated for Christmas.
Glover refuses to have a blood transfusion. He's worried that the donor will be from a lower social class.
Dr Thorpe examines a female patient without a nurse being present. Figgis, Glover and Norman try to make sure he doesn't take advantage
Figgis becomes interested in psychiatry and sets about psychoanalysing Glover and Norman.
Norman is planning to marry Deirdre. He wonders if three years is long enough to be engaged.
A convicted prisoner is moved into the ward. Glover, Figgis and Norman worry in case he tries to escape.
A scruffy old drunkard comes to the hospital looking for his son. Could the son be Figgis, Glover or Norman?
Figgis, Glover and Norman are about to be discharged from hospital. They consider holding a reunion.
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