Rigor Mortis (radio)

Infobox Radio Show
show_name = Rigor Mortis


imagesize = 180
caption = Radio 4's promotional shot
of Peter Davison as Dr. Anthony Webster
other_names =
format = sitcom
runtime = 30 minutes
country = flagicon|United Kingdom United Kingdom
language = English
home_station = BBC Radio 4
syndicates = BBC Radio 7
television =
starring = Peter Davison
Geoffrey Whitehead
Tracy-Ann Oberman series 1
Matilda Ziegler series 2-3

---

co-starring
Marianne Levy
Tom Price
Gus Brown
creator = Laurence Howarth
writer = Laurence Howarth
director =
producer = Dawn Ellis
executive_producer =
narrated =
record_location =
first_aired = 12 June, 2003
last_aired = 2 March, 2006
non-consecutively [http://epguides.com/RigorMortis/ A basic guide to the broadcast of "Rigor Mortis", detailing exact airdates.]
num_series = 3 (+1 episode in 2007)
num_episodes = 19
audio_format = Stereophonic sound
Recorded live in front of a studio audience
opentheme = Paul Mottram
with vocals by
Stephanie Benavente [http://www.radiolistings.co.uk/programmes/rigor_mortis.html More detailed cast and crew listing for "Rigor Mortis"]
endtheme = same
website = [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/comedy/rigormortis.shtml Radio 4]
podcast =

"Rigor Mortis" is a BBC Radio 4 black comedy set in the pathology department at an NHS hospital. It centers around the working lives of the pathologists and attendant staff who inhabit the department.

Themes

Much of the humour of the show springs from the characters' varying views on death and their contrasting beliefs about the relative importance of their work. The show often derives humor from the fact that the characters are not primarily forensic pathologists. Davison's character, Anthony Webster, is frequently at pains to explain that he is a histopathologist, for example. Their case load therefore infrequently verges into the more "exciting" area of crime-related death. Nevertheless, one of the running gags of the programme was that the character originally played by Tracy-Ann Oberman, the anatomical pathologist Ruth Anderson, was secondarily credentialed as a forensic pathologist, but had so rarely used these skills that her deductive reasoning skills were faulty.

Two other major themes can be seen throughout the history of the programme. One is the desire, especially on the part of Donaldson and Webster, to educate the public about pathology. Various schemes, notably including the first "radio" broadcast of an autopsy, are hatched to accomplish this goal. Another predominant theme is the effect of a career in pathology on the personal lives of its practitioners. This is especially evident in Series 3 where every character has at least a subplot revolving around the issue. Chief among these is the series-long arc in which Ruth and Anthony try to conceive a child non-sexually—he, because his relationship with his naturally-conceived daughter has fallen into ruin, and she, because of an inability to sustain a meaningful romantic relationship with a man.

Because of the inclusion of several recurring characters who are not practicing pathologists, but rather administrative or laboratory staff, the programme can also be classed as an office comedy in the vein of the television programmes, "30 Rock", "The Thin Blue Line" and "NewsRadio".

Characters

"Rigor Mortis" employs a two-tiered ensemble structure, with the majority of the narrative surrounding the actions of the three pathologists, and the other recurring characters being used to further the actions of the main three characters. This structure is confirmed by the announced credits, which mention only the actors playing the pathologists during the opening title sequence.

Pathologists

*Dr. Anthony Webster (Peter Davison) — Webster is the one person in the office who's completely happy with his job. He's dreamed of being a pathologist since his youth, and indeed was mentored in his craft by his father. He has no illusions about what the job is or could be, and is never happier than when performing autopsies. So keen is his love for his specialty in histopathology, that he has been known to examine his own tissue samples, solely because there's nothing good on TV. For all of his scientific brilliance, he has great difficulty with the parts of life that occur outside the mortuary. This is exemplified by his relationship with his teenaged daughter, around whom he is extremely awkward. His zeal for pathology has instilled in him a sense of detachment from life, to the extent that he cannot form what many would consider "normal" interpersonal relationships. He is the nominal chief pathologist, although since there are ostensibly only two practicing pathologists in the department, this title has little practical relevance. His ex-wife is not a featured character, although she does finally appear in the penultimate episode of Series 3.
*Dr. Ruth Anderson (Tracy-Ann Oberman, Matilda Ziegler) — Ruth's approach to pathology is decidedly more relaxed than that of Dr. Webster. She is frequently portrayed as bored by the overwhelming number of cases that come into her mortuary, as they generally reveal only natural causes of death. She is the only licensed forensic pathologist on staff, but this credential has gone mostly unused. Where Webster was drawn to pathology for serious scientific and familial reasons, she chose the career path apparently because of its romanticization in popular culture. When the odd forensic case does arrive, she's quick to dust off her credentials, and equally quick to draw the wrong conclusions. Her search for romance has also been the subject of various subplots.
*Professor Graeme Donaldson (Geoffrey Whitehead) — Donaldson is the administrative head of the department, and therefore the boss of Webster and Anderson. Though he is a qualified pathologist, he rarely gets involved in actual autopsies. He is generally used to introduce new staff policies or NHS directives, which Webster and Anderson must then implement.

upporting staff

*Gordon (Tom Price) — Gordon is the lab assistant, who's stayed with the department long beyond his six month training rotation. He is frequently depicted as an over-user of alcohol, though it's not implied that he is, in fact, an alcoholic. Rather, he's just seen as enjoying a good party. He is often portrayed as somewhat afraid of the staff secretary, Chloe. His relationship with Webster is complex, at once admiring of the pathologist's professional skills, but somewhat dismissive of him personally. He almost always refers to his seniors by their titles and the first letter of their last name, as in, "Dr. W." or "Dr. A."
*Chloe (Marianne Levy) — Chloe is the secretary at the department and openly dismissive of the educational gulf between herself and the pathologists. She frequently gives advice on personal matters to all the other characters, but takes affront if the advice isn't followed. She is somewhat catty with Ruth.
*Simon (Gus Brown) — Simon is the local police officer with whom the pathology department are in most regular contact. He has a bit of a crush on Chloe. His fear of death and the dead make him utterly unsuited to be his department's liaison to the pathology laboratory.

Production and broadcast

"Rigor Mortis" was recorded live in front of a studio audience at London's Drill Hall, typically at the rate of one episode each Friday night for six weeks [http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/news/cult/news/drwho/2003/05/09/4296.shtml Coverage of series 1 recording on the BBC's "Doctor Who" website.] . Little, if any, post-production work was applied to the recording. It was produced in three series over the course of four years. Each series contained six episodes. Series 1 was broadcast from 12 June to 17 July 2003. Series 2 went out from 11 November to 16 December 2004. Series 3 hit the airwaves from 26 January to 2 March 2006. Series 1 was subsequently rebroadcast on Radio 7 prior to the start of each subsequent series on Radio 4. Series 2 was not rebroadcast until mid-2007.

The sixth episode of series 3 was purported to be the programme's last.

Individual episodes were not titled, either by the voice-over announcer or the programme guide listings.

The character of Dr. Ruth Anderson was recast after the end of the first series.

Though little formal "" information about the show exists, actor Marianne Levy did post a blog entry after the recording of each episode of the second series [http://mariannelevy.blogspot.com/2004/09/rigor-mortis-1-170904.html Entry from Marianne Levy's blog about the recording of Series 2, episode 1.] . In one such posting she answered a question of a then-blogging audience member who asked for a brief overview of how an episode of "Rigor Mortis" went from script to tape [http://mariannelevy.blogspot.com/2004/10/rigor-mortis-4-051004.html Entry from Marianne Levy's blog after the recording of Series 2, episode 4.] .

Reception

The first series of "Rigor Mortis" was well-received, cited as "brilliantly funny" and selected as the radio "Pick of the Day" by "The Independent" [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20030612/ai_n12690797 Sturges, Fiona. "PICK OF THE DAY: Radio: Rigor Mortis". 12 June 2003.] . "The Sunday Times" said "Rigor" was "wonderfully funny . . . the wit flashes as brightly as the scalpels", while Sue Arnold of "The Observer" wrote that it was "the sharpest, blackest and most original sitcom I've heard in years" [http://www.comedycv.co.uk/laurencehowarth.index.htm Comedy CV's overview of Laurence Howarth] .

Availability in other media

"Rigor Mortis" has never been released on CD or audio cassette. For a time after the initial broadcast of each episode, it was available for replay on the Radio 4 website. When the show was rebroadcast on Radio 7 in 2007, it was again made available on the [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/genres/comedy/aod.shtml?bbc7/rigormortis BBC Radio Player] .

According to writer Laurence Howarth's agent, a script was in development for a televised version, as of 2006 [http://www.rbmcomedy.com/laurencehowarth.html Laurence Howarth's "curriculum vitae", as presented by his agent.] . The project seemed to still be in development as of 25 March 2007, with Tiger Aspect Productions now attached [http://www.laurenceandgus.com/?laurence.html Laurence & Gus website's bio of Laurence Howarth.] .

References