Fear, Stress and Anger
Production notes
Peter Davison and Pippa Haywood star in Fear, Stress and Anger, the new comedy series from Michael Aitkens - who admits that his inspiration came from close to home.
"When you reach a certain age, the phrase, 'What has my life come to?' starts preying on your mind. The baby boomers are supposed to be keeping up these wonderfully dynamic lifestyles they've been slaving away at for 20 years or more, yet they're haemorrhaging cash from both ends – only to get ousted by the next generation.
"For Fear, Stress and Anger I took this worst-case scenario into the world of advertising, where you do get this sudden burn-out.
"You are the dynamic, whizz-kid, flavour of the month for a few years, and then there's some other younger, fresher, better little b*****d coming up behind you and you suddenly become a 'consultant' - which everybody knows means you've pretty much been given the elbow. So I threw all these things into the air and put them together.
"You may plan a perfect life when you set out, and have these idealistic ambitions where you think, 'I'll reach that and then I'll be in the House of Lords and then a European Commissioner, retire in great glory and die happily at the age of 93', but it never works out that way."
Producer Sue Vertue elaborates: "Just when the baby boomers should be enjoying themselves and downsizing their houses, they find that they've become part of what the Americans have termed 'The Sandwich Generation': they're still looking after their children and home at the same time as taking responsibility for one or more parents.
"Some estimates show that nearly two-thirds of the baby boom generation will be taking care of an elderly parent in the next ten years, leading to a somewhat cluttered nest."
She believes, however, that the generation gap is fast evaporating: "In the past, you would grow up, get a job or get married and move out of your parents' home as soon as you could because you wanted to have the freedom to do what you wanted, play your own music or have people to stay; we fled the nest and paid for that freedom.
"There seems little point in moving out for many kids nowadays, getting into huge debt renting or buying somewhere when they've got all the freedom to do what they want in a nice house at the same time as being fed and watered and having their washing done."
Michael adds: "The series is also about friends, the people you've known since you were in your twenties, but you've nothing much left in common and you don't really know why you keep up with them.
"But you know each other inside out and have so much shared experience that you don't have to make too much effort with them.
"You certainly don't try and impress each other anymore. You just grunt and talk about socks and things that irritate you. You abandon intellectualism for comfort, plonk and bit of a daft laugh."
He explains the scenario for Fear, Stress and Anger: "Martin and Julie met at Durham University, fell in love, got married and their lives have been enjoying an upwardly mobile curve for many years.
"They have interesting careers and two clever daughters and expect to be sitting pretty by the time they reach middle age.
"But then the wheels come off. Martin is made redundant, Julie's civil service career stagnates, their two daughters won't leave home and Martin's senile mother is costing them a fortune in a nursing home.
"Martin gets deeply anxious over plumbers, his fading libido and trying to finish his novel - which even he suspects is crap.
"Julie's deepening fear of finding that her life has been a waste of time sends her into equally obscure stress zones.
"And Martin's guilt over Gran means he keeps bringing her back from the nursing home, which drives Julie closer to the edge.
"The two daughters also have their own problems. Not that they can get a word in, with their parents coming apart so noisily.
"Throughout all this stress, Martin and Julie are still completely faithful to each other and still thoroughly enjoy each other's company. And they still have a sex life – even if it's not happening so often and results in physical injuries, at least it's something they can afford. I mean, eating out in this country is restricted to billionaires only nowadays."
Sue adds: "The series has a nice, warm feeling running through it. You can see that they get on really well as a couple; they love their kids – sometimes; they love his mum; they just wish they weren't paying for them all the time!"
For both Michael and Sue, the casting went like a dream: "Peter Davison and Pippa Haywood were our first choice," says Michael.
"It would have been very hard if we hadn't got them. I loved Pippa in The Brittas Empire – she walked away with the show, so it was great to see her top the charts in Green Wing.
"Peter's just extremely good. He never misses a beat and can squeeze every drop out of every part he's working on. They make a very convincing couple."
And what about the casting of his own daughter Daisy as one of the feckless sisters?
"Nothing to do with me!" laughs Michael. "I was very good. When she came to the auditions I left the room. I deliberately absented myself and left it to the director and producers – but I was delighted when Sue rang me up and said they'd cast her."
So do Michael and Daisy spend much time comparing character notes?
"Actually, to prove my point she's just moved back home, which is fine – great in fact. And good material too. When's she leaving?"
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