Facebook
Twitter
MySpace
BeboProgramme Details
White Teeth
Episode 1: The Peculiar Second Marriage of Archie Jones
Date:
2002Categories:
DramaCast & Crew
Naomie Harris (actor)
Om Puri (actor)
Philip Davis (actor)
Simon Burke (writer)
Company Pictures (production company)
Nicholas Brown (producer)
Julian Jarrold (director)
About this programme:
1974. Archie Jones is one of life's great losers. Even his attempt to kill himself is foiled by a passing butcher. The return of his old war comrade, Samad Iqbal, brings back a secret Archie has been trying to forget, and Samad's wedding to a feisty girl half his age makes lonely Archie feel even worse. Convinced that he picked up the wrong life in the cloakroom of existence, Archie is not expecting a sudden diversion to a funkier place. But on New Year's Eve, a chance encounter at a wild party changes his life forever.... Clara Bowden is a recent convert to 70's hippiedom since her Jehovah's Witness mother made her ex-boyfriend 'see the light'. But part of her still believes The End of the World is due at midnight on New Year's Eve, and she meets Archie at a quarter to. The world doesn't end and they marry in a whirlwind. But marital bliss is soon shattered - by Samad's best man's speech. Archie's secret is finally out...
About this series:
A sparkling, epic comedy adapted by Simon Burke ( Tom Jones ) from the award-winning debut novel by Zadie Smith, White Teeth tells the story of three families living in Willesden, north-west London. Their lives, present and past, intertwine comically and explosively over three decades in the melting pot of modern Britain.
Guidance
Strong language and sexual scenes
External Links
Find out more about White Teeth
Episodes
Ep. 1:
| The Peculiar Second Marriage of Archie Jones- 1974. Archie Jones is one of life's great losers. Even his attempt to kill himself is foiled by a passing butcher. The return of his old war comrade, Samad Iqbal, brings back a secret Archie has been trying to forget, and Samad's wedding to a feisty girl half his age makes lonely Archie feel even worse. Convinced that he picked up the wrong life in the cloakroom of existence, Archie is not expecting a sudden diversion to a funkier place. But on New Year's Eve, a chance encounter at a wild party changes his life forever.... Clara Bowden is a recent convert to 70's hippiedom since her Jehovah's Witness mother made her ex-boyfriend 'see the light'. But part of her still believes The End of the World is due at midnight on New Year's Eve, and she meets Archie at a quarter to. The world doesn't end and they marry in a whirlwind. But marital bliss is soon shattered - by Samad's best man's speech. Archie's secret is finally out... | ||
Ep. 2:
| The Temptation of Samad Iqbal- Samad Iqbal is in self-described 'chicken tikka purgatory,' working as a waiter in his cousin's curry house and forced to sleep in the loft by his wife Alsana, who is on sex-strike. His twin boys - speccy Magid and cheeky Millat - are watching too much Top of the Pops and busy destroying their father's dream of 'two good Muslim boys'. Fate presents frustrated Samad with the ultimate test of his faith, in the shapely form of Poppy Burt-Jones, the twins' teacher. Poppy just adores 'the East' and she'd love to get to know him better... A passionate adulterous affair throws Samad into turmoil. He needs a 'sign' to give up Poppy. Too cowardly to confront her, he decides instead to make amends by saving his sons from the corruption of the West. He can afford to send one of them back to Bangladesh for a proper education in the old ways. Millat needs it most - but Magid saw his Dad kissing Poppy. So, helped by Archie but unknown to Alsana, he drives Magid to the airport... | ||
Ep. 3:
| The Trouble with Millat- It's 1992 and sexy Millat is 17, streetwise and idolised by Archie's daughter Irie, who is in turn adored by nerdy Josh Malfen. When all three get caught with a joint at school, their punishment is study classes with Josh's eccentric parents, controversial geneticist Marcus and Joyce. Millat charms Joyce, deals dope and takes his blonde girlfriend home to enrage his father. Furious , Samad burns his son's belongings. Millat leaves home - to live with the Malfens. Before long, Joyce and Irie are heartbroken. Millat has disappeared, giving up weed and girls to join K.E.V.I.N - an Islamic sect with an acronym problem - a decision that will change his life. And news arrives on a video from Bangladesh. To Samad's horror, grown-up Magid is more 'British' than ever. He has a plum in his mouth, a place at Oxford - and a secret benefactor who is flying him home... | ||
Ep. 4:
| The Return of Magid Iqbal- It's 1992 and Magid arrives home and moves in with his benefactor - Marcus Malfen. They are preparing for the launch of Malfen's breakthrough in genetic engineering - FutureMouse. But there is trouble in store. Josh has run away to join F.A.T.E, an animal rights group with plans for mouse liberation. Millat is training with K.E.V.I.N, who think FutureMouse is an abomination. And Irie, now Malfen's secretary, is sick of his comments about her magnificent breasts. She has her own plans for the launch. The launch day arrives and everyone is going. Will the twins reconcile with their parents? Will FutureMouse - and Malfen - escape the wrath of F.A.T.E and K.E.V.I.N? Will Irie decide which twin she likes better - and what will happen when, in a fit of madness, she sleeps with them both on the same day? In a finale of love, death and revelation, Archie's secret comes out once and for all. And so the show ends looking to the future - the new, mixed up generation born of fate, chance and hope. |
