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Dream Team (TV series)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Harchester United F.C.. (Discuss) |
| This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2007) |
- For other uses, see Dream Team.
| Dream Team | |
|---|---|
| Format | Drama |
| Starring | Final Cast Frankie Fitzgerald Terry Kiely Jonathan Howard Duncan Pow Jessica Jane James Floyd Danny Husbands Danny Midwinter Amy Perfect David Ajala |
| Country of origin |  United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes | 419 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 1 Hour (including commercial breaks) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Sky One |
| Original run | October 14, 1997 – June 3, 2007 |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
Dream Team was a British television series produced by Hewland International which aired on Sky One and Sky Three from 1997 to 2007, that chronicled the on-field and off-field affairs of the fictional Harchester United F.C.
The club is based in the fictional town of Harchester (which is said to be close to Tamworth) in the West Midlands. Most fans consider Lynda Block, played by Alison King and Karl Fletcher, played by Terry Kiely to be the two most popular character.
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As the show developed, the storylines became more and more extravagant, with the character death toll rising significantly in the final seasons. With declining viewing figures and repetitive storylines, Sky decided not to renew the Dream Team contract, and in April 2006, the director of programmes at Sky One, Richard Woolfe, confirmed the show would not return after the tenth series[1].
The tenth series began on October 29th 2006,with the final episode airing on June 3rd 2007, with viewers left unaware of which characters survived an explosion that ripped through the Dragon’s Lair during the final premiership game of the season. However it is hinted that Harchester United win the Premiership.
The main storyline of series ten revolved around "Dragonslayer", a mysterious poster on the club’s fansite revealing the innermost secrets of the club. It was ultimately this storyline that resulted in the major explosion that ended the series.
Following the announcement of Dream Team being axed, many of the main cast members left the programme at the start of series ten. These included Alex Dempsy, Lynda Block and Ryan Naysmith.
Cast members who featured during the shows tenth and final season.
- Alison King
as Lynda Block (1998-2002, 2003, 2005-2006, 2007) - Jamie Lomas
as Alex Dempsey (2005-2006) - Lucinda Kennard
as Amy Kerrigan (2005-2007) - Naomi Ryan
as Ashleigh King (2005-2006) - Julie Healy
as Chloe Tyler (2005-2007) - Jessica Jane
as Cindi Marshall (2005-2007) - Danny Husbands
as Danny Sullivan (2001-2007) - Junior Nunoo
as Eugene Rose (2005-2006) - Jonathan Howard
as Gavin Moody (2005-2007) - Duncan Pow
as Liam Mackay (2005-2007) - Sapphire Elia
as Gemma Craig (2006-2007) - Frankie Fitzgerald
as Jason Porter (2006-2007) - Danny Midwinter
as Jimmy Craig (2006-2007) - Amy Perfect
as Katy Irwin (2006-2007) - James Floyd
as Miguel Lopez (2006-2007)
For a list of characters that have appeared on Dream Team, see Dream Team Characters.
See also: List of Dream Team cast members
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For a list of previous seasons squads, see Dream Team - past squads
Arguably the most famous character in Dream Team was Karl ‘Fletch’ Fletcher (played by Terry Kiely), who became the series' stalwart character, remaining a fixture in the cast from the beginning of season 1 through to the end of season 8. During his tenure with Harchester, Fletch was briefly promoted to manager, became a father, married (and divorced) physiotherapist Abi Fletcher, and was briefly jailed. At the end of season 8, Fletch died after being impaled on a coat peg by deranged manager Don Barker.
The death of Fletch was seen by many as an attempt to boost falling ratings, but in truth lay Kiely wanted to pursue other projects, namely Channel 5 soap-opera Family Affairs”. Kiely had also grown tired with the character. Fletch remained one of the most popular characters throughout the entire show, topping the popularity ratings each year until the character's death.
After a fan's poll about former characters returning, producers introduced a ghost of Fletch on Easter Sunday 2007, when the Harchester legend returned to haunt Jason Porter, whose world has begun to fall apart. The move was popular as the character was used sparingly but effectively until the end of the series.
Dream Team is credited with launching many successful acting careers, with many of the cast going on to star in more high profile soaps and dramas. These include Alison King (Lynda Block), who went on to star in BBC One's sitcom Help as one of the primary cast members, before progressing on to become a regular cast member of the UK's primetime soap drama, Coronation Street in December 2006, playing Carla Connor.
Other Dream Team actors of note include Nathan Constance (Leon Richards), who played Ian Walmsley on Footballers Wives; Robert Kazinsky (Casper Rose) and Kara Tointon (Gina Moliano), each currently playing characters on EastEnders (Sean Slater and Dawn Swann respectively); and Ricky Whittle (Ryan Naysmith) and Jamie Lomas (Alex Dempsey/Rose), both of whom star in Hollyoaks.
In the United States, Ed Sanders (Eddie Moliano) appears on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and will host the gameshow National Bingo Night. He was also went on to host the UK version of Fear Factor after leaving Dream Team.
In the United States, Fox Soccer Channel (like Sky, a part of News Corporation) airs ‘Dream Team’, albeit several series behind Sky One. The seventh series is currently being broadcast at 6pm ET on Thursdays. The series is also currently aired in Serbia, on Studio B television, and in Montenegro on TV In.
- In 1999, Manchester United won a historic treble, winning the Premier League, F.A. Cup & Champions League (Celtic were however the first ever British team to do so). In the show, this never occurred as Harchester defeated Manchester United in the F.A. Cup Final.
- In 2005, West Ham United won promotion to the Premiership by defeating Preston North End in the Championship play-off final. However, in the show (which ironically took place the day before West Ham's real-life victory), Harchester beat The Hammers (using footage from the previous year's play-off final when West Ham had lost to Crystal Palace).
- In 2006 Liverpool won the F.A. Cup, beating West Ham United in the final, and Manchester United won the League Cup, beating Wigan Athletic in the final. In the show Harchester won the F.A. Cup after beating Arsenal, having been runners-up to Chelsea in the League Cup final earlier that season.
- In the spin-off series, Dream Team 80's, Harchester United won the first division trophy in 1985/86 season. In real life, Liverpool won the League and completed a League and cup double (which did not happen in the world of Dream Team).
- The Dragon's Lair, home of Harchester United, is in fact the New Den, home of Millwall Football Club.
- In 2007, Harchester appear to win the Premier League with the last kick of the game. In the real world, Manchester United won the League a few weeks before the end of the season, and their first ever leauge championship since 2004.
- ^ Final Whistle for TV’s Dream Team. Retrieved on 2007-10-03.