Caerdydd is a Welsh language television programme set in Cardiff made by Fiction Factory[1] for Welsh public service television station S4C. The series is "a stylish, new drama about modern, urban Welsh-speakers living in a bilingual city"[2] following "a group of modern urban twenty- and thirtysomethings"[2] with "their complex friendships and relationships [set] against a backdrop of relentless socialising".[2] First commissioned by S4C's drama editor Angharad Jones in 2005,[3] as part of a drive by S4C to reach a younger audience,[4][5] the third series of Caerdydd started its run on S4C on 30 March 2008. A fourth series was commissioned[6] and went into production in Spring 2008.[7] It started broadcasting on 14 June 2009.[8]
Caerdydd (2nd series) has received three nominations for the 2008 Bafta Cymru awards: Best Screenwriter for Ed Talfan, Best Design for Hayden Pearce and Best Director of Photography (Drama) for Richard Wyn.[9][10] The second series was also nominated at the Celtic Media Festival 2008 for best drama series.[11]
The third series has been nominated for Best Drama Series at the 2009 Bafta Cymru awards; Roger Wiliams as Best Screenwriter, and Ryland Teifi as Best Actor.[12]
Criticismedit
Criticism of the series focuses mainly on three topics:
the series was originally set in Dublin and only transferred to Cardiff when commissioned by S4C.[citation needed]
the large amount of English spoken, not just as some characters are non-Welsh speakers, but also English words in Welsh dialogue.[5]
explicit sex scenes of both a heterosexual and homosexual nature.[5]
"Sex In The Assembly" controversyedit
A row started after the broadcast of episode three in series III as it emerged that a sex scene was actually filmed on location in a toilet room of the Senedd, the Welsh National Assembly building, and not in a television studio.[13][14][15] Officials of the National Assembly for Wales Commission who approved the filming for the Neuadd area, the corridors of the building and for one scene in the baby-changing room, were not made aware of the nature of the scene.[13][16] The scene itself, filmed on 14 March 2008,[13] involves Lea Kennedy (played by Alys Thomas) who is working for an unnamed party group and her much older boyfriend Stephen James (Dewi Rhys Williams) having sexual intercourse.[17] As a result, S4C announced that it was investigating the matter and had contacted producers.[13][18] One AM, William Graham (Conservative) called for scripts to be vetted more closely in the future.[13][19]
S4C's investigation came to this conclusion: S4C has looked into the circumstances surrounding the filming of drama series Caerdydd at the Senedd and is satisfied that the production company followed the correct procedures. We are confident that Senedd personnel who dealt with this issue were not misled.[19]
The National Assembly's investigation came to this conclusion: The National Assembly has carried out a full internal review of the circumstances of the filming of Caerdydd. We can confirm that at no stage of the negotiations about the use of the building for filming, or during the filming itself, was the content of the scene disclosed by the programme makers. Despite this setback, the Assembly is committed to being open and accessible to all, including programme makers, and we sincerely hope that this does not prevent us from working with responsible companies in future.[19]
Series 4 has been commissioned[6] and is currently in production.[7]
Episodes are available (with on-screen English subtitles) on S4C's website for streaming for 35 days after initial broadcast. The first series went online each Saturday following the initial TV broadcast, without any restrictions to availability.[24]
All episodes are fully subtitled, in Welsh and English. The Welsh subtitles are available for download.[25]
^ abc"Tinopolis Archive". Archived from the original on 18 April 2008. Retrieved 9 April 2008.
^ abcDavid Williamson (22 April 2008). "Row over love scene filmed at Senedd". Western Mail. Retrieved 3 November 2008.
^Nathan Bevan (22 April 2008). "Glossy drama follows hectic social lives of young professionals". Western Mail. Retrieved 22 April 2008.
^Anwen Mair Roberts (16 April 2008). "S4C Review of Statement of Programme Policy 2007" (PDF). S4C. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
^ abcPaul Rowland (4 January 2006). "Storm over S4C's controversial new show". Western Mail. Retrieved 22 April 2008.
^ abAnwen Meir Roberts (17 March 2008). "S4C Statement of Programme Policy 2008" (PDF). S4C. p. 4. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
^ ab"Tinopolis Annual Report and Accounts 2007" (PDF). Tinopolis. 20 February 2008. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2008.
^"Caerdyyd Homepage". S4C. Archived from the original on 15 June 2009. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
^"S4C press release on Bafta Cymru 2008". Retrieved 9 April 2008.
^"Bafta Cymru 2008 Nominees". Archived from the original on 20 July 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2008.
^"Celtic Media Festival 2008". Archived from the original on 23 May 2008. Retrieved 9 April 2008.
^"Bafta Cymru 2009 Nominations" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 August 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2009.
^ abcde"Row over TV sex scene at assembly". BBC News. 22 April 2008. Retrieved 22 April 2008.
^Simon Reynolds (23 April 2008). "Welsh drama blasted for toilet sex scene". Digital Spy. Retrieved 10 May 2008.
^Polly Corrigan (22 April 2008). "Welsh outrage over Assembly sex scene". Telegraph. Retrieved 10 May 2008.[dead link]
^Philippe Naughton (22 April 2008). "Welsh fury at 'Sex and the Senedd' shoot". London: Times Online. Retrieved 22 April 2008.
^Tom Bodden (22 April 2008). "Sex in the Senedd". Liverpool Daily Post. Retrieved 22 April 2008.
^Steven Morris (23 April 2008). "Assembly bitter at TV toilet romp". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 May 2008.
^ abcDavid Williamson (24 April 2008). "S4C hits back over Senedd sex scene production". Western Mail. Retrieved 10 May 2008.
^Jill Tunstall (19 April 2008). "Friends lend Sue a hand". Liverpoll Daily Post. Retrieved 9 April 2008.
^"Tim Price at David Higham". Archived from the original on 28 April 2008. Retrieved 9 April 2008.
^Claire Hill (13 July 2007). "Mr. Writer". Western Mail. Retrieved 22 April 2008.
^"Tinopolis Archive". Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2008.
^"S4C: Worldwide audience for Caerdydd". 6 February 2006. Retrieved 22 April 2008.
^"Download Welsh Subtitles". S4C. Retrieved 10 May 2008.
^Eryl Crump (12 February 2008). "Campaign to push audio description on TV". Liverpool Daily Post. Retrieved 10 May 2008.
^"S4C launches Audio Description awareness campaign". S4C. 12 February 2008. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
^"Ist series website". Archived from the original on 8 August 2007. Retrieved 9 April 2008.
^"S4C Viewing Figures: Top 20 Welsh Programmes: w/e 14/01/2007". Retrieved 9 May 2008.
^"S4C Viewing Figures: Top 20 Welsh Programmes: w/e 21/01/2007". Retrieved 9 May 2008.
^"S4C Viewing Figures: Top 20 Welsh Programmes: w/e 28/01/2007". Retrieved 9 May 2008.
^"S4C Viewing Figures: Top 20 Welsh Programmes: w/e 4/02/2007". Retrieved 9 May 2008.
^"S4C Viewing Figures: Top 20 Welsh Programmes: w/e 11/02/2007". Retrieved 9 May 2008.
^"S4C Viewing Figures: Top 20 Welsh Programmes: w/e 18/02/2007". Retrieved 9 May 2008.
^"S4C Viewing Figures: Top 20 Welsh Programmes: w/e 25/02/2007". Retrieved 9 May 2008.
^"S4C Viewing Figures: Top 20 Welsh Programmes: w/e 4/03/2007". Retrieved 9 May 2008.
^"S4C Viewing Figures: Top 20 Welsh Programmes: w/e 11/03/2007". Retrieved 9 May 2008.
^"S4C Viewing Figures: Top 20 Welsh Programmes: w/e 18/03/2007". Retrieved 9 May 2008.
^"S4C Viewing Figures: Top 20 Welsh Programmes: w/e 30/03/2008". Retrieved 9 May 2008.
^"S4C Viewing Figures: Top 20 Welsh Programmes: w/e 6/04/2008". Retrieved 9 May 2008.
^"S4C Viewing Figures: Top 20 Welsh Programmes: w/e 13/04/2008". Retrieved 9 May 2008.
^"S4C Viewing Figures: Top 20 Welsh Programmes: w/e 20/04/2008". Retrieved 19 May 2008.
^"S4C Viewing Figures: Top 20 Welsh Programmes: w/e 27/04/2008". Retrieved 23 May 2008.
^"S4C Viewing Figures: Top 20 Welsh Programmes: w/e 4/05/2008". Retrieved 2 June 2008.
^"S4C Viewing Figures: Top 20 Welsh Programmes: w/e 11/05/2008". Retrieved 13 June 2008.
^"S4C Viewing Figures: Top 20 Welsh Programmes: w/e 18/05/2008". Retrieved 13 June 2008.
^"S4C Viewing Figures: Top 20 Welsh Programmes: w/e 25/05/2008". Retrieved 21 June 2008.
^"S4C Viewing Figures: Top 20 Welsh Programmes: w/e 1/06/2008". Retrieved 28 June 2008.
^"S4C Viewing Figures: Top 20 Welsh Programmes: w/e 21/06/2009". s4c.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
^"S4C Viewing Figures: Top 20 Welsh Programmes: w/e 28/06/2009". s4c.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
^"S4C Viewing Figures: Top 20 Welsh Programmes: w/e 5/07/2009". s4c.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
^"S4C Viewing Figures: Top 20 Welsh Programmes: w/e 12/07/2009". s4c.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
^"S4C Viewing Figures: Top 20 Welsh Programmes: w/e 19/07/2009". s4c.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
^"S4C Viewing Figures: Top 20 Welsh Programmes: w/e 26/07/2009". s4c.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
^"S4C Viewing Figures: Top 20 Welsh Programmes: w/e 2/08/2009". s4c.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
^"S4C Viewing Figures: Top 20 Welsh Programmes: w/e 9/08/2009". s4c.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
^"S4C Viewing Figures: Top 20 Welsh Programmes: w/e 16/08/2009". s4c.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
^"S4C Viewing Figures: Top 20 Welsh Programmes: w/e 23/08/2009". s4c.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
External linksedit
[ Official Website (English)]
Official Website (1st series)
Caerdydd on IMDB
Ruth McElroy: The Local, the Global and the Bi-Cultural: Welsh-Language Television Drama[permanent dead link] In: Critical Studies in Television, Vol. 2, ed. 2, pp. 77–95 (Autumn 2007). ISSN 1749-6020.