15 Storeys High - Knowledge (XXG)

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with an acute phobia for being touched, Vince does his best to avoid dealing with other people. Due to his lack of social skills, he manages to get himself into a succession of awkward situations: from teaching a swimming student with a psychotic husband; to helping a neighbour look after his new pet (a horse); to conducting a bitter feud with a gang of kids intent on destroying him.

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Vince is an anti-social eccentric who wants to live by his own peculiar set of rules and ensure that his henpecked lodger/flatmate Errol abides by them too. They live in a drab flat in a tower block with a collection of seemingly crazed residents. Working as a lifeguard at the local swimming pool and

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who shares his flat with Errol in a tower block. Lock described him as a particular type, "There's a lot of people in London who kind of get washed up in a place, and they don't really necessarily take part in normal life. They don't have families, they don't interact socially, they lose touch with

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Vince decides to have his holiday snaps from two years ago published, but a photo of him holding a dead swan taken by his ex-girlfriend leads to him being accused of a crime that could have him facing a lengthy term in prison. This episode was produced as the pilot and originally had a laugh track

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During filming Lock allowed some improvisation that made scenes funnier. At other times, Lock's attention to detail would be more restrictive when some actors felt they could improve a line. Lock was adamant about retaining certain dialogue, explaining the effort taken to write something would be

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radio series used a different method to present the events going on in other flats in the tower block. It dispensed with the idea of Sean listening in on others using "Bugger King", replacing it with a voiceover simply announcing the flat number of the subsequent scene. The show introduced Sean's

279:, who played Errol in the radio series, was actually doing an impression of Wong and suggested the role to him. The part was not specifically written for a Chinese actor but Lock was unable see anyone else in the flat with Vince saying, "when Benny came in, he seemed to make sense of it". 1114:

Vince wakes up after a night out and realises he has stolen a plough. He tries to return it, but later discovers that while drunk, he wrecked a graveyard. However, the vicar is more interested in becoming friends with him. Errol takes Vince's advice and tries to become less

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Vince attempts to go on holiday, leaving Errol alone in the flat with strict instructions. Things don't go to plan, however, when an argument with the check-in receptionist leads to Vince ripping up his ticket and ending up insulting Finnish people in a number of different

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Vince falls for the aqua aerobics instructor, Stacey, while Errol tries to conquer his phobia of saying "no". Later, Vince takes co-worker Darren out for his birthday, but his plans to take him to a surprise party organised by Stacey go badly wrong when a thug loses his

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is the hardest thing I've worked on. 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. To do a decent sitcom. To do a shit sitcom, you can do that without much effort, and there are plenty of those around". The writing process did not follow a particular structure or pursuit of a

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A war of words between Vince and the local kids causing trouble at the swimming pool threatens to escalate into all out war after fireworks are posted through his letterbox, and posters of him being labelled the messiah for bald people being put up around

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Car-boot sales, pigeon droppings and ping-pong enthusiasts converge to create a bad day for Vince. To make matters worse, a bunch of local estate kids have taken to smoking weed in the lifts, and Errol decides to take up bodybuilding after returning home

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Trenaman's other recollection about writing the show, "... is laughing a lot in that office – I mean really rip-roaring laughs. The other memory I have is both of us staring at the wall in silence for hours and going, 'I can't think of anything'".

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Vince decides to advertise for a new flatmate and ends up with unemployed student Errol. When he decides to get a new sofa, the day ends in tragedy when he ends up losing his Tesco clubcard and two voluptuous women decide to force themselves upon

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Nothing goes smoothly when Vince teaches a model to swim, leading to a confrontation with a very jealous husband. Meanwhile, Errol finally scratches an itch he needed to scratch, but it results in him having to entirely redecorate Vince's

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their friends, people move on in life ... they kind of get left somewhere on a shelf. That's what Vince was like. He continually was finding new ways to isolate himself – protect himself from actually recognising what his life was like."

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Vince falls in love with his upstairs neighbour, but finds it difficult to pierce her icy exterior. Meanwhile, a bible-spouting Jehovah's witness causes trouble for Vince when he turns up on his doorstep in a number of different

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A bargain energy drink from an Eastern European supermarket causes Vince a few problems. Meanwhile, Errol gets a job down at the local fish market, but is unaware that his new bosses are constantly winding him up with fictitious

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movies. As to why the show was badly handled by the BBC, Lock opined, "I think I must have spilt a drink somewhere once at a BBC party. Or called someone a cunt. That's more likely. I was drunk and called someone a cunt".

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Vince applies for the job as manager of the swimming pool, but is forced to look after a plastic baby as part of his training. Errol starts smoking after using a nicotine patch as a replacement bandage.

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in the "Late Night on 4" comedy slot at 11.00pm. It ran for six episodes between 30 December 1998 and 3 February 1999. The show was written by Sean Lock and produced by Dan Freedman, and starred Lock,

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is noted for its drab, grainy, washed-out style to reflect the mundanity of the characters' lives. Directed by Mark Nunneley, the series was filmed unlike any show at the time, including the in-vogue

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has since been reappraised after Lock's death in 2021. The show gained a new cult audience on DVD. In memory of Lock, a campaign for its return resulted in the series becoming available again on

474:. Trenaman recalled that Lock would come in the office one day and say, "I want to do something about an airport, something about travelling ... We'd just set off. There was no plan of action." 709:

The hard work making the series, followed by the inept management in programming, left Lock disillusioned by the experience. He then steered his TV career to appearances on

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The show was not recommissioned for a third season and has never been repeated for broadcast on the BBC since 2005. It was subsequently repeated on digital channel

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was done in such a way that it could appear to be day or night. A joke on set was, "Can we not afford any lights? Mark, are there any lights in the budget?!"

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Filmed mainly on location, the interior rooms of the tower block were filmed in a studio. The exterior view from the 15th floor was a huge photograph and the

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The series was the victim of poor scheduling and did not get the attention given to other successful turn-of-the-millennium era British comedies, such as

608:", alluding to the lyric in the first verse "All at once am I, several stories high, knowing I'm on the street where you live"; and a backwards remix of 2011: 1666: 1628:"Sean Lock, laidback star of television comedy shows including 8 out of 10 Cats who was also an original and confident stage performer – obituary" 394:. Each series had five half-hour episodes. Series one aired from 24 November 1999 to 22 December 1999, and starred Lock, along with Felix Dexter, 1627: 221:, it originated as two radio series broadcast in 1998–2000, transferring to television in 2002–2004. The television series starred Sean Lock and 450:

show which ran for two series; each series had six half-hour episodes. The show was filmed on location and therefore without a live audience.

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who exclaimed, "There are some sitcom fans who are going to be disappointed ... but we're going to see some badgers in a minute!"

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The second series, broadcast from 12 February 2004 to 18 March 2004, ended up being programmed on Sundays late at night on

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and Peter Serafinowicz. Series two aired from 24 November 2000 to 22 December 2000, and included roles from Dan Freedman,

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shopping centre was also a location in several episodes, including the Sundial restaurant and the bowling alley.

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Each series took six to seven months to write. Lock's view was, "The hardest thing to write is sitcom.

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TV series was written by Lock with Trenaman and Mark Lamarr credited with his real name Mark Jones.

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Vince's naïve but optimistic flatmate/lodger. Errol's relationship with Vince is similar to classic

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Vince's depression has caused Errol, who has become irresistible to the ladies, to seek help.

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wasted, but also that the pay-off on a later joke related to the plot would be compromised.

272: 1944: 1448: 387: 368: 62: 1645: 1588: 1568: 1293: 1251: 1934: 1765: 1531:"Sean Lock's towering genius: 15 Storeys High, the sitcom gem 'tossed away by the BBC'" 1364: 703: 632: 609: 561: 547: 524: 447: 427: 332: 308: 210: 32: 1843:"Sean Lock's Sitcom 15 Storeys High Arrives on BBC iPlayer Following Comedian's Death" 1965: 580:, London. In the second series, the swimming pool is situated in the basement of the 300: 288: 262: 222: 94: 642:. These sitcoms similarly moved away from the traditional live studio audience and 613: 581: 505: 431: 395: 304: 296: 249: 1430: 1339: 1667:"Tributes pour in for comedian Sean Lock who has died of cancer at the age of 58" 485:

dialogue between scenes when director Mark Nunneley showed they could simply use

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in the "Television Craft: New Director - Fiction" category for Mark Nunneley.

687: 658: 565: 316: 268: 158: 1912: 1542: 1924: 662: 569: 471: 284: 243: 218: 163: 46: 1823: 577: 573: 568:, London. The swimming pool for the first series, where Vince works as a 509: 252: 1950: 1651: 1594: 1574: 1299: 1257: 683: 676: 255: 168: 275:... the idiot who knows everything and the idiot who knows nothing". 600:

The opening title theme music varied with each episode and included

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flatmate Errol (played by Serafinowicz in series 1, episodes 2–5).

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