jfryleach

Had the pleasure of viewing this rare show recently at a specialist music tv event organised by the British TV archive group Kaleidoscope and was very impressed by the talent involved. Certainly surprised that an ITV show from 1998 was in colour with a beautifully recorded soundtrack allowing the Tony Hatch Orchestra to really shine.

For me the standout performance on the show was from the enigmatic Scott Walker with his epic Ballard Joanna. Matt Monroe didn't disappoint either with his renditions. All in all a superb show from Yorkshire TV and so pleased that it still exists after many programmes from this era have been wipe - Almost on a par with the classic entertainment show This is Tom Jones (1969>1971) This special is crying out for an airing on the likes of Talking Pictures TV or a media release.

Overall I enjoyed this series - it's good, but it could have been a small screen classic ! Let me elaborate.

The storyline had potential - Irish crime family battles rival organisations to keep afloat and retain it's "Business" set in the photogenic city of Dublin, the cast is excellent, with the fabulous stand out performances from Clare Dunne, Charlie "Daredevil" Cox, Ciarán Hinds and Commitments star Maria Doyle Kennedy being the standouts. The negatives, well it seems to have suffered with budgetary constraints, the Kinsella gang seem to be short of gang members to run a convincing gang where their crew seem to consist of around a dozen on-screen members and their houses seem quite modest (and vulnerable) considering their income and their cover car dealership is bereft of customer and seemingly run by 2 staff members, The plot has a few annoying flaws as in when you've just stolen your main rival's complete stash of contraband I can't believe they would decide to have a party and sit around for several hours celebrating giving their victims ample time to plan their revenge and even going about their business with virtually no protection (no bodyguards or back-up) The photography is a mixed bag with some excellent sharp captures combined with numerous blurry dark scenes reminiscent of a VHS of the 1990's, the music on the whole is a compliment to the visuals barring a handful of scenes and I wish directors would hold back on the use of drones - Yes we get it, you've got drones! Now keep to the story.

Now the unnecessary.... There is nothing gained by making the head of the family a secret gay character, in-fact it's completely implausible, similarly giving Michael Kinsella (Charlie Cox) a mixed race daughter just seems odd and it looks like the producers have done this to appease their potential critics who might have complained of a lack of "diversity" In conclusion, it could have been so much more if it was given a bigger budget, more work on the storyline to fix the inconsistencies and better quality control on the visuals.

This is based on the first series as I have yet to view series two.

I had seen clips off this show, but never a full edition until they were repeated on BBC4 in the UK tonight (Nov 3rd 2023) and what a treat! Bobbie sharing each episode with a carefully chosen guest - in these particular shows - Donovan, The Hollies, Jerry Reed, Long John Baldry, Sue and Sonny (of The Brotherhood of Man) The 1968 editions looked and sounded fabulous in their 625 line pal colour glory with excellent music production. It's such a shame that Thirteen out of the 18 of the shows have been wiped by the BBC as they are a great time capsule of a exciting time in music and such a pity the editions with Elton John, Glen Campbell and The Marmalade are currently lost.

I keep watching these British films in the hope that we can produce something that has some merit, but alas here we go again.... Awful expletive ridden script (if you can call it that) with lots of screaming.

Exaggerated performances - Tick The men are either childish or stupid - Tick Vague storyline - Tick When I watch a film, I want to see at least a couple of likeable characters, but forget it with this - There is literally no entertainment value with this bomb. It's like a failed series pilot made for BBC3 with its infantile attempts at humour - You know the type where embarrassment and uncomfortable silences are substitutes for actual clever humorous lines.

A Truly cheap painful Tale....

This latest travesty from the woke machine that is the Brainwashing Broadcasting Corporation, taking a classic novels title and characters and rinsing them through a "Full Wash" cycle to produce something only its mother could love. Poor production values and laughable GCI garnish this dogs dinner of "Our version of Events" The people behind this re-imagining of Victorian England should go back to school - preferably one without a modern curriculum and re-take their English language GCSE. Do yourself a favour and watch the David Lean version instead of this thing, which deserves to rot on the hard drive of the BBC - Chat GPT could have done a better job !!

Another classic show gets a reboot and makeover and becomes a disaster!

The original was edgy and hilarious with Mark Lamarr's (and later Simon Amstall) cutting sarcasm knowing no bounds - Now it's just another annoying lame remake cashing in on what was once a great show.

It seems that UK tv exec's have lost the ability to produce original entertainment television and either try to "update" much loved shows to disastrous effect (see also Blankety Blank) or force on the viewing public train wrecks of bland excruciating drivel which have probably been created by a panel of talent free miserable university hacks with a degree in mediocrity....

Take a potentially fascinating subject with some genuinely fine photography and then hand the contents over to a wannabe MTV production crew who proceed to make the finished product virtually unwatchable by editing it in a way we're it seldom has more than 5 seconds of continuous footage, zooming in, zooming out - jump cuts constantly, where even a short interview with an expert is has unnecessary multiple angles and edits. Add to this a boring monotonous narration delivered by someone who sounds like he's doing a voice over for an advert whose attention seems to be elsewhere and this is what you end up with.... such a shame as it could have been a great series !

There are some films where the viewer struggles to make it through to the end - With this effort I wonder how the cast and crew found the motivation to finish it. A new low in the medium ! Dreadful in every way, cinematography, script, acting (??) editing, music. Everyone involved should hang their head in shame - Not one element of merit in any fragment of this plane crash of a project. An embarrassment to all who took wages to create this disaster...

Just watched this comedic curiosity and thoroughly enjoyed it's quirky take on marriage and morals in the mid 60s. Nice portrayal of a bored housewife trying to get excitement into her hum drum life by conning shops by pretending their are problems with their goods. With many future stars in the cast including Adrienne Posta (in a brief role) John Savident, Margaret Nolan, Susan George it's nice to see that it's survived when many shows from the period were wiped.

The BBC late night music show that went between Colour me pop and the start of The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1970/71. Initially Fronted by Rock DJ Tommy Vance (in seriously hip garb), though later presenting duties were taken over by Mike Harding and Pete Drummond it ran for 68 editions in glorious 625 line colour on BBC2. Indeed The Whistle test borrowed the shows format pretty much lock, stock and barrel with animated sequences shown when bands were unavailable. The studio was the one that Gerry Anderson used for several of his TV 21 productions in Slough, Berkshire and gave an intimate back drop for artists to perform live. Many big names appeared including Fleetwood Mac, Joe Cocker, Procol Harum, Bob Dylan and the Faces - Sadly only 3 complete shows and several clips survive in the archives.

I have vivid memories of watching this show as an 8 year old on our new colour TV and being fascinated by Ed Stewart's co presenter, the robot Zed. It was sort of a follow on from the earlier series Zokko. Ed Stewart has some caustic banter with his metal friend whilst film clips and animations are shown weekly - capped off with a musical guest popular or upcoming at the time including Hot Chocolate, Vanity Fare, Herman's Hermits and Mud whilst trendy young kids strut their stuff on the stage - Some hilarious scenes there. It uses Ed's radio show theme in the intro over a pre filmed backgroud. Amazingly most of the 9 shows survive in the archives in glorious PAL colour video (I believe 7 of the 9 originally made. Great fun for aficionados of 70's pop.

The Seekers were on top of the pop world when they announced that they were splitting up in 1968 and decided to bow out with a goodbye concert filmed by the BBC. They included all of their major hits with comedic skits and even Judith Durham playing a piano solo - All backed with a large orchestra. It proved a ratings success with over 10 million viewers tuning in. A great record of the group at the height of their popularity, but sadly the BBC wiped their colour copy of the concert and now only black and white tele-recordings exist, it could be restored if they would make the effort - That's the least they could do for yet another example of cultural vandalism.

This short lived sitcom from 1971 is a great snapshot of the era, much in the vein of Casanova 73. Four young trendy girls share a flat in Swinging London. Each were wealthy and from well to do backgrounds but they still encountered problems such as paying the rent and avoiding the landlord, a never ending stream of dates (good and bad) and interference from their parents. The 4 flatmates consisted of Joanna Lumley playing Samantha Ryder-Ross, 'The sexy one' who had a habit of unselfconsciously wandering around the flat semi clothed, Jane as Gillian Page Wood, known as 'Pudding' because of her love of food who was 'the sensible one', Elizabeth Knight as Clover Mason 'the scatty one' and lastly the character of Virginia played by Jennifer Croxton . Also appearing regularly was the character of Bobby Dutton, played by Jeremy Lloyd, who was briefly married to Joanna Lumley for a few months the year before. The Joanna Lumley character seemed to be an early version of Patsy in Absolutely Fabulous. I have vague memories of the series when it went out and refreshed my memory by watching the sole surviving episode recently and I quite enjoyed it - Much of it's time but a good watch.

2G's & The Pop People was a short lived London weekend TV series. 6 shows shown, It ran between June and July 1972. The popular dance troop The Second Generation hosted a variety of musical and variety acts on the show such as The Bee Gees, The Move, Slade, Lulu, Cleo Laine, Gilbert O'Sullivan, Argent, Scott Walker, The Move, Sandie Shaw and Osibisa with comedy interjections from Spike Milligan and Larry Grayson The show was presented by top DJ's such as Ed Stewart, Tony Blackburn & Dave Lee Travis. Good in parts for the guests, though the dance routines are somewhat dated (I think they were bland even at the time) Worth a watch if you can find copies - Fortunately they all survive in the archives.

A series of four shows recorded at the Royal Albert Hall in London with everyone playing live. Hosted by Alan Freeman, Jimmy Saville and broadcast on the fledgling channel BBC2. They were interspersed throughout the year with the first one going out on the 27th of April 1964, then 25th May, 11th of November with the final show on Wednesday 9th December.it featured many of the biggest acts of the day The Rolling Stones, Gerry & The Pacemakers, The Searchers, The Hollies, Billy J Kramer and The Dakotas, Dusty Springfield, Yardbirds, Wayne Fontana among others. Sadly only audio fragments seem to remain.

A Tea-time Granada TV series of live studio performances by rock/pop bands in front of a small audience with each show being devoted to one act - Can you imagine a channel showcasing a rock band in the afternoon now - The 70's were great for this type of programming ! These shows included a several rare appearances including Roy Wood with ELO and the fabulous Badfinger As with its' forerunner, (Doing Their Thing) "Set of Six" was only broadcast in the North West Granada region on Tuesday evenings, the Slade show for me was a standout. Fortunately these exist in the archive and several have escaped on to the internet - Go out and find them if you like real music they are excellent shows.

I watched this film with my Mrs this afternoon and we were both captivated with the performances and the perfect dramatisation of a 60's childhood we could both closely identify with. A young boy with a loving family going through trials and tribulations that many children would have lived through in that time period. A carefree attitude to perceived dangers which I feel is essential to emotional development, illustrating why children should be given more freedom away from their parents. Sadly today too many are smothered by their parents pampering attitudes and technological distractions as alluded to by the earlier review. It's basically a beautifully photographed record of what I consider to be an ideal time and place to grow up in - Well adjusted adults who have taught their offspring good moral values and will talk to them in a mature manner. Of course there are the aggressive and brutal children who everyone has probably come across when they were young and they are shown bullying and taunting their more sensitive peers - doing what a lot of children did, but it ultimately leaves you with a warm glow thankful that you experienced a time when the world was a caring and nice place to be.

Meet the Wife was one of the first comedies written by the reliable team of Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney, following on from their success of the Rag Trade. Comedy stalwarts Thora Heard and Freddie Frinton play a long married couple whose children have flown the nest and documents the comedic trials and comforts of mid-life marriage Freddie enjoyed the simple pleasures and would do anything for a quiet life. However, that was not really possible being married to Thora, his overbearing and snobbish wife who longed to move up in the social world. But in private the husband and wife would talk to each other using their natural north-country accents, in mixed company (and especially when answering the telephone (like Hyacinth in Keeping up Appearances ), Thora would immediately adopt an obviously false refinement A very popular series of the time (running for 5 series) Viewers took to the characters whose constant bickering, usually over the most trivial of matters, resulted in a kiss and make up by the end of each episode. Famously mentioned in a Beatles song of the time.

Ernest Tanner played by Peter Butterworth is a second-rate escapologist who earns a meagre living performing on the streets of London. Ernest is assisted by his friend Sidney Pratt (Peter Jones), who collects donations while Ernest is performing. The two men share a rundown basement flat and eat in a seedy cafe run by Archie (Meredith Edwards). This sitcom by future Man about the house writers Johnny Mortimer and Brian Cooke ran for 6 episodes was based on an episode of the 1968 series The Ronnie Barker Playhouse in which Ronnie Barker played Mr Tanner and RIchard O'Sullivan played Sidney. All episodes are said to exist in the ITV archives (2020)

Yorkshire TV were getting in their stride in the comedy world by the early 70s and in this vehicle Alfred Marks heads the cast in this series set in the late 19th century when Queen Victoria sat on the British throne. Albert Hackett was the head of his household ruling over his family with an affectionate yet iron fist that upheld strict Victorian moral values. The works of Oscar Wilde and Aubrey Beardsley were strictly forbidden in the Hackett home which was comprised of Albert, his wife Victoria, their children and servants. It was a domestic sitcom with the period flavour of the Forsythe Saga and drew a contrast to the more liberal age of the late swinging 1960s . Quite enjoyable of it's type and all episodes exist in the ITV archive and it's crying out to be given a dvd release so it can be rediscovered.

Pop Goes the Sixties was a farewell to a vibrant fun decade in music and enertainment generally. The BBC and the German broadcaster ZDF, Utilised the BBC's London studio's, for this co-Production and was a trek through the smorgasbord world of pop music featuring performers who found success during that decade. They included the likes of The Who, The Shadows, The KInk's, Lulu and The Beatles (in archive footage) The show was made in colour with an appearance by Tom Jones in black and white on a screen in the studio. UK television had moved over to colour broadcasting by this time and fortunately it exists in that form today unlike the majority of Top of the pop's show's which this programme apes in it's look, indeed very little of the weekly TOTP from this period exist in any form. It went out on New years eve at around 10.30pm and it is a great record of an exciting time in popular music, I just wish their was more kept to enjoy today.

Filmed at the height of their popularity, this was a special filmed in February of that year (79) made by the BBC in collaboration with several European broadcasters including SRG Zurich. It was broadcast around the world and was a great success. ABBA were seen arriving by helicopter from Geneva airport. In the opening credits and the main show was filmed in a circus big top in Leysin. Many of the songs were from the yet unreleased album Voulez-Vous so they differ slightly from the recordings on the album. There are several versions of this show dependant on where it was screened with different guests, but the UK version probably had the best with Kate Bush performing Wow and Roxy Music doing Dance Away. An excellent show that I thoroughly enjoyed at the time and I managed to get an ABBA only edit copy when it was released on dvd as a bonus disc on a cd re-release of the deluxe edition of Voulez-Vous.

The UK TV company ATV had a shot at promoting their artists in America when One of the networks CBS I think linked up with ATV giving them air time in the summer to deliver an entertainment show that would hopefully appeal to audiences on both sides of the Atlantic, hence the shows were a mix of British and American stars. A mix of singing performances and comedy sketches with hosts including Benny Hill (well before he became wildly popular in the US) Phil Silvers and Tom Jones. These specials were very typical of their time, big budget extravaganza's made in colour even though the British commercial channel was still broadcasting in monochrome. fortunately some still survive albeit mainly in black and white, although there are rumours of colour copies in the American UCLA archive.US archive

I remember seeing this as a child back in the 60's and I had looked for it since the day's of VHS and when I heard it was being screened for the first time on Talking pictures tv in the UK I was really looking forward to it and I wasn't disappointed. Great performances by the kids with a delightful disregard for health and safety ( running through a burning house, happily playing around with knives and an axe) The story of 4 children becoming shipwrecked on a deserted island whilst an escaped convict lurks in the shadows makes for an entertaining couple of hours and It really gave me a flashback to being in the cinema enjoying Saturday morning cinema club. Loved it.

How to take serious subjects like fraud, deception and corruption and turn it into infantile tabloid fodder. It's sad that professional investigators are manipulated by programme makers to appear like excited school children. Marry the presentation with narration that wouldn't be out of place on CBBC, tainted with inflection straight out of an cheap Aussie soap and this is what's considered as investigative journalism in 2020.