Join me for my usual first-Thursday-of-the-month OTH-Replacement stream.
17:59 – Opening music.
18:02 – The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe S01E01 – the legendary French-German children’s television drama series made by Franco London Films (a.k.a. FLF Television Paris) and based on Daniel Defoe’s 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe. It is the story of a young Englishman’s struggle for survival on an unknown desert island, and his recollections of his adventures prior to the shipwreck that brought him there, in particular his involvement with slave traders. He has his pet dog Dick, a parrot and a goat for company. The serial was filmed on Gran Canaria, the 3rd largest of the Canary Islands, off the coast of Morocco.
The show was first aired in Germany in October 1964 under the title Robinson Crusoe as four 90-minute episodes by co-producers ZDF television, and syndicated in the USA the same year. It was first aired in the UK in 1965 as a 13-part serial. This English dubbed version produced by Henry Deutschmeister also had a new musical soundtrack composed by Robert Mellin and P. Reverberi replacing the music composed by Georges Van Parys for the French/German original.
After its debut in 1965 it became a staple part of the BBC’s school summer holiday schedules. Often shown Mondays to Fridays in the mid ’70s, it was last screened in the early 1980s, after which the BBC’s contract for repeat screenings expired. These copies are thanks to the work of Tim Beddows who tracked down the only known English language prints in a French film vault. However, these were 16mm prints, since the original 35mm prints used by the BBC between 1965 and 1982 had been junked, and no other 35mm prints could be found.
This episode, while travelling on a ship from Brazil to Africa, a violent storm casts Robinson onto a deserted island off the coast of South America. He spends his solitude in remembering his youthful escapades in York. First broadcast in the UK on Tue 12th October 1965 at 5pm on BBC1 under the simple title “Robinson Crusoe”.
18:28 – The Sixties S01E03 – The Assassination of President Kennedy – A documentary miniseries, produced by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman’s studio Playtone, this 10-part series chronicled events and popular culture of the United States during the 1960s. In this special double-length episode, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy is examined through eye witness accounts, details of the original 1964 Warren Report investigation, and films of the assassination itself. Also examined is the assassination of Lee Harvey Oswald by Jack Ruby. First broadcast on Fri 13th June 2014 by CNN.
19:50 – The Day The Universe Changed – S01E05 – Infinitely Reasonable – Radio Times listing: “A personal view by James Burke in ten parts. In 1545 the Pope called an emergency summit in the Italian city of Trento. The idea was to deal with growing threats to the authority of the Catholic Church. Predictably a book on astronomy just published by a Polish priest was hardly noticed. But a century later the book had been banned, its teaching forbidden, and it had plunged the Church into crisis. When the dust finally settled, the universe was a different place. Because of that book and the events which followed we can explain the curved path of a cannon ball, say what time the sun will rise tomorrow, put men on the moon, and predict a heavenly visitation early in 1986…” First broadcast on Tue 16th April 1985 at 8.00pm by BBC1.
20:40 – FILM: sex, lies, and videotape (1989) – a 1989 American independent drama film written and directed by Steven Soderbergh, starring James Spader, Andie McDowell, Peter Gallagher and Laura San Giacomo. The plot tells the story of a troubled young man who videotapes women discussing their sexuality and fantasies, and his impact on the relationships of a married couple in difficulties and the wife’s younger sister. It won the Palme d’Or at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival, making Soderbergh the youngest solo director to win the award; he was 26 at the time. The film was influential in revolutionizing the independent film movement in the early 1990s. In 2006, Sex, Lies, and Videotape was added to the United States Library of Congress’ National Film Registry, deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.
22:16 – An Audience with Billy Connolly (full uncut version) – The full-length version of Billy performing for an invited audience of celebrity guests. Seen amongst the audience are Robbie Coltrane, Julie Walters, Charles Dance, Bob Hoskins, Michael Brandon, Glynis Barber, Michael Parkinson, Roger Taylor, Nigel Planer, Brian Glover, Francis Rossi, Rick Parfitt, Bob Geldof, Paula Yates, Joanna Lumley, Clive James, Bill Wyman, Samantha Fox, Denis Law, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Kenny Everett, Sara Dallin, Jimmy Tarbuck, Ian St John, Roy Kinnear, Paul Nicholas, Lawrie McNenemy, Chris Quinten, Jan Francis, Denis Norden, Moira Stuart, Floella Benjamin, Wincey Willis, Peter Davison, Sandra Dickinson, Valerie Singleton and Barbara Dickson. First broadcast on Sat 26th October 1985 by Channel 4 (yes, Channel 4, not ITV, despite being an LWT production; only Kenneth Williams, Joan Rivers, Jackie Mason, and Dame Edna’s second show got this treatment).
23:54 – Closedown music.
23:58 – Closedown.