18:00 – Sheepy’s opening music.
18:04 – Thames TV morning start-up music.
18:09 – Michael Bentine’s Potty Time S01E07 – Father Christmas – a British children’s TV show, written by and starring Michael Bentine, and directed and produced by Leon Thau for Thames Television. This week, it’s Christmas again on CAB TV as Mr. Bentine and the Potties investigate the man behind it all. First broadcast on Mon 24th Dec 1973 by ITV.
18:20 – Shadows S02E05 – Peronik – a British supernatural television anthology series produced by Thames Television for ITV between 1975 and 1978. This week, teenager Tom draws a poster illustrating an old legend for use as a decoration at a school costume dance. Then he finds that events from the legend seem to be following him around. First broadcast on Wed 25th Aug 1976 by ITV. Featuring an uncredited Linda Robson.
18:45 – Clangers S01E07 – Fishing – the famous Oliver Postgate / Peter Firmin stop-motion children’s television series about a family of mouse-like creatures who live on, and inside, a small moon-like planet. This week, the Clangers build a flying music boat, and Major Clanger goes fishing in it. First broadcast on Sun 11th Jan 1970 at 5.55pm by BBC1.
18:55 – Star Trek (The Original Series) – S01E21 – The Return of the Archons – This week, seeking the answer to a century-old mystery, Kirk and crew encounter a vacantly peaceful society whose inhabitants are “of the Body”, controlled by an unseen ruler, and enjoy a night of violence during “Festival”. The episode contains Star Trek’s first reference to the Prime Directive. First broadcast in the USA on Thu 9th Feb 1967 by NBC.
19:45 – …And Mother Makes Three – S04E03 – A Home and a Job – More gentle middle-class Thames sitcom, starring Wendy Craig as the newly-widowed Sally Harrison, doing her best to bring up her two boisterous sons, Simon and Peter. This week, Simon tries to find Auntie a man so that she won’t have to live by herself, David’s not keen on the idea of there being three adults in his marriage, and Sally’s horrified when she finds that she’s been replaced at the shop. First broadcast on Wed 30th May 1973 by ITV.
20:10 – Special Branch – S01E09 – Reliable Sources – Groundbreaking British police drama series following the exploits of the Special Branch of the Metropolitan Police: an elite group of officers tasked with protecting London from spies, terrorists, and subversives. This week, in the last of the monochrome episodes, Superintendent Eden is on the spot. The Security Commission has met to consider the leak that tipped a spy during the Troika affair. The detective is cleared – but <massive IMDb spoiler removed>. First broadcast on Wed 12th Nov 1969 by ITV.
21:00 – A Very Peculiar Practice S02E01/07 – The New Frontier – a surreal black-comedy drama set in the health centre of a British university, produced by the BBC. It was written by Andrew Davies and was inspired by his experiences as a lecturer at the University of Warwick, and it has been interpreted as a commentary on contemporary trends in education. This week, in the first of the new series, Stephen is now head of the practice, there is a new medical centre, a new American Vice-Chancellor but no girlfriend. He is accused of inappropriately touching a female academic, Polish art lecturer Grete Grotowska, during an examination. First broadcast on Wed 24th Feb 1988 at 9.25pm by BBC2.
21:55 – The Beiderbecke Tapes E02/02 – A two-part serial written by Alan Plater, the second in The Beiderbecke Trilogy, and stars James Bolam and Barbara Flynn as schoolteachers Trevor Chaplin and Jill Swinburne. He teaches woodwork and likes to listen to jazz; she teaches English and wants to help save the planet. When a tape recording of a conversation about nuclear waste inadvertently falls into Trevor’s hands, Trevor and Jill find themselves being pursued by national security agents. This week, in the concluding part, Trevor and Jill go on a trip to Amsterdam with their class from San Quentin High – but the class has decamped. Trevor and Jill meet The Honourable Order of Elks who are “looking for a bit of action”. Jill & Trevor find their action in Edinburgh. The gray men get attacked by a bagpipe band but Jill & Trevor have to go home where they find that the jazz tape with no jazz wasn’t all it seemed. First broadcast on Sun 20th Dec 1987 by ITV.
23:13 – Snub TV S03E06 – This week the alternative music show features:
• The Telescopes: “Celeste” (video)
• Caveman: interview, “I’m Ready”
• Catherine Wheel: “She’s My Friend” (live)
• The Dylans: “Godlike” (SnubTV video)
• Galliano: interview, “Nothing Has Changed” (live extract), “Storm Clouds Gather” (live)
• Kitchens of Distinction: “Drive That Fast” (video)
From 1st generation off-air VHS > Panasonic HD recorder > DVD-R > MPEG Streamclip > MPEG4
Video compression: H.264, 352 x 288, deinterlaced
Audio compression: AAC, Stereo (L R), 48.000 kHz, 192 kbps
First broadcast on Mon 25th Feb 1991 at 7.00pm by BBC2.
23:42 – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Original Radio Series) – The Quandary Phase 4/4, Fit the Twenty-Second – In which Fenchurch and Arthur return to England, to discover that a large spaceship has landed in London, bringing Ford Prefect with it. Ford gives free gifts, Marvin gets the message and Arthur loses everything. With guest stars Sir Patrick Moore, Charlotte Green, Peter Donaldson and Nick Clarke. First broadcast on Tue 24th May 2005 at 6.30pm by BBC Radio 4.
00:10 – Closedown music.
00:15 – Closedown.