SCHEDULE CHANGE: Due to me finding Brass far less funny than I remember – and judging by how many people tuned out over the last two weeks when it was on, I’m not alone – I’ve moved it to the start of the evening. Normally I would just let the first series play out in its current slot before doing anything, but it turns out it’s 13 not 6 episodes per series, and I’m afraid that I don’t have that much patience! However this allows those who have been enjoying it (I know there’s one or two of you) to continue to watch…and who knows, maybe it will get better later on, I definitely remember it being funny at some point.
Meanwhile I will be replacing it with The Tomorrow People, the first two episodes of which got a fairly good response on my Fill-In stream last Friday. This will be going out before Star Trek, shifting the latter and …And Mother Makes Three 25m later.
17:32 – Opening music.
17:35 – Brass – S01E03 – More Granada-made northern-drama-satirising comedy, starring Timothy West. This week, Agnes encourages the now-hungry strikers, whilst Charlotte is “doing good” at the soup kitchen. As Bradley is making sure George can leave the hospital (to use him for the SBD experiments), Jack and Isobel are again found in the stables, and Agnes discovers that her son Matt has lost his good job and is now digging coal. She then sees her husband George being driven in Bradley’s car: a blackleg!!! First broadcast on Mon 7th March 1983.
18:00 – Sky – S01E03 – Goodchild – More HTV children’s science fantasy weirdness, written by Bob Baker and Dave Martin. This week, the forces trying to eject Sky condense into the ruthless, menacing form of Goodchild, who causes Arby’s mother to be hurt in an accident. Sky tries to help, but puts himself in jeopardy. First broadcast on Mon 21st April 1975.
18:23 – The Tomorrow People – S01E03 – The Slaves of Jedekiah (Part 3/5) – The classic 1970s ITV children’s series about a group of teens with paranormal abilities, who use their special gifts to battle evil. This week, in the Tomorrow lab, Jedikiah lays in wait to catch Tomorrow People like flies in his web of technology. First broadcast Mon 14th May 1973… just over 49 years ago! Another episode with a cute trailer on the end, like episode 1 (but not, as I recall, episode 2).
18:46 – Star Trek (The Original Series) – S01E01 – The Man Trap – Dr. McCoy discovers his old flame is not what she seems after crew members begin dying from a sudden lack of salt in their bodies. Continuing our full run of the classic SF series, this was the first episode ever to be shown, at the start of the series proper, although the sixth to be made (including the two pilots). NBC chose to air this episode first because they felt that it had more action than any of the first 5 episodes and it also featured a monster. Meanwhile, Leonard Nimoy has stated that of the episodes the cast and crew had already completed, this was their least favourite! First broadcast in the USA by NBC on Thu 8th Sept 1966.
19:37 – …And Mother Makes Three – S01E03 – A Bird in the Hand – 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, Sally offers to look after a mynah bird for a lady who needs an operation, finding his cage empty leaves her desperately looking for a replacement, and a pet shop owner is confused by a list of very peculiar requirements. First broadcast Tue 11th May 1971… just over 51 years ago! No physical comedy segment this week, I’m afraid, and content warning: a caged bird who looks rather unhappy at the beginning of the episode.
20:02 – Van der Valk – S01E03 – Blue Notes – More Thames-made Amsterdam-based crime drama, starring Barry Foster. In this episode, when a world-famous Dutch violinist returns to Amsterdam for a rare performance, he receives a series of death threats. Someone even smashes his Stradivarius. Van der Valk can’t fathom why anyone would want to hurt the virtuoso–but that doesn’t mean the threat isn’t real. First broadcast on Wed 27th Sept 1972. Rather better than last week’s, as I recall.
20:54 – Sheepy’s Unwatched FILM Project #2: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) – An American romantic science fiction drama film written by Charlie Kaufman, directed by Michel Gondry, and starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. Pierre Bismuth created the story with Kaufman and Gondry. Much to his surprise, timid Joel Barish is shocked to discover that the love of his life, sparky Clementine, has had him erased from her memory. To pay her back in the same coin, poor Joel summons up the courage to undergo a painless but intricate medical procedure to do the same…
22:37 – Soundbreaking: Stories from the Cutting Edge of Recorded Music – S01E03 – The Human Instrument – The eight-part documentary series exploring the art of sound recording and music production continues. “A look at the most fundamental instrument in creating music: the human voice. Plus, all the elements that go into a perfect vocal track, with rare footage of iconic vocalists including Adele and Amy Whitehouse.” First broadcast in the USA by the PBS on Wed 16th Nov 2016.
23:25 – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Original Radio Series) – Fit the Third – Original Radio Times listing: “An epic adventure in time and space including some helpful advice on how to see the Universe for less than 30 Altairian dollars a day. Fit the third: after being improbably rescued from certain death in the vacuum of space, Arthur Dent and his new companions now face a missile attack and certain death. Special effects by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Written by DOUGLAS ADAMS. Producer GEOFFREY PERKINS.” First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Wed 22nd Mar 1978 at 10.30pm.
23:53 – Closedown music.
23:58 – Closedown.
With huge thanks to @Right_Said_Brett for reposting this whole schedule for me while I was asleep, after WordPress threw a wobbly when I first tried to post it around 7am this morning.