17:35 – Sheepy’s opening caption and music.
17:40 – Thames TV morning start-up music.
17:45 – Only When I Laugh – S01E02 – Operation Norman – A sitcom made by Yorkshire Television for ITV, written by Eric Chappell (Rising Damp, Home to Roost). It stars Christopher Strauli as Norman, a rather naive middle-class man who is admitted to a hospital ward and finds that he is sharing it with a working-class layabout called Figgis (James Bolam) and an upper-class hypochondriac called Archie (Peter Bowles). All three of them cause headaches for the hospital staff, led by Richard Wilson with Derrick Branche. This week, Norman has to have an operation for his appendix to be removed but Figgis’s doom-laden description of operations and Dr Thorpe’s tiredness do not give him confidence and he hides in the toilet, having to be coaxed out… First broadcast on 5th Nov 1979 by ITV. Am rerunning this for one of our now-regular viewers who missed it first time round (just catching the last 2 or 3 episodes) and would like to see it all.
18:10 – Michael Bentine’s Potty Time S03E04 – Potty Marsh Under-the-Wall / The Age of Chivalry – a British children’s TV show, written by and starring Michael Bentine, and directed and produced by Leon Thau for Thames Television. This week, Potty Marsh Under-the-Wall is a flat and uninteresting part of the world, yet visitors flock there in the summer season. Surely the tales of smuggling and Marsh ghosts, fascinating as they may be, are not true? However, what we do know to be true is that our present day etiquette derives from the Age of Chivalry, when Knights were bold and battled for a good Potty cause. First broadcast on Tue 25th Jan 1977 by ITV.
18:32 – The Gemini Factor S01E06 – Electric Storms – a 1987 six-part children’s serial starring Louisa Haigh and Charlie Creed-Miles, written by Paula Milne, directed by Renny Rye, and produced by Sheila Kinany for Thames TV. A twin brother and sister separated at birth. Two halves forming the Yin and Yang. Two telepathic minds. An ancient clock tower. A mystery to keep the mind alert. This week, in the last episode… well the series is obscure enough to have no Wiki page and a fairly minimal IMDb presence, so your guess is as good as mine! Except that it ends, of course. First broadcast on Mon 7th Dec 1987 by ITV.
18:57 – Clangers (New CBeebies Version) S01E17 – Crash Bang Chicken – the 2010s reboot of the famous early-1970s 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, a Skymoo accidentally knocks the Iron Chicken out of her nest. First broadcast on Tue 7th Jul 2015 at 5.30pm by CBeebies.
19:08 – Star Trek (The Original Series) S03E03 – The Paradise Syndrome – This week, trapped on a planet whose inhabitants are descended from Northwestern Native Americans, Kirk loses his memory and is proclaimed a God, while the crippled Enterprise races back to the planet before the latter is destroyed by an asteroid. First broadcast in the USA on Fri 4th Oct 1968 by NBC at 10pm. I’d forgotten they also did “Planet of the Native Americans”!
19:59 – Tales of the Unexpected S02E01 – Royal Jelly – a British television series that aired between 1979 and 1988. Each episode told a story, often with sinister and wryly comedic undertones, with an unexpected twist ending. Every episode of series one, eight episodes of series two, and one episode of series three were based on short stories by Roald Dahl, who provided introductions for the first two series. This week, in the first of the second series, Mabel’s baby is sick and her bee-obsessed husband thinks he has found a remedy. Will he get the baby buzzing back to health? First broadcast on Sat 1st March 1980 by ITV. Starring Timothy West and Susan George.
20:25 – Special Branch S03E07 – Death by Drowning – After a two-and-a-half-year break (Nov 1970 – Apr 1973) on original transmission, this show returned in a completely revamped form, now made by Euston Films in their first-ever production for Thames TV. It now stars George Sewell as DCI Alan Craven, with support from an on-off combination of Roger Rowland as DS Bill North and Patrick Mower as DCI Tom Haggerty. This week, a junior defense minister’s missing husband turns up dead. Highly placed people push for immediate investigation of the case, as growing evidence indicates a suspicious cause of death. Special Branch must learn if it was an accident, suicide, or murder. First broadcast on Wed 16th May 1973 by ITV. This episode features Doreen “Mrs Warboys” Mantle, Bruce “Leonard from Butterflies” Montague, and Dennis “Gharman in Genesis of the Daleks” Chinnery.
21:17 – Eurotrash S06E06 – The legendary late-night magazine show starring Antoine de Caunes and Jean-Paul Gaultier, exploring unusual and bizarre topics from Europe and around the world. This week, we have S.E.X. Appeal, The Italian Bikini Police, Supermodel Shopping: Marcus, Alain Aslan, Romeo Cleaners, Walter Nudo, Foot Fetishists, Custom-Made Coffin. First broadcast on Fri 17th May 1996 by Channel 4.
21:40 – The Persuaders! E04(P11)/24 – Greensleeves – A British action comedy television series starring Tony Curtis and Roger Moore, produced by ITC Entertainment. It was filmed in Britain, France, and Italy between May 1970 and June 1971. The series’ synth-laden theme music was composed by John Barry. The Persuaders are two equally-matched men from different backgrounds who reluctantly team together to solve cases that the police and the courts cannot. This week: the noble, yet abandoned, manor of Greensleeves is strangely restored unbeknownst to its rightful owner, Lord Brett Sinclair, who now needs to impersonate himself to get to the bottom of the mystery. First broadcast on Fri 8th Oct 1971 by ITV. Featuring Andrew “Quatermass and the Movie Pit” Keir, Arthur “Mr Grainger from AYBS” Brough, and Clifton “Kano from Space:1999” Jones. Trivia: the red mini driven by Danny, when he is arriving as the butler, is the same car (BAP 245B) used regularly by Jeannie in Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased). Annette Andre, who played Jeannie, also appears in “Powerswitch”, the next episode of The Persuaders!. The DVDs have the episodes in (P)roduction Order, however after some thought and research I’ve decided to show them in their original LWT broadcast order (which matches IMDb & Wikipedia). Some ITV regions varied the date and order (Granada and Anglia, for example, transmitted a day earlier).
22:30 – Girls on Top S02E04 – Bring Me More Flamingoes – a British sitcom, broadcast on ITV in 1985 & 1986, made by Allan McKeown’s Witzend Productions for Central Independent Television. It starred Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Ruby Wax and Tracey Ullman (S1 only) with Joan Greenwood. It was written by French, Saunders and Wax, with additional material for two episodes written by Ullman. It was produced & directed by Paul Jackson (S1) and Ed Bye (S2). Both theme and incidental music were written and perforned by Chris Difford & Glenn Tillbrook. This week, Shelley redecorates the flat with the aim of throwing wild showbiz parties, so Amanda and Jennifer leave to found their own commune. First broadcast on Thu 27th Nov 1986 at 9.00pm by ITV. Featuring Helen Lederer, John Blundell, and, er, the actual Beverley Sisters.
22:55 – Agony S03E04 – Communications Breakdown – An ITV sitcom that aired from 1979 to 1981. Made by London Weekend Television, it stars Maureen Lipman as Jane Lucas who has a successful career as an agony aunt but whose own personal life is a shambles. It was created by Len Richmond and real-life agony aunt Anna Raeburn, both of whom wrote all of the first series. The second and third series were written by Stan Hey and Andrew Nickolds. This week, Jane attends a group therapy session to learn how to release her anger, while Laurence struggles with fatherhood and a frustrated Andy who’s having commitment issues with Val. First broadcast on Sun 8th Feb 1981 by ITV.
23:20 – The Making of Relax – a superb YouTube video, in which Trevor Horn’s sidekick, Stephen “Steve” Lipson, explains just how Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s “Relax” was made, to Warren Huart of Produce Like A Pro; part of his “Songs That Changed Music” series. Despite being a huge fan of early ZTT, there’s stuff in here that even I didn’t know about (and blindingly-obvious things I did, like that the bassline is made up of two components, you only have to listen to any of the 12″ mixes to figure that out – I hope Warren was playing dumb!). The most fascinating thing for me was learning that (a) so many of the special-effect noises were actually down to Jupiter 8 magic rather than Fairlight samples, and (b) the iconic “DUNN-der-DUHH” riff was actually written by Norman Watt-Roy of The Blockheads (I knew they’d been involved, but not that any of their work had survived). I should also thank Better Midlands from a certain forum for posting this in Oscillations and thus drawing it to my attention.
00:07 – Closedown music.
00:12 – Closedown.