17:35 – Sheepy’s opening caption and music.
17:40 – Thames TV morning start-up music.
17:45 – Only When I Laugh – S02E05 – The Visitors – 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’s overbearing, hypochondriac mother comes to visit and he is initially scared to tell her he is romancing nurse Jenny. Norman’s cowardice gives Glover the opportunity to try and make a move but Figgis puts him off with lies about Jenny and the young couple eventually stand up to Mrs Binns. Figgis meanwhile shares a passionate embrace with a visitor who is not his wife – and is also unaware that he has one… First broadcast on Tue 27th May 1980 by ITV. Repeated from Sheepy’s Show #39 – Wed 2023/02/15, and indeed from a fortnight ago (Sheepy’s Show #71 – Mon 2023/10/23) as nobody made it in time.
18:10 – Michael Bentine’s Potty Time S04E03 – The Potty Lifeboat / U.S. Independence – a British children’s TV show, written by and starring Michael Bentine, directed by Michael Custance, and produced by Leon Thau for Thames Television. This week, in the present day, we see how the brave potty lifeboat men launched their boat, and are introduced to the perils of Portland Fred, the Portland shoals and, of course, the Portland clunk! It seems little is known about how the Americans won their independence from England; the potties shed new light on this turbulent chapter of History. First broadcast on Wed 25th Jan 1978 by ITV.
18:33 – The Intruder S01E06 – Jane Again – an eight-part children’s drama series made by Granada in 1972, based on a 1970 children’s book by John Rowe Townsend. It was adapted by Mervyn Haisman and producer/director Alan Plummer. In 1969, Plummer had made another Granada series based on a Carnegie Medal-winning children’s novel, The Owl Service. Both step well outside the realms of what might popularly be regarded as children’s fiction, focusing unapologetically an adult themes such as obsession, mental illness and burgeoning sexuality. The series was shot entirely on location on 16mm film – unusual for television of the time – in Ravenglass, a small village on the Cumbrian coast, and is presented here from the Network Blu-Ray, one of the last they ever released. Arnold Haithwaite is a pilot – a sand pilot. He pursues his strange and solitary profession on the sands of Cumbria, beside the Irish Sea. A sand pilot, like a sea pilot, must know his way about; he must have a strong sense of locality and identity. But now another figure haunts this strange landscape: a sinister intruder who claims to be the real Arnold Haithwaite. This week, Arnold has lost to Sonny and he intends to turn Gallows Tree House into an hotel. Simon is guilty for letting Arnold down and asks Jane to help but she has Jeremy in her life. Miss Hendry gives Simon an address where Arnold can get help. First broadcast on Sun 6th Feb 1972 by ITV.
18:58 – Clangers (New CBeebies Version) S01E29 – The Ball – 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, Tiny Clanger and Small Clanger find that the Ball they were playing with has friends of its own. First broadcast on Mon 23rd May 2016 at 6.00pm by CBeebies.
19:09 – Out Of This World S01E03 – Cold Equations (Audio Only) – a British science fiction anthology television series made by the ITV franchise ABC Weekend TV for ITV. It was broadcast on ITV in 1962. A spin-off from the Armchair Theatre anthology series, each episode was introduced by the actor Boris Karloff. Many of the episodes were adaptations of stories by science fiction writers including Isaac Asimov, Philip K. Dick and Clifford D. Simak. The series is described by the British Film Institute as a precursor to the BBC science fiction anthology series Out of the Unknown, which was created and produced by Out of This World creator Irene Shubik after she left ABC. This episode is based on a short story by Tom Godwin, adapted by Clive Exton, and is presented here in an audio-only copy, which is all that survives. Synopsis: Lee Cross is a teenage stowaway on a rocket ship hoping to see her brother on another planet. However, her extra mass was obviously not accounted for, leaving the ship with not enough fuel to reach its destination. First broadcast on Fri 14th Jul 1962 by ITV. Starring Peter Wyngarde and a 16yo Jane Asher, with William Marlowe in one of the supporting roles.
19:58 – Intermission (courtesy of Monty Python).
20:00 – Tales of the Unexpected S02E13 – Mr. Botibol’s First Love – 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, Mr Botibol is socially inept and, by his own admission, a failure. But he’s a rich man who has dreams of being a great conductor. First broadcast on Sat 24th May 1980 by ITV.
20:25 – Special Branch S04E06 – Rendezvous – For its final series, still made by Euston Films for Thames TV, we still have George Sewell as DCI Alan Craven, with Patrick Mower as DCI Tom Haggerty now full time; DS Bill North (Roger Rowland) having left Special Branch after the events at the end of Series 3. This week, Craven is put in charge of security for a vital debriefing exercise being held at a derelict mental institution. He has difficulty deciding which which of the group is mad – the interrogator, the KGB agent, or the woman being interrogated. First broadcast on Thu 21st Mar 1974 by ITV. Featuring Geoffrey “Bishop” Chater and Barbara Kellerman (Claire Kapp in Quatermass IV, Helena in Lytton’s Diary S02, and the White Witch in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1988)). NOT featuring Patrick Mower as Haggerty, despite him still being featured in the opening credits.
21:15 – Eurotrash S08E06 – The legendary late-night magazine show starring Antoine de Caunes, exploring unusual and bizarre topics from Europe and around the world. This week, we have Wez Madiko, Lolopops, Fillipe Kirkorov: King of Russian Pop, All Pugacheva: Queen of Russian Pop, Sex Guru Yiva Maria, Rainman, Sabine Neumayer. First broadcast on Fri 13th June 1997 by Channel 4.
21:39 – The Persuaders! E16(P19)/24 – A Home of One’s Own – 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: a derelict country cottage is Danny’s latest investment, but apart from its great potential, the place comes with a reputation and an unexpected secret. First broadcast on Fri 31st Dec 1971 by ITV. Featuring Hannah Gordon, Michael Sheard and Talfryn Thomas; written by Terry Nation.
22:29 – Keep It In The Family S02E03 – Games People Play – a British sitcom, made by Thames Television for ITV, that aired for five series between 1980 and 1983. It was about a likeable and mischievous cartoonist, Dudley Rush (played by CABTV favourite Robert Gillespie), his wife Muriel (Pauline “Mrs Reggie Perrin” Yates), and their two daughters, Jacqui and Susan. Eccentric and childlike, Dudley insists on wearing his large lion ventriloquist glove-puppet on his hand whenever he draws the “Barney, the Bionic Bulldog” comic strip. Unhappy about having to spend what he considers valuable time working, he always procrastinates, so he’s always late meeting the strip’s deadlines, which frustrates his long-suffering agent, Duncan Thomas. This week, Susan asks her father to remove her troublesome boyfriend Blackie Taylor from the girls’ flat. Dudley suspects Blackie may be his natural son by an old flame named Betty Corkindale. First broadcast on Mon 15th Sept 1980 by ITV. Featuring Patrick “Mickey Pearce” Murray.
22:53 – Hot Metal S01E03 – Beyond the Infinite – a British sitcom produced by London Weekend Television about the newspaper industry, starring Geoffrey Palmer, Robert Hardy and Richard Kane, with regular appearances by Richard Wilson and John Gordon Sinclair. It aired for two series on the ITV network in 1986 and 1988, along with a special episode for Comic Relief in 1989. Written by David Renwick and Andrew Marshall, it is very much a continuation in style from their previous sitcom Whoops Apocalypse! After its original transmission, the series was repeated on Channel 4 and Forces TV. Series synopsis: The Daily Crucible is a new muck-raking tabloid newspaper in London. Managing editor Russell Spam is always on the lookout for the latest dirt and gossip, while senior editor Harold Stringer struggles to preserve some sense of dignity (usually to no avail). This week, Twiggy Rathbone’s Daily Crucible is determined to keep abreast of the competition and Page Three is an outstanding target area. Meanwhile, young reporter Bill Tytla unearths the first clues to an international scandal bigger than anything Russell Spam could ever dream up. First broadcast on Sun 2nd Mar 1986 by ITV.
23:18 – The Frighteners S01E06 – Firing Squad – A little-known – not even a Wiki page! – British psychological suspense anthology series that ran for one series consisting of 13 self contained episodes, featuring a wealth of writing and acting talent. From the DVD box: “No cops and robbers… no clanking chains… no well-worn horror themes… this powerful thriller anthology features instead a range of stories in which ordinary people are threatened by situations that slide startlingly, menacingly out of control…” This week: a mercenary returns to the UK having switched sides in a coup and discovers his former associates waiting for him, looking for revenge. First broadcast on Fri 11th August 1972 by ITV.
23:43 – Closedown music.
23:48 – Closedown.