I may not be around for the first hour or so.
18:00 – Sheepy’s opening caption and music.
18:05 – Thames TV morning start-up music
18:10 – Pauline’s Quirkes S01E02 – In which our 17-year-old lead tries to get us to see Flintlock, including 15-year-old Mike Holoway, with their kit off. Well it WAS the 1970s… First broadcast on Mon 22nd Nov 1976 by ITV.
18:35 – Timeslip S01E03 – The Wrong End of Time E03/06 – When a young girl vanishes near a derelict naval station in St. Oswald, a fantastic series of events is set in motion which sends teenagers Simon Randall and Liz Skinner back in time to 1940 and the very night when the base was taken over by a group of German marines. First broadcast on Mon 12th Oct 1970 by ITV. Previously shown on CABTV on the first-ever so-named Pleasant Phil_A Sunday – Sun 2019/07/28.
18:59 – Clangers (New) S01E50 – Blob – The Froglets produce a noisy, bouncy, purple blob from the Top Hat. First broadcast on Tue 21st June 2016 at 6pm by CBeebies.
19:10 – UFO S01E07(P09) – Ordeal – a 1970 British science fiction television series about the covert efforts of an international defence organisation (under the auspices of the United Nations) to prevent an alien invasion of Earth. It was created by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson with Reg Hill, and produced by the Andersons and Lew Grade’s Century 21 for Grade’s ITC Entertainment company.
This week, following a wild night out with a girl called Sylvia, Foster is receiving a refreshing sauna bath at the SHADO health farm. Drifting into semi-consciousness, he comes to to find he has been abducted by an alien and is on a UFO, which is shot down onto the Moon’s surface. He survives but has to be extremely careful how he removes the helmet he is wearing. Clumsy removal would kill him because of the breathing liquid it contains. First broadcast on Wed 14th Apr 1971 at 8pm by ITV in the ATV region.
20:00 – Tales of the Unexpected S04E07 – The Sound Machine – This week, amateur scientist Mr. Klausner invents a sound machine that can detect sounds so quiet he can hear plants. First broadcast on Sun 17th May 1981. Both the original Roald Dahl short story, and this adaptation – from which this week’s thumbnail is taken – gave me the serious creeps as a kid. Not recommended for those with a surfeit of empathy.
20:25 – The Sweeney S01E05 – Jigsaw – Jack Regan and George Carter are hard-edged detectives in the Flying Squad of London’s Metropolitan Police. They pursue villains by methods which are underhanded and often illegal, frequently violent and – more often than not – successful. This week, Regan is convinced that Eddie Boyse, a recently released career criminal, is responsible for a robbery, but Boyse was with Regan when the crime occurred. First broadcast on Thu 30th Jan 1975 by ITV. Featuring, amongst others, Stephanie Turner, who went on to play WPC Howarth in Z Cars and Inspector Darblay in Juliet Bravo.
21:16 – Keep It In The Family S05E05 – That Old Black Magic – This week, Duncan is not enjoying living in the Rush household as Dudley is so untidy and always playing pranks on him. After Dudley buys some books on magic, Susan and Jacqui decide that it’s time to give their father a taste of his own medicine. First broadcast on Wed 12th Oct 1983 by ITV.
21:40 – The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder S01E05 – The Strange Case – a British television series which was originally broadcast on ITV in two series from 1969 to 1971. It is based on a series of novels and short stories written by Edgar Wallace featuring the character of J.G. Reeder, who had appeared in several film adaptations in the late 1930s. Sixteen episodes were made, all but two in black-and-white. Reeder is a mild-mannered civil servant at the Department of Public Prosecutions with an extraordinary gift for solving complex crimes, due to being able to think exactly like a criminal. He is played by Hugh Burden (Channing in DW: Spearhead from Space, which would’ve been filmed between the two series of this!), working under the overbearing Sir Jason Toovey (Willoughby Goddard, who popped up a few times in NTNOCN). It features amusing confrontations with his long-suffering housekeeper, Mrs Houchen (Mona Bruce, who played Mrs Armitage in Within These Walls), and a succession of hapless secretaries and prospective ladyfriends. Windsor Davies also pops up in some episodes as a police inspector. It is set in the 1920s, when the stories were originally written, and the graphics of the opening credits reflect this Jazz Age setting. Not so sure about the banjo music, though…
This week, Reeder becomes involved in a duel of wits with Lassard, a man who has accused the disowned son of Lord Sellington of stealing £5,000 destined for a charity. First broadcast on Wed 21st May 1969 by ITV. Featuring Edward “uncle of Laurence” Fox, and John Malcolm, he of the meme-worthy explodey-red-face from Together.
22:31 – Eurotrash S11E03 – 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 Jezebel, International Blonde Festival, Eileen Daly, Boris: Queen of Russian Pop, Look at Lolo: Lolo Scratches Her Itch, Eddy Wally, Swiss Naturist Farm, Eva & Adele. First broadcast on Fri 4th Dec 1998 by Channel 4.
22:54 – Thriller S02E02 – When the Killing Starts – a British television anthology series, made by ATV for the ITV network and originally broadcast in the UK from 1973 to 1976. As the title suggests, each story is a thriller of some variety, from tales of the supernatural to down-to-earth whodunits. The series was created by Brian Clemens (of The Avengers, The Professionals, and many others fame), who also scripted the majority of the episodes and story-lined every installment.
This week, married college professor Michael Lane falls in love with one of his students and hatches an elaborate scheme to dispose of his wife, Elizabeth. His murder plot goes as planned. However, he soon receives an anonymous note: “I know what you did, murderer!” Prof. Lane frantically tries to discover who knows his secret… First broadcast on Sat 2nd Feb 1974 by ITV. Starring Patrick O’Neal and Angharad Rees (Hands of the Ripper, and that superb early Within These Walls episode written by P. J. Hammond), with Michael Kitchen, Gerald Sim (To The Manor Born), Gary Watson, Patricia Donahue and Terry Wright.
23:58 – Thriller S02E02 – Alternate USA titles – When “Thriller” was exported to the USA, the Americans completely redid the opening and closing titles in a rather trippy manner, sometimes inserting their own newly-shot teasers (using actors shot from a distance or from the neck down!). Here are the ones for this episode.
00:05 – Closedown music.
00:10 – Closedown.