Animal
Magic
BBC (
West ) 1962-
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Childrens
wildlife programme presented from Bristol Zoo by the wonderful
Johnny Morris. Later specials were made at places like the Miami
Seaquarium and Frankfurt Zoo. Probably the most memorable feature
of the programme was Johnny's ability to give the animals personalities
by using funny voices to make it appear as if the animals were
talking. Early assistants included Tony Soper, famous in his
own right for nature films and naturalist Gerald Durrell who
owned his own zoo in Jersey. Main producer was Winwood Reade
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Compact
BBC 1962 - 65
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In
1962, soap operas on ITV were forced off the air by an Equity
strike, which gave this BBC offering virtually free reign over
the British viewing public. Shown on Tuesdays and Thursdays,
it was set in the editorial offices of Compact, a women's magazine,
with the usual mix of personal and business triumph and tragedy.
It was created by Hazel Adair and Peter Ling ( who also created
Crossroads ) and was scheduled originally for a 3 month run.
373 x 30 minute episodes were eventually made starring main
character Editor Joanne Minster ( Jean Harvey ), other parts
being played by Nicholas Selby, Gareth Davies, Moray Watson
and Leo McGuire. There was a 50 minute omnibus edition shown
from April 1964. Later in the series Ronald Allen joined the
show as the second Editor. He was also later to star in Adair
and Ling's Crossroads series
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Dial
Rix
BBC 1962 - 63
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Stage
farce genius Brian Rix made a series of 50 minute shows, beginning
with 'Between The Balance Sheets', specially for television
which were shown at monthly intervals during the winter of 1962
- 63. These were followed by 'Laughter From Whitehall' in 1964
and 'Laughter From The Whitehall' in 1965. Main writers for
the shows were Ray Cooney, John Chapman, Tony Hilton and Kenneth
Horne
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Dr.
Finlay's Casebook
BBC 1962 - 71
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Thirteen
series were made of this long- running medical drama series
set in the town of Tannochbrae, Scotland, during the 1920s.
200 x 50 minute shows featured Andrew Cruickshank as Dr Cameron,
Bill Simpson as Dr Alan Finlay and Barbara Mullen as the legendary
housekeeper Janet. The eternal battle of youth and enthusiasm
versus age and experience most often ended in a compromise to
the benefit of both the townspeople and the situation at hand
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Fireball
XL5
ATV 1962 - 63
AP Films / ITC
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Another
great series from Gerry Anderson, this time apparently aimed
at a slightly older audience. The sets, stories and production
techniques were improving greatly. Characters Steve Zodiac,
Dr Venus, Matt Matic and Robert 'On Our Way 'Ome' the Robot
were the primary crew of interplanetary patrol vessel Fireball
XL5, hindered by their 'pet', Zoonie the Lazoon. 39 x 30 minute
episodes were made, filmed in 'Supermarionation' with special
effects by Derek Meddings.'I wish I was a spaceman, the fastest
guy alive - I'd fly you round the universe in Fireball XL5....'
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Hugh
And I
BBC 1962 - 67
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Sitcom
which saw the first wonderful pairing of Terry Scott and Hugh
Lloyd, produced by David Croft. As a lodger in Scott's mum's
house in suburbia, Lloyd became involved in his many crackpot
and fabulous 'get rich quick' schemes' which were the creation
of writer John Chapman. The pair were later reunited in 'Hugh
and I Spy' ( 1968 ) and the hilarious 'Gnomes of Dulwich' (
1969 )
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Man
of The World
ATV 1962 - 63
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20
x 60 minute episodes were made of this action drama, starring
Craig Stevens as trouble-seeking globetrotting photo-journalist
Mike Strait assisted by Maggie, played by Tracy Reed. Some episodes
were re-edited into telefeatures - 'Double Exposure', 'Dangerous
Hideaway','Love Me - Love Me Not' and 'Flashpoint'. The series
was produced by Harry Fine with music from Henry Mancini
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Oliver
Twist
BBC 1962
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This
Charles Dickens novel adaptation lasted for 13 x 25 minute episodes,
starring Bruce Prochnik as Oliver, Max Adrian as Fagin, Melvyn
Hayes as The Artful Dodger, Peter Vaughan as Bill Sykes and
Carmel McSharry as Nancy. The murder in the final episode was
the subject of huge protest from TV monitoring organisations
and shocked viewers. The series was produced by Eric Tayler
from a dramatisation by Constance Cox with period design by
Stephen Bundy
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On
The Braden Beat
ATV 1962 - 67
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Popular
consumer affairs programme presented by Canadian Bernard Braden
championed the cause of the British consumer for five years.
Jock Watson and, later, Francis Coleman produced this Saturday
late-night watchdog which also examined current political issues
affecting the British public
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Out
Of This World
ABC 1962
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Horror
king Boris Karloff hosted 13 x 60 minute programmes of this
science fiction drama anthology presentation which featured
the works of many famous writers such as John Wyndham, Isaac
Asimov, Terry Nation and Philip K.Dick. This series, produced
by Leonard White, was effectively the forerunner to BBC2's more
well-known 'Out Of The Unknown' series which story editor Irene
Shubik went on to produce
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Police
Five
ATV 1962 - 69 LWT 1970 - 90
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An
extremely popular and long-running crime prevention and information
gathering programme which was introduced by Shaw Taylor. Originally
a five minute interlude between main programmes it was later
extended into a programme in its own right. Stephen Wade originally
produced this series on behalf of ATV in conjunction with New
Scotland Yard. The LWT programme 'Junior Police Five' was not
introduced until 1972
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Steptoe
& Son
BBC 1962 - 65 ( 70,72,74 )
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This
all-time classic sitcom starring Wilfrid Brambell and Harry
H. Corbett as Rag and Bone men Albert and Harold Steptoe started
life as a half hour play called 'The Offer' in the Comedy
Playhouse series. 26 x 30 minute episodes were made during
the Sixties with a further 20 episodes made in three series
in the Seventies. The self-imagined upwardly mobile Harold
was perpetually being dragged back to his Oildrum Lane roots
by dad Albert in a constant feud of selfishness and hypocrisy
brilliantly written by Galton and Simpson. Their horse was
Hercules and my own favourite episode was where Harold divided
the house into two halves with turnstiles at the front door.
Two Cristmas shows and two feature films were made in the
Seventies and copycat versions were produced by U.S. and Dutch
television
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Take
A Letter
GRANADA 1962 - 64
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A
crossword-based game show produced by John Hamp and hosted during
its 130 editions by Bob Holness
and Jenny Hull.
The original maximum prize was about £34, obtained by
turning up letters to try and get the word before the opposition
with the help of verbal clues supplied by Bob
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That
Was The Week That Was
BBC 1962 - 63
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Or,
more commonly known as 'TW3', produced by Ned Sherrin, was a
30 minute Saturday evening current events satire show hosted
by David Frost, ably assisted by Lance Percival, Willie Rushton,
Roy Kinnear, Kenneth Cope, Bernard Levin, David Kernan and Al
Mancini. Resident singer was Millicent Martin whose contribution
of 'near the knuckle' songs each week was one of the highlights.
The show was superseded in 1964 by 'Not So Much A Programme,
More A Way Of Life', also featuring the dry wit of Frost and
Rushton
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The
Cheaters
ITV 1962 - 63
Danziger Productions
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Drama
series produced by Edward and Harry Danziger starring John Ireland
as Eastern Insurance Company investigator John Hunter. This
insurance version of Columbo was responsible for tracking down
any fraudulent claims which covered virtually the entire gamut
of possible insurance situations from arson to double indemnity
to sport
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The
Flintstones
US Tx 1960 - Hanna-Barbera |
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Never
planned as a children's cartoon, 166 x 30 minute episodes were
made of this domestic sitcom largely based on a programme called
'The Honeymooners'. The scene of the prehistoric action was
Cobblestone Lane, Bedrock, involving the various schemes, arguments
and generally dubious activities of headstrong Fred Flintstone,
gullible neighbour Barney Rubble and their long-suffering wives
Wilma and Betty. A dinosaur 'dog' was Fred's pet, but the sabre-tooth
cat he put out at night ( or the other way around ) was rarely
if ever seen apart from the closing credits. Later episodes
saw the birth of Pebbles Flintstone and the adoption of super-strong
Bam-Bam Rubble
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The
Odd Man
GRANADA 1962 - 63
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Created
by Eddie Boyd, 24 x 60 minute episodes were made of this suspense
serial starring Edwin Richfield, Sarah Lawson, Keith Barron,
Moultrie Kelsall and Christopher Guinee. Stuart Latham produced.
The second series also starred William Mervyn as C.I. Rose.
Essentially a crime series, the storyline also took in many
other human interest elements in the 'soap' mould. Two of the
characters in the series, Barron's 'D.S.Swift' and Davies' 'C.I.Rose'
later featured in their own separate series
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The
Saint
ATV 1962 - 69
New World / Bamore Productions / ITC
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Do
I love this series? The incomparable modern buccaneer created
by novelist Leslie Charteris in the 20s was brought right up
to date by producers Monty Berman and Robert S. Baker and brilliantly
cast Roger Moore as starring hero Simon Templar. 185 x 60 minute
episodes, 9 of which were directed by Roger Moore, tracked his
adventures on either side of the law and featured Ivor Dean
as his gum-chewing Scotland Yard nemesis, Inspector Claude Eustace
Teal. Two telefeatures were also made from two-part episodes:-
'The Fiction Makers' (67) and 'Vendetta For The Saint' (68).
Edwin Astley composed the brilliantly haunting signature tune
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University
Challenge
GRANADA 1962 - 87
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A
team quiz show held on a 'knockout' basis each season which
featured quizmaster and host Bamber Gascoigne presiding over
four-person teams from various universities. 'Your starter for
ten' was on the buzzer while bonuses allowedteams to confer
with the captain being responsible for giving the correct answer.
You used to feel really smug if you could answer more than four
or five questions per programme, but it was still immensely
popular. The first ever show featured teams from Reading and
Leeds Universities
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William
BBC 1962
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Based
on the stories by Richmal Crompton, this 25 minute episode Leonard
Chase-produced children's series was adapted for television
by C.E.Webber and famously starred Dennis Waterman in the title
role. His gang, 'The Outlaws', consisted of Douglas ( Carlo
Cura ), Henry ( Kaplan Kaye ) and Ginger ( Christopher Witty
) with Gillian Gosling as the awful Violet Elizabeth Bott
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Z
Cars
BBC 1962 - 78
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Possibly
one of the most famous and realistic police drama series of
all time, not least because of its distinctive theme tune, 'Johnny
Todd', played by the Liverpool Flutes and Drums. The episodes
varied between 25 and 50 minutes in length depending on whether
they were being shown once or twice weekly and over 667 shows
were made. The original cast included James Ellis ( P.C.Bert
Lynch ), Jeremy Kemp ( P.C.Steele ), Brian Blessed ( P.C.'Fancy'
Smith ), Joseph Brady ( P.C.Jock Weir ) and Terence Edmond (P.C.Sweet
) based in the fictional Northern area of Newtown. More famous
names such as Stratford Johns, Frank Windsor and Colin Welland
joined soon after. The storylines were supplied from the casebooks
of the Lancashire Police and two spin-off series ( 'Softly Softly'
and 'Barlow At Large' ) werte also made. The show started in
episodic form, moving to a more serialised format in 1967
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Zero
One
BBC 1962 - 65
MGM TV
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A
sort of detective / investigator series of 39 x 25 minute episodes
based at London Airport. 'Zero One' was the call sign for the
International Air Security Board starring Nigel Patrick as their
chief investigator with seemingly all-embracing powers. The
series also featured Bill Smith and Katya Douglas as his regular
assistants. Series producer was Lawrence P.Bachmann
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