Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
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A wise man once remarked that, "Time marches on," while another claimed, "An army marches on its stomach."
Clearly, that man had an army of slugs, as no human army would dream of marching on its stomach.
However, right now, it's neither time nor slugs that are marching on.
Instead, it is March who is marching on, progressing relentlessly towards a brand new April that will, no doubt, be somewhat like previous Aprils but also have an identity all of its very own.
What shall be that identity?
I don't have a clue.
Nor do I have a clue what I'm talking about.
But I soon will.
That's because it's the return of the feature in which mystery quickly becomes enlightenment. The one in which the first person to comment in the space below gets to choose the day's topic for debate.
Therefore, if there's any opinion you're burning for other people to get off their chests, then feel free to make it happen by posting your question or topic in the comments section and let whatever-will-be be.
Posts
76 comments:
Top 5 TV shows starting in the early-mid 80s? Here's my provisional list:
1.) Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
2.) The Bounder
3.) Shogun
4.) Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World/World of Strange Powers
5.) Robin of Sherwood
What 5 shows would you nominate?
Phillip
Manimal
Automan
Knight Rider
T.J. Hooker
Pink Lady and Jeff
Just kidding, those were all crap!
5 shows that I watched back in the 80s that I’m afraid to re-visit for fear that the Suck Fairy has gotten to them:
Cheers
Hill St. Blues
Family Ties
Night Court
Police Squad!
I’ve recently re-watched some of the first series of the Granada ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES show with Jeremy Brett (fairly recently) and I thought those held up pretty well, so I’ll just go with that.
b.t.
b.t. - Good choices (although & don't know FT & NC). I'd forgotten 'Cheers' (as starting early 80s), but that's a good pick. At the start, with its wistful theme, it was really novel, at the time. Now, the characters are household names, but back in 1982 (?) it was really breaking new ground!
Phillip
No doubt I will have forgotten some classic shows that I used to watch but my top 5 ( in no particular order) would be:
Cheers
Blackadder
Only fools and Horses
The Young Ones
Red Dwarf
Since the early 80s? So no Star Trek or Thunderbirds then?
Ok, I'll go for (in alphabetical order):
– Dallas
– Game Of Thrones
– Not The Nine O'Clock New
– The Office
– This Life
Honorable mentions for Blackadder, Spitting Image, Crystal Maze, Only Connect, The Apprentice, Two Fat Ladies, Cold Feet, Return To Eden, Fantasy Football League, The Fried Chicken Shop.
Charlie watched very, very little TV in the 80s… (college, army tank school and helo flight school, 4 years flying in germany… and that literally obliterated a whole decade for Charlie Horse 47!)
That said… at flight school me and me housemates religiously watched Magnum PI every Thursday! (Vietnam vets, fast cars, helicopter, hot babes, Higgins the British WW2 vet, hawaii islands, beaches…)
And in Germany, i made a point to watch their version of MTV! Remember being quite impressed with seein A-Ha for the first time… and Tarzan Boy!
That’s it! Two shows…
Magnum PI
Germany’s MTV
Dangermash, DALLAS began in 1978, THIS LIFE is mid-90s, THE OFFICE is from 2000 and GAME OF THRONES is quite recent - Phillip said early-mid '80s. And RED DWARF began in 1988, Paul.
I'll need to think about my own suggestions and come back later.
So, Phillip - my fave TV programme back then was Blake's 7, whi... just kidding. Of course it isn't Blake's 7.
My fave - well, its the first that stands out - would be Reilly: Ace of Spies, made by Thames TV, which starred Sam Neill as the early 20th century British spy Sidney Reilly, active in Germany and (especially) Russia tíl Stalin's boys finally took him out in 1922.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Reilly
I caught some of it again about ten years ago, and it stood up pretty well -
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iK8MShV4ktE
I'll have to give it a bit of thought to come up with more. Sorry, Phillip, but I was not into Robin of Sherwood! And having listened to the Hitch Hikers Guide regularly as a radio programme, a low budget visualisation was disappointing and I didn't watch much of it.
b.t., Hill Street Blues was well made, but... cops are people too? Not for me, thanks! (;
-sean
No comment on Magnum. Or his moustache.
-sean
Hmmmm, early to mid 80's, eh? Like Charlie, my time for TV then was limited. That said, I did have some must sees:
Hill Street Blues- loved it, never missed it.
Miami Vice- watched it mainly for the music.
WKRP in Cincinnati- technically started in 1979, but another early 80's great. My favorite comedy at the time.
Square Pegs- very short lived, bud new wave fun. And a great theme by the Waitresses.
Drak Pack- had to include a Saturday morning show. By then there was very little cartoon wise I followed, but Drak was one we had a whole group gathered for. "Bad Toad, baaad Toad!"
Honorable mention- Muppet Babies. Yes, I loved it...
Sean, you don’t think cops can be people? They’re not ALL baton-wielding stormtroopers….
Charlie, I’m not sure MTV counts as a tv ‘show’ but i liked it a lot too … for awhile anyway. I started losing interest when the ‘Thriller’ video begat a vogue for bloated mini-movies.
b.t.
Good point b.t. Since MTV was 24x7. The USA as was VH1. Well whatever the hell I watched in Germany seemed like it was weekly, perhaps Friday nights.
Actually now that Charlie’s little gray cells are working a bit better from having pondered this question for a few hours… My last year in college in the fraternity house in 1983 my roommate and I did have a television and daily it was tuned to General Hospital from 2 to 3 PM. Truth was, my roommate and I didn’t care two bits about General Hospital, but the girls sure loved it and there was a steady half dozen who came by every day to watch it lol.
Phillip!!! Get out Hoyles asap amigo!
Do Soap Operas count, like General Hospital?
Does a 24 x7 program like MTV or VH1 count? Geeze they even were their own channel!
OK, here are five I've dredged from my memory...
SINK OR SWIM - BBC2 comedy series starring Peter Davison which ran from 1980-82. Any UK readers remember it? I'll get me coat.
PRIVATE SCHULZ - BBC2 comedy/drama series from 1981 about a German conman-turned-soldier in World War II starring Michael Elphick.
THE CLEOPATRAS - BBC2 drama series from 1983 about the seven queens of Egypt called Cleopatra (the Cleo we've all heard of was actually Cleopatra VII). I bought the novelisation of this series too.
WILLO THE WISP - animated kids' show from 1981 narrated by Kenneth Williams.
DYNASTY - yes, it was crap but it began in 1982 and I watched it.
I must also cheat and mention a radio series - HORDES OF THE THINGS which was a fantasy spoof broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1980. I was completely unaware of this fantastic, hilarious series until I heard it on Radio 4-Extra around 10 years ago but it gets repeated every couple of years I'm glad to say. Definitely one of the BBC's under-rated gems in my opinion!
If strictly sticking to series that started in the early to mid 80’s then:
The Young Ones
Comic Strip Presents
Only Fools and Horses
The Bill
Howard’s Way
DW
b.t., I wasn't bring a 100% serious there. Maybe just 90 or so...? (;
Tbh, I'm just not that keen on cop shows generally.
Colin, I remember Private Schultz - Germans in WW2 recruit petty criminal to forge £5 notes to destroy the British economy. Hilarity ensues. Or at least, mild amusement. It was quite good.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EH4e9vUiftE
Gotta say though that the Cleopatras wasn't up to much. Perhaps I was expecting something like I Clavdivs.
-sean
Phillip, I'm going to cheat a little, and go just a year or two past the mid 80s and recommend the series A Very British Coup. In which Sheffield MP Harry Perkins becomes British prime minister*, and runs into difficulties getting his very South Yorkshire agenda past the ruling class.
There's an episode here -
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oANMGT0IK-A
*It was the least Channel 4 could do after nuking Sheffield a few years earlier in Threads.
-sean
Redartz: I loved ‘WKRP In Cincinnati’ too. For years it ran in syndication at 7pm, so it was a nightly ritual for the whole family to watch the show while we ate dinner off of TV trays.
Charlie’s mention of a show that ran music videos on weekend nights reminds me there was a wild variety show called ‘Night Flight’ that ran on Friday and Saturday nights at 11pm on the USA Network. They ran music videos, funky old cartoons, documentaries, clips from cult movies like ‘Liquid Sky’ and ‘Eraserhead’, sometimes even whole movies (it was a four-hour show). I was rarely able to stay up for the whole thing but man, I LOVED that show. That’s a vivid ‘Totally 80s’ memory right there.
b.t.
Oh, that reminds me - Max Headroom!
It was mainly the first one I liked, about the near future journo and blipverts. Frankly I was a bit surprised the following week when it turned out to be just a music video show!
Mind you, I suspect on a re-visit even the origin episode might well turn out to have been gotten by the Suck Fairy, as b.t. put it so singularly.
-sean
I had to scrape the depths of my memory to come up with 80s TV. I didn’t really watch much, and what I did watch wasn’t that memorable.
And I had to nick a few off other people here. Sorry.
The Young Ones - generation-defining
Cheers - lovely. Just picked up the first five seasons on DVD for £1 each. Looking forward to rewatching.
Brookside (brilliant and groundbreaking in the 80s)
The Tube - also generation-defining
Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads
I was initially keen on Hitch Hikers Guide as it was my first experience of the whole thing. I quickly picked up the books, and then someone copied me their tapes of the radio series so that immediately became the definitive version for me. I haven’t really been back to the TV series despite picking it up cheap on DVD.
Good topic. Made me scratch my head a bit.
Did you know Max Headroom was actually was picked up as an ongoing series in the US with the same cast? I don’t think it made it to the UK at the time but it was out on DVD at some point. Never saw it.
I did used to watch the music video show. I remember seeing the video for ‘Sensoria’ there for the first time.
The Tube was fairly inconsistent, Matthew - sometimes good, but it could also be quite dull. But I guess that was the music biz at the time (especially as the 80s wore on).
On the plus side, it gave us The Fall on national TV for the first time. And an interview with a certain comic book writer. "Alan, where did you get the idea for Luiz Cannibal from?" -
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPLe-ucptII
On the other hand, it inflicted Jools Holland on the public as a TV presenter.
-sean
Anonymous (probably Charlie/BJ) - Sorry I haven't been "wrangling" Speak Your Brain, but I've been asleep, it being the middle of the night!
I associate MTV more with watching it vicariously (watching Beevis & Butthead watching it), than me watching it, first hand!)
Specificity (early to mid 80s) because - otherwise - 80s lists would become monumental. I'd have definitely included "For All Mankind" (1988 or 1989?), just for starters!
Dangermash - Although much of your list tops out later, mentioning 'Return To Eden' deserves a special commendation! For the uninitiated, it was Australian - and probably the most over the top soap opera ever broadcast, up to that point. Dallas and Dynasty were staid, by comparison! Ridiculously Over the top lines like, "Jake's the best - I don't settle for anything less!", were delivered, whilst the actress maintained a straight face! Unfortunately, however, 'Return to Eden' was broadcast very late at night.
Redartz - Miami Vice would definitely make my list (music & culture), too - but my mind pigeon holes it as mid-late 80s (starting late 1984 maybe?), as a decade's start resonates with the previous decade (the early 80s was a bit like the late 70s) - whereas Miami Vice was full-on 80s. Nevertheless, Miami Vice definitely comes under the bar for mid-80s. Good choice!
Colin - As regards Peter Davison, I don't remember 'Sink or Swim', but do remember 'A Very Peculiar Practice' ! As regards kids' shows, Storybook International springs to mind, too (with its distinctive theme - "I'm a storyteller, and my story must be told", etc!)
DW - Howard's Way was repeated, recently, on Freeview. Ken Masters is king! Watching him making mischief amongst more well-heeled characters is great fun!
Matthew - I didn't really watch much Brookside - but did catch some of Jimmy Corkhill's antics, which were highly entertaining. The Hitch Hiker's music is very memorable (evoking the early 80s), even today.
Paul - Blackadder 1, with those snowy scenes outside Alnwick castle is definitely very early 80s, atmosphere-wise!
Sean - I didn't watch Reilly, but Sam Neill's been blessed with good roles, in general. I think his Merlin movie (early 2000s?), with its rousing score, is absolutely terrific. Rutger Hauer, as Vortigern, is also a standout, in Merlin!
Phillip
Does anyone remember an early 80s show called 'Kinvig' ?
It was about a shopkeeper, with a stunningly beautiful female customer, who would enter his shop, and start screaming at him like a harridan. Then, the other customers having left his shop, she'd declare she was madly in love with him, and was an alien from another world!
Phillip
Sean - Don't you like a bit of Clanaad - particularly "Strange Land" ? It's a fave of mine.
Phillip
Yeah, Kinvig, Phillip - who ever expected a comedy series by Nigel Kneale?
It was alright. And reminds that for all its flaws I also liked the final Quatermass, with John Mills as the nutty prof (ok, it was broadcast at the end of '79, but if Rolling Stone can call London Calling the best album of the 80s I don't see why we can't include Quatermass here).
On the subject of Peter Davison... did no-one like Dr Who in the 80s?
-sean
Dr.Who started earlier, so I didn't include it. Then again, 'A Very Peculiar Practice' probably started later (I can't be bothered checking!)
Nevertheless, the King's Evil (?), with Peter Davison, was very powerful. Isn't King John playing a lute (or something), before being revealed to be a robot? As a kid, I watched it at the Battlesteads hotel, in Northumbria - a powerful memory. There's also that famous episode in which Adric dies! Tegan & Nyssa - 2 companions for the price of one. Yes, it was good!
Phillip
Nah, Clannad are too 'coffee table' new age for me, Phillip.
They also did the theme for Harry's Game, which I wasn't keen on. Dramas about the so-called Troubles were invariably terrible propaganda.
I read that it was filmed in Leeds, standing in for Belfast. That was the 80s - looking for a location for your urban guerilla conflict drama? Try west Yorkshire!
-sean
Oh, I was interpreting the question as early 80s onwards.
My revised list would be:
– Blackadder
– Dynasty
– Not The Nine O'Clock News
– Return to Eden
– Spitting Image
Glad to hear someone else remembers Return To Eden though.
I watched Kinvig a bit as a kid but even then it was cheap-looking and unfunny.
From what I’ve read about it recently it apparently represents Kneale’s utter disdain and contempt for SF fandom. So no special urge to revisit that.
I also love Quatermass: The Conclusion. The TV show suffers - as does a lot of Kneale TV - from the Shouting Competition Method of Acting. Same with Stone Tape.
And I find Kneale’s resentment of young people a bit grating. He was quite misanthropic generally, it seems.
The novel of Quatermass is by far the best version. Compact and terrifying.
PS.
I tuned out of Dr Who just before the Tom Baker run ended. It’s a specifically 70s show for me.
Finding a Kinvig video, on the web, b.t.'s suck test is proving challenging for it - Matthew, I can see your point! The distance of memory brought enchantment.
I stopped watching Dr.Who after Davison.
Sean - To me, Clanaad was faux-medieval, not New Age. Maybe Harehills stood in for Belfast. I went to a north Leeds chess match once, where - after visiting the loo - I found the sink was filled with vomit. That was hard-core enough for me (or whatever core was in the mix). Apologies to any breakfast-eaters reading the blog. A girl from Belfast once introduced herself to me, providing the name of her road, as if Belfast's geography was totally familiar to me (probably from the news). Needless to say, the blank look pasted on my face probably didn't make a good impression. Likewise, distant relatives from the South East assume London locations (down to particular bus depots) to be familiar to northerners, when - unfortunately - they are not! Admittedly, many northerners make money in London, before moving back north (but not all!)
Phillip
Here's an interesting nugget. It turns out Daniel Abineri, who played Jake Sanders in 'Return To Eden', is the son of John Abineri, who played Herne the Hunter, in 'Robin of Sherwood'! Well, you learn something new every day!
Phillip
Colin, Thanks for info on Red Dwarf I thought that started around 1983 not 1988. The only show i remember watching in early 1980to add to my list would be "V" unless The Tube counts.
Only Fools and Horses
Blackadder
Cheers
The Young ones
V
Paul - V is an excellent choice, which I'd completely forgotten!
Who can forget Diana, the lizard queen!
Phillip
Sean, I'm glad somebody else remembers Private Schulz and The Cleopatras (according to Wikipedia The Cleopatras was intended as an I Claudius for the '80s).
Matthew mentioned Brookside so I'll include Eastenders which began in February 1985, two days after my 19th birthday.
I completely forgot about Carl Sagan's COSMOS series from 1981 (1980 in the US). The wonderful theme-tune was called 'Heaven & Hell' by Vangelis. I had the book too.
The fantastic SALEM'S LOT was also broadcast in 1981 in the UK but it doesn't really count as the original US broadcast was in 1979. Anyway it scared the living daylights out of me at the time and Mr. Barlow is still the most terrifying vampire I've ever seen on screen (even though his look was clearly inspired by the 1922 Nosferatu film).
Last Sunday I was listening to an old edition of Desert Island Discs (on BBC Radio 4-Extra) featuring Tracey Ullman. Do any UK readers remember THREE OF A KIND, the comedy sketch show starring Tracey Ullman, Lenny Henry and...er, David Copperfield (whatever happened to him?) which began in 1981? That's where Tracey Ullman became famous before she went to America and became even more famous (and launched The Simpsons too).
Colin - Yes, Cosmos is one we all should have remembered (I certainly watched it!) I also recall Three of a Kind! Plus, wasn't Kelly Monteith roughly contemporary? The early 80s was also the era of the mini-series (e.g. Shogun & V). But before those came 'The Thorn Birds' - and before that, Herman Wouk's 'The Winds of War'!
Phillip
Phillip, unfortunately I remember both 'The Thorn Birds' and 'The Winds Of War'. I'm pretty sure V was from 1984 because it was broadcast at the time of the 1984 Olympics wasn't it? I think The Thorn Birds was also from 1984 (in the UK anyway) and The Winds Of War was broadcast in September 1983 which I definitely remember because I'd just started in the Upper 6th.
By the way, don't forget 'Ever Decreasing Circles' which we've discussed before now!
Colin, excellent call on COSMOS! It was fantastic. Haven’t seen it since it originally aired. I wonder if it’s streaming anywhere (I’m too cheap to spring for the pricey BluRay set)…..
I liked the first V mini-series, thought the 2nd mini-series was less compelling, and by the time it became an on-going weekly show, it had lost much of its charm (and apparently most of its budget). I think I bailed on it after the first or second episode.
b.t.
Colin - I got the Shogun book, and read it (which would have been after the TV show). I remember that as being when I was 13 - but memory isn't always accurate. Maybe it was 1984, after all! Likewise, 'The Thorn Birds'. It's remiss of me forgetting EDC, particularly as it's a personal favourite - thanks for reminding me. I remember watching it during O'levels, rather than early 80s - but my memory seems "off" today!
Phillip
The mini-series craze was definitely still going strong in the 80s. I was a huge fan of the RICH MAN, POOR MAN series but most of the other various mini-series that followed (ROOTS, CAPTAIN AND THE KINGS etc) didn’t grab me to the same extent. I don’t think I watched any of THE THORN BIRDS but I know I watched some of SHOGUN — I just don’t remember it very well. I watched the first episode of the recent remake about a week ago, and enjoyed it. I need to watch the rest soon. I’d forgotten ‘Mariko’ was name of the lead female character… just like Wolverine’s love interest. Coincidence?
LONESOME DOVE came along really late (1988 or ‘89, I think) so it falls outside Phillip’s time-frame — otherwise, it would be in my Top Five for sure.
b.t.
b.t. - I think Jeffrey 'Tory Boy' Archer also spawned a mini-series or two ('First Among Equals', 'Kane & Abel', etc). I noticed the Mariko thing, too. There's zero chance it's a coincidence! The most memorable thing about 'The Thorn Birds' is the music. To me, Shogun is absolutely brilliant, ranking up there with 'Star Wars'. I know this is a minority view, as - to most people - it seems to be remembered in a fairly neutral way.
I suppose you mean the version of Lonesome Dove with Robert Urich playing Jake Spoon. I think there's been at least one other version since then!
Phillip
Phillip:
Yeah, I’m talking about the first LONESOME DOVE with Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones. I thought it was brilliant. I haven’t seen any of the sequels.
The ‘Mariko’ thing was definitely no coincidence. John Byrne has been quoted as admitting he straight-up stole the name and character after reading the novel, a few years before the TV adaptation. For years I thought it must have been Chris Claremont’s idea to pinch the character but nope :)
b.t.
Phillip, according to Wikipedia SHOGUN was broadcast in 1980 in the US so probably '81 or '82 in the UK.
And Wikipedia says EVER DECREASING CIRCLES began in January 1984 - I thought it began in Autumn 1983,
Nobody's mentioned...
HI-DE-HI
'ALLO 'ALLO
JUST GOOD FRIENDS (Paul Nicholas and Jan Francis as an ex-couple who get together again)
FAMILY FORTUNES (hosted by Bob Monkhouse)
PLAY YOUR CARDS RIGHT (hosted by Bruce Forsyth..."Higher! Higher!")
Charlie's missus thinks this is a fun question and wished to contribute:
Remington Steele
Magnum PI
McGyver
Quantum Leap
Knight Rider
Cheers!
Charlie, my father was a big fan of MacGyver!
Does anyone remember The Martian Chronicles mini-series?
Colin
Just Good Friends was another John Sullivan (Only Fools…) comedy and was great. It was filmed nearby where I lived, and it was funny playing spot the street/building.
Phillip
Howards Way was my joke addition but I just watched part of the first episode on YouTube. Tracy Childs (Lynn Howard) still has it…
DW
DW, you forgot the best series by John Sullivan - the last season of Citizen Smith was broadcast in 1980, so it just scrapes into the discussion.
Power to the People! Freedom for Tooting!
Apart from that, Sullivan's stuff didn't appeal to me much. Sorry, but I think I might well have been the only person living in the UK back then that found the characters of Only Fools and Horses annoying. For a take on working class life under Thatcherism with a bit of humour, I preferred Auf Weidersehn Pet.
-sean
Colin -
Yes, I remember The Martian Chronicles. I recall it wasn’t really good - on any level. Trying to make Ray Bradbury’s near-poetry into clunky cheap TV wasn’t really going to turn out well.
Did you like it?
Colin - 'Just Good Friends' is an absolute must! There's also 'Sorry', with Ronnie Corbett. More & more additions mean top 5 just isn't adequate. I remember the Martian Chronicles, but not the actual show itself. In an old diary, I've got marked a show (which I watched) entitled 'The Deceivers', with Jeremy Beadle. My brother remembers that show, yet I've got no memory of it whatsoever.
My Revised List (Top 10):
1.) Hitchhiker's
2.) Shogun
3.) Bounder
4.) Arthur C Clarke
5.) Robin of Sherwood
6.) Cosmos
7.) V
8.) Just Good Friends
9.) EDC
10.) Cheers
Charlie - Quantum Leap's definitely late 80s ("Oh boy!"), but Mrs Charlie's other choices are all a good fit, passing comfortably under the bar!
DW - Later, Tracy Childs reappeared as a cod northerner ("Eeh by gum!") in 'Born and Bred', alongside James Bowlam.
Sean - Also, Jimmy Nail played an Irish Geordie in 'Minder', teaming up with Daley & McCann against a corrupt council planning department (pity he isn't still around today, eh?)
Phillip
Must remembered another. I'm going to throw in…..
Widows
dangermash - I didn't watch Widows, but I think I remember it being trailed. Looking at the cast, I notice Stephen Yardley (the infamous Ken Masters) is in it!
For team USA (unfamiliar with Ken Masters), note the peacock-like Masters, dancing (unobserved) to Sade (7:41):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMmpn9fixBc
Phillip
dangermash - Sorry for taking it back to Howards Way. Maybe SDC's other members can shed more light on Widows.
Phillip
Looking at Mrs Charlie's choices, identity seems a prominent theme.
Knight Rider - "...the shadowy world of a man who does not exist." Michael Knight's really Michael Long, come back from the dead, with Garthe Knight's face. Prior to 3 years ago, he didn't exist...
Quantum Leap - Sam Beckett's trying to assume somebody else's identity ever episode.
Remington Steele - I wasn't an avid watcher, but didn't that girl running the detective agency create a fictional character, the suave & capable Remington Steele, whose identity Brosnan had to assume, despite him being gauche & incompetent, largely having to rely on her skills?
Phillip
I'm with dangermash on Widows.
Phillip, Jimmy Nail was soon overexposed on TV, and got annoying fairly quickly.
Its funny how Geordies - and Scousers - are represented with a kind of sentimental affection in British culture, yet economically and politically Newcastle, Sunderland etc and (especially) Learpholl get such a raw deal.
On the subject of the latter, I notice no-one has mentioned Boys From the Black Stuff. What ever happened to Alan Bleasdale, eh? In the 80s he was basically shorthand for The Important TV Dramatist, although his work always seemed over-rated to me.
Apart from The Monocled Mutineer -
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu9_a6VsSS4
-sean
Sean - The music for 'Spender' was okay. Gillespie tried hard, but was no Chief Doby. Yes, having good senses of humour & "hearts of gold" (or playing in a brass band - "bless!"), according to the media, makes up for economic deprivation. BFTBS is remembered for one thing - and one thing only - the catchphrase, "Gizza job!" Usually uttered by scoffing Tory voters/bosses, expressing contempt for the unemployed/or people they've "let go".
Phillip
Matthew, I thought The Martian Chronicles was OK, not brilliant - to be honest I can't recall much about it except that Rock Hudson was in it.
Phillip, I don't remember The Bounder at all - I had to google it but I still don't remember it.
And I don't remember Kinvig either.
Does anyone remember the two RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK knock-offs, TALES OF THE GOLD MONKEY and BRING ‘EM BACK ALIVE (actually, I’ve no idea if they even ran in the UK)? Both were pretty dire but BRING EM BACK ALIVE at least had the sparklingly beautiful and likeable Cindy Morgan in the cast, so that was enough to get me to tune in every week. Kinda like how Erin Gray’s presence made watching BUCK ROGERS almost bearable.
I agree with Matthew about MARTIAN CHRONICLES. I didn’t have high hopes for it to begin with and it was somehow even worse than I expected it to be. So dull. I watched the first episode only, I think, and didn’t bother with the rest of it. I remember Rock Hudson and Darren McGavin’s uniforms looking like beige leisure suits, and that’s about it.
b.t.
I recall watching a TV adaptation of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and according to Wikipedia it was a US TV movie broadcast in 1980 and also broadcast in 1980 in the UK. I remember watching this adaptation because it was the first time I'd ever heard of Brave New World but also because my father talked and talked and criticised all through the film and totally ruined it for me - he just wouldn't shut up!
bt, Bring 'Em Back Alive was shown in the UK because I remember the title even though I never watched it.
On the subject of Jimmy Nail - I assume UK readers remember his No.1 hit from 1992 "Ain't No Doubt" and his version of "Love Don't Live Here Anymore".
Colin - 'The Bounder' was on ITV, so maybe it was a Yorkshire Television show, not broadcast in all regions. Matthew and Sean, however, remember Kinvig, so that must have been broadcast elsewhere, too.
b.t. - I've no knowledge of ToTGM, but 'Bring 'Em Back Alive' was certainly broadcast in the UK. There, Bruce Boxleitner perfected that superficial "heroic resolve" expression he'd later recycle, in Babylon 5.
Colin - To my eternal (well not quite) shame, I've never got round to reading 'Brave New World' (although I have read 'The Doors of Perception' ). Maybe BNW was a partial inspiration for Killraven # 38.
Phillip
Colin - And don't forget the appalling 'Crocodile Shoes' !
Phillip
Phil, I've never actually read Brave New World either but I saw that TV adaptation and there have been a couple of radio versions too - in fact there was one on Radio 4 not so long ago.
PEE-WEE’S PLAYHOUSE falls just outside Phillip’s cut-off (it debuted in 1986) but otherwise it would rate pretty high on my list.
Excellent Brain-Speaking, Phillip! When you first posed the question, all I could think of were awful Reagan-Era shows like THE FALL GUY and THE A-TEAM, but you and the gang here have reminded me of a lot of other good (or at least interesting) shows of the period.
b.t.
Yes, Radio 4 goes in phases. You get a fallow period, followed by a period of good stuff - and if you're not ready with blank tapes...
I wish they'd spread the good stuff out evenly, rather than testing you, by broadcasting inferior stuff for a few weeks.
Recently there was an interesting Daphne Du Maurier documentary (Open Book?), with academics discussing her novels (which I tuned in on.) I know you can listen online, but it's not the same as having it on tape!
Phillip
b.t. - Thanks b.t. - but it's Colin who's remembered most of them, for me! ; )
Phillip
Sean - I never watched MM, but I've just played that trailer. 1986, so just over the bar. Timothy West's playing true to type, but Penelope Wilton's a total change of pace, after playing suburban housewife, Ann Bryce, on Ever Decreasing Circles!
Phillip
Phillip, I heard that Daphne Du Maurier Open Book programme too and Radio 4-Extra had a few Du Maurier dramas recently such as 'Rebecca' but not 'The Birds' (though that's been dramatised on the radio too in the past). There was also a recent Radio 4 play starring Helena Bonham-Carter as Daphne Du Maurier but I haven't heard it. I'm interested that you tape stuff off the radio which seems a rather old-fashioned activity these days - I didn't even know that blank tapes were still available. I've got the BBC Sounds app on my phone and tablet which I use for radio catch-up and I wouldn't be without it!
Sean - I've got a 'back catalogue' of stuff taped from radio 4, but haven't done it for a few years. Previously, you could buy blank tapes (intermittently) from Poundland, Wilco or Argos; but now, like you say, it's hard to get hold of them!
Phillip
I'd don't know why I wrote 'Sean' - that reply was aimed at Colin!
Incidentally, Colin - when Channel 5 started broadcasting, more than 25 years ago (?), one of its flagship shows was a US spoof/campy soap opera, entitled 'Sunset Beach'. In that show, the main character was an Englishman named Ben. His former wife, Maria, supposedly died in a boating accident, leaving him a brooding, Byronic figure. At this point, the show's female lead, Meg, constantly felt overshadowed by Ben's 'dead' wife. Admittedly, 'Sunset Beach' was a very silly, and campy show - which deliberately made fun of every soap opera convention - but the point is, that plot is a straight rip off of Daphne Du Maurier's 'Rebecca' !
Phillip
Sean -
Yeah, I'd probably have picked 'Boys From The Blackstuff' if I'd thought of it.
[Or the low-rent version 'Auf Weidersein Pet' which I actually really liked for the first series.]
Bleasdale did 'Scully' which I liked at the time but couldn't get through more than one episode of when I picked it up on DVD.
Then that one he poured everything into - 'GBH' - which felt a bit overblown and pompous at the time. Though I was politically inert then so I don't know how it would strike me now.
Then he did a weird one called 'Jake's Progress', which I was very tangentially involved in the making of, which seemed really not much good from watching the rushes. But I don't think I watched the whole thing when it was broadcast.
BT -
I didn't know Cindy Morgan had made anything else after TRON! I'll be looking up that show.
Missus Charlie’s TV tastes in the 80s seem to involve hot dudes and adventure, lol. Especially Remington Steele I guess???
Charlie
Brave New World is a “must read” if for no other reason than to see how prescient Huxley was. A bit like watching the UK’s “Black Mirror”’series though BM has some uncomfortable shows given we know that version of the future is imminent. Like the remote control bees being used to kill political opponents…
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