Armchair Theatre was one of several anthology series on television during the 1960s and 1970s. Others include The Wednesday Play, Play for Today, Theatre 625, ITV Playhouse and Thirty-Minute Theatre. Upon first hearing about these, I was rather bemused because there is little resembling an anthology series on television today. Also, they are referred to as ‘plays’, which made me imagine them …
A few years ago I stopped binge-watching television. It wasn’t an entirely conscious decision. I had begun viewing a few programmes and they were so good that I wanted to drag out having ‘new’ episodes of them for as long as possible. I didn’t want to race through them, be done with it and then …
I have spent the last few years exploring several programmes, each of which has given me a different glimpse into an era long before my birth. I am fascinated by the window on a world that is slightly familiar, but not quite. It feels within touching distance. Though not planned, I found myself watching a …
There is something lovely about looking at what was on telly 50 years ago today. It’s that nice round number – 49, or 51 just won’t do quite so nicely. I’ve been doing this for a couple of years now. Although I was already interested in a few programmes, an enormous influence on me delving …
My View… Keep drama out of the TV rut Producer and scriptwriter Philip Mackie enthuses about the continuation of the television play. Looking through schedules for this period, there are plays in abundance. There are one-offs and more so, there are those under what Mackie calls ‘omnibus titles‘. He names Love Story but there is also …
Callan Edward Woodward graces the cover this week as TV Times promotes Callan, which started last week. The second episode is now missing though. 007 Goes Back To Fairfield In 1967 Sean Connery worked for a month for free, directing and narrating a documentary on the Fairfield Shipyard in Glasgow. The Bowler and the Bunnet, referring …
This week, colour has arrived on British televisions! But alas, that means absolutely nothing here as it was only for BBC2. Independent Television would have to wait a while longer yet. The BIG news – from ITN The new arrival on Independent Television this week is News at Ten and this itself is quite a big …
A selection of articles and adverts for the week of 17th June 1967. The State of the Nation An article promoting The State of the Nation in which the Labour Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, will face tough questions on his economic policy. There will be questions from men from unions, men from industry, men from …
A selection of articles and adverts for the week of 27th May 1967. Miss Anglia Will Need Beauty Plus… This article sets out to find some hints on ‘How – To – Make – Yourself – Sparkle – Before – The – Judges‘ for Miss Anglia ’67. I must say I am baffled by the …
A selection of articles and adverts from TV Times for the week beginning 20th May 1967. Lanning at Large – Up With The Cup! It’s FA Cup Final week and ITV are covering it – Tottenham Hotspurs and Chelsea. The BBC will be broadcasting the match too. Not many club matches were broadcast on television …
A personal pick of articles and adverts from TV Times for the week of 13th May 1967. A Cathedral For Our Times Two pages are given over to an article by the Archbishop of Westminster on the opening of The Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, Liverpool’s new Roman Catholic cathedral. It had more glass than any …
Until last year, I believed Auf Wiedersehen, Pet was a sitcom set in a pet shop. I have no idea exactly why or when this image of a northern pet shop had formed in my mind. Suffice to say, it was a tad off the mark. One day, perhaps someone will write about the hilarious adventures of the …
I have been dragging myself through The Space Pirates and ‘dragging’ really is the most appropriate word. No one with any foreknowledge of it has ever happily sat through the entirety of The Space Pirates. I am now quite certain of this. All I knew was that there were six episodes and a few episodes in …
In 2016 I discovered that the marvellous thing about being young is that there was already a lot of television before I was born. Although I felt I knew about enough of it, enough to be content with, enough that I would ever want to watch, it turned out I could not have been more …
Remember when I looked at Callan’s Armchair Theatre and said how nice it was to see a German on 1960s’ telly who didn’t turn out to be a Nazi? Well, it’s back to business as usual in The Good Ones Are All Dead. We’re told Strauss is a Nazi from the start and Callan’s task …
We’re back in telesnap land for the duration now. Despite this and despite it being The Space Pirates I… actually enjoyed this episode. I wasn’t expecting it. I was expecting the remaining four episodes to be a hard slog of space hell. But the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe became the focus of this episode, unlike the …
Episode 2 is the only episode of The Space Pirates to actually still exist. I was so bored by Episode 1 that it took a long time to convince myself to continue. A part of me wishes I hadn’t. Whilst the previous episode took fifteen minutes before the TARDIS crew showed up, in Episode 2 it still takes over …
What I liked when I watched the episode of Callan in Network’s ITV 60 box set was that it seemed so different from the similar adventure series I had seen from that period. I have only seen a handful of the early Danger Man episodes and though there are similarities, in that both Callan and John …
The Space Pirates is the penultimate story in season six of Doctor Who. It is also the penultimate story for the second Doctor, who happens to be my favourite Doctor. It is the only one of his stories I have never watched. Until now. When Doctor Who returned to BBC1 in 2005 I consumed as much of …
Episode 13 – Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling First ITV broadcast: Friday 22nd December 1967, 7.30pm [ATV Midlands/Grampian] Estimated first run ratings: 7.3 million First CBS broadcast: Saturday 3rd August 1968, 7.30pm From the very beginning this episode is different as we have a pre-titles sequence, instead of going straight into the usual title …
There has been an unplanned extended break at Visual Mutterings. I was rather busy and then I got a new job so I have been even busier. But I was missing Number Six so I finally found the time to get back to the Village via a raft, a boat, a wooden box and a …
Episode 11 – It’s Your Funeral First ITV broadcast: Friday 8th December 1967, 7.30pm [ATV Midlands/Grampian] Estimated first run ratings: 9.3 million First CBS broadcast: Saturday 10th August 1968, 7.30pm The new Number Two looks like a Thunderbirds‘ character. He doesn’t look like a real person. I spent the entire episode doubting his ability to …
Episode 10: Hammer Into Anvil First ITV broadcast: Friday 1st December 1967, 7.30pm [ATV Midlands/Grampian] Estimated first run ratings: 9.1 million First CBS broadcast: Saturday 31st August 1968, 7.30pm This episode is a rare example of Number Six getting one over Number Two and the Village. I have written before about ‘little victories’, little acts …
Episode 9: Checkmate First ITV broadcast: Friday 24th November 1967, 7.30pm [ATV Midlands/Granada] Estimated first run ratings: 9.1 million First CBS broadcast: Saturday 17th August 1968, 7.30pm The episode begins with an aggressive roar from Rover as it rolls through the Village. Everyone stops completely still, apart from one man (George Coulouris). Number Six notices …
Episode 8: Dance of the Dead First ITV broadcast: Friday 17th November 1967, 7.30pm [ATV Midlands/Grampian] Estimated first run ratings: 9.1 million First CBS broadcast: Saturday 27th July 1968, 7.30pm For the first time, Number Two speaking in the title sequence is a woman. We have had a couple of female Number Two’s so far. …
Episode 7: Many Happy Returns First ITV broadcast: Friday 10th November 1967, 7.30pm [ATV Midlands/Grampian] Estimated first run ratings: 10.3 million First CBS broadcast: Saturday 20th July 1968, 7.30pm This episode goes for over 20 minutes without a single English word being spoken on screen. The episode is over half way through before we get …
So far I have not discussed what episode order The Prisoner should be viewed in. The most important thing to say about this is that it seems no one can agree on it. It should not be viewed in production order and it should not be viewed in broadcast order, apart from the first episode …
Episode 5: The Schizoid Man First ITV broadcast: Friday 27th October 1967, 7.30pm (ATV Midlands/Grampian) Estimated first run ratings: 11.7 million First CBS broadcast: Saturday 6th July 1968, 7.30pm Pay attention. It’s going to get complicated. There have been many Number Twos but there is only one Number Six. “I am a person” Number Six …
Q: “What do you see?” Bond: “A bloody big ship.” – Skyfall With ITV currently repeating the James Bond films every Sunday afternoon, I’ve found myself chatting with people on Twitter about various Bond-related things. Several weeks ago when ITV were mid-way through the Roger Moore era, it was noted that Bond is seen on …
Episode 4: Free For All First ITV broadcast: Friday 20th October 1967, 7.30pm (ATV Midlands/Grampian) Estimated first run ratings: 11.1 million First CBS broadcast: Saturday 29th June 1968, 7.30pm There is an election on and Number Six is one of the candidates.We have got to know a bit about the Village now and it seems …
