Cult TV Blog

The introduction to this series of posts can be found  here . Writing these posts keeps reminding me that television was treated very much as if it was a new medium, even as late as the 1970s. What I mean is this: the majority of show formats were inspired by previous formats, for example cinema (films), radio (chat shows and serials) and theatre (plays). When I think of formats new to TV I'm ashamed to say that all I can think of is TV shopping, and reality TV. Strange it should have become so dominant when it's so derivative, and I would argue that services like Netflix are more like watching YouTube videos so derive from an internet-initiated medium. That said, happy to be outdated and derivative, we have yet another of the 1970s anthology series of plays.  ITV Playhouse  actually overlapped into the sixties and into the eighties and is literally legendary. If you're reading this you have definitely seen something in the series. Some are even available in DVD box sets ...

This will be an unusually image-based post for this blog, simply because I'm obsessed with the surreal and deadly department store in this episode. The episode is heavily influenced by several episodes of The Avengers. Death at Bargain Prices suggests the store.  Oh look, there's Steed! Over Death at Bargain Prices the resentment here is much more personal so I think The House That Jack Built is another influence. There are also overtones of Don't Look Behind You/The Joker in being trapped inside a killing machine where you're doomed to fail. I particularly like the trompe l'oeil corridor. Incidentally I love the art deco store used as a location, but try as I might I haven't been able to identify the location. It's obviously an original art deco building which is either listed or in the hands of an owner who appreciates the style. Alternatively this may be where someone comments that it was burned down by arsonists the week after filming ended. There are al...

The introduction to this series of posts can be found  here . We're in totally classic seventies territory here, with standing stones and so on. I was surprised to find that ley lines weren't mentioned! The Mind Beyond was a distinct segment of shows within the long running  BBC2 Playhouse  series of dramas. I have not been able to find whether the whole of BBC2 Playhouse survives (unlikely) but have found  confirmation  that the whole of The Mind Beyond exists. That link also unfortunately confirms that it is unlikely ever to be commercially released because of a sequence in the episode Meriol the Ghost Girl, involving child nudity and what is described as a 'prurient' description of the child's body which has previously made the show be considered unsuitable for release. There are some episodes loose on YouTube (same link again). All I can say is the BBC must have been a weird place in the seventies. What is clear is that this series is highly sought after and...

I haven't tended to do tributes to actors from shows which feature here. I have always wanted it to be about the show and have always soft pedalled the actors. When a famous actor dies there will be loads of tributes and I've always tried not to reproduce the material you can read all over the internet.  That said while I have always aimed to blog about what I am viewing, and as it happens the legendary Peter Bowles has died and I happened to have an urge to watch through the remake of Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) and he appears in this episode, so hence this post by way of a tribute. Spoiler alert: I'm going to give away the ending. Of course both this and the original series had a very light touch but Bowles's role as the headmaster of a distinctly odd school is an absolute gift. I'm no actor but I would think the role could be quite difficult because it's both serious and wildly humorous. Bowles plays the total power crazed (and more than a little deranged)...

The introduction to this series of posts can be found  here . Spoiler alert : this post will give away quite a lot about this play so if you want to watch it cold, don't read this first! I am breaking my own rule for what can be included in this series of posts because the remaining episodes of this show are available in an all dancing and singing release from the BFI, but this is kind of orphaned because most of it has been wiped and it is simply too good a show to pass up. Besides, orphans can still need nurture even if they've been remastered by the BFI. Dead of Night was a BBC series of seven plays with supernatural themes broadcast in 1972. Four episodes are believed missing. A Woman Sobbing was the final episode in the original run. There is quite a lot about this show online so I'm just going to deal with the themes and impressions as they hit me. I can't overstate what expert storytelling this is, by  John Bowen  who had a varied output, including Robin Redbreas...

The introduction to this series of posts can be found  here . Centre Play was a BBC anthology series of plays broadcast from 1973 to 1977. I am struck by how many anthology series of plays there were in the sixties and seventies, and it must have meant that TV had a very theatre-influenced feel at the time. I have no idea of the archive status of this show, although I would think it is unlikely to be complete, and in fact only discovered it by chance this week. There is also very little about it online. The fact I found it was purely by chance because I was attracted by this play's title and it wasn't immediately apparent it was from a series. To be absolutely frank I have found this play quite difficult to get my head round - God only knows that people must have been faster on the uptake to take this in on one viewing. I was going to summarize the plot but I'm going to take an impressionistic approach because the play tends to cut from one thing to another quite frequently...

The introduction to this series of posts can be found  here . Today a programme that I'm very sorry indeed has been wiped. Hell, it's not only wiped, it was never even broadcast in the first place, for reasons unknown (edit: I have also read that the full series was not made because finance couldn't be found), and one full series was made. It is only online because the pilot has been uploaded to YouTube by a fan of one of the actresses,  Françoise Pascal . It's reportedly also commercially available as an extra on the UK DVD of exploitation short Take an Easy Ride, but meets my definition of orphaned episodes because the rest of the series is lost. Director Kenneth Rowles was also behind the sex comedy The Ups and Downs of a Handyman, and probably saying that should indicate we're in some serious seventies territory here, so crack open the fondue and defrost the Black Forest gateau before reading the rest of this. Not to beat about the bush, the reason I'm so so...