Sunday, January 31, 2010

TV on DVD schedule w/e 7 February

Monday 1 February
British Transport Films - 'Plumb-Loco' (1971)
Monty Python's Flying Circus - 'The Ant, An Introduction'
Northern Exposure - 'Our Tribe'

Tuesday 2 February
Rising Damp - 'Food Glorious Food'
Porridge - 'A Night In'
Auf Wiedersehen, Pet - 'Quo Vadis Pet'

Wednesday 3 February
British Transport Films - 'This Year By Rail' (1972)
The Jensen Code - Episode 10
Strangers - 'A Free Weekend In The Country'

Thursday 4 February
Tales Of The Unexpected - 'Youth From Vienna'
On The Buses - 'The New Uniforms'
The Forsyte Saga - 'Birth Of A Forsyte'

Friday 5 February
British Transport Films - 'Overture: One-Two-Five' (1978)
Family Guy - 'Peter's Two Dads'
Homicide: Life On The Street - 'The Damage Done'

Saturday 6 February
The Equalizer - 'Back Home'
Monk - 'Mr Monk Goes Home Again '
The Sopranos - 'Pax Soprano'

Sunday 7 February
Wonder Woman - 'The Man Who Made Volcanoes'
Department S - 'The Double Death Of Charlie Chippen'
NYPD Blue - 'Head Case'

Sunday, January 24, 2010

TV on DVD schedule w/e 31 January

Monday 25 January
British Transport Films - 'Freight And A City' (1966)
Monty Python's Flying Circus - 'Full Frontal Nudity'
Northern Exposure - 'Dateline: Cicely'

Tuesday 26 January
Rising Damp - 'Permissive Society'
Porridge - 'The Hustler'
Auf Wiedersehen, Pet - 'For Better Or Worse'

Wednesday 27 January
British Transport Films - 'Second Nature' (1967)
The Jensen Code - Episode 9
Strangers - 'The Lost Chord'

Thursday 28 January
Tales Of The Unexpected - 'Down Among The Sheltering Palms'
On The Buses - 'Foggy Night'
The Forsyte Saga - 'In The Web'

Friday 29 January
British Transport Films - 'The New Tradition' (1968)
Family Guy - 'Road To Rupert'
Homicide: Life On The Street - 'Requiem For Adena'

Saturday 30 January
The Equalizer - 'Reign Of Terror'
Monk - 'Mr Monk And The Other Detective'
The Sopranos - 'College'

Sunday 31 January
Wonder Woman - 'I Do, I Do'
Department S - 'Black Out'
NYPD Blue - 'The Nutty Confessor'

Sunday, January 17, 2010

TV 030: Danger Man (High Wire) - The Bob Leaper Orchestra


Danger Man returned to ITV regions in October 1964.

Two major changes:
1) Episodes were now doubled in length - to 50 minutes.
2) There was a new theme tune - High Wire.

The version here is by The Bob Leaper Orchestra. It rocks.

I hope you have enjoyed listening to these television themes.
We are now at the end of part one and will take a break.

The next run of themes will commence on 2 March.

Tune in then.

Comments and feedback are welcome.

Danger Man (High Wire)

TV on DVD schedule w/e 24 January

Monday 18 January
British Transport Films - 'Let's Go To Birmingham' (1962)
Monty Python's Flying Circus - 'You're No Fun Anymore'
Northern Exposure - 'Seoul Mates'

Tuesday 19 January
Steptoe And Son - 'Pilgrim's Progress'
Porridge - 'New Faces, Old Hands'
Auf Wiedersehen, Pet - 'Law And Disorder'

Wednesday 20 January
British Transport Films - 'Reshaping British Railways' (1963)
The Jensen Code - Episode 8
Strangers - 'The Tender Trap'

Thursday 21 January
Tales Of The Unexpected - 'Where's Your Sense Of Humour'
On The Buses - 'Radio Control'
The Forsyte Saga - 'The Challenge'

Friday 22 January
British Transport Films - 'Forward To First Principles' (1966)
Family Guy - 'Barely Legal'
Homicide: Life On The Street - 'Map Of The Heart'

Saturday 23 January
The Equalizer - 'Desperately'
Perry Mason - 'The Case Of The Haunted Husband'
The Sopranos - 'Meadowlands'

Sunday 24 January
Wonder Woman - 'The Queen And The Thief'
Department S - 'Handicap - Dead'
NYPD Blue - 'A Tushful Of Dollars'

Thursday, January 14, 2010

TV 029: Danger Man (Danger Man Theme) - The Red Price Combo


Danger Man was a stunningly good secret agent series that originally hit our screens in 1960. John Drake was played by Patrick MacGoohan, and undertook several missions on behalf of NATO taking him to various far-flung locations.

The first series comprised 39 episodes and ran until January 1962. Each episode was 25 minutes in duration.

The original theme was composed by Edwin Astley and this cover version was recorded by The Red Price Combo in 1961. It perfectly encapsulates the subject matter and is one of the era's most memorable themes.

Comments and feedback are welcome.

Danger Man (Danger Man Theme)

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

TV 028: Dangerfield - Nigel Hess


Dangerfield was an underrated drama that began during the mid 1990s.
It starred Nigel De Vaillant as the heroic police surgeon for the first four series until he was replaced by Nigel Havers (no relation) in 1998.

The gorgeous theme was composed by Nigel Hess (still no relation) and is pretty unforgettable.

Comments and feedback are welcome.

Dangerfield

Sunday, January 10, 2010

TV 027: Dad's Army (Who Do You Think You Are Kidding, Mr Hitler?) - Bud Flanagan


A comedy that needs no telling, Pike.
Dad's Army is now a perennial favourite.
It ran from 1968 to 1977 and has been repeated many times.

The theme was sung by that man from The Crazy Gang, Bud Flanagan and was released as a single in 1969.

Comments and feedback are welcome.

Dad's Army (Who Do You Think You Are Kidding, Mr Hitler?)

TV on DVD schedule w/e 17 January

Monday 11 January
British Transport Films - 'A Place In The Team' (1953)
Monty Python's Flying Circus - 'The BBC Entry For The Zinc Stoat Of Budapest'
Northern Exposure - 'Get Real'

Tuesday 12 January
Steptoe And Son - 'My Old Man's A Tory'
Man About The House - 'Three Of A Kind'
Auf Wiedersehen, Pet - 'Scoop'

Wednesday 13 January
British Transport Films - 'Service For Southend' (1957)
The Jensen Code - Episode 7
Strangers - 'A Swift And Evil Rozzer'

Thursday 14 January
Tales Of The Unexpected - 'Heir Presumptuous'
On The Buses - 'Mum's Last Fling'
The Forsyte Saga - 'In Chancery'

Friday 15 January
British Transport Films - 'Diesel Trainride' (1959)
Family Guy - 'Chick Cancer'
Homicide: Life On The Street - 'Stakeout'

Saturday 16 January
The Equalizer - 'Bump And Run'
Perry Mason - 'The Case Of The Cautious Coquette'
The Sopranos - 'Denial, Anger, Acceptance'

Sunday 17 January
Wonder Woman - 'The Pied Piper'
Department S - 'The Man In The Elegant Room'
NYPD Blue - 'These Old Bones'

Thursday, January 7, 2010

TV 026: Crossroads - Tony Hatch Orchestra


Loved and loathed in equal measures, Crossroads will always occupy a special place in my heart. A truly riveting soap with strong characterisation and an ability to make the most mundane of plots worth watching.

The final episode - broadcast on Easter Monday 1988 - was an emotional rollercaster with Jill Richardson making preparations to start a new life with John Maddingham. As people will surely remember, Jill spoke the opening line in the very first episode back in 1964 - and had the honour of the uttering the closing dialogue in the last episode.

The 2001 and 2003 revivals were interesting but lacked the spirit of the original run.

The theme tune was composed by the Tony Hatch Orchestra and was released as a Pye 45 in 1965. It's marvellous.

Comments and feedback are welcome.

Crossroads

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

TV 025: Crimewatch UK (Rescue Helicopter) - John Cameron


"Don't have nightmares, do sleep well"

Nick Ross used to end each edition of Crimewatch UK with that reassuring phrase - that crime was quite rare and we were not to get too worked up about it. Sadly, this proved not to be the case for Ross's co-presenter Jill Dando who was murdered in 1999.

Has much changed since June 1984 when the programme first aired?
I'll let the audience make up their minds on that one.

The theme was composed by John Cameron and is featured here in remixed form.

Comments and feedback are welcome.

Crimewatch UK (Rescue Helicopter)

Sunday, January 3, 2010

TV 024: The Champions - Tony Hatch


The Champions was another ITC success.
Created by Monty Berman and Dennis Spooner its premise was three special agents working for a Geneva-based organisation. Richard Gaunt, Stuart Damon and Alexandra Bastedo played the lead roles to perfection.

Tony Hatch composed the driving theme tune. Also worth checking out is Network's triple CD of incidental music from the series.

Comments and feedback are welcome.

The Champions

TV on DVD schedule w/e 10 January

Monday 4 January
Emmerdale Farm - 17 April 1973
Monty Python's Flying Circus - 'Man's Crisis Of Identity In The Latter Half Of The 20th Century'
Northern Exposure - 'A-Hunting We Will Go'

Tuesday 5 January
Steptoe And Son - 'A Box In Town'
Man About The House - 'We Shall Not Be Moved'
Auf Wiedersehen, Pet - 'Hasta La Vista'

Wednesday 6 January
British Transport Films - 'Work In Progress' (1951)
The Jensen Code - Episode 6
Strangers - 'A Much Underestimated Man'

Thursday 7 January
Tales Of The Unexpected - 'In The Bag'
On The Buses - 'The Snake'
The Forsyte Saga - 'Indian Summer Of A Forsyte'

Friday 8 January
British Transport Films - 'Wash And Brush Up' (1953)
Family Guy - 'Prick Up Your Ears'
Homicide: Life On The Street - 'Justice, Part 2'

Saturday 9 January
The Equalizer - 'Mama's Boy'
Perry Mason - 'The Case Of The Sunbather's Diary'
The Sopranos - '46 Long'

Sunday 10 January
Wonder Woman - 'Knockout'
Department S - 'One Of Our Aircraft Is Empty'
NYPD Blue - 'Burnin' Love'