Go Girls

Go Girls is a comedy-drama out of New Zealand that is also shown in Australia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_Girls

Out

Out, a 1978 crime drama.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_%28miniseries%29

Sherlock

Sherlock.....This was on a while ago, but I'll be honest with you, it sounded so freaking stupid I didn't even bother with it. Now I see it's going to be on Masterpiece Theatre this Autumn so I know I'll get people asking for it......so here it is.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherlock_%28TV_series%29

Tess of the D'Ubervilles

Tess of the D'Ubervilles, 2 television adaptations of the 1891 Thomas Hardy novel. The first one, from 1998 and co-produced by London Weekend and A&E, runs nearly 3 hours long. The other one came 10 years later, co-produced by BBC and WGBH-Boston, in 4 one-hour parts.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0126100/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tess_of_the_d%27Urbervilles_%28TV_series%29

The Deep

The Deep, some sort of SciFi submarine thriller-drama.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Deep_%28TV_series%29

The Bill - The End

Sunday night Britain's longest running sitcom came to an end. Tonight the longest running police procedural program came to an end 27 years and 2 weeks or so after making its debut.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bill

The Bill 1994 - Disc 4

Another 19 classic episodes from 1994 of The Bill.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bill

Shortland Street - Disc 2

Another disc packed with the most recent episodes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortland_street

Neighbours 2010 - Disc 8

Disk 8 of all the happenings on Ramsay Street.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neighbours_%28TV_series%29

Last of the Summer Wine reminder

Well, I just finished watching the last episode of Last of the Summer Wine. Yes, Peter Sallis managed to get the final line, although off camera, and deservedly so. Unfortunately, Jane Freeman did not appear in the final episode and there were no scenes shot at "Sid's Cafe". June Whitfield didn't appear as well. Veteran actor David Ross got a guest appearance. So I'll continue to update improvements to episodes 200-225 over the next couple weeks, but until Playback decides to release more DVD's sets (and it's been almost a year since they've done so) the book is closed on this 38 year old program. Earlier this afternoon BBC Radio did a nice 28 minute documentary on the program and I have added that to Disc 21 as well.

Wuthering Heights

Last April I put up 3 TV adaptations of Jane Eyre so I suppose it was inevitable that I would end up doing the same for Wuthering Heights.

Wuthering Heights has been put to film many times, as far back as a silent version in 1920. A talkie film appeared in 1939 and the first of many TV adaptations in 1948. The BBC followed with more versions in 1962 and 1968. Another film was released in 1970 and in 1992 one was released that many feel is the best.

Here we have the 1978 BBC production that ran for 5¼ hours, so I'm assuming later versions are quite condensed for the short attention span crowd.

In 1998 London Weekend and PBS Masterpiece Theatre broadcast another version and 11 years later WGBH-Boston co-produced yet another with ITV Wales.

From what I've read there is currently another production in progress to be released next year.

That's a lot of film for an old 1847 novel.

I found this tongue-in-cheek review online and found it amusing and thought I'd share it. It's not about any of these film productions but about the story itself:

Wuthering Heights is a story for a world before psychotherapy. Today, Heathcliff would have been diagnosed as a sociopath and Cathy would probably have gone for self-help at a workshop for codependents; and if their therapy had worked, they might have ended up in the suburbs with 2.5 kids and a Camry in the driveway. Which would have made a bit of a mess of the storyline really, so thank the good lords of literature that Emily Brontë wasn't whipping up the plot in these self-actuated times!

1978: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077106/
1998: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0204744/
2009: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1238834/

Lytton's Diary

Lytton's Diary was a drama about the gossip columnist at a London daily newspaper partially conceived by and starring Peter Bowles (Only When I Laugh, The Bounder, The Irish RM, To The Manor Born, Executive Stress, Perfect Scoundrels, Rumpole of the Bailey). There's not much information about this out there. There's a user review on IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0159889/

Last of the Summer Wine - update

While Sunday night will be the last episode of LOTSW ever, I'm pleased to say there will be an improvement coming to what is available. As those of you that have this know, the files 200-225 are not of the best quality.

Last Friday the UK channel GOLD started broadcasting Series 22 and that will be followed by 23 and 24.

I didn't pick up on that until late Tuesday and with the time difference wasn't able to make contact with a friend in Scotland until Wednesday morning. But starting with file #200 and carrying on through #225 on Sept. 10, he has been making nice new digital files for me and e-mailing them daily. The new files are 340MB each so the 24 files will fit onto 2 discs. (They are not broadcasting the 2 Christmas Specials from that period).

Hot Metal update

Hot Metal, the late 80's comedy, is now from digital source, upgraded from old VHS TV recordings.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Metal

The Bill: 1994 - Discs 1,2,3

The Bill, the police procedural program that goes back about 27 years, is about to air its final episode ever. Here are 57 of the first 58 episodes (missing #55) from Series 10 in 1994. More to follow.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bill

The Royal - update

The Royal is now complete, but all the files on Disc 8, except the first one, are the Canadian broadcasts. If you want the ITV you'll have to wait a couple more months. Just a reminder that the files on Discs 1 & 2 aren't the greatest. There is some blocking like you get when someone tries to convert avi files into a DVD vob set. Once you compress you really shouldn't go back......ya know? A lot of sellers on iOffer do that and then charge a bundle for a big disc set. It's like making a digital music master from an 8th generation analog tape. It just doesn't work very well. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Royal

That Mitchell & Webb Look - Disc 2 (Series 4)

That Mitchell & Webb Look - Disc 2 (Series 4). I was asleep at the wheel on this one. It concluded over a week ago but it slipped my mind. The 6 new episodes plus all the Red Button Extras.

Last I read Peep Show is also supposed to be returning for another series before the end of the year.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/That_Mitchell_and_Webb_Look

Teachers

Teachers, another walk through the sleazy side of town from Channel 4. This was a sitcom.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teachers_%28UK_TV_series%29

Never Mind The Quality, Feel The Width - complete Thames program

Never Mind The Quality, Feel The Width began television life on the 18th of February 1967 as a one-off Armchair Theatre episode on ABC. It was then developed into a sitcom series for ABC with Series 1 showing its 6 episodes at the end of 1967 with another 6 episode series following in late summer of 1968 (with the episodes already being in the can at the time of ABC's rebirth as Thames).

It's rumored that 2 of those 13 episodes still exist in an archive somewhere, but the other 11 were wiped.

On 30 July 1968 Thames Television was created by the merger of ABC and Rediffusion and Never Mind The Quality was continued on Thames and this collection is the complete 27 Thames episodes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Never_Mind_the_Quality_Feel_the_Width

The State Within

The State Within was a 6-part "political-drama-thriller" from somewhere out there in fantasyland.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_State_Within

Carry On films - Disc 5

#21 through #25 of the 30 film series of 1958-1978.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carry_On_films

Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married

Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married began as "a 1996 international best-selling novel by Irish author Marian Keyes" as quoted from Wiki. In 1999 it was adapted for television. The setting is London and it's genre is listed as "romantic comedy".  Letitia Dean (EastEnders, Hello Girls, Drop The Dead Donkey), Gwyneth Strong (Cassandra in Only Fools And Horses), Debbie Chazen (The Smoking Room, Mine All Mine, Tittytittybangbang), Michael Troughton (The New Statesman, Get Well Soon) are among the cast.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy_Sullivan_Is_Getting_Married

Emmerdale 1999

A collection of 85 Emmerdale episodes from the end of the 20th century.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmerdale

Hi-de-Hi! new and improved

Hi-de-Hi! was one of the great ones.....if you're talking about British sitcoms. I discovered a number of Series 1 and 2 episodes were mixed up on Disc 1 and found some other new file sets to replace previous ones, so now it's on 4 discs instead of 5 and all the mis-titled episodes are corrected.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hi-de-Hi!

Brookside - Disc 1

Brookside made its debut on the first day Channel 4 was in operation. These are from vintage 20th century analog video tape. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brookside

EastEnders 2010 - Disc 7

The next installment of EastEnders.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EastEnders

Hollyoaks 2010 - Disc 7

Hollyoaks 2010 - Disc 7...another 23 episodes of the Channel 4 serial-drama.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollyoaks

XYY Man + Bulman

First came The XYY Man, then there was Strangers (http://uktvfl.blogspot.com/2010/02/strangers.html), and finally there was Bulman. In all 3 programs Don Henderson was detective George Bulman. (The late Henderson is immortalized for his role in the first Star Wars film as General Tagge.)  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_XYY_Man

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strangers_%28TV_series%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulman

Bulman is unavailble on DVD and only found on VHS copies of old broadcasts.

Our Mutual Friend

Our Mutual Friend - a great 1976 BBC adaptation of the Dickens classic with an all-star cast (Leo McKern, Lesley Dunlop, Jane Seymour, Warren Clarke, Polly James, Alfie Bass, David Troughton.....even Brian Wilde and Tom Owen sneak into a few episodes, to name a few). User reviews can found on IMDB.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075555/

The Far Pavilions

The Far Pavilions was a 5¼ hour TV adaptation of the M.M. Kaye novel that takes place in 19th century India. In the US it was televised by HBO which, at that time, was still somewhat in its infancy. It starred Ben Cross who was hot property at that time. Over the span of a few years he did Chariots Of Fire, The Flame Trees Of Thika, The Citadel, and then the Far Pavilions. Christopher Lee and Omar Sharif were also in this.
Amy Irving had the female lead. Looking back that seems kind of out of place in a big production like this.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Far_Pavilions
Of all the big "India" productions at that time (Ghandi, The Jewel In The Crown, A Passage To India, The Last Viceroy) this one probably had the least exposure.