Hunter's Gold

Colin, in tepid Timaru, also sends along this 1977 New Zealand drama about "A 13 year old boy goes in search of his missing father in New Zealand during the gold rush of 1860."

This is a very Disneyesque family action-adventure with good production value similar to another 70's New Zealand drama "Children of Fire Moutain". 
(Ian Mune appears in this as a magician. He's been in several recent New Zealand shows: Burying Brian, Sunny Skies, Agent Anna......speaking of Agent Anna, I see it will be returning next year for another 10 episodes.)
"Thirteen year old Scott Hunter becomes anxious about his father, a gold prospector, when his personal belongings return home without him. Scott goes off to Tuckers Gully in search and en route has various adventures, not least when he hitches a ride with a travelling showman, Marvello The Magician. On arriving at Tuckers Gully Scott finds that his father's colleague has been found murdered. Scott's father, whom no one has seen for some weeks, is the prime suspect and there is a price on his head. Scott finds that his father struck gold and is being held prisoner by the real murderers, Ryan and Dodd, and manages to convince the folk of Tuckers Gully the truth." 

The Monocled Mutineer

Colin, in toasty Timaru, NZ, sent along The Monocled Mutineer, a 1986 drama written by Alan Bleasdale (Boys From The Blackstuff, G.B.H., Jake's Progress, Melissa, Scully, The Sinking of the Laconia) and about a true event that is shrouded in a bit of mystery. Percy Toplis was a bad boy and served in the British army during WWI where he got himself in more trouble. He claimed to have been a participant in the Etaples Mutiny in France, but it seems there are enough conflicting facts to disprove that, nevertheless, the story presented here assumes that is so. He was a deserter who was charged with murder of a taxi driver and found guilty in absentia and hunted down and killed after a wild manhunt. For some reason they cut out his tongue before burying him in an unmarked grave. It seems he really ticked off the establishment because he was a poor criminal type who was very good at impersonating silver-spoon wealthy military officers. I say! What a cheeky rogue. Broadcast of this mini-series in 1986 outraged the conservative government and as a result it was never repeated. It is now in public domain. Starring Paul McGann as Percy (The Hanging Gale, True Dare Kiss, Our Mutual Friend, Collision, Luther) with people such as Timothy West, Penelope Wilton, Jerome Flynn, Cherie Lunghi, Bill Fellows, Anthony Calf (New Tricks).
The Monocled Mutineer

Mother Love is not new here. Just trying to consolidate things when possible. Another 80's drama mini-series starring Diana Rigg and David McCallum. I recall this airing on PBS Mystery when Rigg was the host of the show. 
Mother Love

The George Burns & Gracie Allen Show

I'm posting this here as well as the other blog due to the lack of activity on the other one. The pioneering television sitcom Burns & Allen Show ran for 8 years on CBS (1950-1958) and aired 291 episodes. This collection features 125 episodes. I have no idea how many are lost or available, but I did take the time to identify all these (officially, they didn't use episode titles until 1957) and researched the original broadcast dates and arrange them chronologically. George Burns lived to be 100 and enjoyed great popularity right to the end, but his wife Gracie was the true star of this show. Burns & Allen had been around since the 1920's in vaudeville, the movies and on radio, when they adapted their act to TV situation comedy. Gracie was a brilliant, all-around comedienne.

Burns and Allen

Mount Pleasant - Disc 3

The comedy-drama Mount Pleasant has returned with a third series. I have seen no reports of any upcoming Christmas specials for this. 

Mount Pleasant

Badults + Father Figure + London Irish

3 recent new British comedy series.

Badults .....with Emer Kenny (Pramface, Beaver Falls, EastEnders), Tom Parry (Watson & Oliver), Jack Docherty (The Creatives, Absolutely).

Badults

Father Figure....with Jason Byrne (Dark Ages), Pauline McLynn (Father Ted, Jam & Jerusalem, Dark Ages, Threesome, Shameless), Karen Taylor (Touch Me I'm Karen Taylor), Matthew Fenton (Big School), Michael Smiley (Luther, Utopia, Wire in the Blood), Dermot Crowley (Luther)

Father Figure

London Irish....with Sinead Keenan (Moving Wallpaper, Being Human, Lip Service), Peter Campion (6Degrees, Love & Hate), Kerr Logan (6Degrees, Game of Thrones) and Ardal O'Hanlon has an appearance in 4 of the episodes (Father Ted, My Hero, Val Falvey TD, Blessed, Big Bad World {not the recent comedy, but the 1999 drama series}). 

London Irish

EastEnders 2013 - Disc 9

EastEnders 2013 - Disc 9

Holby City - Series 15 Disc 6

Holby City - Series 15 Disc 6 Holby City

Bedtime update

Bedtime is a comedy-drama written by Andy Hamilton that aired back 10 - 12 years ago. Principally starring Sheila Hancock and Timothy West and rounded out with a number of well-known actors including Claire Skinner, Emma Pierson, Stephen Tompkinson, Meera Syal, Alun Armstrong, Doon Mackichan, Kevin McNally, Fay Ripley, Neil Stuke, Vincent Ebrihim, Victoria Carling and even James Bolam is in one episode. Previously, the Series 3 Christmas episodes were missing, but they have been kindly provided by Mark the car man along with quite a few other titles I've been posting and others I'm still working on. 
Bedtime

Doc Martin - Disc 6

Doc Martin is back, making his biennial visit. Now that Louisa is officially part of his life, it only seems to have made things worse for him. Poor Doc. Actually, and it's just my opinion, I'd like to see them bring back Dominic Minghella as writer. In the early series Doc was just sort of an awkward guy with a few issues, but now he's practically a walking loony that can't socially function in any situation.......unless it's their intent to showcase the complete breakdown of an individual or they're setting up the next series for some sort of redemption. Doc and the cop have both become caricatures. His problems used to be kind of funny, but now they're more pathetic and sad. Still enjoyable viewing though.
Doc Martin     

Emmerdale 2013 - Disc 12

Emmerdale 2013 - Disc 12

Yikes! - some wild times up there in Emmerdale this week.

The Main Chance

The Main Chance is a legal drama that ran between 1969 and 1975. 
The Main Chance

Drama Matters + Peaky Blinders

2 new series

Drama Matters is another anthology series from Sky featuring some very familiar faces. 
Drama Matters

Peaky Blinders is a crime drama that takes place in 1920's Birmingham.
Peaky Blinders

Just William

Just William - the 1977 series of the stories by Richmal Crompton adapted to television. I believe it was remade in the 90's and in the final week of 2010 four new versions were aired with Daniel Roche, of Outnumbered fame, in the starring role. Those 4 are a bonus found on Disk 2 here.
Just William 1977 TV series

The Fosters

The Fosters is a 1970's British sitcom adapted from the Hollywood sitcom Good Times. (Good Times was a spinoff of Maude which was a spinoff of All In the Family which was the Hollywood adaptation of Till Death Us Do Part.....I'm sure there's an original idea in there somewhere.) Norman Beaton played the father and Lenny Henry was the oldest child.
The Fosters

Black Arrow

Black Arrow is an early 70's family action/adventure drama. The early episodes are based on the Robert Louis Stevenson novel of the same name that takes place during the late 15th century War of the Roses. The later episodes were newly written stories created for the characters. Not much information seems to be available for this. A number of familiar faces make appearances.
Black Arrow 

Smörgåsbord 64

Smörgåsbord 64

Housos vs Authority is the film companion to Australia's comedy TV series Housos. It won't fit on the TV show disk. 
Housos vs. Authority
It's nice to see that there are Boston Red Sox fans as far away as the lovely Aussie suburb of Sunnyvale.

Night Train To Lisbon, or Nachtzug Nach Lissabon, is a German, Swiss, Portuguese drama with English dialogue starring Jeremy Irons.

Night Train to Lisbon

Sammy's War is a 23-minute TV drama. Read about it here: Sammy's War

The Wipers Times is a recent TV film.

The Wipers Times review

U Want Me 2 Kill Him? is a recent British crime-thriller.

U Want Me 2 Kill Him? 

Smörgåsbord 63

Smörgåsbord 63

Assassin's Bullet, aka Sofia, ....I guess this is a Hollywood film. Someone requested it. Takes place in Bulgaria. The main character actors are American (Christian Slater), Canadian (Donald Sutherland), English (Timothy Spall), and the rest all Bulgarian (Elika Portnoy, Mariana Stanisheva, etc.) Crikey, I thought it was Bulgarian with a couple of foreigners in it. Anyway......you asked for it, you got it.
Sofia

Comes A Bright Day is a recent British film, said to be a somewhat romantic thriller.
Comes A Bright Day

Crystal Fairy and the Magical Cactus is a film out of Chile with Michael Cera who everyone remembers as George-Michael Bluth in Arrested Development.
Crystal Fairy

Run For Your Wife is a recent British comedy film that totally bombed. It's supposed to be in the spirit of the 60's/70's Carry On type films. Just a bit of fun, ya know? What makes this fun to watch are the many cameo appearances made by British actors who appeared to raise money for a charity. There are many listed but, to be honest, I couldn't find a lot of them even going frame-by-frame. Perhaps they showed up for the film but ended up on the cutting room floor? Anyway, here's a few of them:

I think that's Lucy Flemming on the left, Simon Williams center and Andrew Sachs on leave from Fawlty Towers and still playing a bumbling waiter.

Anne Rogers and Carolyn Lyster (the wife of William Gaunt)

Bernard Cribbins as a hospital patient

The late Bill Pertwee getting off a bus

followed by the late Frank Thornton

Brian Murphy at work in his allotment

Cliff Richard busking for coins 

Derek Fowlds selling newspapers on the sidewalk

they claim that's Geoffrey Davis standing in a sidewalk cinema queue

Jacquie Clarke has a small role - she played David Jason's wife in A Sharp Intake of Breath

I think that's Helen Cotterill on the left and that's Jean Fergusson from Last of the Summer Wine on the right. She looks like she finally caught a peak of Howard's willy and is having second thoughts

Jeffrey Holland has a small role in the film - nice to see him again

look familiar? Dame Judi Dench as a bag lady....if I'm still allowed to use that expression

Marcia Warren on a sidewalk bench

Maureen Lipman, June Whitfield and four-legged friend taking a break after working out

Prunella Scales and Timothy West at an outdoor cafe

the late Richard Briers and his wife Anne on a sidewalk

Robin Askwith driving a bus - someone please tell him the 70's are over

Rolf Harris busking for coins on the sidewalk

Russ Abbott in hospital

Sue Pollard coming out of a shop

'Allo! there's Vicki Michelle getting into a cab. She is also credited as being the executive producer of the film....something she may now be denying

Wendy Craig enjoying a beverage on the top of a tourist bus. There's a bunch of people riding up there with Wendy. I think that's Tony Britton to her right and Donald Sinden in the top hat, but as for the others - I'm assuming they're 'somebody', but I don't recognize them.

I wonder if Donald Sinden dresses like that every day?

Run For Your Wife