is your neighbour missing?

Popular 1970's British comedy Love Thy Neighbour was long thought to be "missing" two episodes. Conversing with Mancunian Ken earlier today he informed me that it has been determined that the "missing" episodes never existed. The mix-up was the result of a researcher finding misinformation in old archived TV listings that was the result of delayed broadcasts. Take that urban myth and hit the delete key. Speaking of that show, Kate Williams revisited Birds Of A Feather a few weeks ago in her role as the overbearing Auntie Vera and Rudolph Walker is approaching his 1,000th episode of EastEnders in his role as Patrick Trueman. Jack Smethurst, coming up on his 84th birthday, hasn't appeared on TV since late 2007.

Frank Kelly 1938 - 2016

Frank Kelly has died. Most recently seen in Mrs. Brown D'Movie and he spent about 8 months in Emmerdale five years ago, he will always be remembered for his role as Father Jack in the 1990's comedy Father Ted.

Frank Kelly dies

Siblings

The comedy Siblings returned for a second series.

Siblings

Livvagterne (The Protectors)

Livvagterne (The Protectors)

wiki

Malicia {Pure Evil}

Crime drama from Argentina. Not much out there on this, in English at least. I'll paste in this user review from IMDB.

As this thirteen part Argentinian thriller opens protagonist Daniel Perodi is meeting the man who has kidnapped his seventeen year old daughter; the man then kills her. He is caught and sent to prison but is released a few years later. Perodi, a former policeman who now working as a criminologist, is determined to find out when the killer was released so soon. He traces the public prosecutor, Diana Quaranta, who apparently ordered the release but she denies signing for his release. As the series progresses it becomes apparent that the killer is part of a larger cult-like organisation that is involved in a variety of crimes and for some reason is targeting Perodi and those close to him.

After initial suspicions Diana joins Perodi's investigative group which includes his friend and mentor Ernesto Montes, lawyer Malena Sanz, computer expert Diego Sosa and psychologist Marcos Setter. This puts her in danger and she is raped in a private swimming pool; only surviving because Perodi arrives before the attacker can kill her. The group make some breakthroughs but each time it is followed by a setback; things aren't helped by the fact that Ernesto is showing signs of dementia and there is the possibility that somebody close to the investigation isn't who they seem to be.

This series, part of Channel Four's 'Walter Presents' strand in the UK, was a real surprise; I didn't expect a series made up of half hour episodes to be so gripping as the genre tends to stick to episodes of an hour or even two hours. The story is dark in tone without being heavy going and moves along at a decent pace without rushing. The cast are impressive; Gabriel Goity is particularly good as Perodi, capturing his dogged determination as well as his despair when things go horribly wrong; Ana Celentano does a fine job as Diana and Mario Alarcón puts in a fine performance as Ernesto as the character starts to realise he is unwell. The settings also add to the atmosphere; most notably the claustrophobic swimming pool that often features and the bookshop the investigators work from. Overall a really good series that had me wanting to watch the next episode as soon as the one I finished was over and when I finished watching the final episode I thought it was one of the bleakest endings I've seen.

Bad(ish) Robots + Very British Problems

Bad (ish) Robots is a comedy spoof show with a different twist. Machines do all the spoofing. Funny stuff. 
Bad Robots

Very British Problems....a lot of familiar British faces take a lighthearted look at their culture.
Very British Problems

Rebellion + War and Peace

Some new recent period drama.

Rebellion

wiki

War and Peace

wiki

Van Veeteren

Van Veeteren is a Swedish retired detective chief inspector and the main character of ten psychological crime thriller novels of which nine have been adapted to feature-length films. I don't have the first three. There's not much information "out there". Perhaps the best source are some of the customer reviews on the big A site. 

Van Veeteren

Byw Celwydd

Byw Celwydd (Living A Lie) is a Welsh language political drama in the same vein as Denmark's Borgen, Arvingerne and Forbrydelsen. With Mark Lewis Jones (Stella, The Baker Boys), Rhys App William (The Indian Doctor), Richard Elfyn (Stella, Moonacre), Matthew Gravelle (Broadchurch, The Baker Boys), Rhodri Meilir ("Alfie" in My Family.....damn, I thought he looked familiar!), Eiry Thomas (Stella). 

Byw Celwydd

Frankenstein Chronicles + Jericho

The Frankenstein Chronicles

Jericho

Death In Paradise - Disc 5

Death In Paradise

Birds Of A Feather - Disc 8 with new Series 12

Birds of a Feather has returned with 8 new episodes. Writers Marks & Gran have left their mark naming all the episode titles after Bob Dylan songs and LP titles. 

  Birds Of A Feather

Benidorm - Disc 5

I just typed a nice post about what's going on with this British comedy, now 9 years old, that just ended its eighth series, but there is a key you can accidentally hit that immediately deletes everything, even if it's saved, and that is what happened and I don't have time to type it all again. 

Benidorm

Dickensian

New drama series that brings together over forty of the characters from the various Dickens novels into one London neighborhood where Inspector Bucket (Bleak House) investigates the murder of Bob Cratchit (A Christmas Carol). 

Dickensian

As you can see in the photo by clicking this link, Caroline Quentin, Peter Firth, Stephen Rea and Pauline Collins all appear in this.

BBC One

Vera - Disc 5

Vera, the world's second oldest Detective Chief Inspector, has returned to solve four more crimes. And she's still not old enough to qualify for a pension because she will be returning again next year. 

Vera

Bannan - Disc1

Scottish-Gaelic language drama-with-a-dash-of-crime Bannan returned in January for another 5-episode series. So the 10 episodes that were commissioned last May have now run. The next time it returns, those episodes will not be going on this disc. 

Killing The Bridge

Here, There And Everywhere

Boom-Ba-Da-Boom!

Graham Norton Show - Series 18 Disc 2

Midsomer Murders - Disc 23

Midsomer Murders

Crashing + Tracey Ullman's Show + The Wizards of Aus

Some new comedy. I don't think I've seen any Tracey Ullman since the late 1980's in the show she had on Fox. I had forgotten how talented she is. 

Crashing

The Wizards of Aus

Tracey Ullman's Show

See ya, three

Due to budget cuts, in about an hour BBC Three will be signing-off the air for the last time after 13 years of providing some very popular original programming. 

The new BBC ||! streaming internet service will replace it and carry on in that format. Unfortunately, the so-called "world wide web" is quite restricted in this case and anyone outside of the UK would need to subscribe to an IP masking service in order to access the site.   

Spotless

Someone asked me about this and I realized it had fallen through the cracks and I had never posted it here.

Spotless is a French "drama-comedy thriller" (according to Wiki) 
and a "crime-drama" (according to IMDB) but the dialogue is in English and the cast is both French and British while one of the main stars is from Montreal. With Brendan Coyle (Downton Abbey, Starlings, Lark Rise to Candleford), Miranda Raison (Spooks, Plus One, Married Single Other, Sugartown, Vexed), Doug Allen (Band of Brothers, Five Days), Liam Garrigan (The Chase, Pillars of the Earth, Land Girls, Raw), Kate Magowan (EastEnders), Naomi Radcliffe (Born And Bred, The Grand, The Visit), Lucy Akhurst (Preston Front).

 Spotless

Emmerdale 2016 - Disc 1

Coronation Street 2016 - Disc 1

Full House + Lame Ducks + The New Statesman

Some comedy from the 1980's.

Full House ran for three series (20 episodes) in the mid-80's. The first series has turned up. Whether the other 14 episodes ever do, who knows? Starring Christopher Strauli (who is probably best remembered for his starring role in Only When I Laugh along with James Bolam, Peter Bowles and Richard Wilson), Sabina Franklyn (Keep It In The Family), Natalie Forbes (The Other 'Arf, Surgical Spirit, New Tricks) and Brian Capron (Where The Heart Is).

Full House

Lame Ducks had two series (12 episodes) on BBC in the mid-80's, starring John Duttine (People Like Us, To Serve Them All My Days, Ain't Misbehavin', Heartbeat, WPC 56....to name a few) and Lorraine Chase (The Other 'Arf, Lock Stock..., Emmerdale) and Brian Murphy (Man About The House, George & Mildred, L For Lester, Last of the Summer Wine, The Cafe). Hopefully some more of this turns up someday. Only 3 episodes from the first series here. 

Lame Ducks

The New Statesman....not to be confused with the comedy of the same name starring the late Rik Mayall that came a couple years after this.....this one starred:

River City 2015 - Disc 5

Scottish drama wrapping up 2015 and kicking off 2016.

The Young Montalbano - Disc 3

The Young Montalbano

EastEnders 2016 - Disc 1

Beryl's Lot + Mr Digby Darling + On The House = Series 1 only

Some rare vintage comedy............all somehow managing to escape the Yorkshire TV archive and all only the first series of each of show.

Beryl's Lot was a very popular 1970's hour long comedy-drama about a middle-aged wife/mother who decides to improve her life. The show ran for three series and 52 episodes. Starring Carmel McSharry (The Liver Birds, In Sickness & In Health, Wish Me Luck) and Mark Kingston (Shine On Harvey Moon, No Job For A Lady) with a large supporting cast including Tony Caunter (Queenie's Castle, Juliet Bravo, EastEnders, Big Deal, The Chief), Barbara Mitchell (The Larkins, Love Thy Neighbour, For The Love Of Ada, The Fenn Street Gang), Queenie Watts (Romany Jones, Yus My Dear), Robin Askwith (The Bottle Boys and saw him in Benidorm the other night), Norman Mitchell (way too many to list), Robert Keegan (Z Cars/Softly Softly, Selwyn Froggitt).

Beryl's Lot

Mr Digby, Darling reunited The Rag Trade stars Sheila Hancock and Peter Jones for three series and 19 episodes between 1969 and 1971.

Mr Digby, Darling

On The House with Kenneth Connor (Carry On films. 'Allo 'Allo!, Hi-de-Hi!), John Junkin (Law & Disorder, Sam & Janet, was Wally the milkman in Till Death Us Do Part, was in A Hard Day's Night and wrote Langley Bottom and for Hark At Barker, Hugh And I....), Tommy Godfrey (Love Thy Neighbour, Mind Your Language), Gordon Rollings (That's My Boy!..the 1963 show, Black Arrow, Life Begins At Forty, Big Jim And The Figaro Club).   

On The House

Silent Witness - Disc 21

Silent Witness