what is the status of these...

[Andrew Timm]

I'm sorry if these have been conered before, but what is the missing/intact status of the following mix of shows....

We Have Ways Of Making You Laugh
Do Not Adjust Your Set
Goodbye Again
On The Margin
Twice A Fortnight
Torchy The Battery Boy
The Gerry Anderson 1 with "Four Feathers" or something like that in the title?

Thank you in adavnce
Andrew Timm

[Gareth R]

We Have Ways... is completely missing.

Torchy is intact (I *think*).

"Four Feather Falls" is definitely 100% intact.

[Kev]

This article will help you with Twice a Fortnight.

TWICE A FORTNIGHT
BBC1, 21st October to 23 December 1967
Satire and popular music were still unlikely bedfellows on British TV screens in late 1967. Helping to pioneer the melding of the two was Twice A Fortnight, a 10-part comedy series produced arid directed by Observer critic Tony Palmer -whose equally ambitious 17-part history of popular music, All You Need Is Love, aired weekly across the ITV network in 1977. Twice A Fortnight was written largely by two future members of The Goodies, Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie. (Apparently, Palmer had jumped at the job because of the opportunity to work with Garden). The show's supporting cast featured actors such as Jonathan Lynn, Dilys Watling, Tony Buffery and the veteran broadcaster, Ronald Fletcher.
Transmitted directly after Match Of The Day on a Saturday night, Twice A Fortnight was, in reality, an adaptation of the innovative BBC radio show, I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again, starring Garden and Oddie, alongside fellow Goodie-in-waiting Tim Brooke-Taylor plus future Monty Python's Flying Circus maestro, John Cleese.
In addition, at Garden's insistence, surreal film sequences were written into the programme, acted out by two other soon-to-be Pythons, Michael Palin and Terry Jones. (These skits were similar in style to the pair's later appearances in The Complete And Utter History Of Britain, aired across the ITV Network by London Weekend Television between 12th January and 16th February, 1969).
The film ideas on TAF stimulated the more visual side of the writing, and evidently influenced the zany format to The Goodies. Audience participation was actively encouraged. "At the time we made the show," says Palmer, "it was all the rage getting the audience involved."
However, this backfired when, after the subdued, almost comatose state of those present at the filming of the pilot, Palmer decided to enliven proceedings by presenting the second show's audience with squeakers and motor horns. Thanks to this barrage, along with the discernible sound of booing, jeering and cat-calling, the stars was rendered almost inaudible. (Their noisy behaviour was no doubt aided by the free drink flowing in the BBC hospitality bar beforehand.)
From the outset, Palmer intended to feature music in the series to complement the comedy. For the first show, transmitted on 21st October and subtitled Match Of The Day Part 2, the Who performed their latest single 'I Can See For Miles', amid hallucinogenic, eye-straining camera zooms. (This clip has received several repeat screenings over the years, most notably BBC-2's excellent Sounds Of The Sixties series, in 1991).
Show 2 (28th October), subtitled Peter West Lives (a tribute to the BBC's regular cricket commentator), featured Liverpudlian folkies the Spinners, along with Aussie agent provocateur Germaine Greer. (Greer later reappeared during Show 6.)
Other musical guests (personally chosen by Palmer) over the ensuing weeks included Simon Dupree & the Big Sound (Show 3, transmitted 4th November), Ross Hannaman, the Evening Standard 'Girl Of The Year' and future Mrs Mark Wirtz. (Show 4 -11th November), the Spinners again and the Moody Blues (Show 5 -18th November), the Scaffold (Show 6 -25th November), Cream (Show 7 -2nd December, performing 'We're Going Wrong'), Cat Stevens (Show 8- 9th December), the Small Faces (Show 9 -16th December, performing 'Tin Soldier'), while the final show, subtitled Now Or Never (transmitted on 23rd December), featured return appearances by the Spinners and the Who in an incongruous medley of musical styles.
While the musicians were relatively easy to work with, the comedic talent didn't gel as smoothly. "They were talented," Palmer lamented, "but knew basically nothing about television, and some of their ideas would have taken a week to film; when, in fact, they had about two hours."
On 3rd June 1968, a special compilation programme, The Best Of Twice A Fortnight aired on BBC1 as an interlude to an already-planned second series, but unfortunately, this failed to materialise. Tony Palmer's examination of popular music continued that year with All My Loving, a pretentious hour-long mosaic of the current pop scene interspersed with horrific Vietnam war images (screened as part of BBC1's Omnibus art series on 3rd November 1968) as well as his critically-mixed Cream's Farewell Concert (1968).
As for Twice A Fortnight, while no complete shows reside in the BBC vaults (apart from musical inserts by the Who and Cream), amateur audio recordings survive of the entire series, while Terry Jones' private film collection is rumoured to contain most of his and Palin's original sketches.

[Jonathan Evans]

I believ that "Goodbye Again" exists fully, sort of. The first 2 episodes are intact, while the latter 2 both exist in a slightly deteriorated condittion. These could be fully restored if someone put up the money or gave the time. There was also the LP recording, curreently available as "An Evening With Peter Cook And Dudley Moore".
"On The Margin" is I believe totally wiped/junked.

[andrew martin]

There are some small clips surviving from "On the Margin" but sadly no complete episodes.

[John Miller]

'Do not adjust your set' 11 of 13 Rediffusion episodes surviving or something like this. Thames 1968-69 continuation - 1 b & w T/R from VT Xmas special 1968, 1 regular edition recently found on V/T I believe, and one on V/T at the Museum of photography in Bradford, where Mrs Black disguises herself as Mrs White. Episode I liked where she employed a group of box headed robots in cloaks in a giant teapot controlled with her handbag doesn't seem to exist. 'On the margin', just to say to Andrew Martin I'm pleased & surprised there are clips as it previously was thought to be completely lost. Those who recall it say it was an important piece. 'Torchy' wouldn't surprise me if this is an incomplete run as the copyright owners had difficulty securing a buyer when unbelieveably they were considering junking the prints in the 1980s. Think Roberta Tovey may've stepped in but believe Gerry anderson wasn't interested. 'Twice a fortnight'- I think I read Terry Jones comment that he rescued all the comedy inserts by badgering the director, having recently learned that 'BBC 3' had been junked or wiped, in a panic reaction. Some of the pop inserts were telercorded pre broadcast, though believe the show transmissions were live. I thought Cream, Who & Cat Stevens inserts existed. The Cream number is 'We're going wrong'. Sadly, 'Kites' by Simon dupree which appeared doesn't exist as its a great track & well remembered. Incidentally, slightly off this threads topic, Terry Jones has an edition of 'The illustrated weekly Hudd' from 1967 in his collection. As far as I know the BBC hasn't got any of Roy Hudds 1960s shows.

[Jonathan Evans]

Interesting. Do you know if any audio exists from "On The Margin"?

[Laurence Piper]

I believe that audios for all of On The Margin exists and have known to be so for many years. There is a brief film insert surviving for one episode too and - according to the Kal website - some home VCR fragments of the show (although I haven't seen this confirmed elsewhere).

Do Not Adjust Your Set: there are nine of the 13 Rediffusion (series 1) episodes surviving on T/R (a DVD release if ever there was one!), the Thames Xmas special and at least one edition from their series 2 on b/w VT, which is on display at the Bradford museum, as John says (it's been said for some time that a few more are in the Freemantle archive as well, although i'm not sure which ones these may be).

We Have Ways: officially no episodes are thought to survive although the Granada Visual database makes reference to episodes there. These are likely to be errors though as much stuff on that listing is thought to be inaccurate. I'd be happy to be proved wrong though!

Hope this helps.

By the way, John - you mean Roberta Leigh rather than Roberta Tovey, right? I understood anyway...

[Laurence Piper]

By the way, I believe Four Feather Falls exists in it's entirety at Granada. Can anyone confirm this?

[Jonathan Evans]

I am sorry if it has known to be so for many years, but I hope you appreciate that there are some people on here who don't necessarily know that much beyond the obvious Dr Who, Dad's Army, Till Death, Z Cars etc., and asking on a forum like this is the best way to find it. For instance the original query here asked what the status of Do Not Adjust Your Set and Goodbye Again was. I have known these for years yet did not get all smug and self-assured when answering him. If someone posted something on here asking what the status of say K9 and Company was, I wouldn't leap on them, pointing out their ignorance.

[Stuart]

Guest-Jonathan said:

I am sorry if it has known to be so for many years, but I hope you appreciate that there are some people on here who don't necessarily know that much beyond the obvious Dr Who, Dad's Army, Till Death, Z Cars etc., and asking on a forum like this is the best way to find it. For instance the original query here asked what the status of Do Not Adjust Your Set and Goodbye Again was. I have known these for years yet did not get all smug and self-assured when answering him. If someone posted something on here asking what the status of say K9 and Company was, I wouldn't leap on them, pointing out their ignorance.

But no-one did leap on anyone (in this thread at least

Stuart

[Laurence Piper]

No, absolutely not. I think it is forgotten sometimes by some that not everyone coming here is a seasoned expert and that we all have a first time when it comes to finding out certain facts on missing material. So feel free to ask all you like about anything, Jonathan!