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Post by John Green on Feb 12, 2022 10:55:13 GMT
Is the episode of Never a Cross Word carried over to the Network Please Sir!/Fenn Street Gang jumbo set? It's the one where NDP agrees, under duress, to do a Full Monty striptease for car-repair man Sam Kydd. It probably was, what was your opinion of it? was it good/funny? as it did not last long but was apparently a savior during the Aug 1968 technician union action as gaps in the schedule (where no programs had been made due to strikes)were filled with Never a Cross Word. It's pretty good; love Nyree's shrug when she realises her attempts to play for time re the stripping aren't working. It seems it's not on the Please Sir!/Fenn Street Gang/Bowler boxset: Please Sir!: all 55 episodes of the original series Please Sir!: the 1971 feature film The Fenn Street Gang: all 47 episodes of the Please Sir! sequel Bowler: all 13 episodes of the Fenn Street Gang spin-off. networkonair.com/all-products/2844-please-sir-the-complete-fenn-street-collectionthough it was on the Please Sir! second series set, now deleted. The reason it was included is that John Alderton guested in full Bernard Hedges mode. "Although the series didn't make much of a lasting impression it does have the distinction of being the programme that landed John Alderton the lead role in the hugely successful Please Sir! as well as being something of a failed experiment in as much as LWT decided to try a sitcom lasting 45 minutes." televisionheaven.co.uk/reviews/never-a-cross-word
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Post by John Green on Feb 12, 2022 17:07:03 GMT
Worth quoting an IMDB review: "Presumably intended for the winter schedule of 1968? but ended up being shown in the summer and all over the place, plugging holes in LWT's industrial dispute ridden schedule. Paul Daneman and Nyree Dawn Porter really sparked as the wedded couple clashing over over everyday problems of for example of getting the car fixed. Also what worked well for this particular type of comedy was the old 45 minute format. However by the second series both Nyree and 15 minutes of the programme had gone," NEVER A CROSS WORD Series 1 07.10.1968 The Baldocks at Bay (missing) 14.10.1968 The Camping Baldocks (missing) 21.10.1968 Saint Deidre (missing) 28.10.1968 The Fighting Baldocks (missing) 04.11.1968 Defeat of the Baldocks (missing) so eight of the thirteen survive. www.imdb.com/title/tt0121000/episodes?ref_=tt_eps_sm It would be nice to see a release...
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Post by Peter Stirling on Feb 12, 2022 19:17:36 GMT
IIRC I think Nyree was better suited as she was agile for visual comedy and had a smile in her eye..I associate her with the US Teri Garr (why Teri never got her own comedy show is another ramble). Possibly because she was a busy lady then that she didn't make the second season, but with Barbara Murray I think it became a bit BBCish.
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Post by williammcgregor on Feb 18, 2022 11:46:39 GMT
6 of the 100 exist complete in the archives
Love and Kisses A-R 4/11/55 1959 Gert and Daisy A-R Something In The City A-R The Dithering Detective BBC Television Service 1963 Tin Pan Alice 15/8/63 Granada Television 1965 A slight Case Of ... BBC 2
As such no need to mention any more, except to say, as television viewers, will we ever get to see these?
For the remaining 94, these are now together below. Most of these sitcoms were 6 episodes, () denotes if there were any differences. Also any existing material.
Number 49 1963 Best of Friends, this was made by Foster TV Productions for ABC Television. Has anyone ever heard of Foster TV Productions before, or can they find out more about them? Did they make any other TV series either for ABC or any other ITV station? Wouldn't it be great if they still held all 13 of Best of Friends.
01 Curtains For Harry 20/10/55 1956 02 Joan and Leslie (71) 03 Double Cross 04 My Sister and I 05 Those Kids (17) 06 My Wife's Sister (37) 07 Abigail and Roger (9) 08 The Most Likely Girl 09 I'm Not Bothered (26) 10 Nathaniel Titlark (10) 1956-7 Audio exists of 1 of the 10 (6/3/56) 1957 11 Three 'Tough' Guys 12 Scott Free 13 Sheep's Clothing (7) 14 Highland Fling 1958 15 Educated Evans (24) 16 Time Out For Peggy (25) 17 The Randall Touch (12) 18 Jennings At School (10) 19 The Sky Larks (16) 20 Educating Archie (26) 21 Captain Moonlight - Man of Mystery (12) 22 East End - West End 23 Caxton's Tales (5) 24 My Wife And I (11) 25 All Aboard (26) 1959 26 The Adventure's of Brigadier Wellington-Bull (5) 27 Don't Tell Father 28 Tell It To The Marines (30) 29 The Artful Dodger 30 Para-Handy Master Mariner 1960 31 The Trouble With Harry 32 A Life of Bliss (20) 33 The Rolling Stones 34 Don't Do It, Dempsey! 35 The Love of Mike (30) 36 Mess Mates (39) 37 Fred Emney Picks A Pop 1/7/60 38 Bonehead (15) 3 exist 39 Meet The Champ 1961 40 Leave It To Pastry (3) 1 exists 41 Three Live Wires (26) 42 Winning Widows (11) 2 exist 43 Colonel Trumper's Private War (5) 1962 44 Brothers In Law (13) 1 exists 45 Bulldog Breed (7) 46 It's A Living (5) 47 The Adventures of Francie and Josie (33) 1962-5 1963 48 Mr. Justice Duncannon 49 Best of Friends (13) 50 The Handy Gang (13) 51 Dial RIX (8) 2 exist 52 Bud 53 Taxi! (26) 1 exists 54 Yes, But Seriously 16/10/63 1964 55 Just Jimmy (51) 1 exists 56 Room At The Bottom (4) 57 Foreign Affairs (8) 58 Bold As Brass 59 The Valiant Varneys (15) 60 A World Of His Own (13) 61 H.M.S Paradise (26) 2 exist 62 Lance At Large 63 The Big Noise 64 Dave's Kingdom (8) 1965 65 A Little Big Business (9) 7 exist 66 The Airbase 67 The Bed-Sit Girl (12) 68 Pet Pals 69 Hudd 1966 70 The Vital Spark (12) 1 exists 71 Three Rousing Tinkles (3) 72 Foreign Affairs 73 Barney Is My Darling 1967 74 Mr. Aitch (18) 75 4 Tall Tinkles (4) 1 exists 76The Whitehall Worrier (7) 77 My Man Joe 78 Room At The Bottom (7) 79 Vacant Lot (7) 80 The Reluctant Romeo (7) 81 Sam and Janet (15) 3 exist 82 Sorry I'm Single (9) 83 Baker's Half-Dozen 84 A Series of Bird's (8) 85 No - That's Me Over Here! (13) 1 exists and 1 audio 86 The Very Merry Widow (12) sequences exist of 1 87 Beggar My Neighbour (24) 9 exist 88 Over To Una (11) 89 (A.P. Herbert's) Misleading Cases 1 exists 90 Who Is Sylvia? (7) 5 exist 1968 91 Mum's Boys (7) 92 With Bird Will Travel 1 has picture only - no sound 93According To Dora (7) 94 Ooh La La! (12)
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Post by Peter Stirling on Feb 18, 2022 14:40:29 GMT
6 episodes must be the point where the powers that be bring down the axe on a sitcom?
Joe Baker's career in comedy was on the rise at the point of Baker's Half Dozen, but they only showed
5 and rather oddly the 6th one was shown around midnight in some regions years later in the 70s.
Anyway, Joe ended up in washing powder adverts (which were actually extremely popular)but possibly fed up with his declining comedy career he moved to the US where he managed to get bit parts.
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Post by williammcgregor on Feb 24, 2022 9:46:40 GMT
An overall view
Station Sitcoms Missing Episodes Existing Episodes
BBC Television Service 17 155 Audio exists of 1 of the 155 (6/3/56)
BBC tv 10 94 8 BBC 1 20 163 11 + sequences
BBC 2 3 18 1
ABC 9 154 1
Associated-Rediffusion 12 186 0
Rediffusion 3 53 3 + 1 audio 12/6/68
ATV 12 150 5 + 1 Picture No Sound
Granada 6 98 7
STV Scottish 2 44 0
Totals 94 1115 36 + bits
That Missing Episodes total of 1115 - what is the best percentage we could hope to find something from? If we say 1%, many will say, that's way too low, and they could be right. 1% is 11.15 episodes, which we may all be please about? These may also not be complete episodes and consist of a clip, sequences, picture only - no sound and sound only - no picture. For the live transmission episodes, we can hope that a Viewing Copy was made. What is a Viewing Copy? I am not entirely sure, but will attempt to say, the learned people on here will advise if I am almost correct or way off beam?
A Viewing Copy is a 16 mm film made by the Director and his crew, for them, the writers and the cast to view the live transmission - to view What Worked and What Didn't and Why it worked and Why it didn't.
A Viewing Copy might also have been made, beyond live transmissions and into the video-taped era, if the Director and others deemed it needed for the purpose of viewing?
A Viewing Copy may not have been of broadcast quality, as it did not need to be, for the purpose was to view as above, and not to use to broadcast. Also the kind of 16 mm film used for the Viewing Copy may also have determine if of broadcast quality?
A good example of a Viewing Copy coming to light - was the recent find of Terry Thomas - Strictly TT which is said, seems to be a Viewing Copy, by the fps, frames per second, of the 16 mm film used.
More on Foster TV Productions.
comedy.co.uk foster tv productions Foster TV Productions - BCG ProBlackbook says Foster TV Productions were a production company that created sitcoms for ITV in the sixties. Shows included Best of Friends and Our House.
There is a reference at British Newspaper Archive under an entry from The Stage 11/5/61 A-R congratulate and thank Foster TV Productions Ltd and all who have contributed to the great success of The Dickie Henderson Show...
Harry Foster was the Managing Director of Foster TV Productions.
Our House and The Dickie Henderson Show were not included in the 100, as they are well-known and have appeared in other previous threads
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Post by williammcgregor on Mar 4, 2022 10:01:08 GMT
Some good news, here is the first Find.
No 10 Nathaniel Titlark (10) 1956-7
As we know this sitcom was a live transmission. So if no Viewing Copy discovered, the chance of something appearing would be slim.
Here is a stroke of luck.
Someone's father made a tape reel of an episode.
Here is the search term
Nathaniel Titlark - Series 1 Episode 2: The Major and the Widow 31.44 minutes.
6/3/56 this episode has some cool psychology in it.
This sort of find makes it all worthwhile!
The theme song is sung by Bernard Miles, to hear the full version which has some canny philosophy in it, it is also on there, as, Bernard Miles - The Titlark Song 2.26 minutes
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Post by John Green on Mar 4, 2022 10:09:18 GMT
Oddly enough, as well as being a great search-term, the Titlark is a type of Pipit, it seems. 'Tawny Pipit' was of course, a British 1944 film comedy.
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Post by williammcgregor on Mar 29, 2022 16:41:41 GMT
Number 74 Mr. Aitch Looks as though Harry H. formed his own production company to make this series. Was it a company or was it a partnership with someone else or others? Would this newly formed Corbett productions have retained their own master-tapes of Mr. Aitch? Has anyone else previously looked into this and what did they discover about it? ... PROFILE Harry H. Corbett HARRY H. CORBETT who plays the leading role in Mr. Aitch this week's new comedy series by Rediffusion, in association with the newly formed Corbett productions, was born in Rangoon. When Harry was three his mother ... Published: Thursday 05 January 1967 Newspaper: www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/search/results/1967-01-01/1967-01-31?newspaperTitle=The%20Stage
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Post by Mark Tinkler on Mar 29, 2022 18:05:15 GMT
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Post by Kevin Clark on Apr 4, 2022 11:21:35 GMT
I'm sure I read somewhere that the Jack Hylton programmes were shot on film, and that many still exist in his archive at Lancaster University. This would be a perfect fit for Network as "Love and Kisses" (Arthur Askey) and "I'm Not Bothered" (Glenn Melvyn and the wonderful Danny Ross) look to be spin-offs from my favourite Arthur Askey film 'The Love Match'.
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Post by williammcgregor on Apr 7, 2022 12:48:52 GMT
More good news - 2 more Finds
We have to thank the BBC for advising us that they hold these.
Number 44 Brothers in Law (Existing episode is The Expert Witness 24/4/62) " There is a clip from another episode of Brothers in Law in Points of View from16 July 1962 (the episode being one shown on 10 July)."
So good news that the BBC holds a clip from Brothers in Law 10/7/62 Counsel for the Prosecution (missing) This was the last episode of the 13 in the series.
As an aside, here is what TV Brain says about Points of View, as this figures above.
POINTS OF VIEW (SURVIVING EARLY EDITIONS ONLY FROM FIRST RUN) 30.12.1963 Those Points of View (missing) 28.09.1971 Final Episode of First Run (missing) Virtually All Editions (missing)
Number 53 Taxi! (Existing episode is The Villain 7/8/63) " There is a clip of a different episode of Taxi! in a programme called More Than Meets the Eye shown on 20 May 1965, dealing with censorship of television."
More Than Meets the Eye: 3: Television shown on BBC 2 Thursday 20th May 1965, 19.25-20.00.
So good news that the BBC hold a clip from another episode of Taxi! - as yet unidentified, perhaps someone else can look into this? The last episode of Taxi was S2 Ep13 27/6/64.
The BBC also advises about Number 59 The Valiant Varneys
"The Valiant Varneys was repeated in part, but none of the episodes exist - I'm not sure if they were originally live or pre-recorded, if they were live a recording was obviously made at the time so they could be repeated, as with other live programmes like Z Cars, for example, but that's no guarantee that the programmes would still exist."
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