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Post by Charles Norton on Sept 13, 2011 11:38:42 GMT
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Post by mistertmg on Sept 17, 2011 11:48:40 GMT
The official archive tapes for the last five episodes are labelled as episodes 5428 - 5431 and there is no reason why they should have been 100 episodes out?! I concur with this... Sad to hear the BBC Sound Archive would actually turn down an episode of The Dales. Since they have so few they ought to try obtaining more, not keeping things as they are. Nice to listen to the last week of The Dales. As has been said, you need a block of episodes to follow the stories! I'm wondering if Jessie recorded any episodes, though I must say I doubt it. I don't think she was that way inclined! |
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Post by Dean Williams on Sept 17, 2011 12:54:32 GMT
I think the figure of 5531 was probably just a guestimate by how many episodes they're SHOULD have been between 1948 and 1969 given no gaps. I was reading the below article the other day about Jessie Mathews which says she had a number of emotional breakdowns, including a few during her time on The Dales when she was replaced by other actresses for prolonged periods (they were Noel Dyson who played Ida Barlow in Coronation St, and Ruth Dunning who had been Mrs Grove in The Grove Family). Given her state of mind I doubt recording a radio soap was top of Jessie's priorities, given that everyone at the time expected the BBC were keeping programs!  www.indielondon.co.uk/theatre/t_recordfeat_jessiematthews4.html |
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Post by mistertmg on Sept 19, 2011 2:27:22 GMT
Yes, and her agent had to persuade the BBC not to fire her several times! But on the whole, her mental health was improved during that period.
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Post by Charles Norton on Sept 19, 2011 10:12:32 GMT
"Sad to hear the BBC Sound Archive would actually turn down an episode of The Dales. Since they have so few they ought to try obtaining more, not keeping things as they are."
I didn't actually say that they 'would' turn it down. It's still worth making the offer. I was just saying that there's a strong chance that they might nor accept it. Every now and then some new discovery does make its way back to the archive, just not as often as it should. An awful lot gets rejected.
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Post by Charles Norton on Jan 8, 2012 17:16:56 GMT
Just been looking through a volume of Asa Briggs' excellent history of the BBC. In Vol. IV (Sound and Vision), there's a bit about how an episode of 'Mrs. Dale's Diary' was cancelled on 24th February, 1950, to make way for party political broadcasts. It was moved to a later date.
Just thought I'd mention it, as it demonstrates that the programme wasn't always on 'every' weekday and would sometimes miss a day. This might account for the discrepencies over exactly how many episodes were made.
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Post by PAUL COTTON on Jan 13, 2012 21:29:12 GMT
There is a very brief extract from Mrs Dale's Diary(narration by Ellis Powell, script by Jonquil Antony) on the BBC cassette 'BBC 1922-1972: Fifty Years of Broadcasting'. This was based on a 1972 Radio Four series' Fifty Broadcasting Years'. The tape was released in 1974 and I haver a copy. The episode date isn't given.
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Post by PAUL COTTON on Jan 16, 2012 16:21:26 GMT
There is curently a documentary on Radio Four about this series, presented by Penelope Kieth.
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Post by John Green on Jan 16, 2012 18:05:24 GMT
At the end of the documentary they play the las few moments from the last episode,identified as number 5431.
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Post by mistertmg on Feb 15, 2012 20:45:04 GMT
A bit annoyed I missed it!
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