Talking Pictures

[jobotic]

Killing Dad is on London Live now.

Quite enjoying but too tired to stay up. Can't record anything since ditching Sky!

[kaprisky]

We are five episodes into Manhunt, with Vincent, Jimmy and 'Nina' fleeing across the French countryside towards Britain. Worzel Gummidge has started, The Gold Robbers has finished and BBC's A Ghost Story for Christmas is upcoming.

London Live have got Yorkshire Television's The Sandbaggers (1978-80) starting tonight and have, sensationally, Boycie in Belgrade screening in a couple of weeks, while That's TV started Baywatch last night, a firm favourite with Gary Sparrow and New Order!

[Norton Canes]

The Sandbaggers is one of the best TV shows ever made - if you can get London Live, make sure you don't miss it.

[monkfromhavana]

The Sandbaggers is one of the best TV shows ever made - if you can get London Live, make sure you don't miss it.

I tried watching it once, but was put off (unfairly) by the sets. Might give it another go.

[superthunderstingcar]

A warning about The Sandbaggers: the first episode is one of the (very few) weaker episodes, but it gets really good from episode two onwards. The first ep mainly serves to introduce the series concept and (some of) the main characters.

For those of you who are already fans of The Sandbaggers: bet that wasn't the warning you thought I was about to give.

[Captain Crunch]

Talking Pictures' Noel Cronin's 'shock' at New Year Honours spot.  From his local paper:

The founder of a local family-run TV channel got a "shock" when he was recognised in the New Year Honours list.

Special honours are given to people who make outstanding contributions to their community and the country, with the New Year Honours acknowledging 1,227 people in the UK this year.

One such recipient was Noel Desmond Cronin, from Chipperfield, who started the popular vintage film and nostalgia channel in 2015 to preserve less well-known older films.

After being awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM), he told the Watford Observer of his "shock" on opening a letter with the news, adding "it doesn't happen to people that often does it".

The channel is run by Noel and his daughter Sarah Cronin-Stanley from an office in a West Hertfordshire garden.

Mr Cronin said: "It is a father and daughter set-up.

"We started about nine years ago now to show older pictures, predominantly British and older."

Escapism, nostalgia, and a personal touch have been highlighted as reasons for the success of a channel often showing obscure black and white films other broadcasters were not interested in.

Despite the small operation, it has boasted almost a million unique daily viewers and celebrity fans such as Vic Reeves, Danny Baker, and Robert Powell.

Viewers regularly provide joyful feedback about the memories the channel has brought back and Noel said he is "happy to be a part of that".

Some had even told him he deserves an award for preserving favourite films, but the BEM recipient did not imagine he would really end up on the honours list.

"You just smile and say 'oh that's nice' but that's as far as it was taken seriously," the 76-year-old added.

"But, as a lad from North London with an Irish father... to think what my dad from Limerick would think of it.... I think he would be very proud really.

"But in your wildest dreams you don't think you would one day get mentioned in the honours list."

The family has lived in the area since to 1970s, with Noel moving from London to Middlesex and then Herts. He has been based out of Chipperfield since 1997.

[superthunderstingcar]

That's lovely.

[Ambient Sheep]

Talking Pictures TV are going to be running the surviving 32 episodes (out of 432 total made!) of Dixon of Dock Green, starting on Sat 13th January at 7.20pm.

[A Hat Like That]

That appeals.

I rapidly lost my way with Manhunt, I'm afraid. I think it's because it feels like its filmed in Sutton Park in June.

Colditz or Tenko next please.

[Norton Canes]

Just seen in the weekly TPTV mailout that The Brothers starts... er, soon, I can't see the date... if anyone's up for some early Colin Baker action. 

[edit: Monday 1st, 8pm. Ah. Oh well never mind, I hear episode two is very good]

[magister]

I think Colin arrives in series 3 or 4.

[A Hat Like That]

Set up Run for the Sun to record, remember that being a solid thriller.

Brothers also set to record.

Would Gangsters be within TPTV's remit?

[Ignatius_S]

Just seen in the weekly TPTV mailout that The Brothers starts... er, soon, I can't see the date... if anyone's up for some early Colin Baker action. 

[edit: Monday 1st, 8pm. Ah. Oh well never mind, I hear episode two is very good]

It's on the Talking Pictures Encore service which can be accessed via Freeview or online: https://www.tptvencore.co.uk/Video/The-Brothers-End-of-the-Beginning

A lot of the TV shows on Encore are only on it for a week (like this one) but you've got a few more days.

If you got the email yesterday, it's the weekly one for Encore; the mailer for the TV channel goes out on Sundays.

Also, they may repeat it quite soon - they did that with The Gold Robbers; I  think the original showing was on Monday and I was surprised to see how quickly they started showing it on Saturday (I think!) after the first run. Absolutely brilliant series.

[Ignatius_S]

Set up Run for the Sun to record, remember that being a solid thriller.

Brothers also set to record.

Would Gangsters be within TPTV's remit?

Yes, the film's a decent adaptation of the classic The Most Dangerous Game. The radio anthology series, Suspense did two very good versions - one starring Orson Welles and one with Joseph Cotten  as one played the hunter and the other, the hunted, it's a shame they weren't in the same production!

Re: Gangsters - can't see why it wouldn't but the Beeb stuff tends to be more problematic to license.

[A Hat Like That]

Yes, the film's a decent adaptation of the classic The Most Dangerous Game.

Enjoyed, and liked that it took a good 30 minutes on the Widmark-as-Shakin'-Hemingway plot before it really got going. Trevor Howard also very good.

[Blumf]

We're getting Jack Hargreaves's Out of Town coming up: 5th Feb 1830h

Wonder if this'll be the restored Network stuff.

[kaprisky]

There appear to be two distinct versions of Out of Town on disc - a 28-episode compilation which recreates the original films, from 1986, and a 34-episode comp which are the original broadcasts from the 1980-81 series when Southern still existed. The descriptions suggest that TPTV will show the 34-ep comps.

Other Southern stuff: That Beryl Marston! and Take a Letter Mr Jones popped up last week, with singalong theme tunes, and Sally Ann (1979), a Salvation Army drama, turns up next week.

Also on, the edited-into-feature-length Secret of Seagull Island (originally a mini-series in 1981) and The Ruth Ellis Story (Thames doc from 1977).

Also finished the first series of Sandbaggers on London Live. Shocking ending, anything to keep the 'special relationship'.

[Ambient Sheep]

Turns out the CBS Saturday morning magazine show in the USA did a rather lovely little spot on them the other day.

Definitely worth watching, especially when the US reporter asks Noel Cronin to show her a random reel of film she just picked out of the pile:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOMcZvA0mjI

[daf]

Spoiler alert

Thomas the Wank Engine?

[close]

[Ambient Sheep]

Spoiler alert

Thomas the Wank Engine?

[close]

:-D

[Blumf]

Definitely worth watching, especially when the US reporter asks Noel Cronin to show her a random reel of film she just picked out of the pile:

"Maybe not another reel from the same lady."

Somebody's had a clear out of hubby's film collection.

[Hobo With A Shit Pun]

Nice wee turn from Saeed Jaffrey in the current Rumpole ("...& the quacks.") I'm amused that his character kept referencing A Passage To India, when he was in the fillum.

Brief glimpse of Graham Crowden as an official of the medical council, too.

[kaprisky]

Upcoming: Stingray (1964), The Beverly Hillbillies (1962-71) and Bonanza (19??-??).

Quite enjoying Out of Town, where the format is basically 16mm films of Jack Hargreaves doing rural activities like fishing and mole-killing and providing his own audio commentaries over the top. And discharging that shotgun in the studio!

And the theme tune with the bass and the Spanish guitar is killer!

[superthunderstingcar]

Crown Court restarted today, with them showing a whole three-parter back-to-back, which I think fits modern viewing sensibilities better than having them spread through the week. Available on their catchup service for a week: https://www.tptvencore.co.uk/search?s=crown%20court&pg=1&sort=Latest

Loads of before-they-were-famous actors made early appearances in Crown Court - hopefully we'll get one with Mark "Taggart" McManus in a few weeks. Plus Richard Wilson, Terence Hardiman and John "CJ" Barron were regulars.

[A Hat Like That]

Put season 2 of Spearhead on record. First few minutes seemed at least intriguing.

[kaprisky]

Started series 2 of The Brothers last week and Glyn Owen was replaced by Patrick O'Connell as Edward Hammond. Not sure he quite has the heft of the previous Edward. Also features Mark "Taggart" McManus, as an Aussie!

Budgie gets a repeat run in April (with both theme tunes) but I really wanted to use this post for a heads-up on a completely different channel: forum favourite Arrows (1979) is getting a repeat on BBC4 on Sun 31st March. Time to give the 7'' soundtrack single a spin!

#Your eye is true, you looked so self-assured...#

EDIT: oh, and other forum favourite Monty Python's The Meaning of Life is on again next week on ITV4.

[kaprisky]

We're 22 episodes into Manhunt and apart from some dialogue at the start, this installment was totally wordless, something you don't see nowadays.

A couple of upcoming episodes are scripted by Vincent Tilsley, which is handy because in a couple of weeks' time they're going to show his TV play The Death of Adolf Hitler. Might be of interest to anyone that saw Stanley Kubrick's Boxes from a few years ago!

[Blumf]

We're 22 episodes into Manhunt and apart from some dialogue at the start, this installment was totally wordless, something you don't see nowadays.

There was that BoJack Horseman episode.

[Norton Canes]

They showed The Black Hole yesterday - perfect viewing for a wet bank holiday afternoon

[A Hat Like That]

They showed The Black Hole yesterday - perfect viewing for a wet bank holiday afternoon

The hell was that!

Manhunt didn't quite gel for me. Dialogue free episode sounds interesting.

Spearhead is diverting, great cameo by Milton Johns in recent episode and the lad (Stafford Gordon) playing the CSM does it with cold cunning, very different to other screen sergeant majors. Everyone carries the air of a failed Dr Who audition.