Web Page  No 2122

11th January 2015

Don't forget the lunchtime get together in The George on the 20th February at 12.00  - 2.00pm. I have just heard that both June Blitz and Peter Sexton will be there.

Top Picture: The Baron

Middle Picture: Callan and Lonely

Lower Middle Picture: Dangerman

Bottom Picture: Emergency Ward 10 Staff

Having just looked at The Avengers last week I realised that there were many other 1960’s programmes which came to mind. So here are some of them.

THE BARON

The first ITC series to be made in colour, The Baron (Steve Forrest) was another of the exciting, cult television classics produced throughout the 1960s. Antiques dealer John Mannering (known as The Baron), along with his glamorous, sexy assistant Cordelia (Sue Lloyd), worked in an informal capacity for the head of the British Diplomatic Intelligenc,– an informal agreement which invariably put the jet-setting playboy in dangerous, life-or-death situations. Global espionage, bank robberies, murder, it was all in a day’s work for The Baron! Based on the best-selling novels by John Creasey, The Baron is a rarely-seen series cut from the same cloth as The Saint and Danger Man and featured guest stars of the calibre of Bernard Lee, Peter Wyngarde, Sylvia Sims, Robert Hardy, Philip Madoc, Edward Woodward and Jeremy Brett throughout all thirty episodes.

CALLAN

Edward Woodward gave an electrifying performance as a reluctant professional killer working for British Intelligence. Callan actually became a national phenomenon in the late 1960s, making Edward Woodward one of the highest profile actors on television and paving the way to his eventual career in America in shows like The Equalizer. Created by James Mitchell (When the Boat Comes In) and exploring the dingy, twilight world of the professional spy, Callan was the antithesis of James Bond and presented, the, television's most realistic portrayal of government espionage. Who can forget Callan’s sidekick Lonely?

DANGER MAN

“Every government has its secret service branch: America, CIA; France, Deuxieme Bureau; England, MI5. NATO also had its own. The series featured the character John Drake and the first series consisted of the 39 half-hour stories. The series charted the exploits of John Drake - an exemplary agent for British Intelligence who is sent into situations too tricky or dangerous for normal spies to undertake. Patrick McGoohan who played John Drake was catapulted into movies and paved the way for - The Prisoner.

MAN IN A SUITCASE

Arguably the finest series ever put out in the 1960s the  ITC company, MAN IN A SUITCASE featured Richard Bradford as McGill, a discredited ex-CIA agent who is reduced to working for hire as a private investigator. Travelling the world, McGill works as a 'gun for hire', often coming into conflict with his employers due to his strong sense of personal integrity and zero tolerance for shady dealings. Richard Bradford gave an astounding performance as McGill - the coolest private eye that ever graced a television screen. Critically acclaimed and highly popular (it even got a network transmission in the States).

THE POWER GAME

The Power Game - ATV's famous boardroom drama from the 1960s starred Patrick Wymark as John Wilder, the ruthless and power-hungry executive whom everybody loved to hate. His adversarial relationship with his wife and colleagues in his fight for political power and one-upmanship set the template for many boardroom dramas to come. Patrick Wymark revelled in his role as the despicable Wilder, his strong and compelling characterisation encouraging equally high-calibre performances from co-stars Peter Barkworth, Clifford Evans, Barbara Murray, Jack Watling and Michael Jayston.

PUBLIC EYE

Over a period of ten years between January 1965 to April 1975, the ABC/Thames drama series Public Eye and its world-weary, ageing, but essentially honest central character of downtrodden private enquiry agent, Frank Marker, successfully walked the transitional path between the gloss and glamour of the adventure series of the 1960's and the grittily action of emerging new shows, such as The Sweeney, which would go on to dominate the television screens of the 1970's. Originally beginning life in black and white, the series introduced us to Frank Marker,(a subtle and perfectly judged portrayal by the Alfred Burke, unmarried, a loner, barely making a living working as an independent freelance enquiry agent in London. The trouble is that so much of the series early episodes are lost to television posterity.

Now for something totally different

EMERGENCY-WARD 10

Pre-dating Casualty and Holby City by decades, Emergency - Ward 10 was Britain's first medical soap opera. Initially thought of as a filler programme, the twice-weekly serial rapidly became a favourite with the nation's viewing public. Between 1957 and 1967 it regularly pulled in audiences in excess of 15 million and spawned two spin-off programmes and a feature-film adaptation. Set in the fictitious Oxbridge General Hospital, Emergency-Ward 10 concentrated as much on the private lives of the staff as it did on their jobs. It also introduced the viewers to medical procedures, earning praise from the British Medical Council for helping to allay the public’s fears of hospitals. High in dramatic content, the series had a low mortality rate (patient deaths were strictly limited to five per year) and made stars out of the doctors, nurses and indeed patients who walked the wards. Take care

Stay in touch

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com

You Write:

Griff Writes:-

All this interest in The Droke in Cosham  has led me to find out what the word actually means.

Droke: 

     A small watercourse or ditch, culvert.

Quite possible when you consider that Cosham High St. is on the lower slopes of a gradient for rainwater run-off from Portsdown Hill.

News and Views:

On this day 11th January 1960-1965

On 11/01/1960 the number one single was Why - Anthony Newley and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was not listed and the box office smash was North by Northwest. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the week was Aswan Dam foundation stone laid.

On 11/01/1961 the number one single was I Love You - Cliff Richard & the Shadows. The top rated TV show was Emergency Ward 10 (ATV) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 11/01/1962 the number one single was Moon River - Danny Williams and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the week was Avalanche buries 16 villages in Peru.

On 11/01/1963 the number one single was The Next Time/Bachelor Boy - Cliff Richard & the Shadows and the number one album was Black & White Minstrel Show - George Mitchell Minstrels. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 11/01/1964 the number one single was I Want to Hold Your hand - The Beatles and the number one album was With the Beatles - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Steptoe & Son (BBC) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the week was Anti-US demonstrations over Panama Canal.

On 11/01/1965 the number one single was I Feel Fine - The Beatles and the number one album was Beatles For Sale - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.