A Happy New Year to you all! So much for 2010's Christmas television. Best offering by far was 'Eric & Ernie', a wonderful evocation of Morecambe & Wise's early years. Well done Victoria Wood. Let's see a follow-up covering the boys' time at A.T.V. and the B.B.C. 'The Secret Life of Bob Monkhouse' ( also on on B.B.C.-4 ) unearthed long-lost archive material, including a furious Bob ( he'd been sacked by Lord Grade ) on his last 'Golden Shot', the Denis Goodwin shows and the title sequence of 'Mad Movies'! I.T.V.'s 'The Unforgettable...' gave us well-crafted portraits of, among others, Danny La Rue and Mike Reid. The 'Candid Camera' retrospective had great clips ( nice to see Sheila Burnette and Eve Adam-Polycarpou again ) but was marred by too many talking heads ( most of whom I'd never heard of ). 'Rock & Chips' Episode 2 was better than the previous edition, if not quite up to 'Only Fools' standard'. Honorable mentions for Jools Holland's New Years Eve show and the Rich Hall special.
Bummer of the holiday season was a tie between 'The One Ronnie' ( a misguided attempt to do 'The Two Ronnies' without the great Mr.Barker. Shame on you Corbett for agreeing to it ) and this year's 'Dr.Who' Christmas Special which mixed flying sharks with Katherine Jenkins and was as indigestible as one of my wife's home-made mince pies. The show really is doomed unless it gets a) a new show-runner and b) a new Doctor. Matt Smith plays the part like a tenth-rate conjurer at a spoilt kids' tea party.
'D For Destruction', the final episode of 'Adam Adamant' Season 1, was thought lost for many years until it unexpectedly resurfaced, just in time for inclusion on the 2006 D.V.D. release. Penned by Tony Williamson, it has Adam investigating a series of lethal accidents in his old army regiment - the 51st Yeomanry. Back on active duty, he finds the unit is now part of the Territorial Army under the command of the deranged Colonel Mannering ( Iain Cuthbertson ). Angered by plans to phase out the T.A., the Colonel is plotting to capture a nuclear missile base, directing the warheads at 10 Downing Street. They will be fired unless his demands are not met...
A strong season climax courtesy of Moira Armstrong, one of the few woman directors around at that time ( she's still going strong. Her most recent work was 'Lark Rise To Candleford' ). Plots about regiments gone bad abounded in 'The Avengers' - such as 'Esprit De Corps', 'The Morning After', and 'Dirtier By The Dozen' - so it comes as no surprise to find one here. Nice performance from Cuthbertson as 'Mannering'. He is just a figurehead though, the real villain is Michael Ripper's 'Sergeant Jeffers'. Iain reunited with Verity Lambert and Moira Armstrong five years later when he played 'Charlie Endell' in I.T.V.s 'Budgie'. For 'Dr.Who' fans, the main interest here is seeing Patrick Troughton ( as 'General Mongerson' of Strategic Air Command ) in his last role before becoming the second 'Dr.Who'.
Some nice touches of humour too, including the sight of Adam reporting for duty wearing his 1895 vintage uniform!
Bummer of the holiday season was a tie between 'The One Ronnie' ( a misguided attempt to do 'The Two Ronnies' without the great Mr.Barker. Shame on you Corbett for agreeing to it ) and this year's 'Dr.Who' Christmas Special which mixed flying sharks with Katherine Jenkins and was as indigestible as one of my wife's home-made mince pies. The show really is doomed unless it gets a) a new show-runner and b) a new Doctor. Matt Smith plays the part like a tenth-rate conjurer at a spoilt kids' tea party.
'D For Destruction', the final episode of 'Adam Adamant' Season 1, was thought lost for many years until it unexpectedly resurfaced, just in time for inclusion on the 2006 D.V.D. release. Penned by Tony Williamson, it has Adam investigating a series of lethal accidents in his old army regiment - the 51st Yeomanry. Back on active duty, he finds the unit is now part of the Territorial Army under the command of the deranged Colonel Mannering ( Iain Cuthbertson ). Angered by plans to phase out the T.A., the Colonel is plotting to capture a nuclear missile base, directing the warheads at 10 Downing Street. They will be fired unless his demands are not met...
A strong season climax courtesy of Moira Armstrong, one of the few woman directors around at that time ( she's still going strong. Her most recent work was 'Lark Rise To Candleford' ). Plots about regiments gone bad abounded in 'The Avengers' - such as 'Esprit De Corps', 'The Morning After', and 'Dirtier By The Dozen' - so it comes as no surprise to find one here. Nice performance from Cuthbertson as 'Mannering'. He is just a figurehead though, the real villain is Michael Ripper's 'Sergeant Jeffers'. Iain reunited with Verity Lambert and Moira Armstrong five years later when he played 'Charlie Endell' in I.T.V.s 'Budgie'. For 'Dr.Who' fans, the main interest here is seeing Patrick Troughton ( as 'General Mongerson' of Strategic Air Command ) in his last role before becoming the second 'Dr.Who'.
Some nice touches of humour too, including the sight of Adam reporting for duty wearing his 1895 vintage uniform!
