Beyond the Infinite (2 Mar. 1986)

Director:

David Askey

Writers:

Andrew Marshall, David Renwick

Stars:

Robert Hardy, Geoffrey Palmer, Geoffrey Hutchings

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Robert Hardy	...	Russell Spam / Terrence 'Twiggy' Rathbone
Geoffrey Palmer	...	Harold Stringer
Geoffrey Hutchings	...	Max Rutherford
Richard Kane	...	Greg Kettle
John Gordon Sinclair	...	Bill Tytla
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Geoffrey Greenhill	...	Keith
John Horsley	...	Father Teasdale
Doreen Keogh	...	Mrs. Beatty
Sarah Mortimer	...	Sharon Chandler
Louise Nelson	...	Newsreader

Storyline

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Release Date:

2 March 1986 (UK)

Company Credits

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"Papers"
Written, composed and performed by Alan Price
Theme tune

User Reviews

Keeping abreast of the Crucible!

Its fascinating to revisit Andrew Marshall and David Renwick's 'Hot Metal' in the light of the Leveson Inquiry. When Rupert Murdoch gave evidence, it was just like a scene from that show. Tony Blair's appearance was interrupted by an anti-war protester ( did the man not realise the Iraq war was ten years ago? ). 'Beyond The Infinite' is the third episode of Season 1. At the end of the previous instalment, a man claiming to be the late Soviet Premier Nikita Krushchev ( Aubrey Morris ) dropped dead prior to a television interview. It turns out that he was really a mental patient named 'Donald Kubelsky'. 'Bill Tytla' ( John Gordon Sinclair ), one of the few decent reporters the Crucible has left, goes to see a nurse called 'Sharon Chandler' ( Sarah Mortimer ) hoping to get more information. She was instructed to give the old man an injection just before the broadcast. An armed man is with her. Then Bill gets an anonymous call from someone called 'Sore Throat' ( a reference to 'Deep Throat', an informant from the Watergate scandal ), informing that Kapelsky's death was no accident.

In case you think all this sounds pretty heavy for a sitcom, let me point out that there are two other sub-plots - one concerning the Crucible's attempt to sell papers by giving away free glasses that cause the Page 3 girl's breasts to wobble, and another featuring Greg Kettle smearing a kindly vicar - 'Father Teesdale' ( John Horsley a.k.a 'Doc Morrissey' from 'The Fall & Rise Of Reginald Perrin ) - by branding him a 'militant Marxist'. If I had a fiver for each time I've seen a tabloid rag doing this sort of thing to ordinary people - often on the flimsiest of excuses - I would be rich enough to pay for a Prime Minister's state funeral. To give an example, when in 1986, an angry old woman protested at the smallness of her pension by hitting Margaret Thatcher over the head with a bunch of flowers during a walkabout, she was libelled a 'Labour yob' by 'The Sun' despite having no connection whatever with that, or any other, party. Later on in the series, Kettle makes Teesdale think he is a werewolf. 'The Sun' did not go that far, but did once print an alleged psychiatrist's assessment on the Labour M.P. Tony Benn, in which he was more or less branded insane. Why? Because he was critical of Thatcher. It still goes on today.

Funniest moment - 'Max Rutherford' ( the late Geoffrey Hutchings ) says to 'Russell Spam' ( Robert Hardy ): "Tits sell newspapers!" to which Spam replies: "Fortunately for us, they also buy them!".

Finally, a quick word about I.T.V.'s new sitcom hopefuls 'Vicious' and 'The Job Lot'. I enjoyed the former ( how good was it to see Frances de la Tour again ), but did not make it past the first half of the latter. Job Centres are incredibly depressing places, not particularly suited to be settings for comedies. Still, I hope I.T.V. commissions a few more funny shows - how about a sitcom set in the office of a sleazy tabloid rag?