There’s nothing sourceable for me on BBC1, whilst BBC2 offers The Ascent of Man and M*A*S*H as possibilities.
ITV’s a happier hunting ground – there’s the always reliable Coronation Street (Derek Wilton making his first appearance since April 1979) followed by a repeat of The Benny Hill Show. I’m not sure whether I’ll attempt to track down exactly which one it is, as you’d no doubt get the gist from any of his shows at this point ….
Undoubted highlight of the evening is In – the final episode of Minder‘s third series. There’s a grimmer tone to this one – Arthur’s behind bars and desperate whilst Terry, still on the outside, attempts to clear his friend’s name.
This was one of Leon Griffiths’ last scripts for the series. Several writers (Tony Hoare especially) very effectively developed and broadened Griffiths’ original concept, but there’s always something satisfying about watching something written by Minder‘s creator.
Featuring a typically strong supporting cast (Brian Cox, Frederick Jaeger, Diane Langton, Russell Hunter) it’s the sort of episode that makes me want to go back and rewatch the whole series in order.
Archive Television Musings 
Again, I would have watched the BBC1 stretch from Scooby Doo up to Cartoon Time (London offering a more child-friendly regional alternative than other parts). My parents might have watched Chronicle later on. Since then, I’ve watched those episodes of Coronation Street and Minder.
Thinking myself back into 1982, I would watch: Crossroads, Coronation Street and Minder (I’d probably have a look at Sportsnight, too, before I went to bed). If I was in during the day, I’d also see Crown Court and A Little Silver Trumpet. Helpfully, as was often the case with prestige BBC2 dramas Nancy Astor was shown again on the Sunday evening, saving me from missing out on something that I’d definitely want to see.
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The third series of Minder certainly pushed the programme into the premier league of ITV’s favourable gems, after a luke warm response to the first two series.
The final episode titled ‘In’ is one of the show’s standout stories thanks to some excellent acting and stunt work.
Sadly, viewers would have to wait almost two years before Minder returned to the box.
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I do know what I was doing that day. It was the last day of term before the Easter holidays, and my last year at school. BBC1 are showing children’s programmes in the morning, which would have been a sore pint when I was younger. They used to put children’s programmes on during the holiday mornings, and at Easter it was always on the week ending Good Friday and week ending Easter Monday, which was when the private schools and colleges were off. That was when the state schools were off when Easter was later, but when Easter was earlier, two times out of three, we were off Maunday Thursday, Good Friday and the next two weeks. So we’d miss the first three days of holiday programmes, and then on the second full week the programmes had come off. My mum reckoned the programme planners sent their children to private schools.
These days when Easter is particularly late the holidays are the week before Holy Week, Holy Week and Easter Monday, and the schools go back the day after Easter Monday and we would have missed the last four days of holiday programmes.
I didn’t know the BBC were repeating The Banana Splits as recently as 1982, ten years before they popped up in butchered form on Big Breakfast (one of the broadcasting disasters of the nineties). What did Eleanor Bron read on Jackanory?
What was The Little Silver Trumpet? I think I remember that being read on Jackanory in the seventies.
It was interesting to see that Salman Rushdie was being interviewed some years before he became famous for The Satanic Verses. I did see Pebble Mill one week later when they interviewed Arthur Lowe, and the following morning I heard that he’d died.
I probably watched M*A*S*H. I remember the series about Nancy Astor but I didn’t watch it.
One thing I didn’t watch that day was the staff versus senior boys football match. They always played this on the afternoon of the last day of term before Easter, but I stayed inside and did some private study instead.
And lastly, whose eyes are those?
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