I’ve been rather impressed with a series of CGI recons that have appeared on YouTube during the past couple of months. At present, all of Marco Polo and the two missing episodes from The Crusade are up and the intention seems to be that all ninety seven episodes will be tackled in time.
There’s some undeniable rough edges which could benefit from additional work, but for now what’s been posted is certainly very watchable. Below is episode one of Marco Polo – The Roof of the World.
That’s Television Entertainment was a three hour programme broadcast in 1986 as part of the BBC’s TV50 season (which celebrated fifty years of BBC television).
I’ve just uploaded to YouTube the brief section covering Quatermass and Doctor Who. Ringo Starr and Cliff Richard discuss their love of Quatermass and whilst there’s no celebs on hand to talk about Doctor Who, there is a generous three minute selection of clips.
Most of the sixties and seventies footage is taken from the 1977 documentary Whose Doctor Who. I’m not sure how they selected the post 1977 material (since it’s bizarre to see a clip of Mestor from The Twin Dilemma – hardly one of the series’ high-points!).
Today, this is a nice selection of clips, but nothing more. Back in 1986 though it was a tantaslisng glimpse into mostly unobtainable Doctor Who history. The VHS range was still in its infancy (only a handful of tapes were available). Stories from the 1970’s were still airing in certain parts of the world (not in the UK alas) but everything that existed from the 1960’s was pretty much out of circulation. There were pirate videos of course, but even those were fairly restricted then.
These three minutes of clips seemed to be the closest we’d ever get to accessing a large part of Doctor Who’s history. The idea that everything that existed would one day be available at the touch of a button was mere science fiction back then.
I’ve uploaded some more archive bits and bobs to my YouTube channel, including this fascinating edition of Late Night Line Up from the mid 1960’s, which takes a look behind-the-scenes at Z Cars.
I’ve uploaded some bits and bobs to my YouTube channel over the last few days and one of them is this Timeshift documentary from 2004.
It tells the story of live British television drama – from the early days and then right up to date. Covering programmes like the original Quatermass serials, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Dixon of Dock Green and Z Cars and featuring interviews with Nigel Kneale, Peter Byrne and Brian Blessed amongst others, it ties neatly into some of the shows that I’ve written about in recent months.
A section of William Hartnell’s 1965 Desert Island Discs interview (running for about 15 minutes) has just been returned to the BBC Archives, together with complete DID’s featuring the Reverend W Awdry, Diana Rigg and Louis Armstrong. The Louis Armstrong DID was Armstrong’s own personal copy, whilst the others have been donated by listeners.
You can listen or download the Hartnell interview here or alternatively listen via the YouTube clip at the bottom of the post.
Although it’s a shame that the DID excerpt cuts off just before he talks about Doctor Who, it’s lovely to have this chance to hear the man talk. Audio or film interviews with William Hartnell are incredibly scarce – and this, along with the short film interview included on The Tenth Planet DVD, offer a rare chance to hear the thoughts of Hartnell, the man.
Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, below is a transcript of the section of Hartnell’s DID that covers his conversation about Doctor Who. The material in brackets was excised from the finished programme.
Hartnell: And playing this part, strangely enough, led to the part of Dr. Who.
Plomley: Yes.
Hartnell: Because it so ha.. turned out that after playing Dr. Who for several months Verity Lambert, my producer, [ a very charming and lovable person, ] tol… finally confessed to me that she’d seen the film and she decided that there was her Dr. Who.
Plomley: Yes. How long have you been playing Dr. Who?
Hartnell: Two years.
Plomley: Are they weekly instalments?
Hartnell: Yes, yes.
Plomley: This is pretty hard graft, isn’t it?
Hartnell: Yes. Rehearse all the week and tape them on a Friday.
Plomley: And children do you find the toughest critics?
Hartnell: I certainly do. [ This is where I love playing to children, because you can’t pull the wool over their eyes. And when they write to me, you know, it’s the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. ]
Plomley: And it doesn’t worry you that after this you may be typecast again as absent-minded professors?
Hartnell: No, my dear boy even if it’s in a bath-chair for the rest of my life.
Plomley: [ Yes. Now this… this of course ] Dr. Who leaves you no time to do anything else.
Hartnell: No, it doesn’t.
Plomley: So this is it for the foreseeable future.
Hartnell: Yes, yes.
Plomley: For many years.
Hartnell: Yes, I think so. They’ve.. they give me pretty well carte blanche and as a matter of fact Verity has said that when the time comes we will give you a bath-chair free.
Plomley: LAUGH
Hartnell: So I said I might take her up on that one day.
Plomley: Right well in the meantime while we’re still young and active let’s have record number five.
Hartnell: Yes. Before I grow another white wig. [ Well now let’s.. let’s change the subject and the theme of music, shall we? I’d like to hear one of Louis Armstrong’s early records. I don’t know when he made it quite. But it’s a trumpet solo, and this.. this man I find fascinating. I remember him when I was quite young. And I think he’s what I call the king-pin of Jazz. And I think the, well I don’t know who else there would be to.. to.. to place in the same category. Anyway let’s.. I’d love to hear this record.
Plomley: What’s the number?
Hartnell: The number is – er –
STUDIO CHAT
BAND 5 – PARTIAL RETAKE
Plomley: How long have you been playing Dr. Who?
Hartnell: 2 years
Plomley: Weekly instalments?
Hartnell: Oh yes.
Plomley: Well this is really hard graft, isn’t it, one.. an instalment of that every week.
Hartnell: Yes, but I enjoy it.
Plomley: Do you like playing to children?
Hartnell: I love them. I love children. Nothing gives me greater delight, because I.. I think they are the greatest critics in the world.
Plomley: Yes. Tough critics.
Hartnell: Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes. When they write to me they demand sometimes over and above what I can provide, but I send them a photograph and sign it and answer some of their letters. And one little child wrote to me not so long ago, which is rather charming, she said that how much.. she told me in her letter how much she liked the show, and she ended up saying when I grow up I will marry you – aged 4 and a half.
Plomley: LAUGH
Hartnell: Oh yes.
Plomley: Now does it worry you, Bill, that you may be type-cast again as an absent-minded professor?
Hartnell: No, I shall enjoy that tremendously. Even if a bath-chair goes with it. Which brings me to the point of where Verity Lambert, my own producer, said that when the time comes she said we will produce a bath-chair for you – free.
Plomley: Well this sounds as if you’re going to be doing Dr. Who for a good many years.
Hartnell: I’m afraid so.
Plomley: And of course…
Hartnell: Or am I afraid so? I don’t know.
Plomley: It leaves you no time to do anything else.
Hartnell: No, nothing at all – no. It’s once a week and we tape it every Friday.
I’ve also just uploaded to YouTube this three-part series from 1997, in which David Vine looks back at the first twenty years of the World Snooker Championships staged at the Crucible Theatre (1977 – 1996).
Given that each edition is only thirty minutes, there’s rarely time to dwell in much detail on any match (although they do show all of Alex Higgins’ legendary break from his 1982 semi-final against Jimmy White) but it’s an amiable quick trot through twenty years of snooker history.
I’ve uploaded to YouTube this 1969 BBC Play of the Month production of Julius Caesar, which features a first-rate cast including Robert Stephens as Mark Antony, Maurice Denham as Julius Caesar, Frank Finlay as Brutus and Edward Woodward as Cassius.
I’ve uploaded the 1000th live edition of Tomorrow’s World to YouTube. Made in the early 1990’s, it also looks back at some of the more memorable moments of the long-running BBC science programme.
I’ve just uploaded to YouTube the Z Cars edition of Stars Reunited from 2003. Dale Winton reunites four cast members from Z Cars – James Ellis, Colin Welland, Frank Windsor and Brian Blessed.
Norris Karloff has posted what must be one of the best videos ever on YouTube, which sees the Crackerjack gang (Ed Stewart, Peter Glaze and Bernie Clifton) cover XTC’s song with hilarious consequences.
In 1958 Tony Hancock was riding high as the star of Hancock’s Half Hour, which was running on both BBC television and radio.
On the evening on the 9th of February 1958 he gave a rare straight acting performance in the BBC World Theatre production of Gogol’s The Government Inspector.
Hancock was bolstered by an impressive supporting cast (including Wilfred Brambell, Peter Copley and Noel Howlett) and he acquitted himself well – although he’s still recognisably Hancock. Indeed, it would be easy to believe that some of his lines were written by Galton & Simpson, which is possibly why it was felt that this play would be a perfect fit for him.
This was such an obvious extra to include on the Hancock’s Half Hour DVD boxset, released a few years back, that its omission was baffling. The only time it’s surfaced in recent years was when it was one of the programmes offered as part of the BBC Archive Trial (an online test service) in 2007.
Given that the BBC seem to have no interest at present in making this commercially available, I’ve decided to upload it my YouTube account. Hopefully it’ll stay there for a while, which will allow a wider audience to enjoy this unique Hancock performance.
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I’ve just created a YouTube channel, where I’ll post, from time to time, some interesting clips and programmes from my archive of VHS recordings from the 1980’s and 1990’s.
First up is a nice little piece on Derek Meddings from 1995, where he discusses his work on Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet.
Fresh observations on Doctor Who - in random order.
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