Bits

Genre: Gaming
Channel: Channel 4
Transmission: 1999 - 2001

It's late at night. It's a particularly lonely night. And you're single, incredibly single. Before you know it, the urge is there. You need to bash something to relieve the tension. Suddenly, it's in your hand and there's no going back. We're talking, of course, about bashing the buttons on a controller for your Sonytendo PlayBoxWii. What were you thinking of? Moving swiftly on from your filth addled minds, we'll take a look at Bits.

Bits was a computer games review show which starred Aleks Krotoski, Emily Booth (who replaced Claudia Trimde in 2000) and Emily Dunn as the presenters. Contemporary gaming was investigated each week and looked at new games and developments.The show was set in various locations such as the girls' apartment, Virgin Megastores (RIP), the pub or sometimes just the mean streets. It was, in some ways, a distant relation to Channel 4's Vids due to its similar timeslot, name, production company and the fact that Aleks Krotoski appeared in a couple of episodes.

Produced by Ideal World Productions, Bits ran for five series between 1999 - 2001 on Channel 4. It was part of 4's legendary late night timeslot '4Later' which also housed Vids. Curiously, there was also the occasional Sunday morning episode which dispensed with the wanton swearing and obsessive Pokemon hatred of the late night edition. The show was co-written by the presenters whilst Aldo Palumbo was the producer and Louise Lockwood directed it all.

Bits arrival coincided with Curious British Telly reaching an age where computer games began to lose their lustre. We were 16 and beginning to get more and more interested in alcohol and women. It's a terrible path that we don't recommend to any young males listening. Keep your gaze fixed upon the lure of vintage television and you shouldn't do too bad. Nonetheless, we were still vaguely interested in what was happening in the world of PC gaming, so caught a few episode of Bits during its lifetime. We couldn't remember much, to be honest, apart from the fact that it featured female presenters. Perhaps if it had also featured alcohol the memories would have been much, much stronger...

The main selling point of Bits is the all-female cast. Previously, shows about video games such as GamesMaster, Games World and Bad Influence had been dominated by male presenters - Violet Berlin being the only notable exception. Many of the games experts featured also lacked a certain sparkle, mostly being journalists from games magazines and various dark bedrooms. The four presenters of Bits, however, brought some riot grrrl and girl power sensibilities to the genre. You'd certainly never see Andy Crane smashing up equipment, so it was refreshing to have a gang of feisty females on the screen. It also helped that each one was devastatingly attractive in her own inimitable way.

A DIY ethic runs through the show which is another feature it shares with Vids. This is partly due to the budget a late night show would receive, but again, marks it out from it's rivals. This ethic allows the content to be delivered in entertaining ways and the reviews never bore. The show landed at an exciting time for gamers, the 32 bit systems were about to be usurped by the mammoth leap to 128 bit systems and internet gaming was taking off. It's a nice nostalgia burst, but as technology changes so quickly, it feels like a slightly redundant watch now. We doubt many gamers would return to Bits and discover a new game they could love forever.

After Bits finished, Aleks Krotoski was teamed up with Iain Lee for Channel 4's short lived Thumb Bandits. She continues to work as journalist covering technology and presents The Guardian's Tech Weekly podcast. Emily Booth has had numerous presenting gigs in the intervening years and also racked up several acting credits. Male viewers of this blog will also be pleased by the numerous photoshoots she's appeared in as well. Emily Dunn no longer works in television, but has got deeper into the gaming industry by taking up a position with Electronic Arts. Claudia Trimde is now the CEO of Le-City Deluxe - we're not entirely sure what this is, but it appears to be linked to luxury goods and living, so imagine it pays handsomely!

Like most entries from the 4Later catalogue, we recommend giving Bits a watch as it's an interesting taken on the gaming genre. Given the ever increasing obsession with gaming it's curious as to why there are no mainstream or cult shows on the box anymore. After Thumb Bandits, it appears to have been game over. Maybe this is due to the advent of the internet where gaming news and reviews are at your fingertips in seconds. For the crusty gamers amongst us, numerous episodes of Bits have been uploaded to YouTube, so head on over there if you want to relive the gaming madness that was Ape Escape.

Comrade Dad

Genre: Sitcom
Channel: BBC2
Transmission: 13/01/1986 - 24/02/1986

Communist Russia! Ah yes, those were the days! Gulags, famines and Stalin's wildly paranoid purges were just some of the delights waiting for people under the hammer and sickle. Communism obviously worked and, not only did it work, it was an absolute hoot. A real rib tickler in fact and, inevitably, a sitcom followed. Was it about a lowly peasant named Aleksei who wrestled bears for the Tsar's personal pleasure? No. It was about a middle aged chap called Reg living in London(grad) and in thrall to communism under the title Comrade Dad.

1989 saw Margaret Thatcher, Queen Elizabeth II and Philip the Terrible being overthrown by the USSR and communism taking root in Great Britain or, as it was now known, USSR-GB. Fast forward 10 years and Reg Dudgeon (George Cole) eagerly hangs on every word of Chairman Hoskins - the figurehead of Communism in the USSR-GB. Reg and his family have adapted - as best they can - to the new regime. Rationing is commonplace and the humble beetroot is the staple of most meals along with a mug of steaming hot conker coffee, but you can get some carrot vodka on the sly. Reg's wife Treen (Barbara Ewing) finds herself working the night shift on railway lines and frustrated in the bedroom due to Reg's dedication to the regime.

Comrade Dad first emerged as a pilot episode which aired on 17th December 1984 on BBC2 at 8pm. The BBC were impressed enough and, perhaps due to George Cole's high profile at the time, commissioned a full series which was produced in-house. Filmed on a mixture of videotape and 16mm the 7 episode series began transmitting in January 1986. Writing the show was the duo of Ian Davidson and Peter Vincent who had, between them, written for Dave Allen, Dame Edna, The Two Ronnies, Ben Elton and Frankie Howerd. John Kilby was the director for Comrade Dad and came to the show having directed Hi-de-Hi!, It Ain't Half Hot Mum and Are You Being Served? Not surviving the pilot were Colette O'Neil as Treen Dudgeon and Anna Wing as Gran. Doris Hare took on the role of Gran in the series proper.

Growing up, Minder was a perennial fixture on Curious British Telly's gogglebox, so George Cole almost seemed like one of the family. Without communism, we would've missed out on the amazing post apocalyptic fiction of the 1970s and 80s. A mixture of these two was sure to impress, wasn't it?

The opening credits of Comrade Dad establish a fantastic premise: Russian guards marching across Trafalgar Square where Nelson has been toppled from his column and replaced with a red star. Britain has been invaded and placed under communist rule. Comedy is all about conflict and the potential for tension is immense. Sadly, Comrade Dad centered upon Reg - a man in thrall to his superiors. The viewer is, instead, subjected to mild farce as Reg strives to become a party member. Linear plots infest the series and only one episode stood out as interesting. In it, Reg, quite by accident, discovers a party of rich people living life to excess with champagne and fancy dress. The party line is that rich people have been done away with and it looks as though Reg is finally beginning to question the communist propaganda. Will this lead to lowly Reg Dudgeon smashing the system? No. Instead he remains besotted with the new regime and, well, *sighs*.

The humour... Oh dear. Comrade Dad failed to make us laugh once. The studio audience appear to be convulsing on the floor with laughter, but we're not sure what at. The jokes about eating beetroots, respecting beetroots and the wonder of beetroots are forced down our throats with a relentless regularity which made us gag. Funnily enough, we do love a bit of beetroot, but not here. One thing that did make us smirk throughout were the various background jokes plastered on billboards which took swipes at communism. It's just a shame these didn't translate into the dialogue.

The acting on show is of no great shakes, but George Cole, of course, stands head and shoulders above the rest. His speech patterns are quite remarkable. He manages to squeeze about a million words into one sentence, but always does it with such a fluid rhythm it doesn't sound forced. Many of the mannerisms found in Arthur Daley are on show, but Reg doesn't have a single crooked bone in his body - apart from sticking on some forbidden rock and roll records in one episode. As a result, he's a fairly two dimensional character with few nuances and quirks for George Cole to get much out of him.

We were disappointed by Comrade Dad as it could have been something so much more. George Cole was huge in the mid 80s as he battled with David Jason to see who would be crowned television's King Cockney, so Comrade Dad feels like a star vehicle for Mr Cole. The rest of the cast have reduced roles as a result, but the story of Reg Dudgeon isn't very engaging and the show suffers greatly for this. Conflict between Reg and the communist Regime would have been much more entertaining, but, perhaps due to 'Allo 'Allo! pulling this trick off, the writers found themselves rather handicapped. We found a few traces of nostalgia for the show online, but feel that it's relative obscurity is no surprise. Six of the seven episodes are available on YouTube and it's worth a punt if you're a fan of George Cole, but otherwise we'd say it's one to miss.

Tales from Fat Tulip’s Garden

Genre: Childrens
Channel: ITV
Transmission: May 1985 onwards and June 1987 onwards.

Everyone loves a story. In fact, without stories, there would be no television and, more distressingly, no Curious British Telly. We'll allow you a moment to go and hurl some Courvoisier down your throat to calm you after that peep into hell. Back? Good, so, stories, yes, they're very important. Particularly if you want to keep children entertained and, first and foremost, quiet for a bit. It doesn't always have to be a packed full of gurning child actors with an inability to read lines though. Sometimes the simplicity of an adult telling a story to camera is all that's needed. You're probably thinking that we're going to rattle on now about Jackanory. Well, we're not as we never watched it. We were far too busy enjoying Tales from Fat Tulip's Garden.

Tales from Fat Tulip's Garden saw Tony Robinson leaping, pouncing and strolling around a picturesque house and its gardens as he regaled the viewer with tales about Fat Tulip. A rather slow and dimwitted chap, Fat Tulip had his heart in the right place and would find himself on rather gentle tales such as getting frisbees down from trees, coping with a tortoise burrowing under his house and finding a missing key. Fat Tulip is joined on his adventures by his friend Thin Tim, the policeman Inspector Challenor and garden frogs Ernie and Sylv. It all sounds a rather placid affair, but the stories are driven with gusto by Tony Robinson who plays all the characters and semi-improvises the curious tales.

1985 was the year that Tales from Fat Tulip's Garden hit ITV's screens in a 4pm slot as part of CITV. The initial idea for the show came from characters that producer Debbie Gates' daughter had dreamt up - Fat Tulip literally being an obese tulip. Tony Robinson was inspired by these characters and also the lack of imaginative storytelling for children on our screens[1]. Something different and a little surreal was required, so he got writing.

The beautiful house featured in the series was known as Little Monkhams and was a residence in Woodford, London. In a deliciously delightful revelation, it turned out that the house chosen for the series was one that Tony Robinson had played in as a child[1]. Other scenes were filmed in Epping Forest which faced Little Monkhams. Sadly, Little Monkhams is no more after being destroyed in a fire in 2007. It was up for sale, at the time, for a cool £750,000. For a rather dedicated look at the ruins of Little Monkhams, check out the links section below.

Thirteen tales were produced by Central Television, but this was not the end of Fat Tulip and his odd adventures. Tales from Fat Tulip's Garden had proven popular with viewers and a repeat run followed in 1986. The success of this repeat run led to the commissioning of Fat Tulip Too, another 13 episode run. Fat Tulip Too differed from the original series as it saw Fat Tulip and his friends venturing out of Little Monkhams into exotic locations such as Leyton Swimming Baths. In between the two series there was a Christmas special. Sadly, the one run of Fat Tulip Too was the last that viewers would see of the series. A VHS of Tales from Fat Tulip's Garden was released at some point, but details on this release are scant.

Speaking many years later, Tony Robinson spoke about the show's demise, "The reason was, apparently, that children's television needed to make money, and the way it was able to make money was by secondary marketing of the images around the television programmes. Given that we worked in the imagination and all the images of these various characters were actually in the listener's head - that was the whole point of it - it was no longer particularly financially interesting to ITV."[1]. There were two books based upon the series which were released in 1985, but obviously made little financial impact given Robinson's comments. Thankfully, some bright spark decided that both series deserved a DVD release and all 27 episodes are now available as a 2-disc set.

Airing in our preschool days, Tales From Fat Tulip's Garden was something we watched way back, but the memories were fuzzy. We clearly remember watching it back in 1986 or 87 one afternoon at our cousin's house and it's hard to believe that was nearly three decades ago. The main things embedded in our memory were the big house and Tony Robinson's empassioned storytelling. Rewatching shows from our youth gets us particularly excited, so shining the spotlight on Fat Tulip and his friends was a no-brainer.

The show IS Tony Robinson. He brings so many facets to the table as a performer and a storyteller. The silly voices, the facial expressions and the seamless ability to go from manic to sedate in the blink of an eye mean you need nothing more than him on screen. If you read the scripts to the stories, you'd think little of them. They have a simple charm, but Tony Robinson creates a busy world packed full of strange characters.

Securing Little Monkhams was a good coup as it provides a calm, tranquil setting which juxtaposes nicely against the surreal adventures. Quite how Fat Tulip could afford it we're not sure as he seems more council flat than centuries old detatched house. We think that Fat Tulip Too lost a little of the series' charm by leaving Little Monkhams behind. Taking it out of this timeless world also has the effect of dating the show slightly which is a shame and takes away some of the magic. It would be interesting to find out quite what prompted this move as it would surely have kept costs down by sticking to one location.

Although Tales from Fat Tulip's Garden didn't have a projected lifespan akin to that of Jackanory, we feel it probably had a couple more series in it. Even if ITV didn't find it that commercial a venture, there was surely room for repeat runs in their lunchtime slots. Sadly, we will never understand the commissioning process for television channels. We imagine it's complicated with lots of forms to fill in and we'd rather be down the BFI Archive. A similar format featuring Tony Robinson arose in 1991 entitled Blood and Honey which saw Old Testament stories being retold with a slightly less biblical feel. For us, it lacked the charm of Fat Tulip's Garden and, also, we're absolute heathens.

In conclusion, we were glad we took the opportunity to catch up with Tales from Fat Tulip's Garden. It's easy to forget that Tony Robinson has had a career outside of Blackadder and Time Team, but Fat Tulip's is a good showcase of his skills as a performer. We really like the patchwork quilt effect of the atmosphere - it veers from manic, to mundane to surreal - and this is what marks it out from other similar shows. We were surprised that it got a DVD release as it's not the most well remembered children's show of the 80s, so ITV need to be given credit for that. Revisiting the show was well worth it and we recommend you take the time to familiarise yourself with it.

References:
1. http://web.archive.org/web/20110112190041/http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/T/timeteam/tulip.html

LINKS

http://londonsquire.wordpress.com/2013/03/06/sad-tales-from-fat-tulips-garden/ - A pilgrimage to the remains of Little Monkhams

INTERVIEW

We got in touch with Kevin Stoney to hear his memories about working on the theme tune for Tales from Fat Tulip's Garden:

Was it nearly 30 years ago?!! It's funny that of all the programmes I have composed music for, Fat Tulip is still the main programme people ask me about! I have noticed recently that a DVD of the TV series has been released too!

Debbie Gates the producer and creator of Fat Tulip's Garden, was passionate about producing imaginative programmes for children's television in a storytelling format. So with co-writer Tony Robinson, the concept of Fat Tulip's Garden was born.

Debbie and director Jeremy McCracken, wanted the music and graphics to reflect an edge to the series, so I created many squelchy and unusual sampling effects. These ended up in the main theme music and were also used for various character stings. Because you never visually saw the characters in each story, Tony (the narrator) had to describe and act out each character to camera. The musical stings for each character also played an important part to conjure up an image in the imaginations of the children watching it.

I remember having great fun working with the production team. It was a marvellous creative time!  I fondly remember the post-production team with film editor Peter Spenceley, being in stitches when I took in my strange musical compositions to represent each of Fat Tulip's characters!

I continued working with Debbie Gates when she went on to produce the next series - Fat Tulip Too. She also produced and co-wrote Revolting Animals, Jellyneck, and Gumtree - all with the same unique storytelling concept and quirky music by myself. 

We're eternally grateful for Kevin for giving us his time and more about his work can be found at www.solestudios.co.uk

This is David Lander / David Harper

Genre: Mockumentary
Channel: Channel 4
Transmission: David Lander (31/10/1988 - 05/12/1988) - David Harper (02/11/1990 - 07/12/1990)

One of the joys of the 1980s/90s was seeing the portly journalist Roger Cook with a mouthful of hard evidence chasing crooked individuals down the street. This was on TV, of course, not down our respectable street where the only argument we remember was over a missing tin of Pease Pudding. Anyway, The Cook Report was a wonderful piece of investigative journalism, but also quite hilarious. No matter what Cook threw at the conmen, they would vehemently deny every single accusation and claim to be a victim of Cook. Occasionally, they also punched him in the face. Channel 4 decided that the show was ripe for a spoofing and spoof they did, first with This is David Lander and then This is David Harper.

This is David Lander/Harper followed David Lander (Stephen Fry) or David Harper (Tony Slattery) as they investigated dodgy business practices and the individuals behind them. Subjects at the scrutiny of either Davids included: fine art theft, schools for young genii and housing developments prone to arson attacks. The show was a mockumentary and followed the format of The Cook Report very closely featuring interviews with victims, background investigations and finally a confrontation at the end. Many established and rising comedy actors feature throughout the series such as Caroline Quentin, Tony Robinson and Neil Pearson. We were also overcome with joy when we saw a brief cameo from Ian Sears of Johnny Jarvis fame. Curiously, Stephen Fry was unavailable for the second series, so the show was renamed with Fry's erstwhile Footlights colleague Tony Slattery in the lead role.

The origins of This is... can be found in the BBC Radio 4 show Delve Special which featured Stephen Fry as David Lander and ran between 1984 - 1987. Delve Special was written by Tony Sarchet who had previously written for Jasper Carrott and Spitting Image. Sarchet felt that the idea was strong enough to translate to the small screen, but strangely, the BBC did not and, instead, Channel 4 aired the show in 1988 and 1990. A total of 12 episodes were produced by the comedy powerhouse Hat Trick. Both series were later repeated on the Paramount Comedy Channel in the late 90s.

The repeats aired on the Paramount Comedy Channel were Curious British Telly's introduction to the world of investigative Davids. The Paramount Comedy Channel (now Comedy Central) was a treasure trove of cult comedies during the late 90s airing a mixture of British and US shows such as Monty Python, Drop The Dead Donkey and Duck Man to name but a few. School holidays always meant staying up late for Curious British Telly and - in the absence of the internet - we would while away the hours with Paramount. They were formative times indeed and This is David Lander was one show which really stood out.

Tony Sarchet is on excellent form throughout This is... and his writing really defines the show. It's quite simply hilarious and at first glance, you'd think sections of the show had been lifted from Brass Eye, The Day Today or Big Train. However, This is... predates those three shows by several years and it's a shame that Sarchet didn't do more on British television. He shows here that he's capable of creating wonderful microcosms where the most ludicrous events can take place. One of our favourite scenes of This is... sees an interview with a man who's had monkey testicles implanted in his cheeks as part of weight loss therapy. When not creating surreal images, Sarchet is poking fun at the ridiculousness of authority such as the salty sea admiral who claims "It's bloody rude!" for taxpayers to complain about how their money is spent. After all, "They've handed it over.".

Stephen Fry and Tony Slattery are the face of This is... and their deadpan presentation is the perfect helm for the show. We prefer Fry's Lander as he comes across slightly bumbling and terribly English  whereas Slattery's Harper is more of a hardnosed individual. One slight issue with both David's is that we don't really get a true sense of the character. There's no background revealed to indicate his drives and passions. We're not looking for Alan Partridge style revelations here as they would spoil the realism of the production. Something more along the lines of Louis Theroux and his self-deprecating humour would have helped define the character more.

Having aired a couple of series, and with Stephen Fry at the helm, we were surprised to find there had been no commercial release of This is... We'd love to see it, but the lack of interest online is likely to be the reason why. The complete series can be found on YouTube, but annoyingly, the David Lander series is blocked in the UK by Channel 4 due to copyright reasons. It's possible to use a proxy website to get around this, but you sometimes have to persevere with videos stopping after five minutes. Why the show isn't on 4OD is another question we'd love to know the answer to. Hopefully it will be one day. The David Harper series isn't - for some reason - blocked on YouTube, so that's available for you to soak up it's confrontational charm.

Mick and Mac

Genre: Children's
Channel: BBC1
Transmission: 03/01/1990 - 21/03/1990

One of the shows which kickstarted Curious British Telly's descent into half-forgotten TV hell was the mysterious Sebastian the Incredible Drawing Dog. A show that we could vaguely remember enjoying from our youth which featured Michael Barrymore and art. One day, whilst flicking through some old Radio Times at the British Library, we stumbled across a children's TV show which, again, consisted of Michael Barrymore and art. We almost fell off our chairs at the prospect of another Barrymore show to investigate, but thankfully we weren't drunk and remained seated. The show in question was Mick and Mac, so let's take a look.

Mick and Mac is set in delightful apartment of the time - complete with avocado green bathroom - which is home to the cartoonist, Mick (Michael Barrymore). Strangely, Mick's drawing board is also home to a miniature Scottish character called Mac (David Jarvis). The show starts with a bit of banter between Mick and Mac before Mick sits down to draw a cartoon. These cartoons feature the Mac family on mild adventures. They're most static cartoons, but there's the occasional bit of animation such as the character's mouths moving. Following this cartoon there's a Barrymore solo piece where he goofs about trying to complete tasks such as wallpapering or hoovering.

Mick and Mac ushered in the 1990s with its first episode airing on 3rd January 1990. The series consisted of twelve 10-minute episodes and was part of the CBBC programming on BBC1. Directing the proceedings was Nigel Douglas whose impressive CV includes work on Grange Hill, Going Live, This Life, London's Burning, Eastenders, The Bill and Wild at Heart to name but a few. The writing duo behind the show were Geoffrey Atkinson and Andy Walker - we can't find any information on Andy Walker, but Atkinson has a long list of credits in sketch shows and even Sky's infamous sitcom Heil Honey, I'm Home! Curiously, the credits list 'The Mac Family' as being devised by Michael Barrymore, but, as we'll learn, this wasn't strictly true.

Curious British Telly must have watched Mick and Mac at some point when it was on, but the only thing that rang any bells was the design of the set. YouTube is home to a 20 second clip of Mick and Mac, but that's pretty much all we could find online aside from a few murmurings on internet forums. 20 seconds of footage gave us very little to go on, apart from providing some screenshots, so we had to saddle up and head to the BFI archive to investigate. The technician at the BFI actually asked "What on earth are you watching today?!", which led to a wry smile from us, but also some fear that we were in for something less curious and more baffling.

The show is very reminiscent of Sebastian the Incredible Drawing Dog, featuring Barrymore, slapstick and a cartoon in the middle. However, where that show had plenty of interaction between Sebastian and Barrymore, there's very little interaction between Mick and Mac. In fact, in the episodes we watched, Mac is barely present at all beyond the first third of the show. We think this is the major stumbling point of the show as Barrymore needs to be bouncing off other people. Mick and Mac leaves him to his own devices for far too long and he just can't carry off the slapstick sequences on his own. He's a great presenter, but he's certainly no Rowan Atkinson when it comes to a silent performance with inanimate objects. The cartoons featuring the Mac family aren't particularly strong either and we can barely remember them a week later.

Overall, we were disappointed by Mick and Mac and think that the BFI technician was right to be bemused by our viewing choice. There was potential in Sebastian for Barrymore to be at the helm of a great children's show, but Mick and Mac just doesn't play to his strengths as an individual. Maybe we watched a couple of weak episodes, but they were episodes one and two, so it's not a great start to the series if so. Bringing Mac into the show more would have helped, but his existence as a miniature character living on a drawing board rather limited the role he could play. You have to understand that Barrymore in 1990 was becoming a huge name on British television and this was years before any of the scandals landed which blighted his career. If the right format could have been found then we we think a very special show could have been made. Sadly it didn't, so it will have to be filed as one of the missed opportunities of British television.

We would be very interested in viewing some more episodes of Mick and Mac to get a better feel for the show, so if you have any footage please get in touch.

INTERVIEW

Director Nigel Douglas spared us some time for a quick chat about the series for which we are eternally grateful.

CBT: You’ve had a long and successful career behind the camera, but what first piqued your interest in directing? As a child did you pick up an 8mm camera and try to remake Ben Hur in your garden or did this passion develop later on?

Nigel: I began my career as a director in Theatre in fact although my interest in writing pre dated that. Throughout my school years I was always more interested in the way school plays were produced rather than being in them. I started writing in earnest at University and was fortunate enough to have a couple of plays produced. This led to me wanting to direct theatre. It was really a piece of good fortune that saw my move to the screen. Angela Beeching, who was then producer of Jackanory, was looking for someone as an Assistant Producer who could abridge and adapt Children’s novels for the programme. She had seen one of the plays I had written and directed and offered me a six month contract. I stayed in Children’s television for around 3 years then directing The Satellite Show, Going live, FLIP, Mick and Mac, The Biz and Grange Hill before finally getting a break in the adult world on Eastenders for producer Jane Fallon (Ricky Gervais’ partner) who I then went on to direct This Life for. The rest as they say is history.

A quick flick through your CV reveals that you had worked on several BBC1 children’s shows leading up to Mick and Mac, so was it this good relationship which led to you getting involved with the show?

There was a series of factors that led to my involvement with Mick and Mac. I had begun developing FLIP when Chris Pilkington, the exec producer for children’s light entertainment, approached me about working with Michael Barrymore. They had had several meetings prior to this and Michael was keen to expand his workbase. I liked Michael’s comedy work and could see how this might be incorporated into a tv programme. I was also working a lot for Chris Pilkington at the time so it became obvious this was meant to be.

We noted – in the credits – that Michael Barrymore devised the Mac family, so was he behind the show’s inception or did he come on board later?

No, Michael was not particularly involved in the concept or development of the show. Often major stars, as Michael was then, are given additional credits to help get there fee closer to what’s required. Michael was earning 8k a night then and children’s tv had relatively small budgets. Of course, once we got closer and into rehearsals the content was almost entirely driven by him.

Michael Barrymore had been hosting Strike it Lucky for a few years by the time Mick and Mac came along, so it’s fair to say he was already a household name. How was he on set? A consummate professional? Or maybe a diva demanding nothing but blue M&Ms?

Michael was an absolute pleasure to be with from beginning to end. I had worked considerably with many of the “alternative” comics of the day such as Steve Coogan, Harry Enfield and Mel and Griff, but I have to say nobody had made me laugh as much as Michael. We would often have to stop rehearsals because he and I would be laughing too much to remember what we were rehearsing. Of course, most of this could not be put in a children’s comedy show. He was very professional during the recording.

Mick and Mac has a very slapstick feel to it with Barrymore bringing to mind the antics of Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and Rowan Atkinson. Due to the physicality and reliance on props, was it a particularly difficult show to direct?

All shows throw up different challenges to direct. The hardest thing with Mic and Michael was keeping Michael somewhere near the script. Often he would improvise and I’d have to just try and go with the flow. The programme was shot on 5 cameras at Pebble Mill so mostly I was directing from the gallery.

Just one series of Mick and Mac was produced, but were there ever plans to record more and, if so, what scuppered them?

There was some discussion of a 2^nd series but trying to find some time in Michael’s very busy diary was problematic. After that I think everyone just lost interest.

Following on from Mick and Mac you’ve gone on to direct British institutions such as The Bill, Grange Hill and Eastenders. It’s not a bad list of credits, but what’s next for Nigel Douglas?

I should say that the likes of The Bill and Eastenders are for most directors just fillers between the bigger jobs. I have been directing Wild at Heart in south Africa recently as well as the usual mix of Holby City, Casualty,  and Waterloo Road. It’s impossible to say what comes next. I have just made my first return to children’s drama in 20 years and am currently in post production on the Christmas special of the BBC series “The Dumping Ground”.

Many thanks for your time, Nigel!

Conjugal Rites

Genre: Sitcom
Channel: ITV
Transmission: 16/04/93 - 21/05/93 and 06/05/94 - 17/06/94

Relationships are, essentially, what make the world go round. They have to be good relationships and cultivating these is difficult enough. One of the most testing relationships to maintain is between two lovers. Keeping the same level of excitement, passion and respect is a tough business and has driven many people (if not all of us) slightly mad. Sitcom couples aren't immune to this, but they always seem to make it there in the end. Of course, they have to make it there or basic sitcom setups fall flat on their face. Imagine if Sybil left Basil halfway through the first series of Fawlty Towers. It would be - and excuse my French - bloody boring. However, the early 90s saw a sitcom hit the air which examined all our fears about two lovers drifting apart, so lets take a look at Conjugal Rites.

Gen (Gwen Taylor) and Barry Masefield (Michael Williams) are the epitome of a middle class and middle aged couple. A solicitor and dentist respectively, they inhabit a detached house somewhere in London that is home to them, son Phillip (Stephen Moyer), daughter Gillian (Cordelia Bugeja), Grandad (Alan MacNaughton) and, of course, a dog. On the surface, it all sounds like standard sitcom territory. There's the expected plotlines following the exploits of randy, forgetful Granddad and also the randy, rebellious teenage children. At the core of the show though is the chronic breakdown of Gen and Barry's marriage. No longer the fun time couple they once were, they're beginning to lead different lives in different directions.

Conjugal Rites started life as a stage play written by Roger Hall and first performed in 1991. Curiously, Gwen Taylor was also to be found in this original version, but the Barry role was taken by Nicky Henson. The TV adaptation by Granada was comprised of thirteen episodes spread over two series between 1993 - 94. Roger Hall was on board to expand the characters of his play and directing the whole affair was Mike Vardy. Other notable actors who popped up during the series included Christopher Ellison, the voice talents of Warren Clarke as Toby the dog and an early role for the 17 year old James Lance.

The press were not particularly kind towards the show. The Independent found both series outdated, unoriginal and their overall impression of it was: "It stinks.". The public, however, were more kind and the first series averaged around 10 million viewers. Today, that type of viewing figure would be highly respectable due to the multichannel world we live in. Even back in 1994 it wasn't too bad, Coronation Street was hitting between 14 - 16 million viewers in that period. Despite the successful figures, there was never a commercial release of the series.

Curious British Telly were fans of Conjugal Rites when it first aired and it was always one of our picks of the week. It always brings to mind memories of golden spring evenings when life was simple and we were still larking about at primary school. Having not seen the show since those halcyon Friday nights of  nearly 20 years ago, we couldn't remember too much about Conjugal Rites. We recalled it being a cosy sitcom where Gen and Barry seemed to be in bed in their pyjamas all the time. The theme tune - sung by Gwen Taylor and Michael Williams - was also lodged in our mind.

Comedy doesn't always age well and, after reading The Independent's reviews, we began to wonder if Conjugal Rites had actually been nothing more than a cliché of a middle aged sitcom. Unfortunately, there's no footage of the show online, bar a few brief clips of the opening credits. Therefore, we donned our investigating hat made out of vintage TV Times and headed to the BFI archives.

The first thing that surprised us was that, despite appearing to be a warm little sitcom about family life, there was actually a heavy sense of pathos hanging over it. Barry and Gen's marriage is disintegrating rapidly and both know that they're becoming independent. There's a strong scene where they're sorting through discarded objects from over the years and they discover a box of colour slides. They're from a holiday when the kids were young and life was going swimmingly. An argument ensues and Barry ends up slamming the slides down in anger and frustration that their relationship has become so moribund. The same episode sees one of Barry's friends being diagnosed with cancer, another bleak event which forces Barry to evaluate where he's going in life. So, yeah, it's not always cosy, but at least we do get to hear the thoughts of the pet dog every now and then. Although, to be honest, sections featuring the dog do tend to stink.

Michael Williams gives a rich performance and shows just how versatile he can be. He is given quite a lot of bleak material to work with and he captures Barry's internal frustrations perfectly. He's also adept with his comic timing and delivers the barbed one liners with ease. Our overriding memory of Gwen Taylor was of her performance in Barbara - perhaps her most famous role, but a sitcom which we could barely bring ourselves to watch. Conjugal Rites finds her in good form and she plays the sitcom mother/wife/career woman very well. Alan MacNaughton puts in a ripe performance as Grandad which is fun, but the character itself is indistinguishable from any other 'over 70s' sitcom character. Likewise, Stephen Moyer and Cordelia Bugeja are very much trad sitcom children and aren't given too much depth, but they're entertaining performances. Bugeja has kept fairly busy over the years and carved out a constant appearence on the small screen, but it is Moyer who has gone on to greater things. A number of film and TV roles awaited him following Conjugal Rites and he eventually ended up landing one of the main roles in True Blood.

We were pleasantly surprised by Conjugal Rites. We can't deny that it's light on laughs, but the driving force behind the show is the tragic state of Gen and Barry's relationship. It's a brave angle to approach with a sitcom and the bleak moments scattered throughout create real sympathy for the characters. In a way, the show feels like a soap opera at times, but this isn't a slight on the world it creates. Everyone can identify with one of the characters and this is perhaps why 10 million viewers would tune in week after week. The Independent's reviews are, in our opinion, a little harsh and paint a bad picture of the show. Nearly 20 years had elapsed since we last sat down to watch an episode, but we still enjoyed it just as much.

Thankfully, due to our shady connections, we've managed to nab the first five episodes of Conjugal Rites We would love to get hold of more episodes, so if you're able to help, please get in touch!

LINKS

The Independent Review 1993 - http://tinyurl.com/oqmpepg
The Independent Review 1994 - http://tinyurl.com/o6bm72g

Scragtag and Toddles, Ace Detectives

Genre: Childrens
Channel: BFBS
Transmission: 1991

The British are very proud of their armed forces. Over the years we've defeated the French, the Spanish and the Germans to name but a few. These are great bragging rights and many British people like to bellow about this when losing football games to the aforementioned nations. However, the British armed forces can brag about much more than victory. Oh sure, there's valour, righteousness and honesty, but we doubt anyone reading this blog subscribes to those concepts. No, the truth of the matter is that the British armed forces were treated to the final adventures of Scragtag - 80s super moggy - in the curious tales of Scragtag and Toddles, Pet Detectives.

Scragtag has left behind his beloved chest of drawers and set up a gumshoe detective agency. Going against all his species' beliefs, he has teamed up Toddles - a helium voiced dog. They're also joined by another doggy named Bill Barker who has an incredibly flat face and is impossible to understand. Together they investigate such curious crimes as the theft of a rare purple banana. Behind the crimes are exaggerated villains including Hatchet the Hitman (John Altman) and Fat Sam (Dave Lee). Along the way, they visit local schools and are aided by gangs of children clad in a striking combination of garishly fluorescent jackets and spiky hair. It was the early 90s, folks.

Scragtag and Toddles aired in 1991, but not on terrestrial television. And not on satellite television either. What the hell kind of channel did it air on then?! Well, the answer is: BFBS aka British Forces Broadcasting Service. Transmitting from the UK, the pick of UK TV was beamed around the world to British military bases. Original programming such as Scragtag and Toddles was also included. Marcus Kimber was, as on Scragtag and his Tea Time Telly, the driving force behind the show and the puppetry. Providing the musical cues was Vic Flick who also provided guitar work on several James Bond films. The series was produced by Chaltec Independent Productions and comprised eight episodes. A VHS was released by Chaltec featuring two episodes: Dognapped and The Case of the Missing Purple Banana.

Curious British Telly has been intrigued with Scragtag since discovering him in an old edition of the Radio Times. We investigated him further and ended up watching a few episodes of Scragtag and his Tea Time Telly which aired in the mid 80s. We loved the character, a laughing cat with a neat line in attitude. Tea Time Telly had its positives, but also some negatives in that it was aimed at such a young age group and felt too simplistic at times. When we discovered that there was a further Scragtag show we had no choice but to investigate.

Scragtag and Toddles is a decent set of capers for Scragtag and, unlike Tea Time Telly, lets his personality shine through. The plots aren't exactly Citizen Kane, but they're tongue in cheek and provided a couple of laughs. From what we've seen, the acting isn't too bad either. John Altman is known throughout the land as Nick Cotton and his accent as an American mobster isn't to be sniffed at. Dave Lee acts it up as a manic chef, but curiously this appears to be his only television job bar a 1970 appearance in W. Somerset Maugham. The only thing which we disliked about the show was Toddles who we found rather irritating. There was always a boy (or girl) at school who had a very high pitched voice and was a wet blanket, this is essentially what Toddles is.

The presence of a narrative means that Scragtag and Toddles is our favourite Scragtag vehicle and we're glad Marcus Kimber kept faith in Scragtag. As far as we're aware, this was the last time Scragtag made an appearance on TV and this saddens us. By 1991, Roland Rat had more or less gone into retirement, so there was certainly room for a wisecracking animal puppet on British TV. Alas, Scragtag will have to be remembered as a missed opportunity.

In another exclusive for Curious British Telly, we've uploaded a clip of Scragtag and Toddles to YouTube at: http://youtu.be/IXRUYVpIQ4o

Earthfasts

Genre: Childrens
Channel: BBC1
Transmission: 23/02/1994 - 23/03/1994

There's a legend in our hometown that the local castle is connected via a four mile tunnel to a mysterious and medieval chapel. The legend continues that the tunnel was haunted, so a fiddler and his faithful dog entered it to quash any supernatural claims.

The fiddler fiddled away - as fiddlers do - so that the townsfolk could follow his progress above ground. Suddenly, the fiddling stopped. The previously faithful dog eventually came bolting out of the tunnel entrance, but the fiddler was never seen again.

Now, there's two problems with this myth. First, medieval construction methods meant that building a 4 mile underground tunnel would have been  rather difficult. Secondly, this myth has been repeated in pretty much any town which contains a castle.

Still, it blew our mind when we were eight years old and, a few years later, we were delighted to see an adaptation of one of these myths in the shape of Earthfasts.

The Little Drummer Boy

Keith (Chris Downs) and David (Paul Nicholls) are a couple of teenage boys living up amongst the Yorkshire moors. Seeing as there's only so many Pontefract cakes you can eat, the boys decide to venture up to the desolate moors and are soon investigating the strange movement of ancient stones.

Coupled with these strange 'earthfasts' is the mysterious and ominous drumming coming from beneath the ground. Before they know it, huge rocks on a hillside separate and out marches the 18th century drummer boy Nellie Jack Jon (Bryan Dick).

Apparently having only been wandering for a few hours, Nellie Jack Jon has somehow traveled forward 200 years. Finding that nothing of his old life is left, Nellie Jack Jon returns to the tunnel. However, he leaves behind a candle from the tunnels.

David takes charge of this inextinguishable object, but it slowly drives him mad. Local myths gradually begin to resurrect and Keith is left to solve the mystery of the moors.

What's the Story behind Earthfasts Production?

Earthfasts was a BBC production which aired on BBC1 in the early part of 1994 in the CBBC slot. The serial was adapted from the first book of the Earthfasts trilogy written by William Mayne - the other books making up the trilogy are Cradlefasts and Candlefasts.

In keeping with the tradition of the story, the second and third books were written many years after the first. Marilyn Fox - who we last covered in Running Scared - is in the director's seat and also takes on the writing duties.

The mysterious and creepy score is provided by another Curious British Telly favourite Ilona Sekacz - see Fox Tales.

Filming took place upon the rolling Yorkshire landscapes of Richmond and Wensleydale.

Oddly, Earthfasts only ran to five episodes instead of the standard six for this type of UK drama.

Was It as Good as We Remembered?!

Our memories of Earthfasts weren't entirely clear, but we recalled the drummer boy coming out from the rocks and also that Paul Nicholls aka Mad Joe from Eastenders was in it.

One memory which remained strongly encoded in Curious British Telly's memory was the show's atmosphere. We recalled a chilling, disturbing and often tragic air pervading the serial, so we were intrigued to see whether this stood up nearly 20 years on.

We're often very worried when we have to consider British child acting as it tends to be a bit emotionless and awkward, but the two leads here do a decent enough job.

Paul Nicholls has maintained a fairly constant presence on British TV and for a period in his late teens became a pinup for teenage girls.

Chris Downs handles the lead role well and the frustration and anguish that he portrays at the 'loss' of David is admirable. He didn't act again after Earthfasts which is a shame as we reckon he could have carved out a career on the small screen.

Perhaps the most successful cast member was Bryan Dick who has worked pretty much nonstop since 2000 and has also acted alongside Russell Crowe in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. We wouldn't say that Dick's performance in Earthfasts hinted at such a strong future, but he gives Nelly Jack Jon a decent amount of charm.

The other characters appearing don't have particularly huge roles, but they give passable performances when they're on screen. A nice observation of the cast is that PC Hunter is played by Mark Jordon who was, at the same time, also portraying PC Phil Bellamy in ITV's Heartbeat.

Earthfasts is an intelligent, gripping and original script which offers a curious alternative to the well worn paths of Grange Hill and Byker Grove.

As the story unfolds it progressively becomes tinged by sadness. Nelly Jack Jon becomes a wandering loner torn from his own time, Keith loses his best friend and the community is left grasping at straws. It's rare that children's TV captures this sense of anguish so well and kudos must be given to Marilyn Fox's script adaptation for this.

At times, though, the plot does seem a little too surreal - the walking, giant stones are never fully explained and we did wonder how everything was going to end. Things are tied up satisfactorily in the end, so it's best just to go with the slightly confusing flow.

One thing we found strange, storywise, is the Yorkshire setting. The Arthurian element of the story would surely call for a Cornish setting and would have worked just as well.

Nonetheless, William Mayne set it there and we aren't going to try and finance some high tech editing. We probably couldn't even afford the bus fare to the studio.

Kudos, once again, goes out to Marilyn Fox on the direction side of Earthfasts. The disturbing atmosphere still chilled our bones 20 years on from our first viewing. The moors are portrayed as a world unto themselves where nature battles with magic. The skies topping the moor are always overcast and the claustrophobic aura of the serial is gently echoed throughout.

The soundtrack by Ilona Sekacz is a beautiful piece of work and builds up quietly to raise tension levels. She's a talented lass and knows her way round an orchestra. We're looking forward to discovering more of her work.

Without such a fine production, Earthfasts would have been a less interesting piece. And that's not disrespecting the script in any way at all.

It was nice for Curious British Telly to revisit Earthfasts and find it in such fine fettle. It always felt as though these type of 'scary' children shows began to die out around this time. We can't personally remember many more after this point.

There was Elidor, of course, the following year, and The Demon Headmaster the year after that, but we can't remember anything later - certainly not North and South. The viewing age of CBBC/CITV fell round about this time, so maybe this change in demographic contributed towards the change in tone.

It's a shame, really, as we're of the opinion that children need some decent scares. They have Doctor Who back these days, so at least they get a dose of it there and The Sarah Jane Adventures packed a few hairy moments too.

We would love to see a DVD of Earthfasts come out, but the chances are slim. Plenty of people remember it, but it doesn't seem to have developed a cult following online. Luckily, 2013 saw the entire series uploaded to YouTube, so go forth and bask in its glory.