This year, next year...

This year, next year...

The Christmas Special of 'TV Years' magazine was lurking on the shelves in Asda yesterday, so we pounced on it without hesitation or deviation. But with the cogs turning on what we'll do in our own festive episode, we'll do our best to make sure there's little in the way of repetition.

Anyway, it gave us an excuse to do a quick photoshoot for them, which mostly consisted of draping ourselves in fairy lights and hoping that they still worked. Besides, we can always make use of these photos ourselves...

Also, we're very pleased to report that some lovely material has come in from those fine fellows at 'The ExtonMoss Experiment' podcast. So a great big welcome to Simon and Ken, who should be making their 'Round The Archives' debut in January 2019.

Yes, really! That's honestly the next available slot, given that the next three episodes of 'RTA' have all been planned with a theme (2 American-based, 1 Christmas).

So we've been zooming through 'The Addams Family' as fast as the endless copyright notices on the DVDs have allowed us. Last night we scheduled four episodes, picking ones that featured Pugsley, Wednesday, Lurch and Uncle Fester more. So Pugsley joined the Scouts, Wednesday ran away from home, Lurch attended the Butlers' Ball and Uncle Fester wore a wig. The usual sort of thing.

We'll jump onto 'The Munsters' soon, so at least the preparation for Episode 28 is going according to plan.

I have joked about how we are starting to resemble a proper production office, so if anyone want to write a slim volume about what goes on here ('A Day With A Podcast Editor'), we can be reached through the normal channels...

After all, pointing at planning boards on the wall is starting to become second nature!

(Written by Andrew Trowbridge. Digital magic made by Martin Holmes)

Divided We Stand

Divided We Stand

"King Zog flees!"

We don't often get requests, but our look at the 'Steptoe And Son' episode 'Divided We Stand' (27th March 1972, despite what it says in certain books!) was the result of a YouTube comment, for which we must thank the account going by the mysterious name of Random.

It was an interesting one to pick as we have a copy of the script in the 1988 book 'The Best Of Steptoe And Son' and it's produced by a one David Croft, who was brought in at short notice to stand in for John Howard Davies after he fell ill.

It's a simple enough idea, relying on the two lead actors to carry it alone until the final few seconds, but they know precisely what they're doing.

The use of that week's edition of 'Radio Times' (19th March) shows how close to the wire the recordings of these episodes were running (even if the schedule Albert and Harold argue over is made up for dramatic effect). If your producer is feeling unwell, just flag down whoever happens to be in the corridor at the time!

We remember the excitement of stripping away old wallpaper in the 70s, but we're less fond of false teeth, so the sight of them bumping up and down in Wilfrid Brambell's mouth definitely has the intended effect.

When it comes to a choice between a silver Georgian pepper pot or a wooden one shaped like a cat, we'd probably go for the cheaper option, but what do we know?

Our video about 'Divided We Stand' can be seen here.

Our tribute to Alan Simpson was on Episode Seven of 'Round The Archives' which can be heard here.

(Written by Andrew Trowbridge)

The Tsuranga Conundrum

The Tsuranga Conundrum

Now, I'm no biologist (even If I have been known to dabble in microbiology from time to time), but the more I thought about any possible circumstances under which a creature as unlikely as the Pting could evolve, the more the Red Alert started to sound in my mind.

I've read the odd speculative piece about how life might exist in the most extreme of circumstances, but a second viewing of 'The Tsuranga Conundrum' only cemented the notion that we were dealing here with a creature that had more in common with the Gremlin from the 1943 Bugs Bunny cartoon 'Falling Hare' than any upgraded Kaled mutant.

In our video, Lisa makes a strong case for the Pting being an artifically created creature used as some sort of deceptively cute war weapon and I cannot fault the logic here.

But as fans we like to join the dots betweem stories, no matter how many decades apart they might be. And such is my love for 'The Mind Robber' that I could hardly pass up the opportunity to suggest that this CGI Space Gremlin had actually escaped from the Land Of Fiction, possibly taking a nip out of Gulliver's boots on the way out.

It's a bonkers theory, I agree, but the Pting is a bonkers creation from the point of view of anyone with even a basic grasp of evolutionary biology.

Maybe next season though, we'd better have that adventure with Charles Darwin that I've always wanted to see...

Just to be on the safe side...

Our video about 'The Tsuranga Conundrum' can be seen here.

(Written by Andrew Trowbridge)

Oh... William!

Oh... William!

"Bit short, innit? We need more kings..."

This is. of course. what William the First (otherwise known as William The Conqueror or - behind his back - William the Bastard) sings in the wonderful 'Horrible Histories' Kings and Queens song.
I thought I'd use the song to talk about some of the kings and queens mentioned, in addition to the more well-known monarchs such as Henry the Eighth or Queen Victoria.

But what of William Rufus (otherwise known as William the Second)? He was William the Conqueror's eldest son (as mentioned in the song) and was killed in a hunting 'accident' in the New Forest in 1100. He was succeeded by his younger brother Henry the First, who may had have a hand in his brother's death. We once got very excited whilst on a bus replacement service when we saw a sign for the Rufus Stone which marks the place where he fell.

Henry the First lost both of his sons in the wreck of The White Ship and made his daughter Matilda his heir. He died in 1135 of food poisoning after eating too many lampreys. Like you do.

As a female, Matilda was deemed unfit to rule (!!!), so the throne was passed to her cousin Stephen, leading to civil war (known as The Anarchy) from 1139 onwards. In the end Matilda's son Henry Plantagenet was named Stephen's heir.

Before we move onto Henry the Second, there's an interesting fact about his great-grandfather William the Conqueror... After he died, his body exploded. And during the 'Horrible Histories' spin-off 'Gory Games' the contestants had to try and steal items from around William's body before it exploded and they were covered in gore.

Henry the Second was a popular king until the death of Thomas Becket (Archbishop of Canterbury) for which he was blamed.  Henry's sons included Richard The Lionheart and 'Bad' King John.
Richard spent very little time in England and was quoted as saying that he would have sold London had he found a buyer. John (aka 'Lackland') was excommunicated by the Pope and forced by his barons to sign the Magna Carta.

John's son Henry the Third rebuilt Westminster Abbey, although if you believe the subtitles in the song he worked on something called 'the RB'. Hmm...

After this comes a trio of Edwards. The first, Edward Longshanks, was known as the Hammer of the Scots. Edward the Second was deposed by his wife and her lover and killed in Berkeley Castle by a red hot poker (not the popular type of flower!), which as the song says, must have hurt him lots.

Now I'm not going to go through the whole of the rest of the kings and queens of England as this would make for a very long blog entry. But other memorable monarchs include Henry the Fifth and Richard the Third. I love the face the latter pulls when he is described as 'Bad' during the song.

We also have Henry the Seventh, his shortlived grandson Edward the Sixth and   grandaughters Mary and Elizabeth the First.  And some of the lesser known kings and queens such as Mary the Second who ruled with her husband William and her younger sister Anne.

Then we have the often missed William the Fourth who ruled directly before Victoria and had been a sailor and had 10 children (no wonder his eyes bulged out!) with his mistress Mrs Jordan, an actress.

The Kings and Queens song is well worth a look and I can guarantee that you will be humming it for the rest of the day.

(Written by Lisa Parker)

3-2-1 : Horror (1978)

3-2-1 : Horror (1978)

'3-2-1 : Horror' certainly lives up to its name,  but not in the way the makers intended perhaps.
This edition comes from the first series in 1978 and you can tell that Yorkshire TV are still feeling their way around the format.

One big change from the later series is the fact that the winners of the quiz round don't go on to play in the rest of the show, but are in fact stuck in the audience and come back the next week to play again.

We are now six episodes into the series and the returning contestants (Chris and Roger from Essex) have won £1700 so far. In this edition, they'll up this total by another £500, which is pretty good going for a week's work by 1978 standards.

This may account for the fact that most of the sketches only feature the show's regulars, (Debbie Arnold, Duggie Brown and Chris Emmett aka The Dis-Repertory Company) as the show seemingly cannot afford many major guest stars.

We do get Bill Simpson (Doctor Finlay from 'Doctor Finlay's Casebook', but soon to be seen in 'Kidnapped') and Barry Sheene who is wheeled on without being called upon to do anything remotely entertaining.

Bill Simpson is playing Doctor Jekyll in what amounts to a monologue as he takes his potion and turns in a vaguely hairy Mister Hyde.

We also see Duggie Brown as a Herman Munster-like monster called Boris in the first sketch (about The Horror Family, whoever they are), which also features Debbie Arnold as a Lily Munster-like character with a strange American accent and Patsy Ann Scott (one of Ted Roger's Gentle Secs and the future Mrs Eddie Large) as Marilyn-like Zelda.

We also get Chris Emmett as Dracula as played by Larry Grayson and a stripping mummy achieved with some basic CSO.

There is also the sight of the contestants trying to burst Balloon Spiders with a spike on an executioners mask while their partner answers questions on the Horror Family sketch.

A sketch with the witches from Shakespeare's  'Macbeth' is over before it's even begun and seems to feature Chris Emmett as Jimmy Young.

This edition also features the last appearance of Duggie Brown who is going off to do the sitcom 'Take My Wife' with Elisabeth Sladen. He is replaced in the next episode by Bernie Clifton thankfully sans ostrich.

Our video about 'Horror' can be seen here.

(Written by Lisa Parker)

I, Robot (1977)

I, Robot (1977)

'Doctor Who' is unusual in that it technically has two Silver Jubilee stories, in the form of lietrally-named 'Silver Nemesis' and the bits in 'Mawdryn Undead' that are set in 1977.

No, don't worry, I'm not going to get in the murky waters of the Unit Dating Controversy (one of my favourite 'Who'-themed teas), but instead run through a few bits and pieces connected with what we did in our village circa June 1977.

I was 8 and that memorable weekend of 'The Talons Of Weng-Chiang' Part Six and 'Whose Doctor Who' was still fresh in my memory.

All the children were going to get a mug, along with a commemorative coin and a pen (I've still got them!) and although the T-shirts seen in 'Mawdryn Undead' were far too elaborate, the village elders did run to the odd plastic flag or two as a bonus.

Although one of the highlights of the celebrations for young local people was a Fancy Dress competition, it never crossed my mind to dress up as the Doctor. But some sort of monster wasn't out of the question, so long as we could cobble together something vaguely convincing.

It wasn't going to be a Dalek, or anything else familiar; we were talking spraying some cardboard boxes and tubes silver (ironically, Mervyn Pinfield's suggection to Raymond Cusick when it came to designing the Daleks). But at least the silver theme tied in with the date - see also the Cybermen in 1988.

Actually, all joking aside, it didn't turn out too bad and the surviving photo perhaps gives some indication of how it scared at least one kid when I lumbered towards it. So, mission accomplished!
When it comes to the details, you can see that the body and head are boxes, with matchboxes for ears. For some reason, I appear to have employed the tops of two spray cans in the chest region, but let's draw a veil over that...

I think the legs were made from thick wallpaper, as they had to be a bit flexible, but without the wider shot to confirm, I cannot be sure. We'd certainly done some wallpapering when we'd moved into the house, so probably had rolls of it left over at the back of a cupboard or shed. I know I wasn't really up to running in the costume, at any rate, as the feet were definitely welly boots sprayed, you've guessed it, silver.

The aforementioned plastic flag is inserted in a thin plastic tube on the head and there's a dial in the middle that goes from 1 to 6, with sadly little effect on my speed, no matter how much people twiddled with it. This possibly was some sort of spinning top / dice thing from a long-forgotten game, but my memory has faded, much like the way the dial did in the bright summer sun.

You might be able to see that I actually won Second Prize with my robot costume, but the thing that rather horrifies me now is the eyes. They are made from the tops of bottles of Matey bubble-bath ("Your Matey's a bottle of fun! You puts me in the bath! I'm loved by everyone! I'm always good for a laugh!"), which is no great stretch of the imagination, but look closer...

There are some small coloured discs of card in the centre of the eyes, with some sort of energy bolt drawn on them. People of a certain age might be appalled to recognise them as part of the board game 'War Of The Daleks'.

Yes, it seems that I was prepared to sacrifice these vital components, thus making my copy of the game (which has sadly vanished into the ether, apart from a couple of stray Daleks) suddenly a lot less playable.

So I might have won Second Prize, but where's my OBE for showing such dedication to Queen and Country, hmm?

(Written by Andrew Trowbridge)

Munster Masquerade

Munster Masquerade

Well, we started out with two bags of sweets yesterday morning, and despite my 'GRONFF!!!'-ing and 'SLOO!!'-ing in last night's video, the contents are are still intact.

This situation is expected to change over the next few days, however...

We're still deciding exactly which episodes to watch for our coverage of 'The Munsters' and 'The Addams Family'. We'll concentrate on the original 60s episodes, but some extra background material never hurts, so we'll glance at the various other versions and even watch some 'Car 54, Where Are You?'. Never let it be said that we shirk our duties!

But having done 'The Addams Family Goes To School' (18th September 1964), it should come as no surprise that we also took a look at the first episode of 'The Munsters', in the form of 'Munster Masquerade' (24th September 1964).

It's perhaps a bit strange that having had several attempt at making the pilot episode ('My Fair Munster'), the production team actually launch with 'Masquerade' instead, but there you go.

One thing that will be interesting about covering some US shows in 'Round The Archives' is that some of the more obscure cultural references will either completely pass us by, or need a bit more in the way of fact checking.

Marilyn dressing as Priscilla (Alden nee Mullins - though sadly nothing to do with Talfryn Thomas from 'Spearhead From Space') caused us a bit of head-scratching, but Lisa's eye for detail headed us in a Puritan direction, allowing us to make the link with the ship 'Mayflower', oddly taking us back to the later chapters of 'Charlie And The Great Glass Elevator'...

Lisa also talks about the use of the word 'Starring' in the title sequence, as only Fred Gwynne is awarded that honour, despite Yvonne De Carlo appearing first. Full marks also for the editing in this sequence, as they get exactly the right frame of Butch Patrick doing that thing with his eyes.

And there's also some dramatic stunt work from the feline branch of HAVOC as Martha Cat launches herself off the back of the sofa, thankfully landing safely, in case any viewers are concerned.

Our video about 'The Munsters' can be seen here.

(Written by Andrew Trowbridge)