'Z Cars - Takes All Sorts'

'Z Cars - Takes All Sorts'

When the first character you see in an episode of 'Z Cars' is named Inspector Pratt, that;s probably a clue that this isn't going to be most serious one you've ever seen.

Broadcast on 2nd October 1972, 'Takes All Sorts' was described in the 'Radio Times' write-up as follows : "The new Inspector arrives - Ralph Edward Pratt - spruce as a pocket-hankie and dripping self-confidence…"

We deal here with the contrasting approaches to policing adopted by Inspector Pratt (Graham Armitage) and PC Yates (Nicholas Smith). The former does everything by the book, the latter is more flexible, shall we say, but this often works better when dealing with  real people.

Meanwhile, Sergeant Lynch (James Ellis) is wondering whether he really wants promotion and is concerned that this might change him in ways he might not be comfortable with.

Inspector Pratt leads a pub raid at The Freemasons Arms, SIlver Street where after-hours drinking appears to be the norm. This scene is a feast for those who know their archive telly, with Fred Mumford's dad from 'Rentaghost' (John Dawson) behind the bar and customers including Mrs McClusky from 'Grange Hill' (Gwyneth Powell) and Dylan from 'Porridge : A Day Out' (Philip Jackson).

Gwyneth Powell is here playing Jean Knight and is having an affair and is concerned that her husband will find out, so eventually does a deal with Detective-Sergeant Stone (John Slater), revealing that her other half has been involved with a recent robbery. With her villainous hubby banged-up, she can attempt to get on with her life, even though it will still be complicated, given that her lover is married...

But the set-piece of this episode is the low-speed chase involving the yellow dumper truck which isn't a million miles away from 'Wacky Races' or 'Planet Of The Spiders' Part Two.

Philip Jackson (as Mitchell) is getting married in the morning and he and his mate have missed the last train back to Eccles. When hitch-hiking proves a failure, they eventually spot the dumper truck and 'borrow' it to help them complete their journey.

Yates and Skinner (Ian Cullen) are soon in hot pursuit, with Inspector Pratt providing encouragment, but little in the way of road sense, when Yates' car gets pranged.

Pratt makes it clear that he is less than impressed with Yates in general, but Pratt's stiff and starchy attitude means that Mitchell and his chum clam up when they are hauled in to make a statement. Cunning old Yates, though, is able to deal with the situation, justifying Stone's description of him as being the better copper of the contrasting pair.

It's a fairly light-hearted episode but it makes some interesting points. We've been meaning to talk about it for ages, so watching it again last night was very enjoyable.

Early 70s 'Z Cars' suffers from so many missing episodes that 'Doctor Who' fans probably have nightmares the first time they study the list, but I'm very glad that 'Takes All Sorts' exists.

It's well worth adding some 'Z Cars' to your collection and I hope that more will be released in the future. We'd certainly buy them!

Takes All Sorts' is available from Acorn DVD and our video discussing the episode can be seen here.

(Written by Andrew Trowbridge)

Treasures From The Tin

Treasures From The Tin

Every now and then I throw caution to the wind and open up a long-ignored tin or box just to see what's in there. Generally I note the contents and put the lid back on, repeating the process about five years later.

Today my eye was draw by a rather attractive tin decorated with assorted flora and fauna, that used to contain Clotted Cream Fudge made by Bristow's of Devon.

Thankfully, there was no sign of any festering fudge left in the corners, but there was a bewildering collection of assorted badges inside. I remember owning the badges, but where some of them came from is a bit of a mystery, though the ones from Wookey Hole ('You'll Be Witched!') and Gold Hill, Shaftesbury (where the famous adverts for 'Hovis' bread were filmed) make their origins fairly obvious.

The McCoy era 'Doctor Who' and 'Star Trek' ones aren't in bad nick, all things consisdered, though the 'Powellie (The Controller With A Problem)'  one is starting to show its age. This one was made for the 'Viz'-style fanzine 'Weird' from the 'Star Begotten' stable and is apparently quite rare these days!

Actually, the 'Star Trek' one has caused some head-scratching as to where it came from. It's been suggested it came with a VHS release as a freebie, but I've no memory, apart from knowing that I wore it on my lab coat in the 1990s, along with some of the others.

To have two badges related to 'South Park's Mister Hankey (The Christmas Poo) is probably overdoing it, but the JVC one is quite strange, too. The bird-like figure on it is holding a football, so we premuse it's to do with the World Cup or something - 'Official Hi-Fi, TV & Video Systems' it claims.

And let us not ignore the cheery Snowman badge, whose eyes once lit up, but the tiny round batteries were drained years ago.

Oh well, back in the tin they go...

Don't forget to come back in five years time to see if they've rusted away...

(Written by Andrew Trowbridge)

Jack The Accent Ripper

Jack The Accent Ripper

Last night we watched Part One of the 1988 Euston Films production of 'Jack The Ripper' starring Michael Caine as Inspector Abberline.

We'll get into the nitty-gritty of this show in (hopefully) Episode 26 of 'Round The Archives', but for today's video we thought it would be interesting to talk about the bits you don't see on screen when it comes to Abberline's origins.

Between them, Warren and Lisa know an impressive amount about the events of 1888, but I'm rather ashamed to admit that this time last year I had little idea as to who Inspector Abberline was, and none at all that he came from Blandford, Dorset.

When I were a lad, Blandford was a such a far-away place (just under 15 miles) that there was only one bus a week to there, on a Thursday. I don't remember much about individual trips there, apart from going to the shoe shop and having an iced bun in the tearooms before catching the bus back.
There's no clue that Michael Caine's Abberline is a Dorset, boy apart from a brief allusion to his being considered an 'outsider' by his colleages. I know I'm biased, but I'd have liked this to have been explored a bit more, but there you go.

In a recent edition of the 'Smash The Media' podcast ('The Working Class Struggle Is Real' which can be heard here), hosts Guy Lambert and Danny Simm discuss how the media does not offer equal opportunities to people from working-class backgrounds and I think this is also true for people from the West Country.

'Broadchurch' has seen a few people adopting Dorset tones, but growing up there were very few people on the telly who spoke like most of the people round where I were.

'The Wurzels' made it onto 'Top Of The Pops' from time-to-time (and one of their number, Tommy Banner, actually hails from Scotland). More locally to me were 'The Yetties', but they are even less well-known than their Somerset cousins.

Bill Bailey is, of course, influenced by Scrumpy-And-Western music and there's Phil Harding from 'Time Team'. Apart from Jethro and Professor Colin Pillinger, I'm struggling to think of many more recognisable people who speak proper.

As I've said before a few more Dorset stories in 'Doctor Who' would be very welcome, so long as we don't have to go down the Comedy Yokel route.

Oh ar?

Our video about Inspector Abberline and Dorset accents can be seen here.

(Written by Andrew Trowbridge)

A short PS from Lisa : Having said that I thought that Brian Capron would have been good alongside Michael Caine, having now seen Lewis Collins' performance, I think he's one of the best things about the production.

Jack's Back

Jack's Back

As Episode 25 of 'Round The Archives' has reached the editing stage, just needing a few bits and pieces recorded to complete it, our minds have turned to Episode 26.

As I mentioned in my article on June the 20th, we have covered the 1973 'Jack The Ripper' series for  Episode 25 and for Episode 26 we will be taking a look at the 1988 ITV series 'Jack The Ripper' starring Michael Caine as Inspector Frederick Abberline.

But it was another version of Abberline that originally inspired me to suggest a set of recurring articles on Jack and the fact that this year marks 130 years since the murders.

Back in May, Warren sent us a link to a 20 minute extract of Barry Foster as Inspector Abberline for the original version of 'Jack The Ripper'. It got cancelled when CBS got involved and wanted a bigger star and a more expensive production.

But the glimpse of Barry Foster giving a very different performance with an accent that wanders all over the place is fascinating and it set me wondering if we could get an article out of it and it sort of snowballed from there.

The extract also stars Brian Capron as Sergeant Godley, a part that would be taken by Lewis Collins in the finished product. But quite honestly I find Brian a better fit and would have quite liked to see him alongside Michael Caine.

So expect an article on both the televised version and the 20 or so minutes of Barry Foster that exist.
Interestingly. one or two actors did cross from one version of the production to the other, amongst them Ken Bones, George Sweeney and Edward Judd.

Now you would think that covering two versions of the Jack The Ripper story would be enough. but no! I suggested that we cover a couple of other versions as well, so in October we'll be taking a look at 'Whitechapel' from 2008. also made by ITV. And then just for fun we'll be taking a look at 'Star Trek: Wolf In The Fold' and various appearances or mentions in other series such as 'Goodnight Sweetheart' and even 'Doctor Who'.

Jolly Jack will certainly be keeping us busy over the next few months.

(Written by Lisa Parker)

Visual Audios

Visual Audios

Well, that's Episode 24 of 'Round The Archives' uploaded to YouTube, which brings us up to date. I'm not sure putting our back catalogue on there will vastly increase our audience, but it does add a bit of variety to our channel. And you get a pretty picture to look at into the bargain.

You'll notice how the running time between the podcasts and our normal videos contrasts wildly, but we've no plans to cut down the length of 'Round The Archives' at the moment. Or indeed, to do longer videos.

After all, there's only so much you can say about 'Pardon My Genie', even if you have dug out your top hat as a special 'treat' for the viewers...

It's required a fair bit of churning on the part of the laptop and I found it easiest to do the rendering while we were doing the washing-up in the morning. It was suggested that it might be worth doing approximate timings for the articles, so these have been added to the later ones in case people want to jump to a specific point.

We picked up the 'Doctor Who Magazine' special about fandom yesterday and will be pouring over that fairly soon, but I couldn't help seeking out the bit about podcasting...

Just to see if... You know... If we possibly got a mention...

No.

Ah well, you make your own publicity in this game, I suppose.

(But I still think Paul Cornell and Andrew Smith are missing out!)

But reviewing the way things have gone on 'RTA' over the last two years, I don't think we've done too badly, all things considered. We may not be famous, but we seem to be amusing people from time to time.

So, if we've done all the rendering we need to do, that can only mean we should get a shift on with Episode 25.

Now, can I think up any good 'Silver Nemesis' jokes...?

(Or even bad ones would do!)

 Episode 24 of 'Round The Archives' can be found on YouTube here.

Our video about 'Pardon My Genie' can be seen here.

(Written by Andrew Trowbridge)

My Fete Is Killing Me

My Fete Is Killing Me

Uploading Episode 23 of 'Round The Archives' today reminded me that we've yet to finish watching the first season of 'Pardon My Genie'.

So to try and get myself up to speed, I bunged on the fourth episode, 'My Fete Is Killing Me', which features a turn from none other than 'Dad's Army's Colonel Square, better known as Geoffrey Lumsden

Shown on 1st May 1972, this one opens with the Genie (Hugh Paddick) having a driving lesson under the supervision of his master, Hal Adden (Ellis Jones). OK, so 'Hal Adden' is perhaps not the most subtle name for the owner of a genie, but Bob Block is going for the laughs here.

The Genie is constantly amazed at the wonders of the modern world, thinking that a traffic light is a tall, thin genie with three flashing eyes. Fearing for his master's safety our Genie has turned the suspected threat into a toadstool, but sadly we don't get a shot of that...

The van they are driving is stuffed full of items for the local church jumble sale, along with some pieces for Captain Bamford (Geoffrey Lumsden) from Mr Cobbledick's (Roy Barraclough) ironmonger's shop (36 High Street, Widdimouth), where Hal works. The Genie lives in a watering can, by the way. Thought it better to cover that point now...

Hal wants to take the wheel of the car, which leads to the obvious joke, but the clarification that they should change seats doesn't improve the situation.

Hal is looking for a fork in the road and the Genie is always willing to help out where possible.

The resulting puncture is underlined by one of those comedy 'wa-waah!' noises that annoyed me even when I was a kid. Hal takes no joy in driving and spotting a plane going overhead insists that flying is the only way to travel, in a speech that Chris Bidmead could have written for Tegan in 'Logopolis' Part One.

The Genie is never anything less than literal-minded, so cue some 'ambitious' (that's the kindest word) CSO shots of the van flying over some fields that don't seem to have much to do with the more built-up area they were in a few seconds ago.

The Genie attempts to return them to ground-level, but he's getting on a bit at 4000 years old and his spell does not work. Deciding that asking the Genie for a parachute might not be the best idea, Hal finds an umbrella in the back of the van and is made as light as a feather, or zephyr, if you prefer. The Genie makes himself the size of a mouse and hitches a lift as Hal jumps out of the van. Don't try this at home, kids!

At the jumble sale, Captain Bamford and Constable Appleby (Joe Dunlop) briefly discuss Hal, with the policeman noting that funny things always seem to happen when he is around.

With a whistling of the wind, Hal descends to earth in full view of the constable, but the law is in not mood for a detailed explanation. He gets on his bike and makes a slight hash of pedalling away, but there's no time to do a second take, clearly.

The Genie is in grave danger of falling down Hal's trousers, and the Captain appears with a 'I see...' as Hal adjusts his clothing and talks to his little Genie, if you'll pardon the expression. When the Genie speaks, Hal has to cover for him, claiming that he's an amateur ventriloquist, with a quick 'gottle of gear'...

Hal leaves, with the wriggling Genie making him all ticklish and we get to see the date of the jumble sale is Saturday March 11th, confirming that this is indeed 1972.

Back at Mr Cobbledick's, the Genie is restored to his normal size, but is cross at the bumpiness of his journey, claiming that his master has the gait of a camel. But Hal has got the hump (Bob Block's joke, not mine!) about the loss of the van with all the items.

The Genie sits down to think about the correct spell and turns on the radio. The news headlines include the story of a pilot of a jet airliner who has reported a near collision with a delivery van at 10,000 feet. The pilot is to be grounded for psychiatric examination...

The Genie remembers the spell and brings the van down again, outside the shop.

Mr Cobbledick says they might as well close early after lunch, as everyone will be at the jumble sale anyway.

The policeman enters, asking that they move the van as it is double-parked. Cue another 'wa-waah!' as we see exactly what he means...

Hal orders the genie to transfer the second-hand items to the jumble-sale and the new goods to Captain Bamford's house. You can see where this is going, can't you...

Mr Cobbledick wants an explanation as to how the van got there and he wants the truth. Hal looks straight down the camera lens with the opinion that he can't have both.

Mr Cobbledick wonders if it was the work of the local Hell's Angels and phones for the garage to help.

The Genie claims that everything is now in the right place, but Hal wants to check and insists that the Genie travels in his clothes again, which does not go down too well...

At the jumble sale Miss Hockridge (Joyce Grant) has a wide range of items all a snip at 30p, though that doll looks decidedly sinister to me. Constable Appleby turns up with some goldfish in a bowl, who get a free upgrade to a tank...

Miss Hockridge is impressed with the quality of the latest batch of items, which apparently arrived when she was away, but the Vicar has insisted that everything should be the same price. That lawn roller is surely worth more than 30p in scrap metal alone, though...

Hall arrives and peers through the window, working out how the Genie has got it wrong again. When the coast is clear, Hal orders the Genie back to full side, finding him some inconspicuous clothes to wear. They start to try and sort things out without anyone knowing.

Mr Cobbledick is on lemonade duty served at two-and-a-half pee in some pretty paper cups.

Hal asks the Genie to get Mr Cobbledick away before he sees what's happened. The Genie obliges, although the lady next to Mr Cobbledick doesn't notice his vanishing act, being distracted waving at somebody out of shot...

The Vicar (Carl Bernard) is hot (each to their own!), fanning himself with his straw hat, which gets a good dose of lemonade courtesy of the transported Cobbledick, who was in the act of pouring some out from the jug. Cue 'wa-waah!' number three...

Mr Cobbledick tells Hal off for closing even earlier than he intended, calling him a lazy worker, which understandably does not go down too well.

Captain Bamford mentions to Mr Cobbledick that he's received a collection of weird knick-knacks instead of his expected order and they go off to take a look and enjoy some home-made punch.

Hal is still annoyed with the way Mr Cobbledick spoke to him and says he wishes his boss would take a running jump. The Genie arranges this in the usual way, with Roy Barraclough getting to do a bit of physical comedy.

Hal and the Genie go through the list of items one at a time, sending them to their correct destinations. Captain Bamford leaves to pick his wife up from the hairdressers, leaving Mr Cobbledick to sort out the erroneous items.

The punchbowl and the fishtank swap places first with a rather sickly-looking rubber goldfish being waved about., when Mr Cobbledick refills his tankard and gets more than he bargained for...

'Wa-waah!' number four is the result of Mr Cobbledick failing to notice that he's pushing a manual lawnmower (instead of a pushchair) over the Captain's carpet...

Mr Cobbledick has also put on a raincoat, but this gets swapped with a large roll of chickenwire, which doesn't really suit him, but at least earns him a different comedy musical cue.

Mss Hockridge returns and opens the jumble sale before all the Captain's things have been transported correctly. A fete worse than death, according to Bob Block...

The Vicar picks up a pair of hedgeclippers, with Miss Hockridge commenting that his wide has said he needs a new pair, which is the cue for a bit of 'Carry On' humour.

The Genie manages to swap the remaining items over, much to the surprise of the jumble sale patrons. Hal is mightily impressed, exclaiming 'Blow me down!'. So, of course, that's what the Genie is happy to do, thanks to the Thames Television wind machine...

'Pardon My Genie' is available from Network DVD.

(Written by Andrew Trowbridge)