Lucy Worsley explores the lives of six real people who lived, worked and volunteered during the Blitz. Using the same style as Lucy's film about the Suffragettes, the film shows their remarkable resilience, as well as the terrible suffering they endured, shining a light on the role of the front-line workers and volunteers at the heart of it all.

The six lives at the heart of the film are 17-year-old Jewish shopgirl Nina Masel, from Essex, who reported for Mass Observation; Frances Faviell, a Chelsea artist and socialite who received just a week’s training to become an auxiliary nurse and would end up treating a dying victim in a bomb crater; Ita Ekpenyon, a Nigerian teacher who moved to the UK to study law but who took on the role of an air-raid precaution warden to rally the people of his central London patch; Barbara Nixon, an out-of-work actress who worked long hours as an ARP warden, expressing her outrage at judgemental attitudes towards East Enders who had lost everything; Frank Hurd, a full-time fireman whose day job was to keep the raging fires of the bombing raids under control; and Robert Barltrop, too young to enlist, who worked as a porter in a Sainsbury's warehouse and volunteered as a firewatcher.

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Watcha talkin about willis

One of the best TV Shows i have watched along with good times this and Good Times are super funny, you will laugh in every episode.

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R.I.P.Windsor Davies and Donald Sinden,you`re great in this sitcom.I remember this series and screened on Monday Nights at 8:00 pm.Now,currently screen back to back on Forces TV channel this year,especially the opening music and credits is excellent.The series was located and filmed in Hersham,Surrey.

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Barbara Orbison's gift to her husband to create a definitive stage performance. It collects several major musical stars to accompany Roy, although they do not do any solo performances. For example J.D. Souther recorded his "You're Only Lonely" inspired by "Only The Lonely", but he is only in the background with others as backup singers. Bruce Springsteen is in the foreground doing harmony vocals next to Roy and playing guitar. During some guitar breaks he and James Burton have an extended lead guitar duel.
With so much star power together, everyone is having a whale of a time in this dynamic show.
Barbara filmed it in black and white for the sake of the nostalgic effect. Aired on the Cinemax premium network, and released on video shortly.
In 2017 Roy's sons created an extended reedited release with many extras on disc. It is cropped to 16:9, which is fine for distant shots but loses image in closeups.

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They say the that the book is always better than than the film, but having read the excellent novel by Liane Moriarty I can assure you that that this series is as good as, if not better than the book.

Shot on location in the wonderful Monterey, California and its surrounding area, the story tells the tale of a group of mothers who on the outside look to have wonderful complete lives but each have their own (big) little lies that are told to just let them cope/survive with their lives.

The screen writing is superb and it quickly draws you into the storyline as the character's lives are slowly looked at. Through struggles in their marriages, parental problems, sexual jealously the mystery deepens with each instalment. You know from the first episode there is a killing, but it is not until the end (of season 1) that you find out who is killed and by whom. In the meanwhile you yourself will find several possible victims with a growing list of possible killers.

The acting is excellent and by the way the soundtrack is brilliant!

The first season closely follows the story set out in the novel however I see that there will be a second season so I await with interest to see where the series will go next.

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Excellent series though not in the same class as TP (there was one episode which directly referenced that other show, though, where two characters stopped talking and for no apparent reason, started clicking their fingers along to a very TP-like tune!).

:happy:

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After a comedy pilot revival to celebrate 60 years of the sitcom from radio to TV,the new series of Porridge,written by the same comedy writers,and this time Kevin Bishop who fills Ronnie Barker`s shoes plays Norman Stanley Fletcher`s son Nigel Norman Fletcher has been banged up in Wakeley Prison for a series of cybercrimes and Mark Bonnar will play Officer Meekie,which is like Mr.Mackay and the new series starts on 6/10/2017 with 6 new episodes.

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Take away the hype surrounding the bare chested Turner, which the majority of the media initially focused on, this is a historical romp on par with anything broadcast in recent years.

I myself am not always a great fan of this type of drama however with its violence, raunchiness, romance, intrigue and humour set against the magnificent backdrop of the Cornish coast this series draws you in and before you know it you are hooked. The characters are well cast and like all good dramas there are heroes, villains, fools and beauties.

A well written and well filmed BBC period drama that I enjoyed more than I thought I would. I would recommend that you should give this one a look, I think like me you may be surprised at how good it is.

Roll on season 4 in 2018!

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This production was a rush job to capitalise on the forthcoming James Cameron blockbuster in 1997. I am not surprised to learn the show sunk just like it's namesake. I know in the Genre list it states History but in the case of this series I would take that to be in its most loosest sense. It's a dreadful production with poor acting, poor dialogue, poor sets, poor CGI and littered with loads of inaccuracies, there's even people having a good old barn dance on the lower decks that looks more like a scene from Little House On The Prairie. I think this one belongs at the bottom of the ocean along with the ship. If you're a fan of the Titanic then truly give this one a by-ball it's three hours of your life you'll never get back.

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I remember this series when used to be screened at 12:00 p.m.,right after the schools programmes as far as I know,and the person who did mostly the puppetry is Christine Glanville [who is responisible doing for various Gerry Anderson TV series].The voices for the Munch Bunch,are both married in real life,and best remembered both appeared together in Radio 4 long running series called The Archers.Charles Collingwood also did the voice of Wordy in the Look and Read for BBC Schools and Colleges Programmes.

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This series has a theme tune written and performed by actor Peter Davison and actress Sandra Dickinson [who were married in real life then],and I do remember when this series,first shown at 12:00 p.m.,right after the schools programmes.

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This TV Series ran for 5 series and there are 98 episodes in total.Tim Dunigan played Templeton `Faceman` Peck in the pilot story,before Dirk Benedict played the role in the regular TV series.My favourite is the Theme Music best of all,as well as the series,which I have the complete series on DVD.

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R.I.P.Adam West,I will miss you so much and I do remember you did the Batman voice again with Burt Ward as Robin alongside with Batmite and Batgirl in the animation series entitled The New Adventures of Batman in 1977 and distributed by Filmation Productions,and used to be screened on Thursday afternoons and Saturday mornings by the BBC.

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This UK Gameshow is originally based on a US gameshow of the same name,and came to our TV screens in 1975-85,and produced for Anglia Television.Peter Fenn wrote the theme tune for Gambit [as well as the theme tune for Sale Of The Century],and he composed two different themes for the show.In 1975-80,first did this in a Tijuana Style like Herb Alpert,and in 1981-85,the same tune but in a style of Sale Of The Century,and not to mention,we see him in person playing a Hammond Organ in Part Two in the Music Question segment. The voiceover for this show in the 1975-85 era is John Benson [also did for Sale Of The Century].

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This series is created by Rick Rosner [also created another TV series before 240-Robert called CHiPs for MGM TV].I do remember the TV series very well,and used to be screened on Saturday Nights at 7:15 p.m. in the London Area.Mike Post and Pete Carpenter [who composed the theme tunes such as The Rockford Files,The A-Team,Knight Rider,etc.] also wrote this original theme tune.This show is produced by Rosner Television in association with Filmways Television

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David White [from the US TV comedy series Bewitched] played the part of J.Jonah Jameson in the pilot story before Robert F Simon got a permanent role and appeared in 29 episodes and I remember the series and screened on Friday nights at 7 p.m.in the London Area.

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I remember this show,when screened on Saturday and Sunday mornings in the London area at 9:30 a.m.in the late 70`s and early 1980`s,and still my TV favourite of all time,especially I like the theme tune as well as the character voices. Frank Welker who voiced Fangface,is best remembered voicing Fred in the Scooby Doo Series.

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This TV series first shown in 1972-73,and 26 episodes were made and ran for 25-30 minutes as far as I can remember.First screened in the London area on Sunday afternoons at 1:30 p.m,and repeated again on Friday nights at 7:00 p.m, in 1974-75 and Saturday afternoons at 12;00 p.m in 1976. This is one of my favourite TV programme of all,because I like the main theme tune,and it is written by John Barry,best remembered composing for Bond films amongst others,and not to mention The Persuaders,also another ITC series and ran for 24 episodes.Also,the series launched the careers of famous celebrities such as Stephanie Beacham,John Savident and not to mention Ben Kingsley[before he became famous in the 1982 film Gandhi].Even the late Burt Kwouk appeared in 2 episodes and not to mention the late Roy Kinnear who work in the scrapyard in the Episode called `Skeleton in the Cupboard`,and also filmed in various countries like France as well as England.

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When Fox TV was young a few people got a chance to see this superhero one-hour series. A variation on the suit that makes you invincible. It was typically well produced, with some weaknesses.
In the 1980s media violence was increasing and people were expecting 1990s violence. But the tide turned, and here the producers purposely toned it down. But to the point of eliminating it and killing it. The M.A.N.T.I.S. would not don his suit til the last five minutes, then just walk onto the crime scene and take control. No hitting or fighting or throwing or smashing for Pete's sake. So a waste of time and it did not last the season.

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A creepy little tale about a man who steps inside a telephone box and then finds he cannot get out. The 35 minutes short begins like a comedy but things gradually get darker and more foreboding; the man’s eventual fate is more shocking than you’d dare imagine.

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A teacher is shown a time portal that takes him back to 1960.
He aims to investigate the period running up to the assassination of JFK and to stop them before the killing takes place.
In the three year period leading from his arrival in 1960 he gets sidetracked by life in the early 60s and the fact that past does not want to be changed.
The mini series was based on the Stephen King book but written and developed for TV by Barbara Carpenter.
I have read the book and enjoyed it and it is a joy to see a Stephen King title filmed well. The story is perfect for a mini-series and the story line has a plenty of interest ranging from historical fact, a bit of a love story and plenty of drama, suspense and action.
Makes you think, other than saving JFK, what you might do if you were able to head back to the 1960s - maybe wait until 1963 and buy a handful of those black and gold Parlaphone records by that new band The Beatles to bring to the future.

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Shown on UK Channel 4 the show has lots of adult themed content (swearing, nudity, etc.). The core subject (gay life in Manchester) can also be off putting to some however I found this series very enjoyable, at times very funny, as well as addressing some very serious issues.

The drama follows Henry Best, a gay middle aged insurance salesman addressing his own issues regarding his relationships and sexuality. Following a split with a long term partner he moves in with small group of much younger men who seem to live the lifestyle he thinks he so desperately wants.

The series consisted of eight episodes all written by Russell T Davies.

A lttle bit of trivia; the title was inspired by a scientific study into the male erection which divided the erection into a hardness scale consisting of tofu, peeled banana, banana, and cucumber.

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Two females run a private investigation company in Niagara Falls (Canajun side). Another valiant attempt to self-produce Canadian content, from Alliance which created some fantastic work in general. Cynthia Dale (of Street Legal) is the ex-cop PI, while Sandra Nelson is the lawyer half. The show is classed as a comedy-drama because, well ... how can females be serious in this kind of stuff.
The Niagara Falls setting raised some hopes, however, umm, they never showed the Falls during the episodes or used the scenic environment. It was just studio work in Toronto. Uhhhh. It had none of the romance or vista or excitement you might hope for. Focused on the SEAMY side of life in this town, which ordinary people don't think about. Prostitution, underworld, sex slavery ... Just failed to capture the concept it should have. Actually hurt people's vision of this grand tourist attraction and wonder of the world. Could just as well have been Taking Hamilton.
It was okay, that's all. Lasted 13 episodes, and not renewed.

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I gave the dates of production. They would have been shown on TV past 1951. The venture collapsed and the films were sold at a steal to one TV station around Ohio. But they had managed to create a historic library of the great performers of the day. They are now managed by Historic Films in New York.
Not to be confused with Soundies, which were made for theaters. These Snaders have been packaged in various forms. There was a video volume devoted entirely to Nat King Cole.

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There is absolutely no other show on TV like Doctor Who. For one thing, despite the show having been a presence since 1963 (it ran 26 seasons until 1989, then took an extended hiatus - it was never cancelled - until 2005, with a 1996 TV movie in-between and copious reruns, novels, comics, etc to fill the gap) it's never gotten stale. That of course is due to the show's main "gimmick" that The Doctor can regenerate, allowing a new actor to take over the part every few years. This, combined with his co-star "companions" also changing periodically, lets the show continually reinvent itself.

Originally conceived as a show for kids, Doctor Who quickly began building a large adult following. Since 2005 the series has managed to (usually) successfully maintain a family-friendly feel. While so many other contemporary shows (especially in the sci-fi genre) seem to think viewers want to see sex scenes and heavy violence in every episode, Doctor Who is a breath of fresh air. At the same time it keeps piling on the role models, strong characters (particularly female characters), spectacle, humor - and it isn't afraid to make the viewers cry, either.

Other shows rely on shock value, or pushing the envelope in ways that generate headlines. Doctor Who, meanwhile, quietly goes about its business delivering some of the best drama - never mind sci-fi - in live action TV.

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It's been a while now since Pacman left...

... And I have to say I don't miss him much now, as it was getting to the point where he was all but nodding off in the chair; Either he was dreaming of being tucked up in bed with his Ovaltine, or had finally reached a transcendent state of news journalist Nirvana where the news was now beneath him, and to be regarded with contempt and frequent expressions of boredom.

Mind you, that could be confused with contempt for the show itself, as contrasted with Wark's antics (Her dancing to Michael Jackson's Thriller at the end of one show made something die inside me), and her obvious pushing of a feminist "agenda" (blimey, I sound like a right wing nut job now.... aaarrrrggh), I'm all for feminism, and many other isms, where and when an ism is required, and doesn't threaten the peace, security, and well being of people, but I'm also for Journalism - remember that word? -

Journalism has suffered greatly since the advent of 24 hour "news", which has been one of the single most destructive innovations of the last twenty years, and this was one of those little Oases of integrity, but gradually succumbed to the influence of 24 hysteria - sorry... "news".
Picking up many of the bad habits of the 24 hour TV screen saver channels (be honest, when their's nothing on TV, you find yourself landing on one of these channels to act as a glowing fire place on your TV... or frequently switch over "in case" anything has "happened"), such as giving us a massive build up to some event, like a speech, then "We're going to leave that there" - for no apparent purpose except to piss you off once you're well into said speech (rather they suffer from institutional attention deficit disorder themselves), pressing interviewees on questons before they've even opened their mouths to answer the last question that was asked.... sometimes even overtly favouring one of the guests and virtually cold shouldering the other (It's my prerogative as a viewer to agree or disagree with a guest's views or not... even to dislike them if I should so choose... but you are a "journalist", who ought to be impartial and professional ((careful.... your polititcs are showing!)).

Frequently we see Matlis strutting around, or "jogging" a story (?)... (Of course, it hasn't become all about the presenter now has it?!!)

Evan Davis though... who did look a little light-weight in the beginning, seems to have gotten to grips with it, and has a snappy, sharp - yet easy style of presenting which is a lot better, and even occasionally, some journalism breaks out in the studio.

But the endless string of "economists" "analysts" "Political editors/commentators/gossip columnists/politics-as-sport-as-entertatinment mongers giving their useless opinions (If they know so much, why haven't they fixed things themselves?) grates on the nerves now, as Jack Nicholson's character in As good As It Gets remarks (albeit out context here- but equally applicable):

"I'm drowning here... and You're describing the water!"

Which probably sums up best what journalism has come to in this day and age, where once, to read a newspaper, or watch a show like this was the mark of someone wanting to be informed, and enlightened, now it's just a pageant, the sign of delusion.

It's said that those who can't do...teach.

But when it comes to economics, politics, world affairs and the like:

Those who can't do.... become "Journalists".

(It's no wonder I don't vote anymore, and more generally don't believe in our system of democracy either.... this lot would make a cynic of anyone.)

GGGGrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Plundered and edited a bit from the independent.

They havn't got around to 45cat collectors.

( Collectaholics, BBC2, review: It's time for these obsessives to say goodbye to all tat

Will Dean @willydean Thursday 13 March 2014 )
Review at the Independent

"We're a nation of collectors" reckons Antiques Roadshow's Mark Hill (a man who describes himself with his own mouth as "antiques expert – and lifelong collector – Mark Hill", which must be a mouthful in the pub or at meetings of other antique experts). His case for the prosecution came in Collectaholics (BBC2) where Hill and Mel Giedroyc find a motley crew who – you've got it – are addicted to collecting.

There was a bloke with 7,000 unique beer cans (lad!); another who was burying himself and his wife in old railway signs; and a young man who just liked things from the 1930s and Forties. Note the preponderance of XY chromosomes, armchair psychologists. Airline steward Ben, the retro man, is quite sweet. His home is uncluttered and full of cheap nods to his favourite period. He just wanted Antiques Expert Mark Hill and Mel to rid him of a few bits so he can afford to plumb in a proper period oven. So they sold a few knick-knacks at Spitalfields market and made £430. Fine.

More dramatic was ex-railway worker Stuart whose collection of railwayana is so vast that he doesn't have room to display it. Despite having a life-sized station platform in his garden. And a buffet bar. And a petrol station. And a collection of stuff from shops upstairs. He has too many things, essentially.

Most of those things are those lovely retro transport signs that John Lewis flog for about £90 to people who used to live in Finsbury Park but now commute from Leighton Buzzard, to remind them of being edgy.

There were countless cool individual items of beautiful train art by artists like Harry Riley and Tom Eckersley (Mel and Tom's sections on the history of these things make Collectaholics worth tuning into). Even if he sold just his petrol station tat, Stuart would be good for £50-70,000, which he gleefully suggested he could use to spend on more railway bits, or to extend his storage space. OR TO TAKE HIS WIFE ON HOLIDAY??

But Stuart seemed positively sane compared to Nick, the beer can man from Somerset. I'm assured by Psychology Today that this kind of collecting doesn't qualify as hoarding unless it's impeding your life.

Alas, Nick's collection of beer tinnies is so vast that it led he and wife, Deborah, to move from a house they loved so that Nick can have a larger – humidity controlled! – room for his cans. And they're not even good beer cans. Sure, Nick has some fascinating specimens. There's a Felinfoel Brewery Pale Ale can from post-prohibition. Which is obviously worth caring for. Though it should be, having cost £1,200. But Nick also collects bog-standard Heineken, Stella, Special Brew and – ! – Somerfield Simple Value Bitter cans. As Antiques Expert Mark Hill said: "Who would have thought to save this?" Sure, it's an interesting history of modern branding. But one that belongs in a beer or design museum. Not upstairs in suburbia.

Nick's tinny myopia was best exemplified by a line too good for even an arch mockumentary. When asked at the end if the £10-15,000 valuation he'd been given was enough to make him flog the lot and finally let his poor wife downsize, he stepped from toe to toe and mumbled: "Well, I was collecting cans before I married Deborah, so, to a certain extent, the cans came first."

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Having watched the original series from start to finish and thoroughly enjoyed it, I approached this new remake with some trepidation, knowing that remakes aren't always successful but this is one that bucks that trend. I really needn't have worried though because the casting is superb and the filming is amazing. I was already a big fan of Samuel West who plays Siegfried in this series and he doesn't disappoint. Nicholas Ralph as James Herriot is pretty good as well. I was disappointed that it didn't come out on blu-ray but maybe sometime in the future when they test the market with a DVD release. If you haven't seen it yet then keep an eye open for it, it doesn't disappoint

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Anne Robinson was a good choice of presenter. She previously presented Points of View in a cynical way. Calling her the "queen of mean" is generous hyperbole. It's clearly an act and she can be seen breaking character by smiling or even laughing in a few instances.

The game is a basic quizshow with a banking mechanic and a voting system. Contestants would often vote off who they saw as the most competition. These two mechanics I've not seen implimented before on a quiz show. I know shows like Catchphrase had a banking mechanic, but it was automatic and didn't rely on the contestants saying bank and they would often forget or say pass by mistake. The cash prizes were often pretty small, I think £10, 000 was the maximum and most players took home around £4,000 or less. The game was a bit cheap as the questions got harder and more obscure as the game went on, not too mention more long-winded to run the clock down.

Overall, this was a cold and cynical gameshow with a metallic set to match; see also Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, Shafted and Golden Balls. Anne Robinson was a hit with viewers and the show ran for a massive 12 years and had a US spin-off with Anne also presenting. There was also a spin-off game for PS1, PS2 and Windows which I wouldn't recommend as it's dull and for trivia fans Anne Robinson was sampled in a cheesy hard house record by the usually excellent Pants & Corset (Paul King).

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I remember this series quite well,and one of my favourite episodes is filmed at the main post office in Sutton,Surrey [now closed down],but sadly lost Mike Walling [also appeared with Tony Millan-and both became comedy writers such as The Brittas Empire,etc.]The Intro and Outro theme is performed by Dexy`s Midnight Runners and released as a single in November 1986 and reached No.13 in the UK charts.Karl Howman is absolutely a great actor,and also Carol Harrison [from Eastenders],also great and well acted throughout.A definitely great BBC comedy series for me,and I still like it now.

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