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1970s In Television
The decade of the 1970s saw significant changes in television programming in both the United Kingdom and the United States. The trends included the decline of the "family sitcoms" and rural-oriented programs to more socially contemporary shows and "young, hip and urban" sitcoms in the United States and the permanent establishment of colour television in the United Kingdom. Overall trends United Kingdom In 1967, BBC Two had started trials of their new colour service, and it was gradually rolled out over the next few years. BBC One and ITV followed suit in 1969, so by 1970 the viewer had three colour channels from which to choose: BBC1, BBC2 and ITV. Although U.S. imports occupied a significant proportion of airtime, there was a substantial amount of high quality in-house production too. The BBC, supported by its licence fee and with no advertisers to placate, continued fulfilling its brief to entertain and inform. The ''Play for Today'' was a continuation of the ''Wednesday Play'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1960s In Television
This is a list of years in television. It lists some important events in the history of television, as well as the first broadcasts of many television shows, and the launches of some television channels and networks. 1870s * 1876: Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone. * 1877: Bell Telephone Company is founded. 1920s * 1922: Charles Francis Jenkins' first public demonstration of television principles. A set of static photographic pictures is transmitted from Washington, D.C. to the Navy station NOF in Anacostia by telephone wire, and then wirelessly back to Washington. :*Philo Farnsworth first describes an image dissector tube, which uses cesium to produce images electronically, but will not produce a working model until 1927. * 1923: Charles Jenkins first demonstrates "true" television with moving images. This time 48-line moving silhouette images are transmitted at 16 frames per second from Washington to Anacostia Navy station. :*Vladimir Zworykin applies for a pat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Mortimer
Sir John Clifford Mortimer (21 April 1923 – 16 January 2009) was a British barrister, dramatist, screenwriter and author. He is best known for novels about a barrister named Horace Rumpole. Early life Mortimer was born in Hampstead, London, the only child of Kathleen May (née Smith) and (Herbert) Clifford Mortimer (1884–1961), a divorce and probate barrister who became blind in 1936 when he hit his head on the door frame of a London taxi but still pursued his career. Clifford's loss of sight was not acknowledged openly by the family.Helen T. Verongo"John Mortimer, barrister and creator of Rumpole, is dead" ''International Herald Tribune'', 16 January 2009. This obituary was also carried by ''The New York Times''; a more complete version than the version on the ''IHT'' website is onlin John Mortimer was educated at the Dragon School, Oxford, and Harrow School, where he joined the Communist Party, [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sykes (TV Series)
''Sykes'' is a British sitcom that aired on BBC 1 from 1972 to 1979. Starring Eric Sykes and Hattie Jacques, it was written by Sykes, who had previously starred with Jacques in '' Sykes and a...'' (1960–1965) and '' Sykes and a Big, Big Show'' (1971). Forty-three of the 1970s colour episodes were remakes of scripts for the 1960s black and white series, such as "Bus" based on 'Sykes and a Following' from 1964 and the episode "Stranger" with Peter Sellers based on 'Sykes and a Stranger' from 1961. ''Sykes'' had the same premise as ''Sykes and a...'' with Sykes, Jacques, Richard Wattis and Deryck Guyler reprising their former identical roles. The series was brought to an end by the death of Hattie Jacques of a heart attack on 6 October 1980. Cast *Eric Sykes – Himself *Hattie Jacques – Harriet (Hat) Sykes *Richard Wattis – Charles Fulbright-Brown (series 1–3) *Deryck Guyler – PC Corky Turnbull *Joy Harington – Melody Rumbelow *Joan Sims – Madge Kettlewell Plot With t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terry And June
''Terry and June'' is a BBC television sitcom, which was broadcast on BBC1 from 1979 to 1987. The show was largely a reworking of '' Happy Ever After'', and starred Terry Scott and June Whitfield as a middle-aged, middle-class suburban couple, Terry and June Medford, who live in Purley. Most of the 65 episodes were written by John Kane, with seven other writers also contributing some episodes. The theme tune, Bell Hop by John Shakespeare, was also used for the radio series Never Too Late which starred Dame Thora Hird and Joe Gladwin and ran for two series (1981 and 1982). Production Terry Scott and June Whitfield began their television partnership in '' Scott On'' in 1968. On 7 May 1974, a ''Comedy Playhouse'' pilot called "Happy Ever After" aired on BBC1 with Scott and Whitfield playing Terry and June Fletcher, a middle-class couple whose grown-up children have just left home. This was commissioned into a series of the same name, and five series and two Christmas specials w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Happy Ever After (UK TV Series)
''Happy Ever After'' is a British sitcom starring Terry Scott and June Whitfield. It aired from 7 May 1974 to 25 April 1979. The series was co-written by scriptwriters John T. Chapman, Eric Merriman, Christopher Bond, John Kane and Jon Watkins. After ''Happy Ever After'' ended, Scott and Whitfield starred in ''Terry and June'' from October 1979 to August 1987, a sitcom that was similar to ''Happy Ever After'' (minus Aunt Lucy), with Terry and June's surname changed from Fletcher to Medford, and the setting moved to Purley. Cast *Terry Scott as Terry Fletcher *June Whitfield as June Fletcher *Beryl Cooke as Aunt Lucy *Lena Clemo as Susan Fletcher ''(pilot)'' *Pippa Page as Susan Fletcher ''(from series 2)'' *Caroline Whitaker as Debbie Fletcher Plot Terry and June Fletcher are a middle-aged, middle-class couple who find themselves alone when their grown-up children, daughters Susan and Debbie, leave home. However, they are not alone for long as Aunt Lucy comes to live with th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Situation Comedy
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use new characters in each sketch, and stand-up comedy, where a comedian tells jokes and stories to an audience. Sitcoms originated in radio, but today are found mostly on television as one of its dominant narrative forms. A situation comedy television program may be recorded in front of a studio audience, depending on the program's production format. The effect of a live studio audience can be imitated or enhanced by the use of a laugh track. Critics disagree over the utility of the term "sitcom" in classifying shows that have come into existence since the turn of the century. Many contemporary American sitcoms use the single-camera setup and do not feature a laugh track, thus often resembling the dramedy shows of the 1980s and 1990s rather t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mary Whitehouse
Constance Mary Whitehouse (; 13 June 1910 – 23 November 2001) was a British teacher and conservative activist. She campaigned against social liberalism and the mainstream British media, both of which she accused of encouraging a more permissive society. She was the founder and first president of the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association, through which she led a longstanding campaign against the BBC. A hard-line social conservative, she was termed a reactionary by her socially liberal opponents. Her motivation derived from her Christian beliefs, her aversion to the rapid social and political changes in British society of the 1960s, and her work as a teacher of sex education. Whitehouse became an art teacher, at the same time becoming involved in evangelical Christian groups such as the Student Christian Movement (which became increasingly more liberal leading up to, and after, a 1928 split with the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship) and Moral Re-Armament. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Till Death Us Do Part
''Till Death Us Do Part'' is a British television sitcom that aired on BBC1 from 1965 to 1975. The show was first broadcast in 1965 as a ''Comedy Playhouse'' pilot, then as seven series between 1966 and 1975. In 1981, ITV continued the sitcom for six episodes, calling it '' Till Death...''. The BBC produced a sequel from 1985 until 1992, ''In Sickness and in Health''. Created by Johnny Speight, ''Till Death Us Do Part'' centred on the East End Garnett family, led by patriarch Alf Garnett (Warren Mitchell), a reactionary white working-class man who holds racist and anti-socialist views. His long-suffering wife Else was played by Dandy Nichols, and his daughter Rita by Una Stubbs. Rita's husband Mike Rawlins ( Anthony Booth) is a socialist "layabout" from Liverpool who frequently locks horns with Garnett. Alf Garnett became a well-known character in British culture, and Mitchell played him on stage and television until Speight's death in 1998. In addition to the spin-off ''In Si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alasdair Milne
Alasdair David Gordon Milne (8 October 19308 January 2013) was a British television producer and executive. He had a long career at the BBC, where he was eventually promoted to Director-General, and was described by ''The Independent'' as "one of the most original and talented programme-makers to emerge during television's formative years". In his early career, Milne was a BBC producer and was involved in founding the current affairs series ''Tonight'' in 1957. Later, after a period outside the BBC, he became controller of BBC Scotland and BBC Television's director of programmes. He served as Director-General of the BBC between July 1982 and January 1987, when he was forced to resign from his post by the BBC Governors following several difficult years for the BBC, which included sustained pressure from the Thatcher government about editorial decisions which had proved controversial. Early life Milne was born in British India to Charles Gordon Shaw Milne, an Aberdonian surgeon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brimstone And Treacle
''Brimstone and Treacle'' is a 1976 BBC television play by Dennis Potter. Originally intended for broadcast as an episode of the series '' Play for Today'', it remained untransmitted until 1987. The play was made into a film version (released in 1982) co-starring Sting. Both versions also star Denholm Elliott. The play features a middle-aged middle-class couple living in a north London suburb whose life has been catastrophically affected by a hit-and-run accident which has left their beautiful undergraduate daughter totally dependent upon them. Their lives are dramatically changed by the arrival of a mysterious young stranger. Plot For two years, Tom and Amy Bates have been struggling to cope with their altered lives, after their daughter Pattie (or Patricia) was severely injured in a hit-and-run accident. Pattie is unable to walk, completely dependent upon others for the activities of daily living, and seemingly unable to communicate beyond making unintelligible sounds. Alth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pennies From Heaven (TV Series)
''Pennies from Heaven'' is a 1978 BBC musical drama serial written by Dennis Potter. The title is taken from the song " Pennies from Heaven" written by Johnny Burke and Arthur Johnston. It was one of several Potter serials (another being ''The Singing Detective'') to mix the reality of the drama with a dark fantasy content, and the earliest of his works where the characters burst into extended performances of popular songs. Overview Hoskins became an established actor in the United Kingdom following his role in this serial. The serial was directed by Piers Haggard and produced by Potter collaborator Kenith Trodd. The series also featured Nigel Havers as Conrad Baker (the suave salesman), Jenny Logan as Irene (Joan's friend), Freddie Jones as Mr. Warner (Eileen's headmaster), Michael Bilton as Eileen's dad, Will Stamp as the Barman, Tudor Davies as the cafe customer (Davies was also choreographer for the series), and Peter Bowles as the Prosecuting Counsel. ''Pennies'' was the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Year Of The Sex Olympics
''The Year of the Sex Olympics'' is a 1968 television play made by the BBC and first broadcast on BBC2 as part of ''Theatre 625''. It stars Leonard Rossiter, Tony Vogel, Suzanne Neve and Brian Cox, and was directed by Michael Elliott. The writer was Nigel Kneale, best known as the creator of ''Quatermass''. Influenced by concerns about overpopulation, the counterculture of the 1960s and the societal effects of television, the play depicts a world of the future where a small elite controls the mass media, keeping the lower classes docile by serving them an endless diet of lowest common denominator programmes and pornography. The play concentrates on an idea the programme controllers have for a new programme that will follow the trials and tribulations of a group of people left to fend for themselves on a remote island. In this respect, the play is often cited as having anticipated the craze for reality television. Kneale had, fourteen years earlier, adapted George Orwell's ''N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
