|
Tony Williamson (television Writer)
Tony Williamson (18 December 1932 in Manchester – 19 June 1991) was a prolific British television writer, most active from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s. He wrote primarily for the action- adventure and espionage genres. Perhaps because of his early involvement in ''The Avengers'', he often found work on shows that featured fantasy adventure, rather than the kitchen sink realism that had arisen in Britain at the start of his career. Series with extraordinary lead characters in unusual circumstances, such as '' Department S'', '' Jason King'', '' Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)'' and '' The Adventurer'', dominated his output. He has been credited with creating the short-lived dramas ''Intrigue'' and '' Counterstrike'', as well as being a key player in the development of '' Adam Adamant Lives!'' Career Williamson's writing career has its roots in his obligatory national service as a young man. Whilst in the Royal Air Force, he began a lifelong association with fellow airman D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The two cities and the surrounding towns form one of the United Kingdom's most populous conurbations, the Greater Manchester Built-up Area, which has a population of 2.87 million. The history of Manchester began with the civilian settlement associated with the Roman fort ('' castra'') of ''Mamucium'' or ''Mancunium'', established in about AD 79 on a sandstone bluff near the confluence of the rivers Medlock and Irwell. Historically part of Lancashire, areas of Cheshire south of the River Mersey were incorporated into Manchester in the 20th century, including Wythenshawe in 1931. Throughout the Middle Ages Manchester remained a manorial township, but began to expand "at an astonishing rate" around the turn of the 19th century. Manchest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Counterstrike (1969 TV Series)
''Counterstrike'' is a British science fiction television series produced by the BBC in 1969. It starred Jon Finch as an alien living on Earth posing as a journalist named Simon King. As King, he attempts to prevent an alien invasion. The series ''Counterstrike'' was originally proposed to the BBC in 1966 and a theme tune and effects were produced, but the project was shelved due to the airing of the US import series ''The Invaders'' on ITV, which had a similar premise. It lasted for one series of ten episodes, of which nine episodes were actually transmitted. "Out of Mind", the sixth episode, was cancelled on the night it was due to be shown and was replaced by a documentary on the Kray brothers who, on the same day, had been refused leave to appeal against their prison sentences. "Out of Mind" was, for unknown reasons, never rescheduled; it remained unscreened and was subsequently wiped from the BBC Archives, thus making it one of the rarest pieces of British science-fiction t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emma Peel
Emma Peel is a fictional spy played by Diana Rigg in the British 1960s adventure television series '' The Avengers'', and by Uma Thurman in the 1998 film version. She was born Emma Knight, the daughter of an industrialist, Sir John Knight. She is the crime-fighting partner of John Steed. As a lady spy adventurer and expert in martial arts, she became a feminist role model around the world and is considered an icon of British popular culture. Regarded as a 1960s fashion icon and sex symbol, the character is often remembered for the leather catsuit sometimes worn by Rigg in the first series. Casting Mrs. Peel was introduced as a replacement for the popular character Cathy Gale, played by actress Honor Blackman. Blackman left the programme at the end of the third season to co-star in the James Bond film '' Goldfinger''. Elizabeth Shepherd was initially cast as Emma Peel and production on the fourth series began. After filming all of one episode and part of a second, the producer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Spies (TV Series)
''The Spies'' is a British television series produced by the BBC in 1966. The main stars were Dinsdale Landen and Simon Oates as counter espionage agents Richard Cadell and Anthony Kelly, together with Peter Arne as Russian agent Copic. A spin-off or rebranding of the previous 1965 series '' The Mask of Janus'', ''The Spies'' was a more conventional espionage thriller series than its predecessor, being more explicitly concerned with the actual operations of British secret service agents stationed in the fictional European country Amalia. The series can be viewed as being a BBC attempt to match the popularity of the ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ... action show '' Danger Man''. Most of this show was wiped (probably in the 1970s) by the BBC; only one e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off (or spinoff) is a radio program, television program, film, video game or any narrative work, derived from already existing works that focus on more details and different aspects from the original work (e.g. particular topics, characters or events). One of the earliest spin-offs of the modern media era, if not the first, happened in 1941 when the supporting character Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve from the old time radio comedy show ''Fibber McGee and Molly'' became the star of his own program ''The Great Gildersleeve'' (1941–1957). In genre fiction, the term parallels its usage in television; it is usually meant to indicate a substantial ''change in narrative viewpoint and activity'' from that (previous) storyline based on the activities of the series' principal protagonist and so is a shift to that action and overall narrative thread of some other protagonist, which now becomes the central or main thread (storyline) of the new sub-series. The ''new protagoni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Mask Of Janus
''The Mask of Janus'' is a British television series produced by the BBC in 1965, and starred Dinsdale Landen as counter espionage agent Richard Cadell. The series was set in the fictional European country of Amalia and dealt with the political interests of the British, American and Communist espionage communities within. Eschewing the action formula of its ITV contemporaries (e.g. ''Danger Man'' and the early seasons of ''The Avengers Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes ** Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes o ...''), the series dealt with more politically oriented plots such as defections to the west, awakening "sleeper" agents and the leaking of official secrets. As of 2009, seven of the original episodes of this programme are still missing from BBC archives. A spin-off series called '' The Spies'', also s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Compact (TV Series)
''Compact'' is a British television soap opera shown by BBC Television from January 1962 to July 1965. The series was created by Hazel Adair and Peter Ling; the partnership devised ''Crossroads'' while ''Compact'' was still running. In contrast to the kitchen sink realism of ''Coronation Street'', ''Compact'' was a distinctly middle-class serial, set in the more "sophisticated" arena of magazine publishing. An early "avarice" soap, it took viewers into the office, and aligned the professional lives of the characters with more personal storylines. The show was scheduled for broadcast on Tuesdays and Thursdays, thus avoiding a clash with ITV's ''Coronation Street'' on Mondays and Wednesdays. Outline and synopsis The idea came to Hazel Adair when she submitted a commissioned feature article for ''Woman's Own''. After the BBC decided to produce the project, she formed a working partnership with Peter Ling. When ''Compact'' began, the editor was female, Joanne Minster (Jean Harvey), s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Originally broadcast twice weekly, the series began airing six times a week in 2017. The programme was conceived by scriptwriter Tony Warren. Warren's initial proposal was rejected by the station's founder Sidney Bernstein, but he was persuaded by producer Harry Elton to produce the programme for 13 pilot episodes, and the show has since become a significant part of English culture. ''Coronation Street'' is made by ITV Granada at MediaCityUK and shown in all ITV regions, as well as internationally. In 2010, upon its 50th anniversary, the series was recognised by Guinness World Records, as the world's longest-running television soap opera. Initially influenced by the conventions of kitchen sink realism, ''Coronation Street'' is noted for its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soap Opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored by soap manufacturers.Bowles, p. 118. The term was preceded by "horse opera", a derogatory term for low-budget Westerns. BBC Radio's ''The Archers'', first broadcast in 1950, is the world's longest-running radio soap opera. The longest-running current television soap is '' Coronation Street'', which was first broadcast on ITV in 1960, with the record for the longest running soap opera in history being held by '' Guiding Light'', which began on radio in 1937, transitioned to television in 1952, and ended in 2009. A crucial element that defines the soap opera is the open-ended serial nature of the narrative, with stories spanning several episodes. One of the defining features that makes a television program a soap opera, according to Alber ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anthology Series
An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different cast in each episode, but several series in the past, such as ''Four Star Playhouse'', employed a permanent troupe of character actors who would appear in a different drama each week. Some anthology series, such as '' Studio One'', began on radio and then expanded to television. Etymology The word comes from Ancient Greek ἀνθολογία (''anthología'', “flower-gathering”), from ἀνθολογέω (''anthologéō'', "I gather flowers"), from ἄνθος (''ánthos'', "flower") + λέγω (''légō'', "I gather, pick up, collect"), coined by Meleager of Gadara circa 60 BCE, originally as Στέφανος (στέφανος (''stéphanos'', "garland")) to describe a collection of poetry, later retitled anthology – see Gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stage Plays
A play is a work of drama, usually consisting mostly of dialogue between characters and intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. The writer of a play is called a playwright. Plays are performed at a variety of levels, from London's West End and Broadway in New York City – which are the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world – to regional theatre, to community theatre, as well as university or school productions. A stage play is a play performed and written to be performed on stage rather than broadcast or made into a movie. Stage plays are those performed on any stage before an audience. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference as to whether their plays were performed or read. The term "play" can refer to both the written texts of playwrights and to their complete theatrical performance. Comedy Comedies are plays which are designed to be humorous. Comedies are often filled ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dennis Spooner
Dennis Spooner (1 December 1932 – 20 September 1986) was an English television writer and script editor, known primarily for his programmes about fictional spies and his work in children's television in the 1960s. He had long-lasting professional working relationships with a number of other British screenwriters and producers, notably Brian Clemens, Terry Nation, Monty Berman and Richard Harris, with whom he developed several programmes. Though he was a contributor to BBC programmes, his work made him one of the most prolific writers of televised output from ITC Entertainment. Early life Dennis was born in Tottenham, Middlesex. Following a brief spell as a professional footballer with Leyton Orient, Dennis completed his National Service with the Royal Air Force where he met Tony Williamson, with whom he formed an amateur writing partnership. During the 1950s Dennis returned to office work, and met and married Pauline. Dennis did not desire a career in business and tried to b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Stage Plays")