''Gideon's Way'' is a British television crime series made by
ITC Entertainment
The Incorporated Television Company (ITC), or ITC Entertainment as it was referred to in the United States, was a British company involved in production and distribution of television programmes.
History Incorporated Television Programme Compan ...
and broadcast by
ITV in 1964–1966, based on novels by
John Creasey
John Creasey (17 September 1908 – 9 June 1973) was an English crime writer, also writing science fiction, romance and western novels, who wrote more than six hundred novels using twenty-eight different pseudonyms.
He created several charac ...
(writing as 'J. J. Marric'). The series was made at
Elstree Studios in twin production with ''
The Saint'' television series, which was likewise produced by
Robert S. Baker and
Monty Berman. The show did not acknowledge any help from
Scotland Yard or any other police force or advisor.
Synopsis
Daphne Anderson starred as Gideon's wife, Kate; their three children were played by
Giles Watling as younger son Malcolm,
Richard James as elder son Matthew (who seemed to have a lot of new girlfriends), and
Andrea Allan as daughter Pru. Unusually for police stories, Gideon was shown as a family man at home—though urgent phone calls from his bosses tend to disrupt family plans too often. However, he did admit in "State Visit" that his wife had walked out on him for a while years ago, when he put the job first and her second. They live in an expensive detached house in
Tufnell Park
Tufnell Park is an area in north London, England, in the London boroughs of Islington and Camden.
The neighborhood is served by Tufnell Park tube station on the Northern Line.
History
Origins and boundary
;Medieval and later manor
Tufnell P ...
.
Cast
The series stars
John Gregson in the title role as Commander
George Gideon of Scotland Yard, with
Alexander Davion as his assistant, Detective Chief Inspector David Keen,
Reginald Jessup
Reginald is a masculine given name in the English language.
Etymology and history
The meaning of Reginald is “King". The name is derived from the Latin ''Reginaldus'', which has been influenced by the Latin word ''regina'', meaning "queen". Th ...
as Det. Superintendent LeMaitre (nicknamed Lemmy),
Ian Rossiter
Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in Sc ...
as Detective Chief Superintendent Joe Bell and
Basil Dignam as Commissioner Scott-Marle.
Guest stars
Many well-known British actors appear in guest roles, including
Patrick Allen
John Keith Patrick Allen (17 March 1927 – 28 July 2006) was a British actor.
Life and career
Allen was born in Nyasaland (now Malawi), where his father was a tobacco farmer. After his parents returned to Britain, he was evacuated to Canada ...
,
Keith Baxter,
George Cole,
Harry Fowler,
Gordon Jackson,
Ronald Lacey,
Anton Rodgers,
Rosemary Leach,
Gerald Harper,
Victor Maddern
Victor Jack Maddern (16 March 1928 – 22 June 1993) was an English actor. He was described by '' The Telegraph'' as having "one of the most distinctive and eloquent faces in post-war British cinema."
Life and career
Born in Seven Kings, ...
,
Richard Carpenter Richard Carpenter may refer to:
* Richard Carpenter (theologian) (1575–1627), English clergyman and theological writer
* Richard Carpenter (ca. 1700–1750), original owner of the Belvale property in Virginia
* Richard Cromwell Carpenter (1812� ...
and
John Hurt
Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in ...
. There was an early role for
Donald Sutherland
Donald McNichol Sutherland (born 17 July 1935) is a Canadian actor whose film career spans over six decades. He has been nominated for nine Golden Globe Awards, winning two for his performances in the television films '' Citizen X'' (1995) a ...
in the episode "The Millionaire's Daughter". Several actors, including
Mike Pratt,
Angela Douglas,
Jean Marsh and
Kay Walsh
Kathleen "Kay" Walsh (15 November 1911 – 16 April 2005) was an English actress, dancer, and screenwriter. Her film career prospered after she met her future husband film director David Lean, with whom she worked on prestige productions such as ...
, appear twice in the series, cast in different roles.
Production
There was extensive location shooting in mid-1960s London, with fast-paced action and strong story lines, which made the series very popular in its day. The show was broadcast in the United States under the title ''Gideon CID''. There were different starting titles for the American series, showing incidents of violent crime while the British titles just introduced the main characters. The theme music was composed by
Edwin Astley
Edwin Thomas "Ted" Astley (12 April 1922 – 19 May 1998) was a British composer. His best known works are British television themes and scores, most notably the main themes for ''The Saint'', ''Danger Man'' and '' The Baron''. He also successfu ...
. In scoring the incidental music, Astley re-used some of the cues from ''
The Saint'' on which he was also working; in turn, he re-purposed material composed for this series in ''
The Baron
Baron is a title of nobility.
Baron, The Baron or Barons may also refer to:
Places
* Barons, Alberta, Canada
* Baron, Gard, France
* Baron, Gironde, France
* Baron, Oise, France
* Baron, Saône-et-Loire, France
* Baron-sur-Odon, France
* Bar ...
'', which followed a year later.
Episodes
Episodes were filmed between June 1964 and May 1965, on location and at
Elstree Studios. Fifteen episodes (#101 – #115 below) were filmed by December 1964, after which the cast and crew were allowed a week's break before filming on the second batch of eleven episodes (#116 – #126 below) began on 11 January 1965.
Airdate is for
ATV
ATV may refer to:
Broadcasting
* Amateur television
*Analog television
Television stations and companies
* Ràdio i Televisió d'Andorra
* ATV (Armenia)
* ATV (Aruba), NBC affiliate
* ATV (Australian TV station), Melbourne
* ATV (Austria)
* AT ...
Midlands.
ITV[Before 1968 ATV transmitted weekdays in the Midlands and weekends in London. See ]History of ITV
The history of ITV, the United Kingdom " Independent Television" commercial network, goes back to 1955.
Independent Television began as a network of independently-owned regional companies that were both broadcasters and programme makers, beginn ...
regions varied date and order. The first transmission was on ATV London on 17 October 1964 (The V Men).
Broadcasters
United Kingdom
The series began a repeat run in October 2019 at 9pm on
Talking Pictures TV
Talking Pictures TV (TPTV) is a British free-to-air vintage-film and nostalgia television channel. It was launched on 26 May 2015 on Sky channel 343, but later also became available on Freeview, Freesat, and Virgin Media. It is on air for 24 ...
. This revival ended on 18 February 2020 with "The Nightlifers" including an onscreen tribute to guest star
Derek Fowlds who died in January 2020. The series was shown again on the channel in Spring 2021, and in April 2022.
Australia
The Australian rights are held by the
Nine Network
The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television ne ...
who, over many decades, have shown numerous repeats in non-peak viewing times. From 2012 to 2019, there were numerous showings in the early hours of the morning on
Gem
A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, a ...
, a Nine Network digital outlet, sometimes twice per morning. The ''Gideon's Way'' repeats alternate with re-screenings of another British series ''
Danger Man
''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again b ...
'', and of the Canadian program ''
Seaway''.
DVD
All 26 episodes of this classic 1960s British crime thriller series was released on Region 2
DVD by Network Distributing in August 2005.
References
External links
John Creasey brand owner Owatonna Media*
{{John Creasey
1960s British crime television series
Television shows shot at Associated British Studios
Television series by ITC Entertainment
ITV television dramas
John Creasey characters
Television shows based on British novels
British detective television series
1960s British drama television series
1966 British television series endings
1965 British television series debuts
Black-and-white British television shows
English-language television shows
Cultural depictions of Metropolitan Police officers