Vilified by Twitter. The Thief Of Bad Gags! (Stole that from Milton Berle). Talk about everything, know nothing. I have less depth than a puddle. It's a talent.
Over Only Fools & Horses, The Goodies, Pigeon Street, Grange Hill, Swap Shop, The Two Ronnies, Match Of The Day, Doctor Who? Yes I said Pigeon Street! You tell me that theme isn't a banger!
Just read that Derek Fowlds has died. Excellent in Yes Minister & Yes Prime Minister. And had one of the best lines in sitcom history when they discussed newspaper readers on Yes Prime Minister.
With the news about the upcoming Dave Allen biopic on BBC2, I read about Dave Allen At Large. And in this edition from 1976, he tells a joke that is now most closely associated with Yes Prime Minister. See for yourself! Anybody with any info on this?
How good was Peter Vaughan as Grouty? He was only in THREE episodes but is one of the sitcom's most memorable characters. (You thought he was in More didn't you?). More menacing than most EastEnd villains seen in Brit gangster films or EastEnders. Great actor, great performance.
50 years ago today THE best title sequence of the classic
#DoctorWho
era & the legendary diamond logo debuted. Mostly associated with Tom Baker, it started with Jon Pertwee. Bernard Lodge won several awards for this including a Royal Television Society award for Best Graphics.
Just read that Freddie Starr has died. Made me think about his show stealing performance at the 1970 Royal Variety Performance, that he ended with a Mick Jagger impression. Got called back at the end to take a bow.
#FreddieStarr
#ChristmasIdentCalendar
Day 19. David Tennant bowed out in
#DoctorWho
& starred in BBC1's 2009 ident, using reindeer to free a snowed in TARDIS. He introduced his last story (12m watched) & it was the last time we saw the full ident.After he regenerated the news version was used.
I've never thought of Davros in a wheelchair. Always saw it as part life support machine, part travel device, part mobile office. Nyder was his PA. Then he thought, "this is a cool design, I'm going to use it more!" 😄🤷🏿♂️
#DoctorWho
Lots of Rod Hull chat on my timeline kicked off by
@SaucySeventies
posting the Rod & Emu in a supermarket clip. But there's one clip that isn't shown enough. Kevin Eldon as imposter Rod Hull on Fist Of Fun being confronted by the real Rod Hull.
If I was Head Of Entertainment at the BBC (I'll never be Head Of Entertainment at the BBC), I'd bring back sketch shows. Television misses comedy that is just silly and doesn't take itself seriously. Like a giant bum farting on Terry Wogan and blowing him through a wall.
Doctor Who on Children In Need tonight. But NOTHING will top the ultimate crossover of Noel's House Party and Doctor Who, with Jon Pertwee's Third Doctor turning up at The Great House in Crinkley Bottom. NOTHING!
#DoctorWho
#ChildrenInNeed
THIS is creativity with an ident! The BBC1 mirror globe. Not a bit of film with a bunch of randoms and a logo slapped over it. Somebody built a model of a globe, decided to make it more visual by putting a mirror behind it, then gave it a blue colour electronically. SUPERB! 👏👏
The Seventh Doctor walking away from an exploding circus tent, without flinching, in The Greatest Show In The Galaxy is a classic Who moment. It's one of the best things the show has ever done! 👌
#DoctorWho
This clip of Mr Blobby on Noel's House Party came up. It shows how anything could happen and how good Noel was dealing with it. Live TV entertainment shows are at their best when there's a bit of unexpected chaos.
It was called Blake's 7 but for me it was always Avon's show. Paul Darrow dripped with charisma as Avon. Only Jacqueline Pearce as Servalan could run him close. Avon was an all time great science fiction character, in large part because of what Darrow brought to the role.
This scene from The Return Of The Pink Panther is up there. Clouseau in disguise trying to get information from Lady Lytton while in a club. Famous for Catherine Schell not being able to stop laughing at Peter Sellers. So funny they left it in the film.
In the 1970s Mike Yarwood wasn't just an impressionist, he was THE impressionist! His peak rating came on Christmas Day 1977. BBC ratings said Morecambe & Wise got 28m & Yarwood 27m. But JICTAR's ratings, now considered official, have Mike Yarwood beating M & W with 21.40m.
On Swap Shop, there were some scanners on the set behind Noel. I didn't understand why he'd need them but they looked cool. They also looked familiar. Then last night I realised they're from the mission control room of The Android Invasion on
#DoctorWho
. Only took me 46 years!🤷🏿♂️
Missed this yesterday. The ratings for this series of
#DoctorWho
have crashed so badly that they're the highest they've been in five years and most dramas this year haven't got close to them! So there's that.
Has Doctor Who become too politically correct?
Ratings have dropped, with fans complaining the story lines, including a man giving birth, are just too PC. Do you think that's the case?
#jeremyvine
The next few themes on the banging theme list are by the great
@GFentonMusic
. His themes for the One, Six and Nine O'Clock News are bangers! FYI! The One O'Clock News titles aren't computer generated. It's a model.
He only appeared in 3, that's THREE, episodes of Porridge, yet Peter Vaughan's performance as Grouty was so good that you think he was in it more than he was. Made Genial Harry Grout far more menacing than quite a few villains I've seen in dramas over the years.
For years people have raved about HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey. But let's be honest, HAL is nowhere near the level of iconic greatness of Chock-A-Block!
#ChristmasIdentCalendar
Day 9. As David Tennant bows out as the 14th Doctor here's how he bowed out as the 10th. With reindeer freeing a snowed in TARDIS on BBC1 in 2009. His intro was the last time we saw the full ident. It was the news version after he regenerated.
#DoctorWho
Well now! You've seen Mike Yarwood do his famous Steptoe & Son routine. But have you seen him do it in front of Steptoe & Son themselves Wilfrid Brambell & Harry H. Corbett? If not, you have now! I was today years old when I found out this happened!
People have debated for decades about the biggest strength of the ITV regional system. Local news? Regional programmes? Drama/comedy/entertainment? No. The biggest strength was every region entering a contestant into The World Disco Dancing Championship United Kingdom Final!
Strictly Come Dancing never gets enough praise for its lighting. Never wins any directing awards or the BAFTA team award either. Snubbed! Can we take a moment to appreciate how stunning this shot is? 👏👏👏👏
#Strictly
#ChristmasIdentCalendar
Day 6. BBC1's
#DoctorWho
themed ident with David Tennant in 2009, using reindeer to free a snowed in TARDIS. He introduced his THEN last story (12m watched) & it was the last time we saw the full ident. After he regenerated the news version was used.
30 years ago today a sci-fi sitcom set on a mining ship started with an epidode where most of the characters were killed in the first few minutes. 'The End' was just the beginning. Happy anniversary
#RedDwarf
#RedDwarf30
@DannyJohnJules
@RedDwarfHQ
Nothing has changed my opinion on Phillip Schofield. He was the best Children's BBC presenter of them all! So instead of being THAT person wanting to be the first to make a joke about his statement, just sing along to the Ulysses 31 theme instead.
A hell of a cliffhanger in Doctor Who: The Legend Of Ruby Sunday! Arguably THE most destructive force in the universe returned! This character hasn't been seen properly in a series since the seventies. Incredible! INCREDIBLE!!
#DoctorWho
Happy Valley rightly praised for having a female lead over 50 and had people talking about more roles for older actresses. It's sometimes taken for granted that
#CallTheMidwife
and
#Vera
have older actresses playing strong female leads. It's good to see.
Some people said the comments were taken out of context! No they weren't. This was said. Basically Luther didn't feel authentic as a black person because we didn't see him eat rice & peas, wear an African print or do a dutty wine. Piss. Off.
This came up in my timeline again today. If you can't laugh at Terry Wogan being blown through a wall by a giant fart from a giant bum then I pity you!
This is very good! The Fifth Doctor to The Sixth Doctor regeneration in the style of The Tenth Doctor to The Eleventh Doctor! Take a bow Oliver Comet! 👏👏👏👏
#DoctorWho
You don’t criticise the past to praise the present. Especially when you’re head of drama and used to produce
#DoctorWho
. Let non fans and critics do that. PR faux pas.
Well I was today years old when I found out that before Jim Davidson & John Virgo on Big Break, there was a pilot hosted by Mike 'RUNAROUND' Reid & referee Len Ganley! 🤯🤯 Len was also referee on another snooker quiz show before this called Pick Pockets with Tom O'Connor.
Hang on! A general knowledge quiz show based around snooker existed before Big Break!? Pick Pockets hosted by Tom O'Connor. George Layton is a contestant! WAIT! WHAT!?! Tyne Tees made this. Was it networked?
Several times Death In Paradise came close to topping the week and was always popped to the top by something else. But In its 10th anniversary year with a special two parter it FINALLY finished number 1 for the week! 👏👏👏
@robthor
@lizbourgine
@deathinparadise
#DeathInParadise
FYI! On Thursday 21st March at 8.00pm, BBC4 are repeating the edition of Omnibus that went behind the scenes of The Morecambe & Wise Show in 1973. The episode where *COUGH* "ARSENAL" was born. This documentary hasn't been repeated in years. Do not miss it!
One of the MANY things I liked about Thames was the ident and how they'd play around with it sometimes. It's an outrage that they lost their franchise. I still miss it..which might be noticeable at the end of this video. 😔 Raise a glass to Thames!
#Thames50
#ThamesTelevision
Is anybody going to tell
#DoctorWhoOnTwitch
viewers that the 'electric guitar' on the Peter Howell theme is actually his voice altered by a Vocoder? Right up there with Delia Derbyshire for inventiveness with the
#DoctorWho
theme. A genius. 👏👏
A few days ago I was today years old when I discovered, courtesy of Gavin Worby, that Mollie Sugden sitcom That's My Boy made the cover of teen TV magazine Look-In! Unbelievable! 😲
Well this is something I never thought I'd see. A great find by
@PaulFrame85
. Val Doonican and Charlie McCoy performing the theme to The Old Grey Whistle Test aka Stone Fox Chase.
And Derek Griffiths should have a lifetime achievement award from the Children's BAFTAs. All of those songs he did for children's TV as well as hosting. Not just part of a generation's childhood, he was the soundtrack of it too.
#ChristmasIdentCalendar
Day 18. And as David Tennant prepared to bow out as the mighty Tenth Doctor, he was given the ultimate accolade! He was given the BBC1 Christmas ident in 2009! This was the closest BBC1 got to Father Christmas in a Christmas ident since 2000!
#DoctorWho
Iconic is a word that is often overused. It's not when describing Jacqueline Pearce as Servalan. Magnetic on screen and loved by people that met her off screen. Thanks for the memories. RIP Jacqueline Pearce.
There's a big difference between The Doctor being unaware & not reading a companion's mood and not being reassuring during a heart to heart. Graham talking about cancer with The Doctor didn't work. The Doctor reassuring Victoria in Tomb Of The Cybermen did work.
#DoctorWho
Never forget that Goodnight Sweetheart was one of the best received of the classic sitcom revivals (on BBC1 back in 2016), in terms of audience appreciation. But it never got a series. 🤦🏿♂️
To mark the day of the 30th anniversary of Goodnight Sweetheart which began 18th November 1993 we are showing the final ever episode
Saturday at 8.25pm only on That’s TV
I was talking about cool Doctor Who moments and it got me reminiscing about the 90s UK Gold repeats. As important at keeping Who in the public eye as Big Finish and the novels. A full run of classic Who on weekdays with an omnibus on Sunday. Made every
#DoctorWho
story an event!