Nightingales (1990)

Bringing you slightly more upto date, I'd like to talk to you about an early Channel 4 comedy called 'Nightingales'

On the face of it, it should be just another situation comedy. 3 security guards on permanent night shifts in an office tower block. Carter dreams of bettering himself, Bell is a little on the 'stupid' side, and Sarge going through the motions as he's close to retirement. Cue 13 episodes of repetitive jokes about 'loneliness', 'boredom' and 'lack of females'....

....well no actually, nothing could be further from the truth.

Written by Paul Makin (who also wrote Goodnight Sweetheart) you really would have expected a light-hearted comedy, but Nightingales summed up exactly what made Channel 4 so good in it's formative years. It was surreal, over the top and was the very definition of 'quirky'.

Take episode one for instance. Any new comedy usually spends the first episode setting up all the characters and the premise for the show, so we can enjoy future episodes to the full. The first episode of Nightingales?....A new recruit called Eric turns out to be a werewolf, and Sarge kills the company inspector with a hammer. Get the idea? In future episodes they are joined by another co-worker called Terry Oblong (who is actually a gorilla), but he eventually leaves for a new job at Heathrow Eric the werewolf returns to perform open-heart surgery on Sarge, Carter and Bell begin quoting Shakespeare as they are caught up in a re-make of King Lear, All three of them turn out to be the illegitimate father of the same thief, Bell undergoes psychiatric therapy because he raped a horse, Carter and Bell compete for a broken egg cup by building a dry-stone wall and writing a play and Harold Pinter (along with the Pope) attend a carol concert on the top floor......following any of this yet?

The script is wonderful. You never quite know where it is going next, something that is sadly lacking in most comedies. The three main actors were well cast. Robert Lyndsey plays Carter (whilst still be famous for 'Citizen Smith' and before he sold his soul to the devil to make 'My Family'). David Threlfall before he became the father of the Shameless family and James Ellis (when anyone aged over 50 sees him, they instantly start whistling the theme from 'Z Cars').

This is definitely a thumbs up for me. It's such a shame it didn't get the recognition is deserved and get seen by a wider audience, but then again, if it had appeared on ITV or BBC I can guess the whole thing would have been washed out and died a death. There isn't a dull episode at all, every single one has it's merits and classic moments.

p.s. Listen out for a funky version of 'Nightingale sang in Berkeley Square' as the theme tune, sung by Lyndsey himself.

Whodunnit? (1972)

Well here we have our first show up for review, and I've started with one originally broadcast before I was a twinkle in my father's eye!

Later series were hosted by former Dr Who actor Jon Pertwee, but I am going to concentrate this little review on the first series - hosted by the actor Edward Woodward.

The basic premise? A short play involving a crime, a studio panel of celebrities and experts to sift through the evidence, the 'suspects' from the play available to be cross-examined and a studio audience who are allowed to take part with the chance to win a 'prop' from the play as a prize. Does all this sound familiar? It might do if you ever watched the 90's series 'Cluedo' which followed this same format, almost to the letter. (Advance warning, when I mention 'Cluedo' again later on, I can see myself going off on one of those tangents I warned you about).

Having watched all 6 episodes from this first series several times, there are a few things that strike me. Firstly, each one is slightly better than the last, almost as if the production staff were 'learning' as they went along. Mr Woodward looks SO out of place in the first episode, but by the 6th he is engaging, funny, witty and providing the perfect link between the panel and the suspects. Secondly, the choice of 'celebrities' on the panel varies wildly. On the whole, those that are there as actors and actresses are far more entertaining than those that are there for professional reasons. (Dick Francis MAY be a celebrated crime writer, but there is a reason he didn't appear on TV much.) Thirdly, it is SO funny to see everyone smoking! This is nearly 40 years ago, when such things were acceptable, but to see members of the panel with a cigarette burning away in their hands, and even Edward Woodward lighting up behind his desk is really bizarre.

The plays themselves are varied, uncomplicated and draw the viewer in quite successfully. One big criticism though is that when the murderer is revealed, they quickly fly through the solution, and the credits roll. On more than one occasion I was sat open mouthed trying to piece together what was supposed to have happened.

But this show gets a deserved thumbs up, and I'm hoping the later series with Jon Pertwee become available. Jon himself in on the panel for one of the episodes and is a joy to listen to. Hilariously funny and spontaneous with his comments.

(here comes that tangent I warned you about)....

I was a massive fan of Cluedo in the 90's, but now I've seen the show that made it possible, I can see that Cluedo had some major flaws. The most striking was that the panel 'solving' the murder in the studio were so obviously scripted it became nauseating. With Whodunnit? all the panelists do their own sleuthing and come to their own conclusions (sometimes with humorous consequences) When I say the panel were 'scripted' think of 'Through the Keyhole' where David Frost pushed and prodded his guests in the right direction like a sheep-dog. Cluedo was the same, only even more obvious.

Anyway, back to Whodunnit? It was interesting to see quite a few familiar faces crop up, both in the plays and on the panel. Barbara Windsor, Nicholas Smith from 'Are you Being Served?', half the cast of 'Howard's Way' and that fat bloke from 'Emmerdale' (although when he was in it, it was probably still called 'Emmerdale Farm'.

So there you have it, a completely irrelevant review of a TV show you've probably never seen, and perhaps never even heard of. At least you know what to expect from future entries :)

p.s. If you do get a chance to see it, you might need a cushion to hide behind when you see the hair-cuts and fashions of the studio audience winners. One member who solves the crime and notices the most clues gets the chance to come down to the front and walk away with an item from the play (golf clubs, jewelry box, decanter etc). the 70's truly were the decade the fashion police were on holiday for.

Introduction

Welcome to a new blog, dedicated to reviewing TV programs that have left our screen, and may have missed your radar. Rather than just give you an account of what the shows were about (isn't that what Wikipedia is for?) I'll try to delve a bit deeper into why they were good, or bad, what elements of the shows worked and which parts didn't. Don't be surprised if I fly off at an irrelevant tangent every so often, it's how my mind works - I'll do my best to get back on track before the blog entry finishes.

You may find entries coming sporadically. Sometimes a week or so may pass between entries, then you might see three at once. Perhaps I should rename this blog 'The number 9 bus' instead!

The reason for the blog? Simply to give me something to do, and at least I'll be writing on a topic I can feel passionately about. My previous blog was a personal account of 2 years of my life, but by the end was causing me more harm than good. This time, as the blog will not contain much of my private life, there is a good chance it might last for a while.

Hope you enjoy, and perhaps you might come across a TV show that intrigues you enough to hunt it down on DVD and give it a watch. You might be pleasantly surprised.