63 years ago today, #TheAvengers debuted on British television. From 1961-9, 161 episodes were produced, both in B/W and color.
John Steed teamed up with various partners, including Dr. Keel, Cathy Gale, Emma Peel, Tara King - and for a few nerdy bonus points we'll throw in Dr. King & Venus Smith.
This week's "This Week In The 90s" from @ThisWeekInThe90s is a deep dive into the phenomenon called Mr Blobby and his evil creator, Noel Edmonds.
Whether you're familiar with them or not it's worth a read, although you might be left scratching your head at the collective madness that overcame the British TV-watching public in the 90s. Here's just a taster paragraph:
If you’re not British and you don’t understand Mr. Blobby… I can’t really help you. I don’t understand him either. He seems to be cross between Mr. Bean and a Dalek. He looks like a diseased penis. British people could not get enough of him.
There should have been a room in the Crystal Maze just with a staircase you have to go up and down while carrying an over full mug of coffee - if you didn't spill any you'd get the crystal. No crystal for me going into the basement.
Sixty years ago today #DoctorWho was first broadcast. I started watching 15 years later, in 1978, aged 5. And my dad and I were both immediately hooked. I’ve loved it ever since. I fell away as a fan in the wilderness years. But was back as a fan in 2003 when it was announced it was returning to TV screens. For me Doctor Who is less a #scifi show and more a wonderful #storytelling engine, able to tell all sorts of different stories in different times and places. Long may it continue. #BritishTV
This is a bit of a late post to catch the #TOTP crowd, but you never know ...
Tonight on BBC2 from 9:35 there's a new documentary series starting: "First Ladies of Hip-Hop", talking to and hearing from the women who've been involved in hip-hop from its earliest days through to the present.
If it's anything like some of the other BBC in-depth music documentaries it should be excellent.
Old Telly stuff: people of a certain age in the UK may remember being glued to their TV sets as youngsters watching a made-for-children sci-fi series called The Tomorrow People.
UK readers probably remember (or are at least aware of) this country's first famous celebrity chef, Fanny Craddock.
You might also have heard the well known anecdote about how she stormed out of the Parkinson talk show studio after finding out that fellow guest Danny La Rue was a man in drag. It's cited in The Guardian, on Wikipedia, just about everywhere.
Except, as this latest impeccably-researched post in the really excellent Dirty Feed UK TV blog explains, it never happened and never even could have happened.
My father was a fan of #TheAvengers - the British spy TV series that ran from 1961-9. That passion trickled down to me as I explore the many different eras: #DavidKeel, #CathyGale, #EmmaPeel, & #TaraKing.
Really been enjoying #BigFinish’s audio recreations of Season 1 - which for the most part have been lost to time. Fun to “see” #JohnSteed’s development into the gentleman spy we all know and love. #BritishTV#RetroTV#NoIronMan
Coronation Street drops out of Christmas TV top 10 (www.bbc.co.uk)
The ITV soap is a big omission from the viewing figures, but other old favourites got big audiences.
Quiet in here...Whats your favourite Only Fools and Horses Episode ?
And why isnt it To Hull and Back ?