Writing
Anthology series of dramatic works.
A UK anthology series of single plays from major playwrights old and new. It ran from 1955 to 1974, producing about five hundred ninety-minute episodes from Granada Television. Season 1 also incorporates the Plays from the 'H.M. Tennant Globe Theatre' series, some of which were incorporated and labelled in listings as official Play of the Week episodes and some of which were played in place of Play of the Week episodes in alternative ITV regions. All 8 plays have been incorporated into this entry for convenience.
An anthology series produced by Thames Television, comprised of short mystery, suspense or crime adaptations featuring, as the title suggests, detectives who were literary contemporaries of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.
Raffles was a 1977 television adaptation of the A. J. Raffles stories by Ernest William Hornung. The series was produced by Yorkshire Television and written by Philip Mackie. The episodes were largely faithful adaptations of the stories in the books, though occasionally two stories would be merged to create one. In Victorian-era London, gentleman thief A. J. Raffles, a renowned cricketer, and his friend, the eager but naive Bunny Manders, test their skills in relieving the wealthy of their valuables whilst avoiding detection, especially from the persistent Inspector Mackenzie.
Napoleon and Love is a British television miniseries produced by Thames Television for ITV, lasting for nine episodes from 5 March to 30 April 1974. The series stars Ian Holm in the title role as Napoleon and depicts his relationships with the women who featured in his life as a backdrop to his rise and fall.
Black and Blue was a BBC TV comedy-drama series, first broadcast in 1973. The show consisted of six 50–60 minutes episodes, each a separate self-contained playlet. The only connection was the Black and Blue humour theme. The first episode was broadcast on 14 August 1973, with the finale on 18 September 1973. The first, Secrets, was wiped, only surviving thanks to a domestic videotape copy made from the master by producer Mark Shivas.
Shades of Greene is a British television series based on short stories written by the author Graham Greene. The series began in 1975, with each hour-long episode featuring a dramatisation of one of Greene's stories, many of which dealt with issues such as guilt and the Catholic faith, as well as looking at life in general. Actors to have appeared in the series include John Gielgud, Leo McKern, Virginia McKenna, Paul Scofield, and Roy Kinnear. The series began on 9 September 1975 and ran for two seasons.
The Cleopatras is a 1983 BBC Television historical drama serial created and written by Philip Mackie. Set in Ancient Egypt during the latter part of the Ptolemaic Dynasty, the eight-part series follows the lives of a series of queens belonging to the Ptolemaic Dynasty of ancient Egypt, culminating in its final active ruler Cleopatra VII. Intended to be the I, Claudius of the 1980s, The Cleopatras met with a decidedly negative critical reaction, and was regarded and portrayed as a gaudy farce. It also produced a number of complaints due to scenes of nudity.
A columnist throws a dinner party. One of the guests is his mistress, who is his research assistant. He tells his wife he had been having an affair and she is devastated, but they both agree that the party should go ahead.
The Caesars is a British television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV network in 1968. Made in black-and-white and written and produced by Philip Mackie, it covered similar dramatic territory to the later BBC adaptation of I, Claudius, dealing with the lives of the early emperors of Ancient Rome, but differed in its less sensationalist depictions of historical characters and their motives.
Story of the life of Quentin Crisp, an Englishman who was brave enough to live his life according to his own style even in the hostile days of WW2.
Follows a group of liars, outrageous liars in fact, who try to outdo each other with the most fanciful lies they can dream up.
Retirement has given Mr Rose the time not only to cultivate a cottage garden in Eastbourne but also to write his memoirs. And it’s the impending publication of those memoirs that brings a number of figures crawling out of the woodwork and back into his life: criminals and former colleagues alike, who know that his vast personal library of case files holds a wealth of incriminating detail.
Therese, an attractive young woman married to her sickly cousin Camille, leads an extremely monotonous life until Camille brings home Laurent, an old schoolmate.
Do-gooder Angie Botley is a ministering angel whose mission in life is to help people become happier and better human beings.
In an alternate 1978 wherein Germany won World War II and has occupied the United Kingdom, successful television writer Peter Ingram works on a popular soap opera, An Englishman's Castle, set in Blitz-era London. Ingram lives a quiet, boring life, deliberately oblivious to the subtle rule of the local Nazis. His eyes are opened when the woman he is involved with reveals that she is not only a Jew but also a member of the Underground.
Malice Aforethought is a four-part 1979 BBC Two miniseries by Philip Mackie, adapted from Anthony Berkeley Cox's (pen name Francis Iles) 1931 noir novel of the same name. For ten years, Julia Bickleigh has despised and bullied her husband. For ten years Dr Bickleigh has dreamed of romance ... and escape.
The Greatrick Organization is a faceless, multi-million-pound concern dedicated to making more millions. In its headquarters are an assortment of middle and junior executives. Their lives may look cozy enough, but appearances are deceptive. All they have to do is carry on being loyal corporate slaves until they're 60, but there are a hundred different ways to put a foot wrong...
A middle-aged professor's young bride and his assistant plan to commit a double murder disguised as a "Crime Passionel", but discover too late that one of their intended victims has become a fellow conspirator.
On the French Riviera, movie producer Max Poulton is on location shooting a film starring his lover, Gina Bertini. But when the rueful Max ends his fling with Gina to return to his loyal wife, Carol, the jilted actress threatens to reveal details of their affair to Carol. Later, at a party at Max's villa, investigator Carliss arrives with news that Gina has been killed and that Max is a murderer suspect.
