Acting
Judge John Deed is a British legal drama television series produced by the BBC in association with One-Eyed Dog for BBC One. It was created by G.F. Newman and stars Martin Shaw as Sir John Deed, a High Court judge who tries to seek real justice in the cases before him. It also stars Jenny Seagrove as the barrister Jo Mills, frequently the object of Deed's desire. A pilot episode was broadcast on 9 January 2001, followed by the first full series on 26 November 2001. The sixth and last series concluded on 18 January 2007. The programme then went on an indefinite break after Shaw became involved in another television programme, and he and Seagrove expressed a wish for the format of the series to change before they filmed new episodes. By 2009, the series had officially been cancelled. The six series produced make it the longest-running BBC legal drama. The factual accuracy of the series is often criticised by legal professionals and journalists; many of the decisions taken by Deed are unlikely to happen in a real court. The romanticised vision of the court system created by Newman caused a judge to issue a warning to a jury not to let the series influence their view of trials—referring to an episode where Deed flouts rules when called up for jury duty. Another episode led to complaints about biased and incorrect information about the MMR vaccine, leading the BBC to ban repeats of it in its original form. All six series have been released on DVD in the UK.
New Scotland Yard is a police drama series produced by London Weekend Television for ITV from 1972 and 1974. It features the activities of two officers from the Criminal Investigations Department in the Metropolitan Police force headquarters at New Scotland Yard, as they dealt with the assorted villains of the day.
Steptoe and Son is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about a father and son played by Wilfred Brambell and Harry H. Corbett who deal in selling used items. They live on Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherd's Bush, London. Four series were broadcast by the BBC from 1962 to 1965, followed by a second run from 1970 to 1974. Its theme tune, "Old Ned", was composed by Ron Grainer. The series was voted 15th in a 2004 BBC poll to find Britain's Best Sitcom. It was remade in the US as Sanford and Son, in Sweden as Albert & Herbert and in the Netherlands as Stiefbeen en zoon. In 1972 a movie adaptation of the series, Steptoe and Son, was released in cinemas, with a second Steptoe and Son Ride Again in 1973.
Bootsie and Snudge is a British television situation comedy series written, in the early days, by Barry Took and Marty Feldman; later writers were John Antrobus, Jack Rosenthal, ventriloquist Ray Alan and Harry Driver. The plot follows Former Sergeant Major Claude Snudge meets up with Corporal Bootsie when they both start work at an exclusive Gentlemen's Club. Of the 104 produced episodes, 100 of these survive.
"Dangerous" Davies always gets the cases no one else wants, and no one notices when he eventually succeeds. But his old-fashioned decency and dogged determination have won him legions of loyal fans.
Maisie Raine was a drama series originally broadcast on BBC1 for 2 series from 28 July 1998 – 9 July 1999. Pauline Quirke took the lead role as DI Maisie Raine, an unorthodox detective whose hands on and down to earth approach was not always appreciated by her superiors. When she took on a case, she did it her way, regardless of whose toes she stepped on and who she offended. Each episode would see the team investigating a crime and often uncovering more about the perpetrators and the victims histories with DI Raine often becoming personally involved or bending the rules to get the results she wanted. Also starring alongside Quirke were Ian McElhinney, Steve John Shepherd, Rakie Ayola and Richard Graham.
A middle-aged housewife feels frustrated with her mean and miserable husband, the married couple adapting to life in an up-market housing estate.
Drama about the working lives of policemen and women in an Operational Support Unit.
Hot metal is a London Weekend Television sitcom about the British Newspaper industry broadcast between 1986 and 1988. The daily crucible, the dullest newspaper in Fleet Street, is suddenly taken over by media magnate Terence "Twiggy" Rathbone. Its editor Harry Stringer is 'promoted' to managing editor, and is replaced in his old job by Russell Spam. Spam then takes the paper shooting downmarket and turns the crucible into a sensation seeking scandal rag, very much in the style of the British tabloids of the 1980s. He is helped along by his ace gutter journalist, Greg Kettle, who intimidates his tabloid victims by claiming to be "a representative of Her Majesty's press" and produces stories such as accusing a vicar of being a werewolf. Throughout the first series, a running plot involved cub reporter Bill Tytla gradually uncovering an actual newsworthy story that went to the very heart of government. Written by David Renwick and Andrew Marshall, it is very much a continuation in style from their previous sitcom Whoops Apocalypse!. It was produced by Humphrey Barclay.
An episode of the BBC drama series Second City Firsts. Jackie is leaving the army. While waiting for her car to arrive, she encounters Corporal Harvey, the woman who used to be her lover.
Despite seemingly having everything (a husband, children, a house), Jean is unsatisfied.
Jewish boy loves Catholic girl - will love triumph over family objections?
Alexander the Greatest was a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1971 to 1972. Starring Gary Warren, it was written by Bernard Kops and made for the ITV network by ATV.
Twenty years ago, three men set out on the longest walk of their lives. They vowed to repeat the walk, but this time they are joined by a forty year old wife and mother who is in the midst of a mid-life crisis.
Reprising the television series roles which first made them household names, Richard Beckinsale and Paula Wilcox star as Geoffrey Scrimshaw and Beryl Battersby, a hesitant, inexperienced, young couple attempting to negotiate the sexual minefield of the ‘permissive’ society. This big-screen transfer of Jack Rosenthal’s hugely likeable sitcom sees old-fashioned girl Beryl continuing to slap down the advances of her frustrated boyfriend, whose clumsy attempts to initiate ‘Percy Filth’ suggest he’s not quite up to speed himself! Like everyone else, Geoffrey and Beryl want to fall in love – or they think they do; like everyone else, since Adam and Eve. But Adam and Eve didn’t live in Manchester in 1972…
The adventures of a motley gang of fishing enthusiasts
When a clean-cut young pop-star gets in trouble, he calls his manager. The call sets in motion a unusual series of events.
A Guinness advert in the form of a short comic film set in a traditional country pub.
The title is taken from a Liverpool saying, "Off on a vinegar trip," which is applied to a person behaving strangely. Barrie plays Sammy Chester, a pensioner who shocks his daughters and whose cavorting leads to a heart attack. His eldest daughter takes him to live with her, and calls a family conference to decide what is to be done Sammy is far from happy with the arrangements.
A comic extravaganza about a young woman's adventures in the world of big business charity.
