Talking Pictures TV

[DavidKW]

I have had a look at free view 71 and it did have some great stuff on it, only now that's been spoiled, as last week the 60s stuff was replaced by dire vile nasty summer dance music car alarm stuff from the 90s (I had the misfortune to have peers older than me liking this stuff like no other music existed and labelled me all sorts of snide stuff for liking proper 60s and 70s music).

Now this week it's blasted dire rock music hair metal torture.

There used to be a that's 60s channel which is now no more. Not only did it show US TV performances and promos (as the UK has practically stupidly wiped all its 60s archive), but also some fantastic stuff from German TV show "Beat Club". For a time they even showed some great records which were non UK hits (miles better from the stuff that was in the charts), including such performance like "The Storm" and "I Wear A Silly Grin" by the Family Dogg and "Thinking About My Life" and "Broken Hearted Pirates" from Simon Dupree and The Big Sound. Best of all were the tracks by girl group who should've made it the Flirtations with tracks "Nothing But A Heartache" and "What's Good About Goodbye?"

I have seen and enjoyed the Gary Lewis track along with another performance of him and dad Jerry singing a humorous version of the Beatles' "Help". I like a lot of the stuff Gary Lewis did, just a shame he never had a big British hit; his only UK chart entry, and one of his best was with "My Heart's Symphony" which first came out in 1966, but not hit the UK charts until 1975, thanks to its popularity on the Northern Soul circuit (I love a bit of Northern Soul).

I love the way that T{PTV keep unearthing fantastic forgotten UK films. Recently, when I had 3am insomnia I sat up and watched "Always A Sinner", which Harry Fowler as in (as a cameo), which I enjoyed.

Although I'm no fan of US films, nor keen on them TPTV recently showed both the films "A Child Is Waiting" and "A Rage To Live", both forgotten films which had me hooked and were great to watch.

[jim244]

I saw it was on but didn't mention it because of the pre-dawn showing time.

I'm on annual leave this week so was up.

[stevezodiac]

That's Memories is showing 60s music again every morning and afternoon until 6pm.

[stevezodiac]

I got mentioned on The Footage Detectives on Sunday when they read out my message about those bullet hole car stickers you could get in the 1960s.

[jim244]

I got mentioned on The Footage Detectives on Sunday when they read out my message about those bullet hole car stickers you could get in the 1960s.

Excellent Sir,well played.

[DavidKW]

Nice one Steve!

Great pieces of information - those stickers may have been before my (aware) time and I've never read or heard anything about these on the social history I love to analyse. Well done!

I watched that edition of The Footage Detectives on TPTV Encore as when it was first shown I fell asleep in front of TV due to too many pints of Old Peculiar strong ale at a bargain price that day (was having some personal problems at time as well).

[DavidKW]

On the most recent edition of The Footage Detectives (25 August) the TV Comic's World Cup Willie strip got referenced, with copy of one of the strips shown on screen.

TV Comic did get refenced on one other edition I remember, with one of the later editions got looked through and Noel and Mike pointed out a re-print of Ken Dodd and The Diddymen strip. By the comic's later years 1983-84 re-prints often appeared, but none of its target readers would've known nor cared nor related to The Diddymen by then. They also mentioned the comic also did a strip of the short-lived US Series "Tales Of The Gold Monkey". Series was popular with my peers at school but I never got into it (like most US shows then and today still).

Am pleased to hear that "Z Cars" will soon be coming to TPTV. Let's hope they repeat all the surviving monochrome and colour episodes from 1962 -1978. Shame that very little of Z Cars has ever had a DVD release in the UK, apart from some 1972 episodes over 2 volumes.

[stevezodiac]

I picked up a pirate dvd box set of Z Cars at a comic fair years ago. Never missed it in the 1970s.

[stevezodiac]

I've just had my email read out on Talking Pictures. It was about the Power comics and TV Century 21.

[davidandrewsimpson]

Am pleased to hear that "Z Cars" will soon be coming to TPTV. Let's hope they repeat all the surviving monochrome and colour episodes from 1962 -1978.

Great news. They showed as much as there is of Dixon, so presumably they'll do the same with Z-Cars.

[DavidKW]

Nice one, Steve! I also did send information about "Smash" comic, mentioning the Ken Reid strips (I have both volumes of the compilations of these ace strips. Reid's become my favourite humour artist), and perhaps gave too much detail? Anyway it's great that many others get the chance to get read out.

I've got a few pirate DVDs including one with surviving 60s episodes of Z Cars spin-off "Softly Softly". Many still have the counting clocks on the film but are still always great to see and have. The first two series of "Softly Softly: Task Force" have been officially released on DVD, which I also have. Would be great if all episodes could get a DVD release, but the closure of the likes of Network have been a massive blow and will be much missed.

Also have bootlegs of forgotten Arthur Lowe/Robin Bailey sitcom "Potter" and "No Hiding Place" which I don't think includes the recently found stuff TPTV showed a while back.

[stevezodiac]

One of the shows I'd like on DVD is My World and Welcome To It starring William Windom as John Munro (but really portraying James Thurber) the show featured Thurber's cartoons and showed William Windom at the drawing board. I'd also like to get The Name of the Game, an adventure series from early 70s. Neither have been commercially released to my knowledge.

[jim244]

Tonight,well this morning lol I am up late,I saw a fantastic episode of a tv show that I have never seen before .
The life and Legend of Wyatt Earp.
Apparently it was the first ever adult tv Western series.
It looked like episode 1 that I watched but not certain as apparently there were 6 series.
From 1955 - 1960.
I loved this episode so much and thought it strange that I hadn't ever heard of this show.
Does anyone have any information about this other than what I read on wiki.
For example,has it been repeated during my life time before (ie 68 onward).
Why is this show not on constant re-runs such as Gunsmoke,Bonanza,Rawhide etc.
Is it available on DVD?
Do all the eps exist?
Does anyone else love this show?
Is the repeat to coincide with the recent Netflix series Wyatt Earp and the Cowboy War ?

[stevezodiac]

I have the series on dvd which I bought from a comic fair, not sure if it's one series or the complete series. It's region 1. I also have the dvd box set of Have Gun Will Travel starring Richard Boone. I picked up quite a few box sets from comic fairs but nearly all regions 1. I don't remember watching Wyatt Earp in the 60s but must have because I remember singing the theme tune. As I write Legend Xtra chanel is showing The Gambler Returns: Luck of the Draw starring Kenny Rogers but also features Hugh O'Brian reprising his Wyatt Earp character. It features cameos from several 60s TV western stars as follows:

The film features Rogers' character running across a galaxy of old TV western stars played by the original actors, including Gene Barry as Bat Masterson, Hugh O'Brian as Wyatt Earp, Jack Kelly as Bart Maverick, Clint Walker as Cheyenne Bodie, David Carradine as Kung Fu's Caine, Chuck Connors and Johnny Crawford from The Rifleman, Brian Keith as The Westerner, James Drury and Doug McClure from The Virginian (Drury and McClure play thinly disguised different characters, Jim and Doug, due to rights issues for Owen Wister's character), and Paul Brinegar from Rawhide.

Paul Brinegar was Wishbone the cook in Rawhide.

[stevezodiac]

I'm pretty sure it has never been repeated as I love tv westerns and would have remembered. Only seasons 1 and 2 have been released on dvd. I presume the later seasons all exist. I watched a few episodes of the dvd but was annoyed by the barbershop quartet style background singing, although it doesn't seem as intrusive now I've seen the TPTV repeats.