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Hot Metal
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.
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2002 shows • Page 61 of 101
Hot Metal
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.
All at No 20
All at No 20 is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1986 to 1987. Starring Maureen Lipman, it was written by Richard Ommanney, Ian Davidson, Peter Vincent and Alex Shearer. It was made for the ITV network by Thames Television and ran for two series. After the second series was slated by critics, a planned third series was cancelled.
Boon
Boon is a British television drama and modern-day western series starring Michael Elphick, David Daker, and later Neil Morrissey. It was created by Jim Hill and Bill Stair and filmed by Central Television for ITV. It revolved around the life of a modern-day Lone Ranger and ex-firefighter, Ken Boon.
Catchphrase
Catchphrase is a British game show based on the short-lived U.S. game show of the same name. It originally aired on ITV in the United Kingdom between 12 January 1986 and 19 December 2002. It was presented by Northern Irish comedian Roy Walker from 1986–1999; followed by Nick Weir from 2000–2002, and Mark Curry in 2002. In the original series, two contestants, one male and one female would have to identify the familiar phrase represented by a piece of animation accompanied by background music. The show's mascot, a golden robot called "Mr. Chips", appears in many of the animations. In the revived version of the show, the same format remains, but there are three contestants. In August 2012, it was announced that Stephen Mulhern would host a revived version of the show beginning on 7 April 2013. On 21 August 2013, it was confirmed that Catchphrase has been re-commissioned for a second series, following the success of the first.
All in Good Faith
British sitcom in which Reverend Philip Lambe, after becoming bored in his wealthy Oxfordshire parish, asks for a transfer to a more difficult assignment. Sent to Edendale, a fictional urban town in the Midlands, he is accompanied by his wife Emma, sixteen-year-old daughter Miranda and twelve-year-old son Peter.
Blind Date
Blind Date was a British dating game show produced by London Weekend Television. An unscreened pilot was made with comic Duncan Norvelle as presenter but it was eventually hosted by Cilla Black, who already hosted the LWT series, Surprise, Surprise. Blind Date ran on Saturday nights from 30 November 1985 to 31 May 2003. Blind Date will return for a one-off special in late 2013, to celebrate Black's 50-year career in the entertainment industry. This special one-off will be part of another programme, The One and Only Cilla Black, presented by Paul O'Grady. Blind Date producers are aiming to bring back some of the show's most memorable contestants who are still single, giving them a second chance to win a date.
Alias the Jester
Alias the Jester was a British animated series created by Cosgrove Hall Films, airing in 13 episodes on ITV starting on 13 November 1985. The show also aired during the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's after school timeslot and is considered one of the Classic ABC shows. GBC TV in Gibraltar aired the series multiple times in the late eighties, notably as a filler during the children's 630pm - 730pm weekday slot.
The Black Tower
The Black Tower is a 1985 mystery television mini-series based on the book 'The Black Tower' by P.D. James. The title role of Commander Adam Dalgliesh was played by Roy Marsden.
Girls On Top
Four girls share a flat together in London. Having nothing in common aside from their gender, they barely manage to co-exist.
0Puddle Lane
Puddle Lane is a 1980s British pre-school children's television programme written by Rick Vanes with animated stories written by Sheila K. McCullagh, author of Tim and the Hidden People. A long series of books based on the stories was produced by Ladybird Books, also under the title Puddle Lane. For a pre-school series, Puddle Lane attracted a large cult audience of adults and teenagers, and has been described as "a lunchtime favourite of students, sickies and truants alike".
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾
A British television series based on the book of the same name written by Sue Townsend.
0Drummonds
Drummonds was a British television drama produced for the ITV by London Weekend Television, ehich ran for two seasons between 1985 and 1987. Set in a mid-1950s boys' boarding school, the series follows the lives of the students and staff, particularly headmaster George Drummond and his wife, Mary.
0The Joke Machine
This was the Krankies attempt at solo attempt at a children's television show since Crackerjack.
Bulman
Bulman is a Granada TV series which ran from 1985–1987 and followed the fortunes of the major character from the earlier XYY Man and Strangers series. Bulman was based - increasingly loosely - on the character featured in the XYY Man novels by Kenneth Royce. In this incarnation, Don Henderson appeared again as former Detective Chief Inspector George Bulman, ostensibly retired from police work and repairing old clocks but active as a private investigator, with Lucy McGinty as his assistant. They are frequently drawn into the clandestine world of the secret service through the machinations of security chief Dugdale or Bulman's one-time police boss Lambie.
Jenny's War
Jenny's War is a 1985 war television serial set during World War II, made by HTV in association with Columbia Pictures. It is directed by and written by Steve Gethers. The screenplay is based on the novel with the same name of Jack Stoneley. In the UK it was shown as four 50 minute episodes on the ITV network, while in the United States it was syndicated under the Operation Prime Time banner by MCA TV. The serial stars Dyan Cannon, Nigel Hawthorne, Robert Hardy Christopher Cazenove and Hugh Grant, and is about a mother, Jenny Baines, who searches for her son Peter, who was shot down over Germany, and who she believes is still alive.
Connie
Connie is a 1985 British television drama created and written by Ron Hutchinson as a dry commentary on 1980s Thatcherite values. Set in the East Midlands garment industry, the titular character returns to the United Kingdom from Greece after eight years in self-imposed exile. She's determined to claw back control of her chain of high-street clothes shops now controlled by her stepsister, and also get her foot back into the House of Bea, a family-owned garment factory run by her father and stepmother, which is now losing money.
Mog
Mog was a British television comedy from 1985 and 1986 about a cat burglar living in a psychiatric hospital. It starred Enn Reitel as the title character, who is only faking insanity. It was based on Peter Tinniswood's 1970 novel of the same name. It was made for the ITV network by Central.
0Tales From Fat Tulip's Garden
Tales from Fat Tulip's Garden was a children's TV program in the mid-1980s, starring Tony Robinson. It was produced by Debbie Gates for Central Independent Television and aired on British TV network ITV from 1985 to 1987, in a 4:00pm timeslot, with each episode lasting about 10 minutes. Robinson would tell children's stories directly to camera in an English garden setting, and would put on all the voices himself. The show was written by Debbie Gates and Robinson and carried by Robinson's unique and engaging storytelling style, which was semi-improvised. Robinson hoped to provoke the imagination and produce a sense of immediacy in contrast to the shortcomings he saw in children's television at the time. The majority of the programme was filmed in the house and garden of Little Monkhams, a property in Woodford in the Redbridge Borough of London. Further scenes were filmed in the part of Epping Forest facing the house
Cross Wits
Crosswits is a British television quiz show produced by Cove Productions and Action Time in association with Tyne Tees and filmed from their City Road studios in Newcastle upon Tyne. It ran from 1985 to 1998. It was originally hosted by Barry Cryer for the first 2 series, then comedian Tom O'Connor took over from series 3 until the show ended. The show consisted of two members of the public competing against each other to solve simple crossword puzzles. Each member of the public was helped out by a "celebrity" partner. The announcers for the show were generally Tyne Tees continuity announcers such as Judi Lines, Jonathan Morrell and Bill Steel.
Home to Roost
Home to Roost is a British television sitcom produced by Yorkshire Television in the 1980s. Written by Eric Chappell, it starred John Thaw as Henry Willows and Reece Dinsdale as his 18-year-old son Matthew. The premise is that Henry Willows is forty-something, who has been divorced from his wife for seven years and is perfectly happy living alone in London. That is, until his youngest child, Matthew arrives to live with him, after being thrown out by his mother. The plots generally revolved around Henry's annoyance at having his solitude disturbed, and the age gap clash. Henry employed two cleaners throughout the show's life; first Enid Thompson, and, in the third season, Fiona Fennell.