THE JACK BENNY SHOW
Having spent almost two decades as a top radio personality, Jack Benny made the smooth transition to television in 1950, in a series of specials. These were the foundation for a regular -once a month- Sunday night-time slot from 1952 to a bi-weekly series the following year.
Benny's radio persona and therefore the format of the show was transferred to the small screen completely intact along with his legendary stinginess (he supposedly had a basement vault where he kept his money), his insistence on being no older than 39, his ancient automobile, Maxwell, and his ineptness at playing the violin. Added to that were Jack's famous pregnant pauses where he would weigh-up a given situation until resolving it with an exasperated "Well-". Jack added a few more touches for the visual medium including a prancing walk, a hand held to his cheek and a long numbed look of total disbelief whenever he was faced by one of life's little traumas.
Also transferring from the radio series were Jack Benny's family of players; Mary Livingstone (aka Mrs Jack Benny), Don Wilson, Dennis Day, Artie Auerbach, Frank Nelson and Mel Blanc -the master of a thousand Warner Brother cartoon voices. But perhaps the most celebrated of these supporting artistes was Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson who started out on the radio series as a Pullman porter (making only occasional appearances) until being 'promoted' to Jack's somewhat insolent valet and in the process becoming the highest-paid black actor on US TV at that time.
The format of the shows was part variety and part sitcom and boasted a veritable who's who of guest stars, including; Bob Hope, George Burns, Phil Silvers, Lucille Ball, Humphrey Bogart, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. 343 shows were made but of these only 104 were recorded on film and are therefore available today.
1950-1965 CBS
JAMIE
Sunday teatime series aimed at children and no doubt inspired by the success of the previous years 'Timeslip', 'Jamie' was yet another variation on the time travel theme with, in this case, the hero being transported from era to era on a magic carpet. On his journey's Jamie (Garry Miller), accompanied by his friend, Tink (Nigel Chivers) encountered famous figures from British history such as Guy Fawkes (in the story entitled "Remember, Remember") and Horatio Nelson ("England Expects"). The other constant in the series was the enigmatic Mr Zed (Aubrey Morris) who always encouraged Jamie on his travels and seemed to know a lot more about the magic carpet than he ever let on. The one thing that he did reveal was that neither Jamie nor Tink, try as they might, could ever change history.
13 episodes. 1971 LWT
JANE
Jane was originally a comic strip created and drawn by Norman Pett for the London edition of the the Daily Mirror and appeared from 5th December 1932 to 10th October 1959. Originally entitled 'Jane's Journal, the Diary of a Bright Young Thing,' the saucy strip featured the misadventures of a hapless heroine who had a disconcerting habit of losing her outer garments until she had to struggle through her various escapades in nothing much more than her underwear. After the Second World War broke out the young lass (modelled it is said on Pett's wife) shed even more of her clothes until she was virtually naked. Rather than cause any public outcry this was greeted with great enthusiasm as it was seen as a morale booster for British soldiers posted - or about to be posted abroad. In 1945 King Features attempted to syndicate Jane strips in the United States, but, the amount of nudity was too much for American audiences and the attempt ceased in 1946. Actress Christabel Leighton-Porter (also claimed to have been the model for the character) toured the music halls with a striptease-act as Jane, and later she played in the movie 'The Adventures of Jane', which came out in 1949. The adventures of Jane were revived in 1982 by the BBC and starred a pre-'Dempsey and Makepeace' Glynis Barber who had previously appeared on the popular science fiction series 'Blake's 7' playing Soolin in the final series. Each adventure lasted around ten minutes and inventively mixed live action with animated backgrounds which were screened on consecutive weekday nights with an omnibus edition at the weekend. Two years later Jane returned again for another five episodes entitled 'Jane in the Desert.'
BBC 1982 and 1984.
JASON KING
A spin-off from the popular ITC series 'Department S', 'Jason King' starred Peter Wyngarde as the flamboyant playboy investigator and author of his own fictional detective Mark Caine. Forced into working for the government over tax evasion charges by Sir Brian (veteran British actor Dennis Price), and his assistant Ryland (Ronald Lacey), King set out on a series of adventures that were more down to earth than his Department S cases. However, it didn't stop him from enjoying an extravagant lifestyle which necessitated fast cars, foriegn travel and a bevvy of beautiful girls. His publisher, Nicola Harvester was played by Ann Sharp. Wyngarde wasn't overly keen on having a series all to himself and felt that the it was mistake to build the series around King minus the two agents (Joel Fabiani and Rosemary Nicols) from the original series. It seems as though he was not alone in his trepidation as ATV chief Lew Grade was reluctant to bankroll the series, which explains the two year gap between 'DS' and this series. But in the end Grade relented telling Wyngarde he was only getting the show because 'my wife likes you.' It seems as though Lady Grade wasn't the only woman who enjoyed Wyngarde's on-screen charm as the women of Australia voted Wyngarde as the man they most wanted to lose their virginity to-no really! Elsewhere the series was a huge hit, too and 'Jason King' became a huge money spinner for ITC, although sadly not for Wyngarde who didn't recieve a penny in royalties and then got hopelessly typecast before being involved in a sex scandal that put paid to the image of any woman losing her virginity to him forever.
26 episodes of 60 minute duration. ITC (UK). ITV: 1972-73.
THE JENSEN CODE
Children's drama series broadcast over 13 episodes from February 1973. Written by Carey Harrison (son of actor Rex Harrison), 'The Jensen Code' told the tale of 16 year-old Terry Connor (Dai Bradley) who is sent to an outdoor activity centre in Derbyshire. Along with Alex (Tony Wright) he stumbles across a plot to steal the Jensen Code from a nearby Ministry of Defence base. The codes creator is then murdered, but not before entrusting Terry with the code. The trouble is Terry doesn't know to trust and his dilemma is further complicated when he wakes up in hospital with his memory of the code completely erased.
13 episodes of 30 minute duration. ATV. 1973.
JOURNEY'S END
Adapted from R.C. Sheriff's successful play, 'Journey's End' is set against the background of life in the trenches during World War 1 and concentrates on a group of officers behind British lines at St. Quentin, France. The characters live in a world of fear and disillusionment as they struggle to come to terms with the strain of each new attack order given from headquarters, while having to endure the German machine guns relentlessly sending out their messengers of death and destruction. The tale concentrates on the once brave and exhuberant Captain Stanhope now a mere shadow of his former self as he loses hope and sinks into desperation. Broadcast in 1937 this was the first time that an entire evening's programming was given over to one play. George More O'Ferrall condensed the script without sacrificing continuity and rythm. The play was broadcast, as all programming was in those days, live from Alexandra Palace but used filmed inserts from (reportedly) G.W. Pabst's 1930 feature fim 'Westfront 1918', which seems odd as 'Journey's End' was filmed the same year. The film version starred Colin Clive and was directed by James Whale and just a year later director and actor teamed up once more for the classic Hollywood horror movie, 'Frankenstein.' This TV version starred Reginald Tate as Stanhope and was broadcast just once, on 11th November.
BBC TV. 1937
JOURNEY TO THE UNKNOWN
The seventeen episodes that made up 'Journey to the Unknown' were a mixture of psychological suspense, medical experimentation and science fiction with a little murder and mystery thrown in for good measure -So it's not surprising to learn that executive producers Joan Harrison and Norman Lloyd had previously worked on another TV series, with the master of suspense himself...Alfred Hitchcock. Hammer Films made the series in Britain although US filmmakers Twentieth Century Fox financed it to the tune of £70,000 per episode. This was Hammer's first venture into TV after establishing itself in the mid 1950's with cinematic retellings of such classics as Frankenstein and Dracula (although its first international success came in 1955 with 'The Quatermass Xperiment' -US title 'The Creeping Unknown'). The series premiered in the US several weeks prior to its UK debut (on ABC) but even then it was not afforded a steady run, being shown mainly in the London area with only sporadic viewings elsewhere. A steady mixture of American and British stars appeared and they included Michael Gough, Dennis Waterman, Milo O'Shea, Stephanie Powers, George Maharis, Joseph Cotton, Nanette Newman, David Hedison, Jane Asher, Bernard Lee, Roddy McDowell, Ingrid Pitt, Barbara Bel Geddes, Jack Hedley, and Paul Daneman. The 'Unknown' referred to in the title was the Human Mind.
17 episodes of 60 minute duration. 1968-69.
KNIGHTS OF GOD
Set in the year 2020, Great Britain has been devastated by civil war after years of political unrest, the government has been overthrown and the Royal Family executed. Now the country has been split between north and south, London has been destroyed and replaced by Winchester as the capital. A Military governing elite, called the Knights of God, is led by Prior Mordrin (John Woodvine), a ruthless dictator, who is out to destroy anyone who gets in his way. The Knights are still struggling for complete control and fighting a war of attrition against a group of Welsh freedom fighters that Mordrin is obsessed with destroying. Owen Edwards (Gareth Thomas) is the leader of the resistance but it his son, Gervase Owen Edwards (George Winter), who is key to the plot. When he is captured by Mordrin he is given mind-altering drugs which are used to implant orders into his head that he should seek out and destroy the Prior's "greatest enemy," the surviving King of Britain. On the way Gervase meets and falls in love with Julia (Claire Parker). When it is revealed that Gervase himself is the King, only his love for Julia prevents him from obeying Mordrin's command by killing himself. The series was first mentioned in a 'TV Times' issue dated September 2005 in which it showed a photograph of Don Henderson in character but it wasn't screened for another two years, by which time both Patrick Troughton and Nigel Stock, who appear in major roles, had both died. This made it Troughton's last transmitted (although not last recorded) role. Andrew Morgan and Michael Kerrigan shared the directors chair for different episodes and the executive producer was Anna Home. The series was written by Richard Cooper, a writer who had previously worked in both children's and adult telelvision drama and who published a tie-in novelisation in 1987 which included a lot of material not used in the televised version. The series was shown on Sunday afternoons in the traditional family viewing slot that had previously seen the likes of 'Catweazle' and 'Worzel Gummidge', but 'Knights of God' was decidedly more adult in its content, right from the opening credits which showed a burning Union Jack, helicopters flying through flames and armies of black-clad soldiers carrying machine guns.
13 episodes of 30 minute duration. TVS. 1987.
LAND OF THE GIANTS
From the prolific master of US televisual sci-fi, Irwin Allen, came this tale of a sub-orbital commercial flight that entered a space-warp and crash-landed on a planet that was home to people 12 times the normal height. The crew and passengers of the US rocketship "Spindrift" trapped in this land of giants were Capt Steve Burton (Gary Conway), Dan Erikson (Don Marshall), Mark Wilson (Don Matheson), Barry Lockridge (Stefan Arngrim), Valerie Scott (Deanna Lund) and Betty Hamilton (Heather Young). Whereas Allen's 'Lost In Space' was based on the Swiss Family Robinson, so 'Giants' was based on 'Gullivers Travels' and like 'LIS' it featured a resident villain, Commander Alexander Fitzugh (Kurt Kasznar). Although very dated now, the series used trick photography and elaborate props and was funded to the tune of $250,000 per episode, making it the most costliest series to date between its two season run from 1968-70.
51 episodes of 60 minute duration. ABC 1968-70
LIZZIE DRIPPING
BBC children's series set in the imaginary village of Little Hemlock about a mischievous 12 year-old girl, Penelope Arbuckle (played by future Blue Peter presenter Tina Heath), and her imaginary witch friend (Sonia Dresdel), who only Penelope (and the TV audience) could see. Penelope was the Lizzie Dripping of the title, the name being a provincial term in the Nottingham area for a plucky girl who has difficulty in telling the difference between fact and fiction. The character was created by Helen Cresswell for a single 'Jackanory Playhouse' presentation entitled 'Lizzie Dripping and The Orphans' in 1972 and commissioned as a full series the following year. Told entirely from the young girl's point of view with a narrative supplied by Heath for moments when Penelope was thinking (Hannah Gordon did the honours in the pilot). The series was filmed in the Nottinghamshire village of Eakring, where Cresswell lived at the time. Only eight episodes were made, the first four in 1973 and the other four two years later and in between there were three 'Lizzie Dripping' books all published in 1974.
8 episodes (and 1 pilot - 1972) 1973 - 75.
LUCKY FELLER
Convinced that he could find a starring vehicle that would make his 'discovery' David Jason a household name in Britain (see review of 'The Top Secret Life of Edgar Briggs'), producer Humphrey Barclay invited Terence Frisby ('There's A Girl In My Soup') to write a 13-episode sitcom that would be tailor made for the actor's talents. In the series Jason plays Shorty Mepstead, a South-East Londoner who lives at home with his mum (Pat Heywood) and brother, Randolph (Peter Armitage). The brothers, who run their own plumbing company, are like chalk and cheese, with Shorty being the shy and reserved type and Randolph being a confident 'lad' who has no problem 'pulling' the ladies. The problem for Shorty is that in the first episode Randolph 'pulls' Kath (Cheryl Hall), who he is in love with. However, by the end of the series the 'lucky feller' gets his girl. The Stage reviewed the series on its debut with the prophetic statement that, 'Somewhere there is a writer whose idea's Mr Jason can execute to great effect but they have not met yet.'
13 episodes of 30 minute duration. LWT 1976.
LUKE'S KINGDOM
13 part Anglo / Australian co-production that was two years in the making and told the adventures of the Firbeck family who are uprooted from their Yorkshire home by their father in 1829 following the death of their mother, and taken to the other side of the world to start afresh in New South Wales. Their journey was not meant to be a speculative one, as the father, former naval lieutenant Jason Firbeck (James Condon), set out to claim land bequeathed to them by an old friend. However, when they arrive in Australia they find that the land promised to them is occupied by others and, without enough funds to return home, they are forced to set up residence in the bush. Proclaimed by law as squatters, the Firbeck's have to stand up to prejudice, other settlers, outlaws and native Aborigines in order to survive. The family consisted of daughter Jassy (Elisabeth Crosby), and sons Samuel (Gerard Maguire) and Luke (Oliver Tobias), the hero of the piece who more often than not risked life and limb in order to protect his family in their pursuit of a peaceful existence. Tobias, with his rugged good looks was already on his way to making a career of period-piece dramas having previously starred in 'Arthur of the Britons,' he would follow this series with a guest appearance in 'Dick Turpin' and a starring role in 'Smuggler.'
13 episodes. Yorkshire TV in the UK and TCN9 in Australia. 1976.
