In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones

In Which Annie Gives it Those Ones is a 1989 Indian English-language television film written by Arundhati Roy and directed by Pradip Krishen. It stars Arjun Raina as the title character, with Roshan Seth and Arundhati Roy in key roles. The film also features Shahrukh Khan and Manoj Bajpayee, both then struggling actors in the Delhi theatre circuit, in small but significant roles. Set in the 1970s, in the National Institute of Architecture, New Delhi, the plot revolves around Anand Grover, known as Annie, a misguided visionary who gets into trouble for making fun of the principal, Y.D. Billimoria known as Yamdoot.

The film was the recipient of two National Awards in 1989.[3] It acquired a cult status in the years after it was made. The original print of the movie is lost. Previously, the only copies of the film in circulation were those that were recorded on Video Cassette Recorder when the film was screened on Doordarshan. However, camera recordings of these video cassette tapes were also made, and subsequently posted on YouTube to where they are still available now. The film was made for TV and never released theatrically. It was shown on Doordarshan in 1989.

The film was part autobiographical with Roy recounting her own experiences of studying in the School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi, a leading architecture institute in India. This was the first screenplay by Roy, the second movie by Krishen after his colonial-period drama Massey Sahib (1985). The film is noted for one of the earliest cinematic appearances of Shahrukh Khan.

The Children of the Stones

 

The series follows the adventures of astrophysicist Adam Brake and his teenage son Matthew after they arrive in the small village of Milbury, which is built in the midst of a megalithic stone circle.

Filmed at Avebury, Wiltshire during the hot summer of 1976, with interior scenes filmed at HTV's Bristol studios, it has sinister, discordant wailing voices heightening the tension in the incidental music. The music was composed by Sidney Sager who used the Ambrosian Singers to chant in accordance with the megalithic rituals referred to in the story. Director Peter Graham Scott was surprised on seeing the script that the series was intended for children's airtime due to the complexities of the plot and the disturbing nature of the series.

Cast as the leader of the village, Hendrick, was Iain Cuthbertson, while the leading role of Adam Brake was filled by Gareth Thomas. Cuthbertson and Thomas had previously worked together on the TV series Sutherland's Law. Veronica Strong (the wife of series co-writer Jeremy Burnham)[6] played Margaret Smythe, the curator of the local museum, who partners with Brake to solve the mystery. The child actors Peter Demin (aged 17 at the time of filming) and Katharine Levy played the teenage leads, Matthew (Brake's son) and Sandra (Smythe's daughter). Freddie Jones and John Woodnutt were cast as poacher Dai and butler Link.

Brideshead Revisited - Et in Arcadia Ego

Episode One of the 1981 Granada Television series Brideshead Revisited. Evelyn Waugh said his novel was written at a time of great stress and deprivation, so it was a lot about longing and times of plenty, of baroque styles and rarified emotions. The TV series is a triumph of the medium. It is a sensual, passionate and sorrowful account of youth, emotions and the class world that was destroyed by the Second World War.

Brideshead Revisited is a 1981 British television serial starring Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews. It was produced by Granada Television for broadcast by the ITV network. Most of the serial was directed by Charles Sturridge; a few sequences were directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg.

The serial is an adaptation of the novel Brideshead Revisited (1945) by Evelyn Waugh. It follows, from the 1920s to the early 1940s, the life and romances of the protagonist Charles Ryder—including his friendship with the Flytes, a family of wealthy English Catholics who live in a palatial mansion called Brideshead Castle.

The screenplay was written by Derek Granger (the film's producer) and others. Although the film credits attribute the screenplay to John Mortimer, Mortimer's script was not used.

The 11-episode serial premiered on ITV in the UK on 12 October 1981; on CBC Television in Canada on 19 October 1981; and as part of the Great Performances series on PBS in the United States on 18 January 1982.

In 2000, the serial was tenth on the list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes compiled by the British Film Institute, based on a poll of industry professionals.

Lost in Space - The Time Merchant (1968)

Lost in Space was a American television series that ran between 1956 and 1968. It is loosely based on the 1812 novel The Swiss Family Robinson, and on a comic book published by Gold Key Comics titled The Space Family Robinson. The series follows the adventures of the Robinsons, a pioneering family of space colonists who struggle to survive in the depths of space. The show ran for 83 episodes over three seasons, the first of which was filmed in black and white.The journey for the Robinson family began on October 16, 1997 when their ship, the Jupiter 2 lifted off.

The Time Merchant episode first aired on January 17, 1968. It is interesting for a few reasons. The concept of magnetic tape holding information is exploited in the plot of the episode. The time a person has in their life is kept on magnetic tape. These are the property of the time merchant of the title. Secondly, The subtext of family over business, love over capital is strong within the narrative. Finally, there is a strong reference to Salvador Dali's painting The Persistence of Memory (1931) in the visual presentation:

Early computing is frequently invoked in Lost in Space. Interestingly the computer on the Jupiter was a non-working Burroughs B205 computer.The Time Merchant also has the added dimension of frequent visual references to Surrealism. Reflective surfaces, a collapsing time continuums and the bizarre character of the time merchant himself make this episode one of the most psychedelic in the entire Lost in Space story. With lots of purple in the set.

The Psychedelic Computer keeping time in check.

Monkey

The clssic TV series, based on the 1592 Chinese novel 西遊記 (Journey to the West, published posthumous) by Wu Cheng'en (c. 1500–1582). The novel is an extended account of the legendary pilgrimage of the Tang dynasty Buddhist monk Xuanzang who traveled to the "Western Regions", that is, Central Asia and India, to obtain Buddhist sacred texts (sūtras) and returned after many trials and much suffering. It retains the broad outline of Xuanzang's own account, Great Tang Records on the Western Regions, but the Ming dynasty novel adds elements from folk tales and the author's invention, that is, that Gautama Buddha gave this task to the monk (referred to as Tang Sanzang in the novel) and provided him with three protectors who agree to help him as an atonement for their sins. These disciples are Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing, together with a dragon prince who acts as Tang Sanzang's steed, a white horse.

Saiyūki (西遊記, lit. "Journey to the West"), also known by its English title Monkey, also commonly referred to as Monkey Magic (the show's title song), is a Japanese television drama based on the 16th century Chinese novel, Journey to the West, by Wu Cheng'en. Filmed in Northwest China and Inner Mongolia, the show was produced by Nippon TV and International Television Films in association with NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), and broadcast from 1978 to 1980 on Nippon TV.

Monkey is considered a cult classic in countries where it has been shown, reaching as far as South America. Among the features that have contributed to its cult appeal are the theme song, the dubbed dialogue spoken in a variety of over-the-top "oriental" accents, the reasonably good synchronization of dubbing to the actors' original dialogue, the memorable battles which were for many Western youngsters their first exposure to Asian-style fantasy action sequences, and the fact that the young priest Tripitaka was played by a woman, despite being male.

In 1981, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation debuted the BBC-dubbed Monkey at 6pm on week-nights. Since then, the show has been frequently repeated on the ABC, notably during the contemporary youth TV show Recovery which aired episodes of Monkey weekly from 1996-2000. When Recovery was put on hiatus, it was replaced with three hours of Monkey. The radio station Triple J often made references to Monkey and interviewed the original BBC voice actors on several occasions.

Rumpole and the Confession of Guilt

If you want to learn to write dialogue in English, watch Rumpole. Writing great dialogue is very difficult. I am struggling with even coming close to decent character dialogue. But today I found a lesson in master craft. Sink into the dark recesses of human existence with the glorious writing and acting that is Rumpole of the Bailey (1978-1992). Written by John Mortimer (1923-2009) and delivered by Leo McKern (1920-2002). While many of the values it expresses may come from another social epoch (casual sexism and racism abound), the language and craft of story telling are timeless. The hour-long pilot episode that aired on BBC1 in 1975 introducing the irrepressible Old Bailey defence lawyer, Horace Rumpole. Features specially filmed interview with writer, John Mortimer. Just brilliant. Leon McKern plays Rumpole and he represents a form of acting that is becoming increasingly rare, if not totally endangered from extinction, today.

Doctor Who: Seeds of Doom

Trailer


Part One


Part Two


Part Three


Part Four


Part Five


Part Six


Part Seven


Part Eight


Part Nine


Part Ten


Part Eleven


Part Twelve


Part Thirteen


Part Fourteen


Part Fifteen


Part Sixteen


Part Seventeen


Part Eighteen

The Seeds of Doom is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 31 January to 6 March 1976. "The Seeds of Doom" was the final serial of the programme’s popular Season 13 of 1975/76, placing the serial squarely within the Gothic Horror-influenced era of producer Philip Hinchcliffe and script editor Robert Holmes. The serial comprised the culmination of Tom Baker’s second series as the Doctor.

In Antarctica, British scientists Charles Winlett and Derek Moberley discover a pod buried in the permafrost, and take it back to their camp. John Stevenson, the base botanist identifies it as vegetable-based and estimates it has been buried in the ice for some twenty thousand years.

Back in London, Richard Dunbar of the World Ecology Bureau shows the Doctor photographs of the pod. Although he feels that the Doctor cannot help them, his superior Sir Colin Thackeray insisted. The Doctor examines the pictures and believes it to be extraterrestrial. He tells Dunbar to contact the expedition by their regular video link, and tell them not to touch it until he arrives.

Back at the base, Stevenson discovers that the pod is growing larger and he believes it is absorbing ultraviolet radiation. In England, Dunbar visits the estate of millionaire Harrison Chase. Chase's estate is filled with thousands of plants, and he considers it his mission to protect the plant life of Mother Earth. Dunbar has come to show him pictures of the pod, its possible extraterrestrial origin and hints that such a valuable specimen could easily disappear.... for a price. Dunbar gives Chase the location of the pod. Chase calls for one of his men, Scorby, telling him to take Keeler along.

At the base, Winlett is half asleep near the pod when it opens up. A frond-like tentacle whips out and stings his arm, causing Winlett to collapse in pain. When Stevenson and Moberley find him, Winlett's face is covered with green hives. The Doctor and Sarah arrive at the base. In the sickbay, Winlett's body temperature and pulse are dropping rapidly. His face and body are now covered with a green fungus, and its growth is accelerating. The Doctor asks for a blood test on Winlett, who is growing increasingly monstrous, and examines the now-empty pod. Stevenson acknowledges that it may be his fault; convinced that the pod was alive, he placed it under a lamp. Outside the base, the Doctor digs at the ice, uncovering another pod. Noting that the pods travel in pairs, the Doctors transfers it to the base freezer. On analysis, Winlett's blood is found to contain no blood platelets, but instead has schizophytes — microscopic organisms akin to plant bacteria.

The sound of engines is heard, and Moberley and Stevenson go meet what they presume is the medical team. The Doctor tells Sarah that Winlett is turning into a Krynoid, a kind of galactic weed that settles on planets and eats the animal life. Stevenson and Moberley escort two men —Scorby and Keeler— into the base. The new arrivals claim that their private plane got lost and wound up at the base. The Doctor leaves to check on Winlett, taking the others and leaving Scorby and Keeler alone.

Moberly is killed by the now mutated Winlett. Transformed into a Krynoid it flees the base and shelters in the outside generator hut. Scorby and Keeler -employees of Chase- hold the Doctor and others at gunpoint as they steal the remaining pod. Scorby and Keeler set up a bomb in the generator and escape in their plane. The Doctor and the others get free, but are attacked by the Krynoid, which kills Stevenson. The Doctor and Sarah flee the base as the bomb creates a chain reaction and destroys the whole area.

Regaining consciousness in the snow, the Doctor and Sarah are picked up by a team from South Bend in their Snow Cat vehicle. Meanwhile, Scorby and Keller return to Chase in England with the second pod. Dunbar is angered at how far Chase had gone to secure the pod, but warns Chase that the Doctor and Sarah are still alive, and are scheduled to meet with him and Sir Colin in two hours.

At the meeting, the Doctor and Sarah describe how well planned the theft of the pod was, but the Doctor believes that the two men were stooges. The discovery of the pod had only been reported to the Ecology Bureau, so the leak must have come from them. He tells Dunbar to arrange for him to go to the Botanic Institute. As they leave the building, a driver meets them claiming to be their ride. However, the limousine stops in the countryside, and the driver orders them out at gunpoint. With a bit of teamwork, the Doctor manages to jump the driver and punch him out. The Doctor and Sarah search the car, and find a painting by Amelia Ducat, one of the world's leading flower artists. When they visit her, Ducat tells them that the owner of the painting is Harrison Chase, and that he never paid her for the painting.

Keeler, who is a botanist himself, unsuccessfully tries to convince Chase to stop the experiments on the pod. Chase orders him to inject the pod with fixed nitrogen. Dunbar calls Chase and tells him that his driver is in the hospital, so when the Doctor and Sarah try to sneak into the mansion, they are spotted by some guards and Scorby, who capture them.

The Doctor and Sarah are brought before Chase, and despite having Scorby's gun at his head, the Doctor asks Chase grimly to hand over the pod. Chase politely refuses: He has the greatest collection of plants in the world, and when the pod flowers, it will be his crowning achievement. Before he executes them, Chase decides to show the Doctor and Sarah around the mansion, and his plant laboratory.

Keeler notes that the pod is growing, and tells Hargreaves, the butler, to summon Chase to the annex. There, Chase tells Keeler to inject more nitrogen into the pod. Scorby escorts the Doctor and Sarah into the gardens to kill them, but the two manage to overpower Scorby. The Doctor uses rope to lower Sarah down the wall so she can go and warn Sir Colin while he returns to the house to examine the pod. However, Sarah gets captured again.

The Doctor makes his way back into the mansion while Sarah is escorted by Scorby back to Chase. The Doctor watches through the skylight, horrified as Chase orders Sarah forced down to a chair, grabbing her arm and pinning it next to the pod. He wants to know what happens when the Krynoid touches human flesh. The Doctor rescues Sarah and in the confusion, a frond from the pod stings Keeler's arm. Keeler begs Chase to get him to a hospital, but Chase is more fascinated with the transformative process than saving Keeler's life. Chase and Hargreaves take Keller to the nearby cottage.

When the Doctor returns to the empty laboratory, he is captured by Scorby and a guard, who take him to the compost room. Scorby activates the crusher, remarking that Chase recycles everything. The main gate calls the house: Amelia Ducat is here demanding her money. To avoid a fuss, Chase agrees to see her. Meanwhile, Sarah has entered the cottage, and sees Keeler, who is still lucid, although covered with the Krynoid growth. She escapes back to the house and while in hiding, attracts Ducat's attention and asks her to take a message to Sir Colin. Outside, Ducat enters a car with Sir Colin and Dunbar inside, and tells them what Sarah said. Dunbar, realising he has made a terrible mistake, says he will go in and get the Doctor. He tells Sir Colin that, if he does not return in half an hour, to return to London and call UNIT.

Sarah finds her way into the compost room and turns off the crusher just in time to save the Doctor. Hargreaves finds that Keeler has now almost completed his transformation, and runs in a panic as the creature frees itself. In the mansion, Dunbar pleads with Chase to abandon the experiment as Hargreaves reports Keeler's transformation to Chase. Dunbar says that this has gone far enough, and he is going to get help. Chase tells Scorby to stop him.

Scorby pursues Dunbar through the grounds as the Doctor and Sarah find Keeler missing from the cottage. The Doctor takes a sword from over the fireplace and they leave to search for the Krynoid. Dunbar runs into the monster, which is far larger than the Winlett creature was, and no longer even humanoid. He shoots at it uselessly, and is held fast by the surrounding plant life as the Krynoid kills him. Dunbar's screams attract the attention of Scorby and the guards as well as the Doctor and Sarah. The latter get there first, the Doctor drawing the sword above Dunbar's body as the Krynoid lurches towards them. They manage to escape to a cottage and barricade themselves in. The Krynoid speaks using Keeler’s voice, demanding that the Doctor come out and join it and it will spare the others. Scorby is more than willing to give up the Doctor until Sarah Jane points out that without the Doctor they have no chance. The Doctor suggest Scorby rig up a bomb so they can all escape while the Krynoid is distracted.

Sir Colin gets through to Major Beresford for assistance and sends Amelia home.

Scorby throws his improvised bomb out an upstairs window and the Doctor makes a run for it. The Krynoid goes in pursuit, but the Doctor escapes in the limousine, leaving the Krynoid behind. Scorby tries to find Chase at the greenhouse and discovers where he is from Hargreaves. They begin barricading the windows in preparation for the Krynoid’s attack. Chase makes his way through the grounds and confronts the Krynoid. It notices him and he approaches, taking photographs. It moves toward him as Chase claims he doesn’t mean it harm.

The Doctor arrives at the Bureau as Major Beresford warns he can’t do anything without evidence. The Doctor warns the Krynoid can channel its power through other plants, turning vegetation against humans. He shows them a series of reports of deaths of people near Chase’s estates being killed by plants. He then calls Sarah Jane and tells them Beresford is preparing to attack the Krynoid with a laser gun, but the Krynoid cuts the phone wires. Chase arrives and tells them that it’s the plants’ world, and humans are only parasites. He goes to the manor to develop his photographs, then begins speaking to the plants in his greenhouse.

Scorby, Sarah Jane, and Hargreaves go in to confront Chase and he speaks of how the world will be made perfect. They can’t get through to him as he talks about how he is one with the plants and animals are the enemy. Sarah Jane notices that the plants are closing in on them. The Doctor and a UNIT soldier drive onto the grounds while the plants overwhelm Sarah Jane and the others and start to strangle them.

The Doctor and the UNIT soldier, Sgt. Henderson, arrive and brought chemical plant-killer. They dispose of the plants, saving Scorby and Sarah Jane while the older Hargreaves is dead. Chase runs away and the Doctor and the others make their way into the lab and start removing the plants. But once they're outside Chase locks the door behind them and they can only gaze in horror as the now enormous Krynoid towers over them. UNIT soldiers arrive and open fire with their laser gun, distracting the Krynoid so that the Doctor and his group can get to another door. The Doctor believes that Chase is possessed by the Krynoid and determines to find him and eliminate the threat he poses to them from within.

After they leave, Chase slips back into the laboratory and destroys the loudspeaker system. Unable to find the millionaire, the others return to the laboratory and the Krynoid tries to break its way in. Scorby starts to panic and wants to run, but the Doctor warns him that every plant on the grounds is under the Krynoid’s control. Meanwhile, Chase puts Henderson in the compost machine and activates it, killing the unconscious soldier.

The Doctor works to repair the loudspeaker system as the Krynoid renews its attack, and Scorby panics and runs for it. He tries to make his way across the grounds through fields of hostile plants and makes his way across a shallow pond, but the plants grab and pull him underwater, killing him.

The Doctor and Sarah Jane realize that Henderson is gone and Sarah Jane goes to look for the soldier. She makes her way to the compost machine room and Chase confronts her, telling him he’s become part of the plant world thanks to the Krynoid. Chase plans to support the Krynoid and refers to humanity as parasites, then attacks Sarah Jane and knocks her unconscious.

Beresford contacts the Doctor, who warns they have 15 minutes until the Krynoid germinates, spreading its seeds across England. The Doctor tells them to launch an air strike before it’s too late, and regardless of the fact he and Sarah Jane are at ground zero.

Chase has tied up the unconscious Sarah Jane and starts feeding her into the compost machine. The Doctor arrives, sends Chase flying, and shuts off the machine to untie Sarah Jane. He gets her out but Chase turns the machine back on and throws himself at the Doctor, and the two struggle inside the machine’s bin. The Doctor manages to climb out as Chase is pulled into the machine despite the Doctor’s efforts to save him.

The RAF launches a sighting run as Beresford and Sir Colin look for any signs of the Doctor. Sarah Jane and the Doctor can’t get out through the plant life covering the house but the Doctor rigs a steam pipe and they blast their way out. They make their way through the hostile plant life and take refuge in a clearing filled with cut-down trees, as the RAF opens fire and destroys the Krynoid along with the mansion.

Nothing it where you think it is.....

"But you can't do that.
Why?
Because you are freaking me out."

Blackadder - Potato

Being Human

A high point in television as far as I am concerned. This is the final episode in the first series of Being Human. A poetic work of urban horror.

Being Human is a British television supernatural drama-comedy series, broadcast on BBC Three. It stars Lenora Crichlow, Russell Tovey and Aidan Turner as three apparent twenty-something characters sharing a house in Bristol, trying to live a normal social life, despite being a ghost, a werewolf and a vampire. It is one of the most popular shows on BBC’s iPlayer and the creator Toby Whithouse has said he is thrilled that the BBC has decided to commission a second series

Being Human

Being Human is a British television series, broadcast on BBC Three. It stars Lenora Crichlow, Russell Tovey and Aidan Turner as three apparent twenty-something characters sharing a house in Bristol, trying to live a normal social life, despite being a ghost, a werewolf and a vampire.

I just watched the first episode and Being Human is good. It has an understated comedy and a Gothic horror element but the center of the narrative seems to be the three main characters struggle with themselves. Parts of the dialogue verge on moral philosophy and a questioning of the nature of self in the world. Death is a major presence in the series.

To promote the show, the BBC launched a Blog. On the 22nd of December 2008, the BBC Being Human web page launched three prequel videos that introduced the three main characters by explaining their back-stories. Mitchell's was set in the 1960s, George's was a video diary of his visit of Scotland where he got attacked and Annie's involved her as a ghost terrorizing a couple who had moved into the house.


George's Prequel


Mitchell's Prequel


Annie's Prequel


Being Human Trailer

Thunderbirds are Go!!!

Thunderbirds is a British mid-1960s television show devised by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and made by AP Films using a form of marionette puppetry dubbed "Supermarionation". The series followed the adventures of International Rescue, an organisation created to help those in grave danger using technically advanced equipment and machinery. The series focused on the head of the organisation, ex-astronaut Jeff Tracy, and his five sons who piloted the "Thunderbird" machines. A popular show, the series is still shown today and has inspired a number of subsequent television programmes and films.

It was also may be a reason why so many of my generation took drugs. Just check this out:



Life was just not exciting enough. I have spoken to two people today about the Thunderbirds and it seems it never has made it to Sweden. A cult show from my childhood.

The Vault of Death


Part One


Part Two


Part Three

The Magic Roundabout

I recently blogged about being exposed to the Kenny Everet Video Show as a teenager and it playing a role in my, shall we say, mental state today. Well, before that as a small child I watched a lot of The Magic Roundabout, and it was so cool. I detect a pattern emerging here.
As Dylan the rabbit said..."Pay...like pay..pay...oh no man...why pay?"

The Godfather of YouTube

Kenny Everett (born Maurice Cole in Seaforth, Lancashire; 25 December 1944, – 4 April 1995) was an English radio DJ and television entertainer. He is best known for his career as a radio DJ and for the Kenny Everett television shows.

Growing up in Australia in the 1970s I was exposed to The Kenny Everett Video Show by my parents. I now realize that such an experience has played a role in my humor and art as an adult (maybe a worrying thing).
Watching videos of 'Cuddly Ken' today I can see how much his work on television pushed the boundaries of the medium and anticipated later digital video. Kenny Everett's humor is part surrealist, part pantomime, part Nam June Paik and part drag show. I feel we have a debt to Everett, who has surely played a major role in creating the media ecology we have today in an aesthetic sense.

Check this out:









Quotations and catchphrases

* "It's all done in the best PAH-SIBBLE taste!" -- regular punchline uttered by the character 'Cupid Stunt', accompanied by her swapping her crossed legs over in the most vigorous way possible.
* "'Ello my leetle chickadees" (and variations, in heavy French accent) -- introductory remark uttered by character 'Marcel Wave'.
* "Round 'em up, put 'em in a field, and BOMB THE BASTARDS!" -- all-purpose solution to any perceived social problem, declared by 'Marvin Bombthebastards', a handgun-waving US General with immense shoulders (equipped with retractable cannon) and chest to support many medals.
* "Brother, Brother, Brother Lee Love!" -- gospel-style sung introduction to huge-handed US minister 'Brother Lee Love', whose frenetic sermons called for the 'congregation' to echo the last two syllables of some sentences, with amusing (and occasionally very rude) results.
* "I hate pornography ... I haven't even got a pornograph!" -- 'Angry of Mayfair'.
* 'This morning, I spilled coffee all over my wife's dressing gown! Serves me right for wearing it! -- 'Angry of Mayfair'.
* "Colonel Muriel Kleen here, of the Campaign for Nice Things on Television!' (A couple of bars of 'Hallelujah!' from the 'Hallelujah Chorus'.) 'We believe in goodness, truth and beauty! We believe that Julie Andrews should get her own series, and that Joan Collins should get her own breakfast! And remember: you don't have to watch this endless display of perversitude and fleshybollery! You've all got a knob there! SO USE IT!" -- 'Angry of Mayfair.'
* (Electronic rendition of Bach's choral prelude Wachet Auf) - reminiscent of and perhaps the work of Wendy Carlos - musical accompaniment to all sketches featuring 'Maurice Minor', parody of French mime artist Marcel Marceau.
* "Ello, I'm Gizzard Puke, mugger to the gentry, and anyone who says punk's dead, will be."
* Ladies and gentlephones... pun based on "ladies and gentlemen"

In the 1983 election campaign, the Young Conservatives invited Kenny to their conference in an attempt to attract the youth vote. Egged on by film director Michael Winner, Kenny bounded onto the stage, wearing the enormously oversized foam rubber hands familiar from his mock-evangelical character Brother Lee Love. He shouted slogans like "Let's bomb Russia!" and "Let's kick Michael Foot's stick away!" (Michael Foot was the elderly leader of the Labour Party.)


Brother Lee Love

The Good Life

We have an allotment where we go to walk on green and dig. We plant potatoes and turnips (short summer here in the far north) and the kids run between the rows. It reminds me of The Good Life, a show I watched when I was a kid.

The Good Life ('Good Neighbours' in the USA) was a BBC series that ran from 1975-78, about Tom and Barbara Good, a 40-ish couple in the morgage belt of London. He works as a draftsman, she keeps house. They are both unhappy in their own ways. Tom is something of a zealot, who gives up his job of 8 years and becomes "a son of the soil", cultivating his own garden and getting an alottment with the plan to be self-sufficient.

In pursuit of this good life, they dig up their front and back gardens and convert them into allotments, growing soft fruit and vegetables. They introduce chickens, pigs (Pinky and Perky) a goat (Geraldine) and a cockerel (Lenin). They generate their own electricity, using methane from animal waste, and they even attempt to make their own clothes. They also work at selling or bartering surplus crops for essentials which they cannot make themselves. They try to cut their monetary requirements to the minimum with varying success.

Their actions horrify their kindly but conventional next-door neighbours, Margo and Jerry Leadbetter. Originally, Margo and Jerry were intended to be minor characters, but their relationship with one another and with the Goods soon became an essential element of every episode. Under the influence of the Goods' homemade wine called "peapod burgundy", their mutual, intermingled, attractions for one another become apparent. Both couples are childless.

Six Episodes of The Good Life:

The Terrible Power of Psychedelic Music and the Dockers

Get Smart - The Groovy Guru - Season 3 Episode 15 1968
Bumbling Maxwell Smart, Agent 86 for CONTROL, with a great deal of help from his competent partner Agent 99, battles the forces of KAOS.
In this hilarious classic episode, when teenagers start turning into zombies, Max and 99 go after their idol the Groovy Guru.
The Groovy Guru's mind control band is called 'The Sacred Cows', a parody of 'The Grateful Dead'. Maxwell Smart and Agent 99 get swept up in the Flower Power and Psychedelia scene - will things ever be the same?

The sacred Cows song, 'Kill Kill Kill' was released as a cover by Australian wierdos The Painters and Dockers in 1986 (??). Here it is:

"Make the scene..bump off the dean"
I saw the Dockers a few times in the late 1980,s....total madness: beer, transvestites and a brass section.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (BBC) Nr. 1

Having watched the BBC TV series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy when I was twelve and loved it, I just showed episode one to my son, and he says "very good":

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3.

Subway by Sesame Street

When I was a little kid I watched Sesame Street. This was despite having a life that in no way resembled the urban muppets that were on the screen. The was no subway where I lived, no busy streets, no highrise buidlings, and certainly no frogs dressed like Sam Spade.

Dragnet: The Big Seventeen (1952)

Dragnet, starring our favorite TV cop, Jack Webb as Sgt. Joe Friday. In this episode The Big Seventeen. Joe is working hard to find a 17 year old kid who has a stolen a bunch of high grade heroin. If he starts selling it to other kids Joe fears a lot of kids will overdose on the uncut drugs. But the police are too late, and the kid who stole the drugs dies of a drug overdose. Overall, a terrific Dragnet episode also features an interesting part where the kids went crazy and trashed the movie theater. And the owner turns over a little box filled with drugs to Joe. What's in the box? Two joints of marijuana. Is that what I think it is. I am not wrong am I?? Joe responds ? No sir, no mistake, it marijuana. Weed of insanity.