Once again, we’re watching a whole two and a half hours of classic telly from the past, using largely forgotten gems that don’t usually get shown on TV.
Comme sandwich this week is a three-tiered confection filled with pork and chorizo, spinach and onion rings, which couldn’t stand unaided. Bake Off, I hope you’re taking note.. sandwich week is mine for the taking!
First tonight we reach the halfway mark in Big Deal (BBC1, 1984), which is increasingly looking like the casting couch for EastEnders – cameo appearances last week from Susan Tully (Michelle Fowler) and Nejdet Salih (Ali Osman) to add to those we’ve already seen such s Pete Beale and Roy Evans. Big Deal is a lovely, warm comedy drama that is unafraid to pull visceral emotional punches, and halfway in I can see how it earned its cult status. It’s just a tragedy that only the first series is out on DVD.
Hardwicke House (Central TV for ITV, 1987, unscreened) next, which is also growing on us; last week’s show wasn’t quite as unpleasant as the first three, but that could all change tonight, as it’s the infamous episode with Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson as a couple of ex-students returning to make trouble.
We’re running out of Beat Club (ZDF, 1965-72) to show, so for this week’s musical interlude we’re going back to 1983 and a triple bill from the B52‘s on Channel 4’s Switch.
The final episode of Nightingales (Channel 4, 1989) next, and although the first few episodes didn’t exactly set the room alight, the surreal series has grown on us somewhat. My own memories are that the second series was hilarious, and I’m saving it for next year so – apart from the 1992 Christmas special which we’ll watch at Christmas – this is the last for now.
We’re slowly ploughing through Toby Jones’ new comedy Don’t Forget The Driver (BBC Two, 2019), and again it doesn’t make us laugh out loud but is a quiet little masterpiece in its own way. This week’s episode doesn’t currently appear on iPlayer but there’s a permalink below.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p075ccw0
Also tonight, a look at the world of collectable number plates from the BBC’s Nationwide in 1972.
#OnThisDay 1972: “My number plate’s worth £3,000, what’s your number plate worth?” Bob Langley reported on the wonderful world of autonumerology. pic.twitter.com/PSCUN30NmW— BBC Archive (@BBCArchive) 8 June 2019
