| The fifties
saw the start of the big series. Britain's were weaned off the
wireless by these wonderful productions. A lot of them were
acted live, but no body noticed the mistakes. The best were
'The Quatermass Experiment' and '1984'. Along with 'The Little
Red Monkey', most of us watched them from behind the settee. |
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The Quatermass Experiment. With Reginald
Tate as Prof. Bernard Quatermass and Duncan Lamont as
the returning space man who turned into a house plant.
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1954 brought us '1984'. The George
Orwell epic. Big Brother was not watching Peter Cushing
and Yvonne Mitchell, but the whole of Britain were on
the edge of their seats.
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| The first 'Soap' we had was 'The Grove
Family', like the serials on the wireless they were designed
to help the people cope in post war Britain. Pat (Sheila Sweet)
the eldest daughter, was turned into a sweetheart for every
adolescent. Jack Warner as the Dixon of Dock Green was a great
favourite with everyone. He kept the streets clear of crime
and found old ladies' lost cats. |
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The Grove Family. Jolly dad (Edward
Evans) was a builder. Mum (Ruth Dunning) warm and caring.
Their children Lenny (Christopher Beeny), Daphne ( Margaret
Downs), Pat (Sheila Sweet), Jack at the back, was in
the army and Grandma (Nancy Roberts) was always hungry.
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Evenin' All 'Dixon Of Dock Green'.
Played by Jack Warner. He was a proper copper. There
was no crime on the streets when he was around.
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| 1955 saw the first of 143 episodes of
Robin Hood. Robin (Richard Greene) became the hero we all wanted
to be. The Sheriff of Nottingham (Alan Wheatley) became the
most hated man in the country. There were two Maid Marion's
first (Bernadette O'Farrell) and then, the best, (Patricia Driscoll).
Friar Tuck was (Alexander Gauge), and Will Scarlet (Paul "Yes
Minister" Eddington). The theme music was in the hit parade
and everybody over 50 still knows all the words. |
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Robin giving the wicked (Patrick Cargill)
a sound thrashing while the cowardly Sheriff cowers in the
corner.
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