Steve Crook

ITV3 are showing some of The Beiderbecke Trilogy from Monday of next week.

The Beiderbeck Affair
Every weekday at 13:00 (approx) and 20:00 from 28 April to 5 May

The Beiderbacke Connection
Every weekday at 20:00 (approx) from 6 May to 9 May

Presumably to be followed by The Beiderbecke Tapes at some point, I hope. Unless they've already shown that and I missed it.

For those that don't know the trilogy, do try to see them. They're wonderfully written an brilliantly performed by James Bolam and Barbara Flynn with a very strong supporting cast or wonderful characters.

The Beiderbeck Affair
Trevor Chaplin teaches woodwork and likes to listen to jazz. Jill Swinburne teaches English and wants to help save the planet. Trevor tries to buy some jazz records but this leads to meeting a "dazzlingly beautiful platinum blond", a suspicious detective sergeant and a strange pair of men running a junior football team. Big Al and Little Norm agree to help Trevor and Jill with their school supplies problems. Jill decides to stand as a local councillor. A tale of "Black Economies", council corruption and many strange characters all set to a background of Bix Beiderbecke.

The Beiderbecke Tapes
Trevor Chaplin teaches woodwork and likes to listen to jazz. Jill Swinburne teaches English and wants to help save the planet. They live together and just want a quiet life. Then they meet John the barman who died but is much better now. John gave them a tape which led to meeting Dave the wimp. They find out about The Peoples Front For The Liberation of west Yorkshire. The man with no name called Mr Peterson came to see them. He was followed by the six men in grey suits. Jill goes to see The Oldest Suffragette In Town. Trevor and Jill go on a trip to Amsterdam with their class from "San Quentin High". Trevor and Jill meet The Honourable Order of Elks who are "looking for a bit of action".

The Beiderbacke Connection
Trevor Chaplin teaches woodwork and likes to listen to jazz. Jill Chapman teaches English and wants to help save the planet. They live together and just want a quiet life. Since their last adventure in The Beiderbecke Tapes, Jill and Trevor have a child - Firstborn. Big Al asks them to put up a friend of his and, of course, they agree. But when Ivan arrives, they find he speaks no English but thinks that "Bix is cool".

Steve

marker

many thanks for the info Steve I do have this on DVD but alas never watched it so will have a peek

Cheers Marker

Steve Crook

Yes, I've got them on commercially released DVD or video as well. But that's one of my complaints about them releasing complete series like that on DVD. People might buy them (and that's probably all the production companies care about), but do they watch them?

Would you sit down and watch all of something like The Beiderbecke Trilogy on DVD? How would you watch them? Would you watch more than one episode at a time? Would you watch them on successive days? Or try to do it every week?

I always find that if you've got something like that and can choose when to watch it, you might watch the first few episodes but then something more important always comes up.

Whereas if it's broadcast at a fixed time then you know you've got to be watching it then, or record it and watch it before the next episode is broadcast so that you're up to date with the story in case you can watch the next one as it's broadcast.

Steve

penfold

I watched the trilogy proper in about ten days.....but the Alun Armstrong prequels I found a great cure for insomnia, and I'm not sure I ever saw the end...

Bit of a Bay Window, what??

GRAEME

I love TV series sets! I like to eke them out over the weeks - it's a way of making your own super TV schedule: Monday - Red Cap and Billy Liar; Tuesday Beiderbeck and Z Cars; Weds - Public Eye and Colditz...

I also like to sneak home for an extended lunch when noone's around and have a crafty Sweeney!

All men leak.

Steve Crook

Maybe it's just my chaotic lifestyle that makes it difficult for me to do things like that

Steve

Steve Crook

Yes, they certainly cranked it up a gear with the main trilogy. Was it the director? Was it the actors? Was it even the writer? I don't know. But Get Lost! was certainly lost on me

But the main trilogy are superb. Just snuggle down somewhere warm and comfortable, or with someone warm and comfortable, and enjoy the wonderful but slightly wacky world of Jill & Trevor

Steve