Espionage- michael powell

[dpgmel]

Pleased to say just had an e-mail from Network confirming the three Michael Powell helmed episodes of Espionage are to be released by them as a web exclusive for a limited period only.



Available to order for £9.99

[Steve Crook]

Yes, I've just ordered mine.

See Network site



Steve

[dpgmel]

How did I know you'd be the fist to respond Steve ?



Am looking forward to this so much.

[penfold]

name='dpgmel']How did I know you'd be the fist to respond Steve ?



Am looking forward to this so much.

Only because I was at work.......me too; and I've actually seen one !!!! about ten years ago....

[dpgmel]

Well that's at least three they've sold, hopefully there will be enough sales to eventually persuade Network to release the complete series.

[Steve Crook]

name='penfold']Only because I was at work.......me too; and I've actually seen one !!!! about ten years ago....

I haven't seen any of them <gasp>



I knew they were available for viewing at the library but I've been saving them up because they're the last three pieces of work by Mr Powell that are still available that I haven't seen.



Steve

[penfold]

name='Steve Crook']I haven't seen any of them <gasp>



I knew they were available for viewing at the library but I've been saving them up because they're the last three pieces of work by Mr Powell that are still available that I haven't seen.



Steve

It's news to me that they were available for viewing......I assume you mean at the BFI Library ?? I read the scripts there....but AFAIK the NFTVA only had Never Turn Your Back on film, hence that was the one screened at the NFT way back. The rest have (Again AFAIK) only ever been in the TV company (Granada/Carlton) archive.

[Steve Crook]

name='penfold']It's news to me that they were available for viewing......I assume you mean at the BFI Library ?? I read the scripts there....but AFAIK the NFTVA only had Never Turn Your Back on film, hence that was the one screened at the NFT way back. The rest have (Again AFAIK) only ever been in the TV company (Granada/Carlton) archive.

Well, I knew they were available somewhere



Steve

[Guenther]

Any news on the FULL series?

[julian_craster]

Any news on the FULL series?



As the Powell episodes are the most 'marketable' it depends on how they sell......if sales are low, you can forget the full series on DVD.....

[dpgmel]

If it's any guide on the Network site it's currently their second "Best Seller".

[Guenther]

name='julian_craster']

As the Powell episodes are the most 'marketable' it depends on how they sell......if sales are low, you can forget the full series on DVD.....

Depends... there are also episodes featuring:

Dennis Hopper, Barry Foster, Michael Hordern, Patrick Troughton, Arthur Kennedy, Roger Delgado, Fritz Weaver, Martin Balsam, Bernard Lee, Donald Pleasence



Pretty attractive package for a TV series!

[mysteriesofedgarwallace]

Has anyone received this yet?

My order status is still showing 'pending' week after I ordered it.

[Steve Crook]

name='mysteriesofedgarwallace']Has anyone received this yet?

My order status is still showing 'pending' week after I ordered it.

The Network site was only asking for pre-orders. I don't think they've given a release date yet.

They do say "but please note that your money will be taken on the purchase date and delivery could take up to 28 days from that date."



Have they charged your credit card yet?



Steve

[mysteriesofedgarwallace]

Mine arrived in today's post.

[dpgmel]

name='mysteriesofedgarwallace']Mine arrived in today's post.

Wow ! That's fast, fingers crossed for mine tomorrow.

[Steve Crook]

name='mysteriesofedgarwallace']Mine arrived in today's post.

So did mine



Steve

[Colpepper]

That's encouraging - I only ordered mine this morning, after seeing this thread, and was expecting a long wait.

[Dave B]

Good to see Wilfred Lawson (uncredited) in "The Frantick Rebel". And the appearance of Gordon Gostelow in the same episode - not using his "cracked voice" delivery.

[Steve Crook]

name='Dave B']Good to see Wilfred Lawson (uncredited) in "The Frantick Rebel". And the appearance of Gordon Gostelow in the same episode - not using his "cracked voice" delivery.

Gordon Gostelow played David Garrick. Who did Wilfred Lawson play? I'll add him to the IMDb.



I thought they were all quite good and quite interesting. Not great, not missing masterpieces by any means. But a good job of work by all concerned.



It was great to see Roger Livesey in The Frantick Rebel as Dr. Samuel Johnson with Stanley Baxter as Boswell. They were working for the British government, trying to prevent an American Revolutionary spy from getting some information to Benjamin Franklin. Right from the start I guessed that the spy would succeed. It was an American series even if these episodes were filmed in England.



Never Turn Your Back on a Friend was a strange story. It was a bit too much cold-war for a story set in wartime. But my early schooling in physics came to the fore and spotted a few flaws.



The Professor said that he could make a bomb from a pile of Uranium-230 (spoken as "two three oh"). But there isn't an isotope of Uranium with an atomic weight of 230. Thorium 230 is one of the by-products of the breakdown of Uranium 238. And yes, he definitely said "two three oh". I went back over it to make sure.



And when they went to the Prof's lab he demonstrated the mighty power of the atom by dipping some Uranium in a pool of heavy water. It glowed when he dipped the pile in the heavy water. Errm, it doesn't work like that. An atomic pile can be stabilised by heavy water. It wouldn't speed up the reaction, it would slow it down.



If only Leo Marks had written that one (as well as A Free Agent). Leo knew a bit about science and at least he knew when he didn't know something and would do his research (as would Emeric). The writer of this episode (Blacklisted writer Waldo Salt, credited as Mel Davenport) just thought he could bluff his way through the technical stuff.



A Free Agent was another interesting story. But I guessed it was doomed from the start. It's post-war and a British agent and a Soviet agent fall in love and get married. I don't think either side is going to let them get away with it and live happily ever after.





All quite adequate and very interesting to watch. But very few real "Powell touches" in the direction.



But they were all a lot better than his film of The Queen's Guards



Steve