old TV series' never released on DVD

[Mustard Pies]

Children's serial Soldier And Me (1974) has never been released either on video or DVD.

I wrote to its star Richard Willis, who was 17 when she show was made and is now 52! He lives in Canada now, and remembers the programme well.

He's waiting for S and M to come on DVD. As yet, nothing.

[cornershop15]

Re: 'Smith'

Brought forward as there has been an unexpected - and very welcome - development:

23rd October 2010

I thought I'd mentioned this before, but I was wondering if anyone knows about the availability on DVD of "Smith", a charmingly melancholy (if memory serves, which it often doesn't) kids' series about the eponymous street urchin in a grubby tricorn hat, starring among others the wonderful Jo Rowbottom. (I just realised I could look it up on the imdb, so I did ... 1970! No wonder my memory's hazy ... It was Thames, apparently, not BBC, but anyway; anyone know anything?)

24th October 2010

TVTimes listing, 18th March 1970
All the episodes exist, so let's hope we can see Smith on DVD. Mixed feelings about this surviving but not it's contemporary Bright's Boffins.

The only picture I can find, together with details for Episode 3:



My memory's worse than "hazy" about Little Big Time, Rowdon.

All I know is that this was posi-tively the first time I saw Freddie

Garrity (Freddie & The Dreamers). Another lost series, I'm afraid.

The first episode of Smith was shown the same day that the also ill-fated The Misfit premiered (our Freddy's favourite), with Ronald Fraser.

Ian Ramsey was Fagin's Boy in Oliver!.

It only seems about ten minutes since I researched this forgotten
series - hastily dismissing any chance of seeing it. And now look!:


As Sam Goldwyn might have said: "In two words, un believable"!

[Elaine]

Re: 'Smith'

Brought forward as there has been an unexpected - and very welcome - development:

It only seems about ten minutes since I researched this forgotten
series - hastily dismissing any chance of seeing it. And now look!:


As Sam Goldwyn might have said: "In two words, un believable"![/CENTER]

Miracles do happen then. Maybe there is hope for other series to be released in the future Cornershop?

[Moor Larkin]

Due in June
I'd like to see Arthur say that with his mouth full...

[Zlatna]

The British series I'd most like to see released are:
Telford's Change
My Wife Next Door
Joint Account

All of which I have off air copies of, thanks to other collectors, but would just love to have official DVD releases with the scenes that were deleted to shoehorn them into the UK Gold slots restored.

(and anything else that Hannah was in that hasn't been released)

[smudge]

For Rowdon - SMITH has recently been announced to Network's 'Forthcoming Releases' schedule.

For Mustard Pies - the first ep. of SOLDIER and ME is available on one of Network's LOOK-BACK (on 70s Telly) releases.

Smudge

[Rowdon]

Re: 'Smith'

Brought forward as there has been an unexpected - and very welcome - development:

It only seems about ten minutes since I researched this forgotten
series - hastily dismissing any chance of seeing it. And now look!:


As Sam Goldwyn might have said: "In two words, un believable"![/CENTER]

That's great news! Thanks Cornershop!

[Windthrop]

Ladykillers - ITV series from the early 80s with my avatar as the host. Some great casts and all based on real-life cases

Ladykillers (TV Series 1980–1981) - IMDb

[cornershop15]

I'm pleased for you, Rowdon

Miracles do happen then. Maybe there is hope for other series to be released in the future Cornershop?

Sincere apologies for the delay, Elaine. One wish was granted only yesterday when I discovered both series of Fallen Hero are to be released. Fatastic! Until now it was always in the Top 10 shows pertaining to this thread. Another one long-awaited, Turtle's Progress, is also going to be with us soon. This gives me hope for some but I continue to have 'bad vibes' about others, especially Women's shows, as we discussed at your Love Story thread.

My revised Top 10 would now most likely comprise of Beryl's Lot, Seven Faces of Woman, Harriet's Back in Town, Marked Personal, Kate, Justice, The Foundation, The Brothers, New Scotland Yard, and The Devil in the Fog, the token Sixties show in that list. I can't imagine many others from the decade resurfacing but fancy the idea of Network unearthing that one. Significant by its absence: mini-series Murder at the Wedding, which I was devastated to learn, some months ago, is incomplete.

There are also a few Children's shows that I'm interested in seeing, again in the case of Striker!, with Kevin Moreton and Joe Gladwin, and The Swish of the Curtain, featuring a young Sarah Greene. I'm confused about the archive status of Lizzie Dripping, starring fellow Blue Peter presenter Tina Heath. IMDb shows nine episodes but Lost Shows says five, with one missing. Whatever there is, I'd like to see it. No such problems with the version of Heidi I vaguely remembered for decades (Katia Polletin), as I have enjoyed watching it on DVD. The Julia Lockwood series is lost.

How many of these neglected programmes will turn up on DVD this year? If they are from the 1970s and appeal more to men than women there's a good chance, proven by the exciting news concerning Turtle's Progress and Fallen Hero. Don't despair, 'ladies'. I'm sure Bad Girls and Footballer's Wives will keep you going while waiting for the shows I mentioned!

[Valeria Watt]

I would love to see Seaforth (Linus Roache) again and Take Me Home (Keith Barron). Both BBC.

[Rowdon]

Has the series "Angels" about nurses (late 70s) ever been released? And the second question is, Was it any good, or was it just on?

[didi-5]

Angels hasn't been officially released. We have a copy of the first series and although it is a bit overacted, it isn't that bad.

[Edward G]

Likewise, Valerie,
"Take Me Home" was excellent and I would love to see a formal DVD release.
A reminder of how good Keith Barron could be, after the light material of "Duty Free".

I would love to see Seaforth (Linus Roache) again and Take Me Home (Keith Barron). Both BBC.

[captainhaddock]

i would like to see OTT the adult tiswas
i have vague recollections of it from my childhood
it seemed incredibly anarchic and naughty on the occasions i managed to see it .

chris tarrant is still in a huff about it being dumped after one series though apparently
am i right in thinking it was shelved before it had even completed its run ?

[Rowdon]

i would like to see OTT the adult tiswas
i have vague recollections of it from my childhood
it seemed incredibly anarchic and naughty on the occasions i managed to see it .

chris tarrant is still in a huff about it being dumped after one series though apparently
am i right in thinking it was shelved before it had even completed its run ?

They were very proud of the fact that it was the first adult programme to spring from a kids' programme, but as I remember, it was awful. Nobody but Chris Tarrant can have been surprised that it was cancelled; personally, I would have supported the idea of sending the writers and cast to Siberia and then breaking into viewers' houses and wiping their memories of any images of the show. It was that bad.

The thing about Tiswas was that however much the parents/teachers/general adults involved thought they were in on the game, the kids were the real winners, actually humiliating the elders as a 'joke' which had an excellent dark side. OTT on the other hand was a 'gang' of adults being 'crazy': I remember in the first episode Chris Tarrant pointing at an audience member and saying something like "This is INSANE!! Just look at this guy!!! CRAZY!!", and the guy was wearing a funny hat. A funny hat. A funny hat. And he was grinning self-consciously. It was the worst of "look at us we're so mental we don't even have to write material!" television. And if things get tired, get a woman to take her top off. That's anarchy.

Having said that - great show!

[Tonch]

OTT was on late at night as far as I remember, and I was an undergraduate at the time and usually drunk and watching it in the company of other inebriated prats like myself, so remember it vaguely but probably more fondly than it deserves. I seem to recall there were occasional animated bits and they were usually the funniest parts (as with Monty Python). Tarrant & co rarely impressed....certainly Tiswas was always tedious and atrociously unfunny IMO - never understood its appeal (apart perhaps from Sally James) then again it was aimed at a younger audience than me (but that didn't stop me loving "Rentaghost" for example). I must admit that the "look at me, I'm insane" type humour is almost always embarrassing... Dave Lee Travis was always the biggest culprit of "aren't I zany?" syndrome.

The series I'd love to see released are "Perfect World" starring Paul Kaye and "Laugh? I Nearly Paid My Licence Fee" with Robbie Coltrane. I'm fairly confident I'd still find those funny, although we've probably all encountered that disappointment in enthusiastically revisiting our past only to be massively let down (e.g. "The Goodies" in my case).