# Trying To Remember Name Of Old TV Episode or Series



## psychotick

*Can't remember the title, name, actors or director of a TV episode or series in the worlds of science fiction/fantasy?
Then ask here!*

We welcome requests for series or episode names, but to help us with your query please try to provide as much information as possible:

*Questions must have as much detail as possible, including:*

*Media (series, serial, black&white/colour )*
*Original year of release/airing, or at least when you have seen this work of fiction. "Saw when I was a child" is not as useful as "Saw when I was a child (early 1980s)"*
*Major themes*
*Plot (as much as you can remember)*
*Setting*
*Characters (names, descriptions)*
*Actors names*
*Director's name*
*The language spoken*
*Target audience/age group*
*Ideas that you have already ruled out (for example, if you know the TV was not shown on the BBC, then tell us so that we can save time)*
*Try to put as much information in the title to the post as is reasonable.*
If you don't know the release date, was it colour or black and white? It may have been old when you saw it.

If you don't know the title, do you remember anything at all about the name i.e. "I think the title had a Tiger in it."
Everything you remember helps.

If it is eventually correctly found, please post again saying so (your thanks would be appreciated too) so that others can stop looking for it.

*Answers*
If you can identify something being searched for and you name it, please give the name *and*, if you wish, a link.
Please don't just say "here you are" and post a link.
There's more than one in this forum where people have done just that and, years down the line, the link is no longer valid, leaving the query unanswered again.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Hi,

A long time ago, maybe thirty years ago I remember watching a tv show set in Greece, one of the islands maybe. It was a british show though, and the story was about a man who went over to Greece to bury the body of his dead brother and put his affairs in order. Of course there was also the mystery of his brother's death to solve, and naturally he met a girl who it later turned out was an ancient Greek goddess.

Can any of you guys remember its name? It's been driving me nuts for a few weeks now.

Cheers, Greg.


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## Ursa major

Was it _The Lotus Eaters_, perhaps? Made in the early 70s, that was set on Crete. Or could it be _Who Pays the Ferryman?_ (whose title does seem somewhat more related to a burial).


Having checked on Wiki, it's likely to be _The Aphrodite Inhertance_, set on Cyprus:


> The series starred Peter McEnery as a man visiting Cyprus to investigate the death of his brother and subsequently being drawn into a strange conspiracy, with the narrative twists of the serial employing various supernatural and mythological motifs. Other major cast members included Alexandra Bastedo, Brian Blessed, Paul Maxwell and Stefan Gryff.


From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Aphrodite_Inheritance.


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## psychotick

Awesome! Thanks. - Now to see if Amazon has it.

Cheers, Greg.


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## psychotick

Just an update. It was The Aphrodite Inheritence, and I managed to get a copy from the guy running a Michael J Bird fan site. Watched all eight episodes - still good.

It's amazing how dated it is, there's even a hint of flares in some of the actor's clothing, which catches me out every time I see it. And as for the cars, all those old Alphas and Fiats, I doubt any of them would still be running any more. In fact given their pedigree, its unlike that many of them saw the eighties and the show was 1979!

The acting is stilted in places, the special effects - well suck is an unkind word but so very true, and there's that strange 70's weird (heavy man!) vibe running through it, and yet it still stands up. The scenery is gorgeous and the story stacks up against most modern shows really well.

In fact it was so good, it inspired me to write a novel based loosely around the premises of the ancient Greek gods getting involved in modern life and screwing around a little with mortals.

Cheers, Greg.


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## Ursa major

It's odd, and serendipitous, that you should revive this thread now. In the last few days, I've been trying to recall the name of a series that was, more or less tenuously, based on some people working in the area of the environment and/or environmental health. I can't even recall whether it was on the BBC or a commercial channel (although I think it was the former), or even the decade in which it was broadcast.

One episode started with the main character driving through the countryside (on the way to work?) and fiddling with a cassette in the car's player. A children ran out of a field and was hit by the car. (The general tenor of what followed was based on the premise that it was the child's fault, and so they investigated why he'd been running and from where.) Another episode seemed to involve a health clinic/spa. A third one was about chemicals being stored where they shouldn't (which may have been deliberate); someone fell ill, and may have died, as a result.

You may be able to tell that I'm very unclear about the details, to the extent that I half-believe I'm conflating different series.


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## psychotick

Hi Ursa,

I only wish I could be as helpful in return, but I sadly have no idea. Can you provide any more details of the show?

Cheers, Greg.


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## Ursa major

It _may_ have been set in the midlands. That's it.

I've had various ideas (more-than-vague guesses, so I won't repeat them here) about who may have appeared in the programme, but frequent visits to the IMDB site have proved that all these leads () were false.


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## Interference

Ursa major said:


> ....In the last few days, I've been trying to recall the name of a series that was, more or less tenuously, based on some people working in the area of the environment and/or environmental health....I half-believe I'm conflating different series.



You've probably already dismissed _Doomwatch_?


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## Ursa major

It wasn't that: apart from vaguely recalling Doomwatch, which had an entirely different feel to it (sometimes akin to horror), the series I'm not recalling very well was broadcast no earlier than the 80s (and we didn't get Channel Five here until Freeview appeared).


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## Interference

Drawing blanks, I'm afraid.  _Edge of Darkness_ was far too epoch-making to have been what you have in mind, and besides I don't recall the scenes you describe in it.


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## Ursa major

It definitely didn't have the feel of _Edge of Darkness_. (And who could forget the plutonium sparking incident?)


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## Interference

Oh, yeah, thanks for reminding me about that


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## psychotick

Hi,

Just had a brainwave - The Eleventh Hour. There's a UK and a US version.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleventh_Hour_(U.S._TV_series)

Cheers, Greg.


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## Ursa major

Thanks, Greg, but that's not it.

I recall _The Eleventh Hour_, the UK series from 2006 starring Patrick Stewart, that is, not the US one from the early sixties. Although both had something to do with the environment, the series whose name escapes me concerned far more mundane, low key stuff.


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## Abernovo

It sounds familiar, but I can't remember any names. Did it include something about crop-spraying and, possibly, a plotline including DNA?

If so, I saw it as well. It's going to annoy me now.


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## Ursa major

If not sure. My recollections of the programme are rather tenuous.


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## psychotick

Hi Ursa,

Bugger! Well maybe I'll think of another one in another six months - the ole noodle's really pumping now! By the way the US series is 2010 I think.

Hi Abernovo, 

Yes those are one or two of the plots from the eleventh hour.

Cheers, Greg.


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## Abernovo

Thanks for that, psychotick. I'll go and check that series out as soon as I can.

It's not the one I was thinking of, as 2006 was in one of the periods when I had no TV. Still, any recommendation is welcome.


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## JoanDrake

The health clinic and the chemical storage reminds me very vaguely of two arcs on Wiseguy, but that couldn't be it, as that show was actually the prequel to Twin Peaks and had some very distinctive story arcs that were far more distinctive than you describe. Besides, it was connected to the FBI.


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## J-WO

So this is the place to find out whether an old program existed or whether your brain just made it up, huh? OK, then... 

This one goes back to when I was maybe 5 or 6 I think, so the early 80s. It was a children's program where some humans would go to alien worlds and have to solve crime mysteries (whether they were actual detectives or stumbled on these things like Miss Marple I don't recall). At various points, the show would stop and it would cut to an audience of kids and a presenter and they (and you the viewer) were invited to solve the mystery.

What gave the show real definition was that the alien worlds and aliens were paintings (given it was 80s and BBC there was little animation to 'em), often quite impressive in a Nemesis the Warlock kind of way. 

Any ideas? I'd love to see it again if only to see how much my memory has mangled it.


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## RevLogoth

Ok here I go.  the show is this,  The world developed a anti aging drug but some who to the drug devolved and so the survivors all have colored crystals in there chest and can only mate with those of same color.  One character I remember is a doctor and her husband did not take the drug and it courses problems.  The Live in a city and the ones that the drug messed up live outside the city.  Anyway I can remember the shows name and its driving me nuts.   Thanks if you can help


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## Ice fyre

J-WO said:


> So this is the place to find out whether an old program existed or whether your brain just made it up, huh? OK, then...
> 
> This one goes back to when I was maybe 5 or 6 I think, so the early 80s. It was a children's program where some humans would go to alien worlds and have to solve crime mysteries.
> 
> What gave the show real definition was that the alien worlds and aliens were paintings (given it was 80s and BBC there was little animation to 'em), often quite impressive in a Nemesis the Warlock kind of way.
> 
> Any ideas? I'd love to see it again if only to see how much my memory has mangled it.


 


RevLogoth said:


> Ok here I go. the show is this, The world developed a anti aging drug but some who to the drug devolved and so the survivors all have colored crystals in there chest. Thanks if you can help


 

OK first J-wo Captain Zep, I remmber this one too, found it on Wiki easily looked up. 

RevLogoth culd you be thinking of "Logans Run" TV series, made after the film of course? The Crystal were in their palms as I remmber in the film havent seen much of the TV series tho.


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## RevLogoth

Ice fyre said:


> OK first J-wo Captain Zep, I remmber this one too, found it on Wiki easily looked up.
> 
> RevLogoth culd you be thinking of "Logans Run" TV series, made after the film of course? The Crystal were in their palms as I remmber in the film havent seen much of the TV series tho.





No that was the first one I looked at.  I found it.  Turns out it was a movie not a show.  Island City.  thank you for your help though.


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## BAYLOR

RevLogoth said:


> No that was the first one I looked at.  I found it.  Turns out it was a movie not a show.  Island City.  thank you for your help though.




Id liked to have seen Island city become a tv series.  I rather liked the concept.


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## Mass Deduction

I've been trying to remember the name of a show that was from (I believe) the '80s.  It had a family that gets sucked into an alternate universe (or similar) and is following a trail of monoliths to an unknown destination, hopefully to get back home to the Earth they know.  I've been trying to remember the name of this show for over a decade!  I believe this was an American series.  Or was it a TV movie or a TV mini-series?  I'm not 100% sure, honestly.

There was also an obscure Canadian TV series, filmed in the Royal BC Museum in Victoria BC, that had an older woman helping children travel through time via a computer (using different exhibits in the museum for the different places and periods they travelled through time to).  This was in the '80s as well, back when computers were mysterious to a lot of the public.

Thank you in advance to all responses to both!


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## Lucien21

Mass Deduction said:


> I've been trying to remember the name of a show that was from (I believe) the '80s.  It had a family that gets sucked into an alternate universe (or similar) and is following a trail of monoliths to an unknown destination, hopefully to get back home to the Earth they know.  I've been trying to remember the name of this show for over a decade!  I believe this was an American series.  Or was it a TV movie or a TV mini-series?  I'm not 100% sure, honestly.



I think this one is a short 8 episode series called *Otherworld*.  Otherworld (TV series) - Wikipedia


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## BAYLOR

Lucien21 said:


> I think this one is a short 8 episode series called *Otherworld*.  Otherworld (TV series) - Wikipedia




It wasn't a bad show . I wish the network had given it more of a chance.


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## Danny McG

Hello  I'm trying to get a series name from not too long ago - 15 years maybe? (Could be longer)
American newspaper comedy/drama and every week they investigated alien landings or goat headed triplets being born etc etc. Their newspaper always ended up with the screaming headline tabloids at supermarket checkouts.
I think there was an alien or maybe a mutant amongst the office staff.
Anyone?


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## Lucien21

I believe that was "The Chronicle" a short lived SciFi channel show that had one season in 2001.


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## Danny McG

Lucien21 said:


> I believe that was "The Chronicle" a short lived SciFi channel show that had one season in 2001.



That was it!!! Cheers for that.
It popped into my head with all the fuss lately about fake news online etc.
As I recall the Chronicle team were desperately trying to get the truth "out there" to the general public but nobody would take their newspaper seriously.
I was prob one of the few who enjoyed it 
The Chronicle (TV series) - Wikipedia


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## Danny McG

Here is an obscure oddity. A UK comedy series that only I seem to remember from early this century.
Any search will lead you to blurbs about Lee Mack and UK remake of Everybody Loves Raymond, this is NOT repeat NOT what I am trying to find.

The series was a short loved UK family sitcom called "The Smiths" and one thing I remember was man and wife spent a lot of time sat in their car outside the house to avoid confrontation with the teens.

Theme tune was TenPole Tudor 'swords of a thousand men' and this played over opening scenes of them all driving along 
in the car with heads banging to that tune. Cannot find this series anywhere.

(Nobody recalls this but me, I need to find the gateway back to my own universe)


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## Lucien21

There was an ITV pilot of that name in 1995. Can't find a lot of info though.

Sitcom pilot about a family from Merseyside, starring Kevin McNally and Rebecca Lacey
The Smiths - ITV Sitcom - British Comedy Guide


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## Danny McG

That could have been it then, most likely was. I thought it was more recent and also thought I saw more than one episode.
Probably saw the same pilot show twice.
Looking at images of Rebecca Lacey and she fits my memory.
Thanks for this - you are clearly better at searching than me


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## HanaBi

Here's another bygone TV request, that has been gnawing at me for years!

Back in the early 70s as part of my usual late afternoon indulgence of children's programs on BBC1 and ITV (Blue Peter, Magpie, Runaround, Double Deckers, The Tomorrow People et al), there was also a tv show on BBC2, and broadcast at around 5:30pm.

This show consisted of very short docu-features - on one occasion it was about a man building an old jalopy in his driveway, with a young girl watching him over the intervening days, until such time the car was complete and they both went out for a drive. 

Then there was a feature about powerboat racing (memorable chiefly because of one of the backing songs it used - Bachman Turner Overdrive and "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet"

Another feature was set in the Australian Outback, and involved the transportation of sheep in huge trucks!

I haven't been able to track any of these down from the usual sources. And now I am wondering if I was just imagining it all!?


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## Danny Creasy

I'm an Alabama native that is the son of an English war bride and a U.S. Army G.I.. After retiring from the military, Dad became a handyman. When my Aunt Margaret from Hampshire would visit, she would often say of my dad, "Jim'll Fix It!" I think she said this was a British TV show. What was it about?


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## Danny McG

Danny Creasy said:


> "Jim'll Fix It!" I think she said this was a British TV show. What was it about?



Google Jimmy Savile.


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## Danny Creasy

Thanks!


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## Danny Creasy

Whoa! Bad ending for that story. Not public until after his death, but it sounds like he was a rough character. A little Bill Cosbyish.


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## Narkalui

No, Bill Cosby was a little bit Jimmy Savillish.

Over here Saville is mentioned in the same breathe as Adolf Hitler, that’s the shade of evil we perceive him under.


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## Extollager

Can anyone help me identify this?  It would've been shown in the US no later than 1981 or so, and I suppose would've firstbeen shown in Britain inthe late 1970s.

I retain an impression of having been fascinated also by this miniseries (two or three installments, I suppose) about Irish terrorists kidnapping a British politician’s or businessman’s daughter, I think.  I think they perhaps send one of her fingers to prove that they have her.  They probably demand ransom.  At last their hiding place is tracked down and I recall one of the terrorists being shot dead while trying to get away.  Possibly an element of the series was that the kidnapped young woman comes to identify with the terrorists, which would have recalled the Patty Hearst kidnapping.  This is pretty vague, I know.


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## Lucien21

Extollager said:


> Can anyone help me identify this?  It would've been shown in the US no later than 1981 or so, and I suppose would've firstbeen shown in Britain inthe late 1970s.
> 
> I retain an impression of having been fascinated also by this miniseries (two or three installments, I suppose) about Irish terrorists kidnapping a British politician’s or businessman’s daughter, I think.  I think they perhaps send one of her fingers to prove that they have her.  They probably demand ransom.  At last their hiding place is tracked down and I recall one of the terrorists being shot dead while trying to get away.  Possibly an element of the series was that the kidnapped young woman comes to identify with the terrorists, which would have recalled the Patty Hearst kidnapping.  This is pretty vague, I know.



There was a 6 hour mini series in the mid 80's called "The Price" that had an IRA assassin kidnap the wife of a business man


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## Extollager

Lucien21, that's it.  You have identified something that's been bugging me for years.  Thank you!


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## geosmithredux

Ursa, is there any chance the show was "Bliss" (hope I attach the link correctly. If not search for "Bliss + 1995 + Simon Shepard)?

Well, nevermind, I have not posted enough to be able to link to anything.  Anyway, "Bliss" starred Simon Shepard as Dr. Sam Bliss and had him involved in various Doomwatch/Eleventh Hour/ReGenesis type storylines. The episode "A Far Cry" seems to fit one of your descriptions to a T.


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## Ursa major

That episode does seem to fit the bill regarding the accident with the car and the boy -- so Thanks!  -- and there's a possibility that "All Fall Down" could be the one about the storage of chemicals.

Only the TV movie seems to be on IMDB. I can't find the episodes of the series on there, but only on Wikipedia.


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## HanaBi

Another poser for some of the more "senior" members of this august forum 

Back in the early 70s I recall watching some short documentaries on either BBC1 or 2 at around tea-time viewing (5pm to 6:30pm) It was a different short every day, but I don't think there were more than 6 or 7 in the entire series before being recycled the following week.

The docs lasted about 10-15 minutes, and from memory they were about the following:-

Set in a leafy suburb and there's a guy in his drive doing up a classic car, with a young girl neighbour watching him work over the fence, until eventually the car is done and they both go out for a drive.
another one covered speed boat racing. Can't remember all the details but I remember quite vividly a backing track from the rock band Bachman Turner Overdrive and their "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet".
Another short covered Australian sheep drivers - basically a couple of guys transporting sheep in articulated lorries through the harsh Australian Outback. 
There were one or two more, but I really can't remember details.

I doubt any of this will ring any bells but here's to hoping


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## Narkalui

3. Sounds like Wages Of Fear, with sheep instead of nitro glycerin


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## Phyrebrat

I hope this is okay to sneak in and ask this.

I'm trying to find the name of an 80s or late 70s chldrens TV programme on BBC1. It was much in the vein of things like _The Box of Delights_, and _The Phoenix and the Carpet_, although perhaps a bit more Enid Blyton-y.

Essentially it was (perhaps) two brothers and two sisters (or any combination of less or more than that) who either lived in, or went to stay with extended family in a posh country seat. There was a lake, and on the island in the lake was a pavilion which the family used to store old chairs and so on. 

However in the room were dummies called The Ugly Wuglies. They wore old clothes and had paper bags for heads, much like old fashioned Penny-for-the-Guy. 

I used to be terrified of them but I want to read or see the episodes they were in, again.

Can anyone help?

pH


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## Graymalkin

The Enchanted Castle?


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## Phyrebrat

Graymalkin said:


> The Enchanted Castle?



Thanks I'll give it a bit of digging to see if that's it. Part of me wonders if this is set too early. I was thinking it may be more around the 50s, but it's a good start. Thanks.

pH


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## Danny McG

Phyrebrat said:


> Thanks I'll give it a bit of digging to see if that's it. Part of me wonders if this is set too early. I was thinking it may be more around the 50s, but it's a good start. Thanks.
> 
> pH


@Phyrebrat  was it the series?
I got faint memories of Ugley Wuglies myself now!


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## Phyrebrat

dannymcg said:


> @Phyrebrat  was it the series?
> I got faint memories of Ugley Wuglies myself now!



Thanks for the reminder, @dannymcg - yes it was The Enchanted Castle , @Graymalkin was right (apologies for my slackness in replying properly).

The Youtube segments have been deleted but from the stills, the ugly wuglies seem different than I remember.[edit: Just fell down a warren of Youtube Children's 'creepy' TV show intros and episodes - what is it about the 70s and 80s that lends itself so well to terrifying folk horror? Or was it just that I was a kid then? _Owl Service_, _The Box of Delights_, _Children of the Stones_, _Picture Box_ (opening music) etc etc].

The photos show human actors under the masks but as I recall it, their faces were not visible, and rather were old fashioned paper bags - the sort you'd get from a bakery - with crudely drawn faces on them.

I'll find em sooner or later. There's a pinterest page but it's been hourglassing for five mins so I just closed it.

pH


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## HareBrain

Phyrebrat said:


> what is it about the 70s and 80s that lends itself so well to terrifying folk horror? Or was it just that I was a kid then?



Interesting question. The two series I would equate with folk horror (rather than folky but with disturbing elements) would be _Children of the Stones _and _Quatermass_, in 1976 and 1979. Plus in 1977 you had the Doctor Who adventure _The Image of the Fendahl_. This is about the time the hippie idea had become tarnished in the mainstream, and maybe writers were exploring the darker side of folklore rather than its more positive side.

But there have been folk-related series since, such as _The Box of Delights _in 1984 and _Earthfasts _in 1994. I'm not sure it's ever been common enough to plot a trend, except that I can't identify anything this century that's been really like that. Both of those two series were based on much earlier books.


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## Phyrebrat

HareBrain said:


> Interesting question. The two series I would equate with folk horror (rather than folky but with disturbing elements) would be _Children of the Stones _and _Quatermass_, in 1976 and 1979. Plus in 1977 you had the Doctor Who adventure _The Image of the Fendahl_. This is about the time the hippie idea had become tarnished in the mainstream, and maybe writers were exploring the darker side of folklore rather than its more positive side.



I'm trying to be productive in my writing and now you mention this _Fendahl_ thing, I want to go and have a look at that instead. What Quatermass are you referring to? The ones I've seen I would class more towards the SF than folk end spectrum. In fact, is that how the spectrum goes? From folk one end to SF at the other? Or perhaps folk horror to cosmic horror? 

_Children of the Stones_ might not be half as scary without the score it has.



HareBrain said:


> But there have been folk-related series since, such as _The Box of Delights _in 1984



Yes I mentioned that one above as it holds a special place for me; Christmas 1984. I think the acid test for how scary a children's programme will be is simple: the opening credits. _The Box of Delights_ follows that rule to the letter.

pH


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## HareBrain

Phyrebrat said:


> I'm trying to be productive in my writing and now you mention this _Fendahl_ thing, I want to go and have a look at that instead.



Do, it's great. If I can't be productive, I don't see why anyone else should be.



Phyrebrat said:


> What Quatermass are you referring to?



The TV series with John Mills. Actually, it's not folky but it is kind of hippies vs science.



Phyrebrat said:


> I think the acid test for how scary a children's programme will be is simple: the opening credits. _The Box of Delights_ follows that rule to the letter.



As someone who used to be terrified by the Doctor Who theme, I get you.


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## Danny McG

Ursa major said:


> It's odd, and serendipitous, that you should revive this thread now. In the last few days, I've been trying to recall the name of a series that was, more or less tenuously, based on some people working in the area of the environment and/or environmental health. I can't even recall whether it was on the BBC or a commercial channel (although I think it was the former), or even the decade in which it was broadcast.
> 
> One episode started with the main character driving through the countryside (on the way to work?) and fiddling with a cassette in the car's player. A children ran out of a field and was hit by the car. (The general tenor of what followed was based on the premise that it was the child's fault, and so they investigated why he'd been running and from where.) Another episode seemed to involve a health clinic/spa. A third one was about chemicals being stored where they shouldn't (which may have been deliberate); someone fell ill, and may have died, as a result.
> 
> You may be able to tell that I'm very unclear about the details, to the extent that I half-believe I'm conflating different series.


@Ursa major 
The bit about the chemicals puts me in mind of one of the 'Screen Two' presentations in mid eighties. Titled *'The Russian Soldier*' but there wasn't actually a soldier involved.
Warren Clarke played a farmer who had a chemical mishap and a sinister Man from the Ministry turned up to basically take over


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## pambaddeley

Phyrebrat said:


> I hope this is okay to sneak in and ask this.
> 
> I'm trying to find the name of an 80s or late 70s chldrens TV programme on BBC1. It was much in the vein of things like _The Box of Delights_, and _The Phoenix and the Carpet_, although perhaps a bit more Enid Blyton-y.
> 
> Essentially it was (perhaps) two brothers and two sisters (or any combination of less or more than that) who either lived in, or went to stay with extended family in a posh country seat. There was a lake, and on the island in the lake was a pavilion which the family used to store old chairs and so on.
> 
> However in the room were dummies called The Ugly Wuglies. They wore old clothes and had paper bags for heads, much like old fashioned Penny-for-the-Guy.
> 
> I used to be terrified of them but I want to read or see the episodes they were in, again.
> 
> Can anyone help?
> 
> pH



I don't think I saw the TV series but I recognised The Enchanted Castle because I read the book many years ago by Edith Nesbit. My recollection is that the children were doing a play and they made an audience out of figures which were old broom handles and paper bags for heads etc and that these then came alive somehow.


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## Danny McG

Narkalui said:


> No, Bill Cosby was a little bit Jimmy Savillish.
> 
> Over here Saville is mentioned in the same breathe as Adolf Hitler, that’s the shade of evil we perceive him under.


This was a real book, not a fake!


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## Vladd67

dannymcg said:


> @Ursa major
> The bit about the chemicals puts me in mind of one of the 'Screen Two' presentations in mid eighties. Titled *'The Russian Soldier*' but there wasn't actually a soldier involved.
> Warren Clarke played a farmer who had a chemical mishap and a sinister Man from the Ministry turned up to basically take over


If I remember correctly the man from the ministry also got infected as the chemical was in the farms water supply and he had been drinking tea all day.


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## paranoid marvin

Could have been a political drama made-for-tv film or mini-series. A new (possibly controversial) PM gets toppled from power - maybe he promised nuclear disarmament? Either way, the political establishment gets him removed from power.

Sounds like A Very British Coup, but it's not that one, or House of Cards. Possibly broadcast on Channel 4.

Any suggestions are appreciated.


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## Danny McG

Secret State?









						Secret State (TV series) - Wikipedia
					






					en.m.wikipedia.org


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## paranoid marvin

Danny McG said:


> Secret State?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Secret State (TV series) - Wikipedia
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> en.m.wikipedia.org




Thanks for the suggestion. Funnily enough, when I was trawling through some lists of political thrillers trying to find it, I stumbled across this one. I hadn't heard of it, so decided to watch it and it was very good. But unfortunately it wasn't the one I remember.

It's definitely not before the 80s, and probably in the 90s or possibly slightly later.


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## paranoid marvin

Phyrebrat said:


> Thanks for the reminder, @dannymcg - yes it was The Enchanted Castle , @Graymalkin was right (apologies for my slackness in replying properly).
> 
> The Youtube segments have been deleted but from the stills, the ugly wuglies seem different than I remember.[edit: Just fell down a warren of Youtube Children's 'creepy' TV show intros and episodes - what is it about the 70s and 80s that lends itself so well to terrifying folk horror? Or was it just that I was a kid then? _Owl Service_, _The Box of Delights_, _Children of the Stones_, _Picture Box_ (opening music) etc etc].
> 
> The photos show human actors under the masks but as I recall it, their faces were not visible, and rather were old fashioned paper bags - the sort you'd get from a bakery - with crudely drawn faces on them.
> 
> I'll find em sooner or later. There's a pinterest page but it's been hourglassing for five mins so I just closed it.
> 
> pH




There seems to have been a lot of children's drama of the 70s and 80s that edged to spooky/scary stuff.

Into The Labyrinth, King of the Castle, Come Back Lucy, The Changes, Clifton House Mystery, Witches and the Grinnygog etc etc were all great shows and still hold up today.


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## Ray Zdybrow

Wow, someone else remembers "The Clifton House Mysteries"  - Peter Sallis as Milton Guest


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## paranoid marvin

Ray Zdybrow said:


> Wow, someone else remembers "The Clifton House Mysteries"  - Peter Sallis as Milton Guest




This and Into The Labyrinth I had only the vaguest of memories of until the internet came along and I found them again. Clifton House was actually condensed into a movie, but was originally a serial on tv. Now it's available on DVD (as are a number of other previously unobtainable releases. One that seems to crop up quite regularly in people's memories is The Enchanted Castle, and (for some reason) it is one of the few that hasn't found it's way on to Youtube or to purchase on DVD.



There also seemed to be plenty of spooky programmes involving mirrors (and quite often time travel). I have vague recollections of a girl (and perhaps her brother) staring into  a standing mirror and switching places with  (Victorian?) children. In the end they were fooled, and the modern kids ended up trapped in the past. I think it may have been an episode of ITV's 'Dramarama'.


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