A Brit Talks Vintage TV

Hello there, and welcome to A Brit Talks Vintage TV, with me Jamie Dyer.

Now I'm going to ask you a question, and I want you to answer out loud. Like, state your answer in the air. Right? Got it? Good! Who would you say was your favourite all-time TV chef? Fanny Craddock? Delia Smith, Julia Child? Perhaps one of the younger contingents like Jamie Oliver or James Martin? I wonder how many of you said out loud the name Mary Berry. There has to be at least one.

Mary Berry has always been a fascinating figure to me. For my generation, she seemed to come out of nowhere. Like she was a nobody plucked from obscurity and placed as a judge on The Great British Bake Off. The truth is that she wasn't at all she'd had a career spanning many decades before she became known for pointing out soggy bottoms.

Aside from the many documentaries, cooking shows and fly-on-the-wall reality shows, nowhere is this more evident than in the many vintage clips that appear on social media and YouTube. Not long ago, the ITV Archive shared a clip of Mary Berry on Yorkshire Television's Farmhouse Kitchen discussing wine. She's also regularly seen cooking recipes in clips from Thames TV's Good Afternoon; Much of it is timeless and of use today.

Mary was born in 1935. She studied catering at college. At the age of 22, like Julia Child, Mary attended Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. Later, she became food editor of Housewife Magazine in 1966, then at Ideal Home Magazine from 1970-1973. She has published over 75 Cookery books. These are just a few of her accomplishments, there is so much more to discover. She was made a dame in 2021.

It was Mary's birthday this week, in which she turned 89 years old. Wishing Dame Mary Berry a belated Happy Birthday. And you, dear listener a Happy Easter.

Hello there, and welcome to A Brit Talks Vintage TV, with me Jamie Dyer.

On the 21st of March 2024, it was the 20th anniversary of the passing of comedy legend Ernie Wise. His comedy partner, Eric Morecambe, had died 15 years before him. The two of them continue to live on in reruns, as I shall explain later.

Ernie Wise was born on the 27th of November 1925. He first met Eric Morecambe, then Bartholomew, in 1940. They quickly struck up a friendship and began performing as a double act. Their first TV series, Running Wild, was a flop on the BBC in the early 50s. They were then snapped up by ATV in the early 60s, for a show called Two of a Kind. It was on the BBC from 1968 to 1977, that they enjoyed their greatest successes.

Every Christmas without fail, my family and I still sit down to watch the Morecambe and Wise Christmas show. Starting in 2019, we've watched every BBC special on the fiftieth anniversary of their original broadcast. We've seen a giant dummy, Hannah Gordon get blown away and even Andre Preview. Their comedy, mostly written by the wonderful Eddie Braben, never fails to make us laugh.

I can't say I have a favourite of the two, they each brought their own strengths. Eric was quick witted and very good with little physical touches. Ernie played the straight man comedy role to perfection, and was also an excellent dancer. This can be seen in their classic Singing in the Rain sketch, possibly the best one they ever did.

The beauty of this sketch is that it reads in two ways. Yes, Morecambe being doused unexpectedly several times with water is very funny. However, the magic comes with Ernie's dance routine. He plays it absolutely seriously, as though he's doing the actual musical. His mimicking of Gene Kelly may not be the funniest thing ever put to tape, but it's enough to put a smile on your face. Bring you sunshine if you will. Not bad for a little Ern with short fat hairy legs... It just doesn't sound right when I say it does it!?

It shouldn't be surprising that the work of Morecambe and Wise continues to be rerun and appreciated. Much of it has also been brought out on DVD, even the ATV and Thames years. I didn't realise until recently just how much work they put into each and every second. I knew about the well-documented rehearsals with guests. What I wasn't aware of, was the amount of time it took them to actually film things! I'm sure they said on a recent rerun special with Michael Parkinson, that their famous Breakfast Stripper sketch took several hours to film. It just demonstrated how much work went into it, for me.

What do you think it was that made the two of them so good? Perhaps it was all those nights performing in theatres up and down the country, honing their craft? Maybe the excellent writers they had around them at various times. Could it be the production team or the guest stars? Or perhaps its the friendship the two of them shared for decades. They truly were two of a kind.

Following Eric's death, Ernie did a little work here and there. He's in episodes of What's My Line, along with Countdown. He also made a guest appearance in an obscure American Ted Knight sitcom called Too Close for Comfort in 1985. Ten years later after health issues, he retired from showbusiness at age 70. 29 years later, and we're still talking about him, the plays what he wrote and his mate Eric Morecambe.

Well, what can I say? It has been quite a while since I sat in front of this microphone and recorded this podcast. It has to have been a whole year or more, as I have moved house since then! It is amazing what a change of location can do for you. The much brighter interior, and ample windows, provide a much cheery outlook. It makes me feel less reliant on classic comedy to brighten my Wednesday afternoons. Granted I'm still a regular watcher of Boy Meets World, Home Improvement and Golden Girls on Disney+, but my new outlook has allowed me to stray into new areas; Helped greatly by the channel Talking Pictures TV.

Firstly, I can't be the only one who has fallen in love with Dixon of Dock Green for the first time recently. I didn't grow up in an era where Jack Warner's character was still on the beat, so it has been a nice surprise to find some enjoyment in his adventures. This show was always sold to me as a cosy remnant of the past, but without too much else to go with it. What I've found, certainly in the recently broadcast early existing episodes, is that Dixon was much grittier than I was ever led to believe. Just last week, saw Andy Crawford shot leading to a cliffhanger that was to be concluded in the next episode. Sadly the second part doesn't exist anymore. I've seen people turn to social media to express their disappointment. I must admit I felt the same, but it did prove something. Dixon still had the power to captivate and engage, all these years on.

Next, witnessing Jack Hargreaves' Out of Town series has been a breath of fresh country air. Jack, I must admit, has been a figure I have admired for some time. Fred Dinenage once told me that Jack could pick up an object and discuss it without a script. Based on what I have seen, he was right. Jack, while the film plays over him, narrates many sections. In between he tells stories and gives explanations on objects. My son and I have become quite fans of this marvellous program, he still regularly talks about the one where Jack explained the workings of an old restored mill. I must admit that I often think about it too.

The most striking thing is that schedulers have perhaps underestimated the value of Dixon and Jack for decades, perceiving their usefulness to have run out. Im sure they're not the only ones to have been vaulted, but perhaps it was more likely with these two, which have large amounts of their run missing; A problem in the age of TV binging. From what I see, it's all based on statistics now. The problem is if everyone took notice of them, Dixon and Hargreaves would've stayed in a vault. Their lack of reruns over the years has meant exposure has been low, reduced to anecdotal evidence based on tiny clips and nostalgia on cheap clip shows. Their resurgence has reassured their usefulness, and I love it.

Maybe, looking from the other side, it was a good thing they'd been locked away for so long. It gave original audiences a beautiful reminder of a lost time, while everyone else got to discover it for the first time. In some ways, both get to have a fresh take on it. We get to evaluate the material, highlighting where society has changed since it last contributed to popular culture. We also get to be surprised by it, knowing that no matter how much time has passed, some things never change.

Below is a transcript of the podcast.

Hello there, and welcome to A Brit talks Vintage TV, with me Jamie Dyer.

I was somewhat surprised to hear this week that Neighbours, the Australian soap opera that ended earlier this year, would be resurrected by Amazon through their Freevee streaming service. The show, which began in 1985 and ran for over 8000 episodes, ended due to cuts made at its UK broadcaster Channel Five. After this, it seemed as though Fremantle couldn't find a partner to keep the show going, how wrong we all were.

While this show isn't strictly vintage, I think it falls into a category of television that is mostly associated with the past. It is no accident that reports of the show's demise were accompanied by cast photographs from the 1980s featuring Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan; The show made its biggest cultural impact in that decade; Especially in the united kingdom. If the BBC hadn't picked up the show in 1986 as a bit of daytime filler, there's a chance it wouldn't have lasted five years...let alone thirty-seven.

It might seem strange to an American that this bizarre Australian institution is being resurrected by Amazon for new episodes, but it makes sense from all points of view. Neighbours, besides its corny reputation, was a show that broke boundaries, touched audiences and made stars of its cast. The likes of Liam Hemsworth, Margot Robbie, Guy Pierce, Russell Crowe, Alan Dale, Natalie Imbruglia, Delta Goodrem and Holly Valance have all made appearances in the show, before making it big elsewhere. These names alone are enough to intrigue audiences who are yet to be introduced to the residents of Ramsay Street.

Part of the deal between programme makers Fremantle and Amazon is that thousands of episodes from the archive will be made available alongside new episodes. This is surely unprecedented for a soap opera, which normally seems to lock away a majority of past episodes to keep you interested in the new. This huge drop into their catalogue of content will also provide the ad-supported service with instant revenue potential too, which means a bigger chance of the deal being long-term. Audiences, old and new, will be able to experience the many iconic characters that have graced the street over the years. Personally, I'm looking forward to tracing the story of two characters who were like Neighbours' version of Ken Barlow and Mike Baldwin, Harold Bishop and Lou Carpenter. Those guys were the face of the show, for me, for a long time.

So overall, I think this is a solid move for all parties. Fans, who never wanted it axed in the first place, can rejoice that their treasured show has returned. Amazon and Fremantle can count the money while the BBC and Channel 5 watch from afar. As the theme tune says, "everybody needs good Neighbours". It seems the show has found that with Amazon Freevee in 2023.

Hello there, and welcome to A Brit talks Vintage TV, with me Jamie Dyer.

Today... feels like a parsley day. I'd love to say that I'm not talking about the Herb, but I am...sorta. Actually, I'm referring to The Herbs, a British stop motion animated series narrated by Gordon Rollings The show, featuring Parsley the lion, Dil the dog, Constable Knapweed et al, was created by Michael Bond and ran for thirteen episodes in 1968. If you've never seen it, it was this strange show that featured animals and humans in a herb garden, all named after Herbs. That's pretty much all there was to it.

I shan't loiter too much on this subject because there are better places to go, but I shall make one observation. Every character in this show, which was animated by the legendary Ivor Wood (Postman Pat, The Wombles, Paddington, Bertha, Charlie Chalk), had a song attached to them. I'm sure those of a certain age can recall the memorable song of the very friendly lion called Parsley? If you do, maybe, you'll agree with me that it feels like a call from a bygone era.

What you may not recall, is the song of the "fat feathery owl called Sage", with its dramatic Jaws-like strings. The delivery of these lines is said to be reminiscent of the television personality Patrick Moore. I'm not sure who he sounds like, I just know it's freaky to see as an adult; When paired with the less-than-perfect animation. I think there was always something a little surreal about The Herbs, and I think Sage's over-dramatic song proves it.

The series received a spin-off in 1970, called The Adventures Of Parsley. It ran for a whopping thirty-two episodes. Broadcast just before the evening news, this show dispensed with the nostalgic songs and went all out in its attempt to compete with The Magic Roundabout. I've lost count of the number of times I've seen this show, but I can never get enough of it. Placing a dry-humoured Parsley at the centre of things, with his frantic friend Dil the dog was a stroke of genius. These episodes were five minutes long but were written like a series of sketches. Dil gets a TV, Dil takes up painting, Parsley wants to put on a show, and Dil opens his house to the public. Each episode was perfectly paced and rearranged all the elements of the Herbs to create a comedy masterclass for children and adults alike.

So which of these series do I prefer? I don't think you have to ask. From its MGM-inspired opening, coming in Parsley and Dil variants, to its witty dialogue and bizarre situations; The Adventures of Parsley is a show any fan of historic children's television should check out. It's available to buy on DVD, although it's out of print so may be a bit expensive now, and also on Amazon. Anyway, as Parsley would say...Goodnight everyone.

Hello there, and welcome to A Brit talks Vintage TV, with me Jamie Dyer.

No matter where you look, there is always someone cooking on television. Whether a feature demonstration as part of a magazine show or a standalone food show, the genre is truly tried and tested. It's definitely come a long way since television's early days when its pioneers discovered the possibilities. Although not the first person to do it, I'd imagine British people would pinpoint Fanny Craddock as one of the first chefs to truly make a splash on the screen. Her fame still shines brightly now, although maybe not how it once was. You only have to view her infamous Christmas series from the mid-70s to see what I mean. It's available to stream on BBC iPlayer if you're interested.

For Americans, the first person to host a pure cooking show on television was Julia Child. Hosting The French Chef,  syndicated on public television between 1963 and 1973, the show ran for a staggering 201 episodes over 10 series.  Like other television stars of public television, she perhaps doesn't seem like someone who would fit, but her knowledge, personality, unique voice and visual know-how helped it become a hit with viewers. With this groundbreaking show, she not only helped to popularise French cuisine in American homes but set off a whole new genre of television. What does the show feel like in 2022? In my view, it still stands up.

Episodes of The French Chef, and other Child fronted series, are available to view on the official Julia Child YouTube Channel. Seeing the episodes in the best quality possible, and in full, is a treat for television historians. Although slow by modern standards, the format fits into the YouTube world like a glove. Even the black and white image of the early shows doesn't detract from its quality. It's lovely to think that eighteen years after her passing at the age of 91, she may be still inspiring people to pick up the art of cooking.

Lastly, The story of how The French Chef came to air has recently been the subject of an excellent HBO series, starring British actress Sarah Lancashire as Child. It might play with the facts a little, and omit certain things, but I found it to be a charming look into how Child came to prominence in the US. The chemistry between Lancashire and the actor playing Child's husband Paul, Frasier star David Hyde Pierce, was an absolute joy to see. It presents Child as cuddly but someone who took what she did seriously. My only criticism of the show, and it's very minor, is a scene involving Julia and her fellow PBS legend Fred Rogers. Given Rogers' stance on things, I'm not sure he would've been where they planted him or acted in the way they portrayed him. That's the best I can do without giving major spoilers.

Anyway, I look forward to seeing where they take the series when it returns for a second season. The first season of 'Julia' is available to stream on Now TV as an HBO Max original.

Hello there, and welcome to A Brit talks Vintage TV, with me Jamie Dyer.

There are lots of free ad-supported streaming services around at the moment, providing an alternative to paid big hitters like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney Plus. These platforms, including FilmRise, Shout Factory TV, Ketchup TV, Plex, Pluto TV and parts of YouTube are awash with officially licensed vintage television content. Plex, for example, is home to a bizarre 1960s sitcom, The Patty Duke Show; Something I had never seen before. Maybe I'll talk about it in another episode sometime.

A few months ago, a new free streamer popped up in the UK: IMDB TV. Available as an ad-supported channel on the Amazon Prime Video platform, the service offers a mixture of movies and television; most of which used to form part of the Prime package. Like their paid competitors, there is a slowly building emphasis on originals with smatterings of big-name library content; A big draw. The library includes episodes of classic 1980s series like Magnum PI and The A-Team, premium titles that are sure to attract attention. The rest of the content, though, starts to look very familiar if you're aware of the other free streamers that exist. This seems to be a thing with the British version of services like this, as most of the big-name companies have their content tied into licensing deals elsewhere.

Compared to the American counterpart of IMDB TV, which launched in 2019, it's fair to say the UK offering felt a little underwhelming. On quick inspection, I saw such TV classics as All In The Family, Maude, Bewitched, Good Times, Perry Mason, Columbo, Little House On The Prarie, The Addams Family, Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, the original One Day At A Time, Family Affair, The Dick Van Dyke Show and many more. Looking at this list was like looking into the past in more ways than one. As I've observed on previous podcasts, Amazon Prime in the UK used to be filled with some of these gems, but no more.

I guess at this point, the reasonable thing to do is to ask why this is the case. In my view, it's most probably down to contracts and audience. As in, why bother putting this stuff on, or renewing a trial when it expires, when people aren't familiar with it. I'm well aware that for every person, like me, who has heard a mention of some of these titles and feels curious about it, there are thousands who wouldn't. I think that's the realisation here, and something we have to accept.

It's also worth noting that IMDB TV is still in the early stages of its life in the UK. There may come a time when a distributor takes a chance on the UK due to the growing audience on the platform, and decide to invest. It happened before on other services, and it could happen again!

In this episode of A Brit Talks Vintage Television, Jamie Dyer discusses the recent removal of classic TV content on Amazon Prime Video.

Below is a transcript of the podcast.

Hello there, and welcome to A Brit talks Vintage TV, with me Jamie Dyer.

I don't know about you but I love the advent of streaming. As a fan of vintage television, various paid online platforms have provided a legal way for me to sample various delights from the United States. Some of which I wouldn't have had the opportunity to experience in any other way. Saying that my views on the subject are rapidly turning negative. I am unsure about the American counterpart, but the British version of Amazon Prime has recently been purged of all its golden treasures. What was once a haven for fans of classic television is vast becoming an archival wasteland. While this might sound strong, let me explain.

A short while ago, I could watch classic USA favourites, such as Petticoat Junction, The Donna Reed Show and many more on the service. Upon checking the availability of these programs fairly recently, they appear to have been disabled from Prime Video. There are a few shows such as The Dick Van Dyke Show and Family Affair that remain, but they are only a handful of what was there previously.

I have theories on why this is the case, but please only take them as what they are: based on opinion. The missing titles may no longer be available because their contract to be on the service has elapsed. This is not unusual, and many series do return after a short period. However, given that most of these shows have one thing in common, there might be a case for them not returning.

Much of the removed material is associated with CBS. Given their involvement in a new service called Paramount Plus, it is likely this is a strategic move for future use of the content. I am not sure if this could signal a UK launch, but I am hopeful. Before I start receiving angry communication from listeners telling me I'm barking up the wrong tree, I feel I should fill in a few holes to help justify my thoughts.

The shows that remain might have rights tied to another company or have been negotiated as a separate deal, which would lapse at a different time. It may be the source has decided to save its money and not renew for Amazon Prime due to low take-up! Whatever the case, I will be happy as long as such content is somewhere to view.