Sunday, 10 March 2019

3 1980s US TV action heroes

Following on from the death of Jan-Michael Vincent here is him and 2 others from a time when US TV was producing escapist fare


Jan-Michael Vincent as Stringfellow Hawke in Airwolf

Vincent plays a Vietnam veteran helicopter who after finding himself in possession of a hi tech experimental helicopter undertakes various missions around the world for the US Government. Also starring Oscar winner Ernest Borgnine

Richard Dean Anderson as Angus MacGyver in MacGyver

In an age when US TV heroes were always blowing away the bad guys MacGyver would use his brains to construct some device to beat them. More of a solo operator than the current team player. One episode of the original series caused a fuss in the UK when it used clips for classic heist movie The Italian Job for a chase!

David Hasseloff as Michael Knight in Knight Rider

Hasseloff in the role that made his name. When a cop is near fatally shot he is given an new identity and an near indestructible car that talks. Knight Rider's famed narration was done by actor Richard Basehart best known for films Moby Dick and Being There plus TV show Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.

Friday, 8 March 2019

Awful quiz show answer of the day 08-03-2019

On today's Tipping Point a contestant was asked which TV Drama is about a Caribbean based police detective. The contestant answered Poldar! The correct answer being Death in Paradise.

Thursday, 7 March 2019

Def II: The highlights

The death of Magenta Devine brings back memories of BBC2's Def II. It was a strand that ran between 1988-94 on early evenings Mondays and Wednesday early evenings. Here are 3 programmes that went under the Def II banner.


Rough Guide to the World

Presented by Devine with an ever changing role of male co-presenters. An alternative to the likes of Holiday and Wish You Were Here it took to looking at lesser known choices for holidays such as Toronto.


Rapido

Before becoming best known as the presenter of the very rude Eurotrash Antonie de Caune presented this music show. With his rapid fire delivery he would introduce items on the likes Kate Bush, Robert Palmer and Wet, Wet, Wet


Reportage

A current affairs magazine for an young adult audience with an emphasis on issues that concern them. One report was about a proposal for the compulsory playing of classical music to reduce violence among the young!


Tuesday, 5 March 2019

WWTBAM? March 2019 series first report

In the first episode of the new run the first contestant won an impressive half a million pounds. They spurned the chance to go for the full million when asked whom out of a list of 4 British Prime Ministers which had not been Foreign Secertey. The second contestant walked a somewhat puny in companion £16, 000. The run continues tonight

Monday, 4 March 2019

Awful quiz show answer 04-03-2019

On today's edition of Tenable a group of contestants were asked to name the ten British Prime Ministers since 1800 who had the letter C in their name. One offered Charlton Heston as an answer. One does not need to go in why that is wrong.

Sunday, 3 March 2019

Steven does not want Netflix

Steven Speilberg is behind moves that will see films from streaming giant Netflix banned from the Oscars unless they change their release patterns Currently NetFlix films have a theatrical release in a small number of cinemas that allow them to pass Oscar rules and then in a short time go on streaming. Speilberg wants the rules tighter up so that films play in longer release window in cinemas before a substantial gap before they go on to streaming. One of the first films that may be affected is by one of Speilberg;s close friends Martin Scorsese. The Irishman stars Scorsese's long time creative partner Robert de Niro and that other modern crime movie icon Al Pacino. Scorsese for his part wants Netflix to change their usual release schedule, What happens next will have many interested eyes.

Friday, 1 March 2019

TV review - Strike Back

Starring Warren Brown, Daniel McPherson and Alin Sumanwata

Sky 1 Thursday 9PM

Back for a seventh series under the subtitle Silent Warfare (though in the US it is Revolution) Strike Back the TV show that has action scenes that some Hollywood Action movies would kill for. British special ops group Section 20 find themselves in Kula Lumper after a British intelligence agent is murdered there. In this first episode alone we get many twists and turns as our heroes discover that the Russians have lost an nuclear bomb. The opening episode has not 1 but 2 gunfights as our heroes are confronted by Triad gangsters with the latter seeing them forced going to the roof of a skyscraper as their escape route is cut off  by the gangsters. With a rare straight role for Ade Edamson as a British diplomat Strike Back is a show that offers viewers edge of the seat thrills