Talking Pictures TV

[OceanBlue]

Originally Posted by cutback73

The trailer is also up now on YouTube.
Saturday evenings are murder for good TV, so I know I'll be watching!

Thought this was worth asking as I remember reading on the web earlier this year that TPTV are showing the monochrome episodes of The Saint in production order (is that correct?), but are TPTV going to be showing In Suspicious Circumstances in the order they originally aired on ITV? Have had another look at the episode guide on the IMDb, and I'm thinking the airdates don't seem right. Can't find much information about the episode synopses and original ITV airdates.

[OceanBlue]

Watched last night or the night before, TPTV's recent screening of film Live Now Pay Later (the cast including Ian Hendry and Geoffrey Keen, with an early career appearance by Peter Bowles). Very good with a lot of energy.

Recorded from earlier today, a screening of film The Seventh Commandment.

On a separate note, after checking Renown Pictures' website and seeing the mention of In Suspicious Circumstances, I spotted something about an episode of a TV series called The Eyes (this has got me intrigued. Hope it's worth the wait. Can't find any information about this series).

[cutback73]

Originally Posted by OceanBlue

Thought this was worth asking as I remember reading on the web earlier this year that TPTV are showing the monochrome episodes of The Saint in production order (is that correct?), but are TPTV going to be showing In Suspicious Circumstances in the order they originally aired on ITV? Have had another look at the episode guide on the IMDb, and I'm thinking the airdates don't seem right. Can't find much information about the episode synopses and original ITV airdates.

Can't tell you the answer regarding the Saint, but they split S1 and S2 the broadcast way (the dvd collection includes both the broadcast S1 and S2 as one complete production series as it was filmed in one block).

I think we will have to wait for a few more episodes of ISC to appear on their 4 week planner, before we can know their broadcast order on TPTV. The only person who knows the answer to that currently is Noel

IMDB is notoriously unreliable on older shows, but the air dates may also have been muddled by ITV who had a habit of moving episodes around between different regions, when ITV was still regional, with some regions seeing programmes before others.

[OceanBlue]

Originally Posted by cutback73

I think we will have to wait for a few more episodes of ISC to appear on their 4 week planner, before we can know their broadcast order on TPTV. The only person who knows the answer to that currently is Noel

IMDB is notoriously unreliable on older shows, but the air dates may also have been muddled by ITV who had a habit of moving episodes around between different regions, when ITV was still regional, with some regions seeing programmes before others.

During yesterday's Footage Detectives I think, there was a trailer for In Suspicious Circumstances. Had a fair few actors in this series before they became famous (including Amanda Holden), along with established actors (including Larry Lamb). Got a feeling I'm going to really like this series (having remembered seeing just the one edition shown on ITV late at night), and seeing Edward Woodward on screen again was very welcome.

Regarding The Saint, not many more episodes left now until TPTV have finished showing "Series 2".

[cutback73]

This past Friday night, the first in the Cellar Club showings at 9.05pm was this TV movie, which was extended from a failed TV pilot.

Didnt know anything about it till afterwards when I researched.

Theme and some great music by Dominic Frontiere!

When Joseph Stefano left The Outer Limits at the end of season 1, he made this pilot for a show which would be horror orientated. Apparently, the network execs were so scared on viewing it, they cancelled the series!

It is a ghost story with an interesting twist part way through.

Martin Landau plays an architect/planner who investigates ghosts in his spare time. A very good performance.

Other main cast members include the lovely Diane Baker (although strangely not a great performance as compared to the pilot for The Invaders or the final episode of The Fugitive) and Dame Judith Anderson as the housekeeper (another great performance).

Landau's sceptic housekeeper is also good.

The original director fell ill during production so Stefano became writer, producer and director. When the pilot wasn't picked up, extra scenes were shot to make it movie length before release. There's an obvious insert on the beach with Landau meeting someone who never appears again.

The opening credits are great, the scenes in the crypt are genuinely scary, the music as mentioned is excellent. Not perfect (the cliff ending is somewhat predictable, although the scene before is tense and very good) but recommended for the reasons above, either on their catch up or when it is rerun.

Apparently, it was "lost" for 50 years with Martin Landau believed to have the only copy (which he used to get out to scare visitors!), before both the pilot and movie length adaptations were released by Kino Lorber in 2018 (after 10 years working out who owned the rights).

[DTSBOY]

The film at 21.05 on the Friday after Caroline does her thing, very nice thing it is too, was The Brotherhood of Satan 1971. Great cast and a decent horror too.

The film at 23.00 with Martin Landau was The Ghost of Sierra de Cobre 1964. Never heard of it but another decent effort.

There's a showing of the Peter Cushing: Behind the Camera documentary on Wednesday 2nd November at 22.55. 40 mins with a single ad probably.

[OceanBlue]

Have checked and Kino Lorber's Blu-ray release of The Ghost of Sierra de Cobre is still available at the time of writing. I had looked at getting this release before but decided to leave it.

Too late for me to post about it at the weekend (I usually have a break off here at the weekend), and due to not spotting it in the TV Schedule section on TPTV's website recently and not knowing when it would premiere on the channel until when I read the weekly newsletter yesterday, I couldn't let others know in this thread (which is usually where TPTV stuff is posted here). The TV pilot of The Eyes was first shown on TPTV this morning (at 8.20 am - 8.50 am). Was initially disappointed to read (on TPTV's Facebook page) that it was not turned into a full series.

Replying (sort-of) to DTSBOY's post and their mention of the Peter Cushing: Behind the Camera documentary, have set to record (as I missed a previous screening on TPTV) this coming Wednesday afternoon (2nd November at 1.30 pm - 2 pm), For the Love of Helen (where Peter Cushing is interviewed).

The second edition of documentary series Time to Remember premieres on the channel this coming Wednesday evening/night at 7.30 pm - 8 pm (the first edition was narrated by Basil Rathbone, with this second edition narrated by Sir Ralph Richardson). I initially found the clock pendulum irritating, then calm and soothing.

Part of it was previously shown during an edition of The Footage Detectives. Airing this coming Friday (4th November at 5.40 am - 6 am) is The World of Budgerigars (the cast including Sid James).

Based on the synopsis in Sky's TV listings, this sounds quite timely. Airing on Saturday morning (5th November at 9.30 am - 10.35 am) is Peril for the Guy.

Have also set to record film Johnny Nobody, airing on TPTV next Sunday night (6th November at 10 pm - 11.45 pm).

[OceanBlue]

Originally Posted by cutback73

Noticed in the latest email newsletter from Renown that TPTV will be showing the series of In Suspicious Circumstances at some point. This was a series of dramatisations of real life historic murder mysteries introduced and narrated by the late great Edward Woodward. I remember watching these on original broadcast - I believe they started sometime not long after he returned to the UK when The Equaliser finished and his next lead show Over My Dead Body was abruptly cancelled.

IMDB says it was produced by Granada and ran for 39 episodes. Basically the UK version of Unsolved Mysteries in the US I think.

I look forward to these immensely.

They are up to the middle of the last season of Callan now, and I'll need another fix for my Edward Woodward addiction soon!

Could it be only thirteen episodes of In Suspicious Circumstances were made? My logic could very well be incorrect, but based on it looking like there being three stories per episode (this coming Saturday evening's first episode for example), the math seems to work (39 stories divided by 3 = 13 episodes). But if they made thirteen episodes in one batch which aired over six calendar years (1991 to 1996), it seems a bit strange to me.

[OceanBlue]

Have got the film Johnny Nobody recorded from last night. The Saint was excellent yesterday (I prefer the episodes set in the UK), with a plot that really kept your attention (an intriguing mystery) through to a mostly satisfying end (very good guest cast like with recent episodes (including Eunice Gayson, Mark Eden, Jane Asher and an actor whose face I recognised but didn't know/couldn't remember the name of (they played the Chief of Staff in Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun, appearing in the scene just after the title sequence (their character with Bond, 'M' and Calthorpe (Calthorpe later appears in a scene with Bond and 'Q' at Q's workshop).

The Footage Detectives was good yesterday, but not one of my favourite editions (I enjoyed the most, the viewers' letters and Letters to the Projectionist).

[OceanBlue]

Some of the films airing/premiering on TPTV between now and next Sunday:

- Rollercoaster: Glimpses (short film airing tomorrow at 6.45 pm)

- Phantom Ship (aka The Ghost of the Mary Celeste), airing as part of this coming Friday night's Cellar Club with Caroline Munro at 1 am

- The Last Load (premiering on Saturday 12th November at 9.30 am - 10.35 am)

- It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow: The Story of the 1943 Bethnal Green Tube Disaster (drama documentary, premiering on Sunday 13th November at 12.10 pm - 1.40 pm).

Also airing this coming Friday night as part of the Cellar Club is a horror film directed by Robert Englund (when will Vestron Video release in the States the sequel?).

[OceanBlue]

In the past week, have watched the films Serena and Jackpot. Serena was definitely the better of the two (I set it to record after reading a recommendation on TPTV's Facebook page. On seeing the film, I agreed with the comments about how much detail was in the plot (it deserves repeated viewings).

It did say in the listings that Jackpot was a 'lost' film, so I should have expected the transfer not to be great (it was rough in parts, with it looking like some footage was missing with the jump cuts and the abrupt ending).

Now to last Saturday evening's first airing on TPTV of the series premiere of anthology series In Suspicious Circumstances (presented/hosted and narrated by Edward Woodward). I'll keep this brief (shock, horror! )..I loved the first edition. I was glued to it, especially during Woodward's linking bits (loved the autumnal/wintry exterior locations). Think my favourite segment/story was probably the middle one about the mysterious death of the elderly woman.

Will get round to posting a list of each edition with the titles of the stories, as well as the copyright shown at the end of the end credits. I think TPTV posted on their Facebook page recently (in response to a question about the programme) that there were five series in total of In Suspicious Circumstances.

[cutback73]

Originally Posted by OceanBlue

In the past week, have watched the films Serena and Jackpot. Serena was definitely the better of the two (I set it to record after reading a recommendation on TPTV's Facebook page. On seeing the film, I agreed with the comments about how much detail was in the plot (it deserves repeated viewings).

It did say in the listings that Jackpot was a 'lost' film, so I should have expected the transfer not to be great (it was rough in parts, with it looking like some footage was missing with the jump cuts and the abrupt ending).

Now to last Saturday evening's first airing on TPTV of the series premiere of anthology series In Suspicious Circumstances (presented/hosted and narrated by Edward Woodward). I'll keep this brief (shock, horror! )..I loved the first edition. I was glued to it, especially during Woodward's linking bits (loved the autumnal/wintry exterior locations). Think my favourite segment/story was probably the middle one about the mysterious death of the elderly woman.

Will get round to posting a list of each edition with the titles of the stories, as well as the copyright shown at the end of the end credits. I think TPTV posted on their Facebook page recently (in response to a question about the programme) that there were five series in total of In Suspicious Circumstances.

I loved the first episode too. You can never have enough Ewar Woowar! One thing I noted as it was winter - I think he was wearing the same winter coat he wore in The Equaliser!

I googled the person convicted in the second story as it was recent. He is still in prison possibly as there was nothing that came up to suggest otherwise. Certainly something would have bern reported if he had been cleared due to the high profile case. He could have been released at end of sentence though and I doubt that would have been reported.

There have been other documentaries about the case but nothing recently.

[OceanBlue]

Have set to record on TPTV, an airing of an episode of anthology series Four Star Theatre whose cast includes Ida Lupino (episode "The Listener"). Airing tomorrow (Tuesday 22nd November) at 4.20 am - 4.50 am.

Had initially thought it was an anthology series called The Listener, but having checked the IMDb, no, it is from Four Star Theatre.

Source: Sky's TV listings.

[OceanBlue]

Originally Posted by OceanBlue

Have set to record on TPTV, an airing of an episode of anthology series Four Star Theatre whose cast includes Ida Lupino (episode "The Listener"). Airing tomorrow (Tuesday 22nd November) at 4.20 am - 4.50 am.

Had initially thought it was an anthology series called The Listener, but having checked the IMDb, no, it is from Four Star Theatre.

Source: Sky's TV listings.

Watched this earlier. Before the episode title "The Listener" appeared, the title Star Performance was shown. I don't know if the original elements for this episode were in very good condition or it was the remastering or/and restoration done by Renown Pictures (their logo bookended this episode), but it looked on the whole very good to my eyes.

Originally Posted by cutback73

I loved the first episode too. You can never have enough Ewar Woowar! One thing I noted as it was winter - I think he was wearing the same winter coat he wore in The Equaliser!

I googled the person convicted in the second story as it was recent. He is still in prison possibly as there was nothing that came up to suggest otherwise. Certainly something would have bern reported if he had been cleared due to the high profile case. He could have been released at end of sentence though and I doubt that would have been reported.

There have been other documentaries about the case but nothing recently.

Edward Woodward had very good taste in the fashion he wore on The Equalizer (I liked what McCall wore in the summer and into autumn/fall-shot episodes, but it's the majority of the autumn and winter episodes where I really liked McCall's fashion wardrobe). Recalling one or both of the episodes of ISC that TPTV have shown so far, yes, the thick winter coat Woodward has worn does look like the one he wore in The Equalizer (the shirts look maybe early-nineties as well I've noticed).

On a completely unrelated note, but to do with The Equalizer, I know it has had music clearance issues in some countries where it's had a physical media DVD release, but I do wish a boutique music label could do a deluxe CD boxset of the show's music score from the various eras (and if possible, include some of the music tracks heard (like the Marianne Faithfull song Running for Our Lives). I've been wanting for a long time to see a CD release of the music score and tracks from the two Lace TV mini-series as well (including the main theme). But to go back on topic, in In Suspicious Circumstances I also like the music score used (the name credited in the end credits I don't recognise, Matthew Scott).

The transfers for the first two episodes of In Suspicious Circumstances weren't too bad (one bit with Edward Woodward in the second episode looked a bit bleached (sunlight in that location being bright, or a faded image with a rough-looking transfer, was how it looked to me). It has looked like the series was shot on film and not on video (that's my observation).

There was a book published about the series, with a selection of cases in it. Looks like you can still get copies of it on at least Amazon UK. I like true crime shows and are finding (like yourself, based on your quoted post above) these cases fascinating (out of the two last Saturday, I found the first of the two the more intriguing).

[OceanBlue]

Originally Posted by OceanBlue

Could it be only thirteen episodes of In Suspicious Circumstances were made? My logic could very well be incorrect, but based on it looking like there being three stories per episode (this coming Saturday evening's first episode for example), the math seems to work (39 stories divided by 3 = 13 episodes). But if they made thirteen episodes in one batch which aired over six calendar years (1991 to 1996), it seems a bit strange to me.

Will update the following list (the titles of each case/story in each episode, along with the first airdate on TPTV and the copyright year shown at the end of the end credits) as each episode gets it's first airing on TPTV:

Episode One: "Mrs. Bravo Regrets", "No Smoke Without Fire" and "The Jewel and the Magpie" (copyright year, 1991), first aired on TPTV on Saturday 12th November, 2022

Episode Two: "Our Dearest Dear" and "Maundy Money" (copyright year, 1991), first aired on TPTV on Saturday 19th November, 2022

Episode Three: "Freddie Mills" and "Louise Massett" (copyright year, 1992), first aired on TPTV on Saturday 26th November, 2022

Episode Four: airing on TPTV on Saturday 3rd December, 2022

Episode Five: airing on TPTV on Saturday 10th December, 2022

Episode Six: airing on TPTV on Saturday 17th December, 2022

Episode Seven: airing on TPTV on Christmas Eve (Saturday 24th December, 2022)

Episode Eight: airing on TPTV on New Year's Eve (Saturday 31st December, 2022)

[OceanBlue]

The TV schedule section on TPTV's website has been updated with the addition of the last two weeks of the year, including New Year's Day (1st January). The channel's repeat run of the second series of The Saint finishes a week on Sunday (11th December), going straight into the third series on Sunday 18th December in the usual 6 pm - 7 pm timeslot.

Both The Footage Detectives and The Saint will be airing on Christmas Day and New Year's Day, but there are no details up yet of the two editions of The Footage Detectives.

In Suspicious Circumstances will be airing on both Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.

Don't know if this is the start of a repeat run of the whole series, but airing on New Year's Eve (Saturday 31st December) at 8 pm - 10.05 pm is the feature-length pilot of drama series Waking the Dead (which first aired on the BBC at the start of the noughties).

[OceanBlue]

"Enjoy" is the wrong word to use. Have been finding documentary series Time to Remember an informative and interesting watch so far on TPTV. Yesterday evening's edition was narrated for the second time by actor Stanley Holloway (one of the programmes I looked for in the two weeks' worth of new TV listings on TPTV's website added this week (*), was Time to Remember. Noticed that there is another returning narrator in an edition being shown in a few weeks, Sir Michael Redgrave).

(*) - Time to Remember continues through December.

[cutback73]

Originally Posted by OceanBlue

The TV schedule section on TPTV's website has been updated with the addition of the last two weeks of the year, including New Year's Day (1st January). The channel's repeat run of the second series of The Saint finishes a week on Sunday (11th December), going straight into the third series on Sunday 18th December in the usual 6 pm - 7 pm timeslot.

Both The Footage Detectives and The Saint will be airing on Christmas Day and New Year's Day, but there are no details up yet of the two editions of The Footage Detectives.

In Suspicious Circumstances will be airing on both Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.

Don't know if this is the start of a repeat run of the whole series, but airing on New Year's Eve (Saturday 31st December) at 8 pm - 10.05 pm is the feature-length pilot of drama series Waking the Dead (which first aired on the BBC at the start of the noughties).

Is it me, or was last Saturday's episode of ISC a repeat of the episode shown about 2 weeks ago?

Waking the Dead has been on BBC iPlayer and still is available in full on there.

There are 90 episodes apparently which makes sense as 9 series of 10 per series. Which should keep TPTV going for a while in that slot!

Noel previously commented in a Footage show that they have now got a relationship going with the Beeb for content, which started with Secret Army. Hopefully they get access to some "classic" content that is not available elsewhere. Although, as we know most monochrome stuff was never kept.

Would be nice to get a full run of classic Who?

[OceanBlue]

Originally Posted by cutback73

Is it me, or was last Saturday's episode of ISC a repeat of the episode shown about 2 weeks ago?

It was definitely a different episode from either of the previous two ISC episodes (tomorrow (Saturday) evening's edition is the fourth). Was it the first of the two cases/stories (about ex-boxer Freddie Mills) which you're thinking was a repeat of a case/story in the first edition (about a gangland/suspected gangland shooting (also set in the sixties)?

I have mentioned this before (but I'm quite enjoying this series (although as it's a part true crime series, that may not be the right word to use, "enjoy"), but one of the things I'm enjoying about In Suspicious Circumstances are the locations where Edward Woodward speaks about the details and questions etc. about each case/story (and they're not random, unconnected locations, they're connected to the case/story).

On a separate note, just before Caroline Munro's Cellar Club introduction for the TPTV screening of horror film The Haunted Strangler tonight, there was a promo for a new regular film introduction series (Melvyn's Talking Pictures), starting on Thursday 29th December at 3 pm, joining Caroline Munro (The Cellar Club) and James Stephens (Saddle Up!).

[OceanBlue]

I went into last Saturday evening's episode of In Suspicious Circumstances thinking that the second of the two stories/cases wouldn't be as good. And in the end that was the case. I found the first story/case very interesting, but the second story (which was longer than the first) I just couldn't get into. I really wanted to find it interesting, but it just dragged (the unique murder scene was one of the few highlights).

One of the actors in the second story/case I recognised from Midsomer Murders (an episode about a travelling fair) and The Bill, but they may have also guest-starred in Heartbeat.

I got used to it eventually, but I did find Edward Woodward's moustache distracting. It did feel like his links in this episode were filmed at a much later date compared to those in the previous three episodes (and yet the copyright year at the end of the end credits was the same as the one for episode 3 (the year 1992). His links in the previous three episodes had a serious tone, but there was a slight glint in his eye. This fourth episode though, it didn't seem there. Just my observation.

*****

Watched (finally) last night the film Jigsaw (no, not THAT one, but the early sixties film whose cast included Jack Warner). On the whole, I thought it was very good. Well shot with the framing and aspect ratio, and locations. At first it seemed like the actors were talking too fast, but that gradually went out of my mind as the film went on. John Le Mesurier had a brief role in the film, as did an actor whose face I recognised, but I didn't know their name (didn't recognise them straight away, but then it came to me (they played Reginald Perrin's boss CJ ("I didn't get where I am today.." ).

Renown released Jigsaw on DVD-only in the UK. It had a Blu-ray release in the States by Cohen Media.