Paid Members WWFChilli Posted January 21, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted January 21, 2012 No-one ever really liked Watching. Or Just a Gigolo with Tony Slattery. How many good sitcoms have ITV actually made? It's certainly not too many. Â Rising Damp. Clearly a fluke, wasn't it? Â I don't hate Just a Gigolo. I like Tony Slattery though so my opinion is horribly biased there. Â Watching is a fun show in that 'harmless' sitcom mold. The theme tune is still great. Â Rising Damp wasn't a fluke. ITV had this as well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members JNLister Posted January 21, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted January 21, 2012 If we're going to randomly slag off Heartbeat, let's mention the fact that it was set between 1964 and 1969, and had nine Christmas specials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members WWFChilli Posted January 21, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted January 21, 2012 If we're going to randomly slag off Heartbeat, let's mention the fact that it was set between 1964 and 1969, and had nine Christmas specials. Â Isn't The Simpsons also set permanently in 1990? Not that I'm using that as an example. I like Heartbeat as a kid but I knew no better. GREENGRASS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators PowerButchi Posted January 21, 2012 Moderators Share Posted January 21, 2012 If we're going to randomly slag off Heartbeat, let's mention the fact that it was set between 1964 and 1969, and had nine Christmas specials. Â At least when it first started it was on Friday nights, showed Niamh Cusack's bare tits and had a bit to it before it turned into the total fucking dullathon which it disintegrated into. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Astro Hollywood Posted January 21, 2012 Moderators Share Posted January 21, 2012 If we're going to randomly slag off Heartbeat, let's mention the fact that it was set between 1964 and 1969, and had nine Christmas specials. Â The best Christmas special was when John 'Nick Cotton' Altman's Charles Manson stalked the hills of Adensfield, luring Greengrass's hippy niece to join his family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators PowerButchi Posted January 21, 2012 Moderators Share Posted January 21, 2012 I need to track that bad boy down. The next year probably had Nigel "Terry Duckworth" Pivaro starting a hippy sex commune in the beer garden of the Aidensfield Arms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members IANdrewDiceClay Posted January 21, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted January 21, 2012 I remember an episode of Heartbeat where one of the coppers was handcuffed to a lamp post and giving a good kicking by a gang of men with beards, with Greengrass making the safe (after the beat down was finished of course - thanks Claude). It was like the Attitude era. A real change of pace for shows of that period in that timeslot. I wish I could find said episode. See if it was as hard hitting as the 8 year old Ian thought it was. Â The listings Butch just put up made my mouth taste of scones and gingercake. Its like 1993 all over again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members WWFChilli Posted January 21, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted January 21, 2012 Heartbeat was good for the characters like Greengrass, they even had a good replacement with Onslow as Vernon Scripts. Â You always got some brilliant TV soap villains cropping up in Heartbeat. Internet lurker and murderer Leslie Grantham even put up a shift in Aidensfield. Â I'm sure when Blakey had his heart attack and fucked off his replacement was that lad that was boffing Zeta-Jones in the Darling Buds of May. Â Heartbeat got massively shit, especially when Jason DURR arrived on the scene and Wicksy jumped ship to be a mountie and a harbor master. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Astro Hollywood Posted January 21, 2012 Moderators Share Posted January 21, 2012 In an episode that I'm not actually making up, the older copper with the really pockmarked face got abducted by aliens once. He had hypnotic regression and everything, and at the end of the episode, he had the thousand yard stare of someone who'd never recover emotionally. The next week he was back to chasing geese over stiles, without a care in the world. Â It's weird because I'd often watch these shows because there was fuck all else on, but I can't remember hardly anything about them. London's Burning, I probably watched the entire run, but I couldn't tell you a single character name. One of them looked a little bit like Dennis Wise, that's all I know. Â Something really mad is when you realise just how long the runs of some of those shows were. The Upper Hand had 92 episodes. Birds of a Feather had 102. London's Burning? 170. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Houchen Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 I always thought that copper who looked like he had Smallpox in his younger days on Heartbeat would make a brilliant Chief Wiggum in a live action Simpsons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members WWFChilli Posted January 21, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted January 21, 2012 In an episode that I'm not actually making up, the older copper with the really pockmarked face got abducted by aliens once. He had hypnotic regression and everything, and at the end of the episode, he had the thousand yard stare of someone who'd never recover emotionally. The next week he was back to chasing geese over stiles, without a care in the world. Â Alf got abducted by aliens. Fuck me that's fantastic. Â Bellamy was a bellend, glad he died. I did love that rather hapless cop they got in for about a dozen episodes around 2000. Can't remember for the life of me what his name was, all I know is he got shot on an airfield. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rey_Piste Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Looking at that listing, the only watchable thing on the list was Spitting Image, but by that point Spitting Image wasn't that good. It really stood out in the 80s, but by the 90s it had ran out of steam. I was suprised to be had been woke up by this on the radio during the week though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retro Red Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Look at the listings for this Sunday on ITV in May 93. It's mainly pure hell. Old telly was rubbish.  Spitting Image was that last bastion of the weekend, getting to stay up for it was ace but as soon as it was done there was the sinking realisation that the weekend was over and I had school in the morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Surf Digby Posted January 21, 2012 Paid Members Share Posted January 21, 2012 Surprise Surprise With Henry Cooper, Bobby Davro and John Fashanu I fail to see what people are complaining about. Â And Russ Abbott was the absolute personification of family friendly Saturday evening TV. Jimmy, Basildon Bond and Bella Emberg would be welcome back on my TV any time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobra_gordo Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Surprise Surprise With Henry Cooper, Bobby Davro and John Fashanu I fail to see what people are complaining about. Â And Russ Abbott was the absolute personification of family friendly Saturday evening TV. Jimmy, Basildon Bond and Bella Emberg would be welcome back on my TV any time. Â Seconded. And an evening documentary about Ozzy Osbourne? What's not to like. Russ Abott is amazing. I got offered tickets to see him film a live episode of Last Of The Summer Wine and marked out like a bitch when I got the e-mail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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