Weekend Watch Vol.5
Another round up of the archive titbits I've been watching
After a week off, Weekend Watch returns with a handful of vintage television gems to keep you on your toes. These are the fascinating moments of British television that I’ve personally handpicked as being worthy of your old glazzies this weekend. And, believe me, you don’t want to see the stuff which bored me to tears, so this is all killer and no filler. Depending on your mindset.
29/11/1982 - BBC2 - Inside Information (Counterfeit Video Tapes)
Regular readers of Curious British Telly will be well aware of my love of old video tapes, and it should come as no surprise as to why the thumbnail for this video caught my attention. Yes, that JVC video tape is quite remarkable as it was one of the very first to be available for home recording in the UK. And any ‘tape digger’ worth their salt will always get palpitations when they find one, holding, as they do, the potential to contain recordings from the 1970s. But this clip, from Inside Information, isn’t about that. Instead, it focuses on the dangers of buying counterfeit tapes, a market which, for blank tapes at least, I wasn’t aware even existed.
14/01/1972 - ITV - Today (British Cuisine)
Served up in two helpings, this diamond from the Thames archive is an amazing look back in time. In an age of shepherds pie, roast dinners and copious amounts of beige stodge, Eamonn Andrews discussed the state of British cooking with a panel of curiously eccentric characters - including a tempting triumvirate of Claire Rayner, Vincent Price and Madame Prunier - alongside an audience containing characters who are equally, if not more, extraordinary. A charming slice of programming, and certainly more tasty than pie and chips.
08/11/1986 - ITV - Unnatural Causes (Home Cooking)
I first recommended Home Cooking in one of the Curious British Telly fanzines, but it bears repeating that it’s more than worth a watch, and not everyone on the Substack was there for the fanzine. Anyway, it’s a fantastic play which features the much put-upon Judith (Prunella Scales) running a guesthouse with her misogynistic husband Vic (Brian Cox). The guesthouse is little more than an extension of Vic’s various vices and this is in stark contrast to Judith’s dream of a family friendly establishment. Home Cooking is a dark, grisly thriller and you’ll never look at a sauna in the same way again.
1986 - Mirrorvision Matinee
Mirrorvision was a short lived cable channel which rose from the ashes of The Entertainment Network in 1985. Both channels specialised in showing movies and both came from Robert Maxwell. Mirrorvision launched on 5th June 1985 - a day after The Entertainment Network’s final schedule - and ran for several months until it merged into the Premiere movie channel. Footage of Mirrorvision is rare, but a few intriguing fragments have made their way online. And that’s exactly what we have here.