Archive for the Television Category

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R.I.P. Diana Rigg (1938-2020)

Posted in Film, Television, Theatre with tags , , on September 10, 2020 by telescoper

More sad news today: the death at the age of 82 of the wonderful actress Diana Rigg. She had a long and distinguished career on TV, film and in the theatre. I had the privilege of seeing her opposite David Suchet in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf on stage in London many years ago and thought she was brilliant. But it is as Emma Peel in The Avengers that people of my age will remember her best. Here, by way of a small tribute, is her very first appearance in that role, way back in 1965.

Rest in peace, Diana Rigg (1938-2020)

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The people who do things and what they do

Posted in Art, Cricket, Football, Opera, Television with tags , on July 19, 2020 by telescoper

It’s a tough lesson to learn in life that the people you admire or idolize for their contribution in a particular arena (whether that be sport, art, science or something else) turn out to be people you can’t stand in terms of their character or political views.

You have to separate, for example, having a high regard for Ian Botham’s cricketing prowess from having a high regard for his personal character. In fact I can think of few sportspeople whose company I’d enjoy socially.

The same goes in many other spheres. Richard Feynman was a truly great physicist but I’ve never bought into the personality cult surrounding him. In fact I doubt I would have liked him very much at all if we’d ever met in person. They say you should never meet your heroes. They’re right.

Another example is Richard Wagner, a brilliant composer but really horrible man, who brings us to this clip from the end of Twilight of the Gods (the last episode of Series 7 of Inspector Morse, first broadcast in 1993).

I won’t spoil the plot if you haven’t seen it but it involves a famous opera singer, Gladys Probert, who visits Oxford to perform and receive an honorary degree. On the way to the ceremony she is shot, but was she the intended victim?

Opera-loving Morse is a huge admirer of Gladys Probert but in the course of his investigation he uncovers some unpleasant truths about her private life. He solves the crime but the case leaves him dispirited.

Here is the ending. John Thaw is Inspector Morse and Kevin Whateley is Detective Sergeant Lewis.

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R.I.P. Tim Brooke-Taylor (1940-2020)

Posted in Television with tags , , on April 13, 2020 by telescoper

More sad news arrived yesterday: comedy legend Tim Brooke-Taylor passed away with Covid-19 at the age of 79.

Together with Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie, Tim Brooke-Taylor starred an The Goodies, a TV programme I loved and watched religiously as a kid. I remember when my whole class at came down with Gibbon-Mania when the trio reached Number One in the Hit Parade with The Funky Gibbon.

Later on I discovered the radio series I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue and was immediately hooked. Chaired by the incomparable Humphrey Lyttelton (front left in the picture) , the original four panellists given silly things to do were Tim Brooke-Taylor (behind Humph) , Barry Cryer (centre), Willie Rushton (front right) and Graeme Garden (right) . I listened regularly to that show until Humph passed away in 2008. It never seemed the same after that. Now only two of the original team are still with us; Willie Rushton died in 1996.

It seems this cruel virus is targeting an entire generation, cutting short so many lives of so many people who meant so much to us.

Sad days.

Rest in peace, Tim Brooke-Taylor (1940-2020)

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R. I. P. Honor Blackman (1925-2020)

Posted in Film, Television with tags , , on April 6, 2020 by telescoper

More sad news today: the wonderful actress Honor Blackman, best known as Cathy Gale, John Steed’s first sidekick in The Avengers, and as Pussy Galore in the Bond film Goldfinger, has passed away at the age of 94.

Rest in peace, Honor Blackman (1925-2020).

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On Boredom

Posted in Biographical, Covid-19, Television with tags , , on April 1, 2020 by telescoper

During this time of isolation and social distancing I’ve noticed how many people are posting messages on social media about being bored.

Conscious that I am in danger once again of being excluded from a popular cultural phenomenon I have been trying recently to join in this craze. Unfortunately whenever I try to experience a bit of boredom I find there is far too much to distract me.

There’s working from home, of course: lecture recordings to make, notes to prepare, assignments to correct, virtual meetings to attend, papers to write, and so on

But outside of work it’s just as difficult. Whenever I try to interrupt my day with a bit of boredom I find that there’s so much music to listen to, so many books and newspapers to read, so many crossword puzzles to solve so many other things to do, that I always get distracted and fail dismally.

Perhaps it is the fact that I don’t have a television set that makes me such a failure? It seems that there may be a strong correlation between possession of a TV and being susceptible to boredom. Perhaps if I bought one I could be more like normal people?

Anyway, never let it be said that I don’t know when I’m beaten. That is why I am asking readers of this blog for help. Could anyone who is expert in being bored please send tips on how to achieve it? I’d be quite interested in your suggestions.

Your advice through the comments box would be greatly appreciated as I fear that without it I may always remain a social outcast.

P. S. Before anyone says it: if you are yourself struggling to get bored you could try reading through the back catalogue of posts on this blog!

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Survivors!

Posted in Television with tags , on March 14, 2020 by telescoper

Who among you is old enough to remember the 1975 TV series Survivors?

I remember it well, as it scared me to bits. I never figured out, though, why if 99% of the human race had died, why were there no bodies anywhere?

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R.I.P. Terry Jones (1942-2020)

Posted in Television with tags , on January 22, 2020 by telescoper

So Terry Jones has ceased to be, expired and gone to meet his maker, kicked the bucket, shuffled off his mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin’ choir invisible. In fact I bet he’s playing the organ for them:

The loss of a life is no laughing matter, but I’m sure Terry Jones wouldn’t mind the references to the Parrot Sketch. We should try to remember him for the laughter he gave us before that cruel bastard dementia started to take him away.

May he rest in peace.

R.I.P. Terry Jones (1942-2020)

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R.I.P. Jonathan Miller (1934-2019) – The Piano in Question

Posted in Music, Television with tags , , on November 27, 2019 by telescoper

I was very sad to read just now of the death of writer, humorist, director and polymath Dr Jonathan Miller who has passed away at the age of 85. The papers are already filled with tributes to Jonathan Miller to which I’ll add a personal recollection that made a big impression on me when I was young and which makes me remember Dr Miller with great fondness.

While I was at school I was captivated by the BBC TV series, directed and introduced by Jonathan Miller, called the Body in Question.

This episode, first broadcast in 1978, shows Dr Miller at the piano with Dudley Moore, his old friend from Beyond the Fringe. They’re exploring the mysterious process by which pianists manage to put their fingers on the right keys without apparently consciously thinking about the mechanical operations involved or even looking at the keyboard. Practice seems to program the hands so that the translation from sheet music to sound becomes second nature, but to those without the ability to effect the transformation (like myself), the process still seems almost miraculous.

R.I.P. Jonathan Miller (1934-2019)

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Searching for Synge

Posted in History, mathematics, Television with tags , , on November 14, 2019 by telescoper

John Lighton Synge (above; 1897-1995), who was an expert on geometrical approaches to general relativity, was regarded by many as the most eminent Irish mathematician and physicist since Sir William Rowan Hamilton. Synge (whose uncle was the famous playwright John Millington Synge) was born in Dublin and had spells at Trinity College Dublin, the University of Toronto and various universities in the USA before taking up a position as Senior Professor at Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) in 1948 from which he retired in 1972.

I have been asked by a friend to find out if there are any video recordings of Synge talking or lecturing. A quick google search turns up nothing, so I thought I would put this request out into the blogosphere to see if anyone is aware of anything.

Given the dates it seems likely that any recordings of him would be originally on film (or perhaps television) which would have to be transferred to digital format. Perhaps there is archive material at Trinity College or DIAS that could be suitable?

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Irish Regional Accents – Niall Tóibín

Posted in Maynooth, Television with tags , , on November 14, 2019 by telescoper

I heard yesterday that renowned actor and comedian Niall Tóibín passed away yesterday at the age of 89. I knew him best from his role as the priest Frank MacAnally in Ballykissangel which I watched occasionally in the 1990s. This morning I heard a tribute to him on the radio and discovered that he was a bit of an expert on Irish regional accents, so I thought I’d share a clip here.

Living and working in Maynooth, which is not far from Dublin, the accents I hear most frequently are those of the Greater Dublin area. I say “accents” rather than “accent” because, as the clip demonstrates, there is quite a wide variety even in this region. At Maynooth we do have students from as far afield as the North of County Donegal and the South of County Cork (where Niall Tóibín came from). I’m better at identifying accents from the North than the South, and can at least tell the difference between Belfast and elsewhere in Ulster, but other than that although I can spot different accents I’m hopeless at identifying where they come from.

One final thing. Niall Tóibín mentions in this clip that the Cork accent sounds a bit like a Welsh accent. This is not the first time I’ve heard someone say that but I have to admit I can’t hear any resemblance myself!

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