Codename
Codename, which premiered in April 1970, was about the secretive MI17 Spy Organisation of the same name based in the residential hall of a Cambridge College. Eventually the series attained a more international flavour, although its base was always in Great Britain. Primarily Codename dealt with the themes of espionage and counter-espionage at the time of the Cold War of the sixties. Its cast contained many of Great Britain's most versatile and talented actors.
Viktors Ritelis
Gerard Glaister
Tony Williamson
David Sullivan Proudfoot
David T. Chantler
Peter Graham Scott
Mervyn Haisman
Henry Lincoln
Casts & Crew
Also Directed by Viktors Ritelis
A mother and daughter hatch a scheme to murder their family's domineering and sadistic patriarch.
"You expect to face a bit of danger when you travel. Half the fun of it. But you keep cool and bluff your way out. After all, we're all British aren't we?"
The Lotus Eaters is a BBC television drama made between 1972 and 1973. The series, written by Michael J. Bird, dealt with the lives of various British expats living on the island of Crete and their reasons for being there. The central characters were a married couple, Erik and Ann Shepherd who ran a tavern called "Shepherd's Bar". In the first episode, Ann was revealed to be a "sleeper agent" of British Intelligence with Erik having been a broken down drunk whom she was made to marry as part of her cover story. A clash with Soviet and Chinese agents resulted in both of them having to leave Crete. In the final scene on a plane leaving Heraklion airport, they have a partial reconciliation, since each is the only person the other can trust. The Lotus Eaters was filmed in the Cretan resort of Aghios Nikolaos and derived its title from the Lotus Eaters of Greek mythology, where those who ate the fruit of the Lotus tree lost the desire to return home. The series was also the first of the Mediterranean based dramas written by Michael J. Bird for the BBC. The others included Who Pays the Ferryman?, also set in Crete, The Aphrodite Inheritance set in Cyprus and The Dark Side of the Sun set in Rhodes.
Secret Army, a series created by Gerard Glaister, chronicled the history of a Belgian resistance movement during the Second World War dedicated to returning Allied airmen back to their home country. The show was set in a Brussels café and later restaurant (Le Candide), where the owner Albert Foiret helps Lisa Colbert (code-named "Yvette") hide airmen and control the various members of the "Lifeline" organisation as they take the airmen across borders to safer neutral countries such as Spain. Their principal opponents were Ludwig Kessler, an officious officer in the SS, and the more laidback Luftwaffe officer Major Erwin Brandt.
Pirate TV Movie from 1991
A man visiting Cyprus to investigate the death of his brother is drawn into a strange conspiracy.
The Flying Doctors is an Australian drama series produced by Crawford Productions that revolved around the everyday lifesaving efforts of the real Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia. It was initially a 1985 mini-series based in the fictional outback town of Cooper's Crossing starring Andrew McFarlane as the newly arrived Dr. Tom Callaghan. The success of the mini series led to its return the following year as an on-going series with McFarlane being joined by a new doctor, Chris Randall, played by Liz Burch. McFarlane left during the first season and actor Robert Grubb came in as new doctor Geoff Standish. The series' episodes were mostly self-contained but also featured ongoing storylines, such as Dr. Standish's romance with Sister Kate Wellings. Other major characters included pilot Sam Patterson, mechanic Emma Plimpton, local policeman Sgt. Jack Carruthers and Vic and Nancy Buckley, who ran the local pub/hotel, The Majestic. Andrew McFarlane also later returned to the series, resuming his role as Dr. Callaghan. The popular series ran for nine seasons and was successfully screened internationally.
Billy gets a job on a farm while suspended from school. The fields offer an escape from his tower block, but his friends think he's daft. Billy can see a different kind of life ahead, doing a job he could really enjoy-but events conspire against him.
Colditz is a British television series co-produced by the BBC and Universal Studios and screened between 1972 and 1974. The series deals with Allied prisoners of war imprisoned at the supposedly escape-proof Colditz Castle when designated Oflag IV-C during World War II, and their many attempts to escape captivity, as well as the relationships formed between the various nationalities and their German captors. Colditz was created by Brian Degas working with the producer Gerard Glaister, who went on to devise another successful BBC series dealing with the Second World War — Secret Army. Technical consultant for the series was Major Pat Reid, the real British Escape Officer at Colditz. One of the locations used in filming was Stirling Castle.
Also Directed by Gerard Glaister
A tax avoidance scheme by a film producer leads to murder and the theft of £300,000.
King of the River is a British television series transmitted by the BBC between 1966 and 1967. The series centred around the King family and their efforts to maintain their sail-driven barge transport business.
Secret Army, a series created by Gerard Glaister, chronicled the history of a Belgian resistance movement during the Second World War dedicated to returning Allied airmen back to their home country. The show was set in a Brussels café and later restaurant (Le Candide), where the owner Albert Foiret helps Lisa Colbert (code-named "Yvette") hide airmen and control the various members of the "Lifeline" organisation as they take the airmen across borders to safer neutral countries such as Spain. Their principal opponents were Ludwig Kessler, an officious officer in the SS, and the more laidback Luftwaffe officer Major Erwin Brandt.
Oil Strike North is a BBC television drama series produced in 1975. The series was created and produced by Gerard Glaister and dealt with life on Nelson One, a North Sea oil rig owned by the fictional company Triumph Oil. Eschewing the corporate power struggles of Mogul / The Troubleshooters and concentrating on more personal storylines, Oil Strike North was essentially a character study of how workers faced life on the rig and the impact it had on the lives of their families and loved ones. The scenario was later revived by the BBC for the mid-1990s drama Roughnecks. Oil Strike North lasted for one series of thirteen episodes. The leading cast members included Nigel Davenport, Glyn Owen, Barbara Shelley, Angela Douglas, Andrew Robertson, Richard Hurndall, Sean Caffrey and Maurice Roëves. Gerard Glaister later moved onto to produce the Second World War resistance drama Secret Army, the air freight series Buccaneer and then onto the boating soap serial Howards' Way. Two of the leading actors in Oil Strike North, Nigel Davenport and Glyn Owen, also later appeared in Howards' Way.
Dr. Finlay's Casebook is a television series that was broadcast on the BBC from 1962 until 1971. Based on A. J. Cronin's novella entitled Country Doctor, the storylines centred on a general medical practice in the fictional Scottish town of Tannochbrae during the late 1920s. Cronin was the primary writer for the show between 1962 and 1964.
BBC series based on the novels by Georges Simenon which starred Rupert Davies as Inspector Maigret, a French police detective who preferred to watch and listen in order to solve crimes. The series ran from 1960-63 on British television.
A gang of high class corporate thieves use blackmail to induce their victims to sell property at knock-down prices.
The police investigate the murder of a wealthy old man.
Arthur Payne, recently out of prison, meets a stranger, Theo Gaunt, on a train and explains his situation. A few days later another stranger makes a curious proposition. Arthur should participate in a fake robbery and remove some imitation jewellery from the stranger's own safe.
Also Directed by David Sullivan Proudfoot
The series starred Thora Hird as crusading local councillor Sarah Danby and was set around the fictional borough of Furness in Lancashire. Capitalising on the popularity of its lead actress, The First Lady was a down-to-earth series exploring the inner workings of local government.
The Mask of Janus is a British television series produced by the BBC in 1965. The series was set in the fictional European country of Amalia and dealt with the political interests of the British, American and Communist espionage communities within. Eschewing the action formula of its ITV contemporaries, the series dealt with more politically oriented plots such as defections to the west, awakening "sleeper" agents and the leaking of official secrets. As of 2009, 7 of the original episodes of this programme are still missing from BBC archives. A spin-off series called The Spies followed in 1966.
Softly, Softly is a British television drama series, produced by the BBC and screened on BBC 1 from January 1966. It centred around the work of regional crime squads, plain-clothes CID officers based in the fictional region of Wyvern, supposedly in the Bristol area of England.
Oil Strike North is a BBC television drama series produced in 1975. The series was created and produced by Gerard Glaister and dealt with life on Nelson One, a North Sea oil rig owned by the fictional company Triumph Oil. Eschewing the corporate power struggles of Mogul / The Troubleshooters and concentrating on more personal storylines, Oil Strike North was essentially a character study of how workers faced life on the rig and the impact it had on the lives of their families and loved ones. The scenario was later revived by the BBC for the mid-1990s drama Roughnecks. Oil Strike North lasted for one series of thirteen episodes. The leading cast members included Nigel Davenport, Glyn Owen, Barbara Shelley, Angela Douglas, Andrew Robertson, Richard Hurndall, Sean Caffrey and Maurice Roëves. Gerard Glaister later moved onto to produce the Second World War resistance drama Secret Army, the air freight series Buccaneer and then onto the boating soap serial Howards' Way. Two of the leading actors in Oil Strike North, Nigel Davenport and Glyn Owen, also later appeared in Howards' Way.
Doomwatch is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC, which ran on BBC 1 between 1970 and 1972. The series was set in the then present-day, and dealt with a scientific government agency led by Doctor Spencer Quist, responsible for investigating and combating various ecological and technological dangers. The series was followed by a film adaptation produced by Tigon British Film Productions and released in 1972, and a revival TV film was broadcast on Channel 5 in 1999.
Warship was a popular British television drama series produced by the BBC between 1973 and 1977. The series dealt with life on board a Royal Navy warship, the fictional HMS Hero.
The Venturers is a British television series produced by the BBC in 1975. The series, created by Donald Bull, had started out as an edition of Drama Playhouse in 1972 before being commissioned as an ongoing series. The Venturers took place in the high pressure world of Prince's Merchant Bank and dealt with the intricacies of high finance amongst its millionaire clients. Geoffrey Keen starred as director Gerald Lang, in a virtual reprise of his role as oil executive Brian Stead in Mogul / The Troubleshooters. Other major cast members included James Kerry, David Buck, Cyril Luckham and William Squire. The Venturers lasted for a single series of ten episodes.
Also Directed by Peter Graham Scott
Ernest Wright's peerless prowess as a locksmith comes to the attention of a tough big-time crook, who feels that the little man would be a valuable asset to his crime kingdom. In order to inveigle him into a series of jobs, he sets up a beautiful hostess as a trap, into which the hapless Ernest inevitably falls..!
New inmate Rainbow has just been imprisoned for a year for his part in a fight over his girlfriend Wendy. After being assigned to kitchen duty, he becomes involved in a food-trading racket. When the scheme is betrayed to the prison's governor, its prime mover is threatened with an extended sentence - unless Rainbow can come up with a way to save him.
The gang genuinely believe they have helped a farmer - even though he has been bad-tempered with them and does not deserve help - by rounding up what they suppose to be his stray cows.
Unable to obtain tickets for the local Cup Final, the gang build a viewing platform atop a tree near the garden of an enemy householder. Their presence there, as always, causes considerable chaos.
A documentary about the precursor to the Arts Council, the wartime Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts (CEMA), featuring an introduction by education minister R A Butler, an art exhibition in a factory and live music and theatre performances in various English locations.
A medical student who is thrown out of his university, ends up working in a laundry and rebuilds his confidence with a relationship with a fashion model.
Mandy, a young ballet dancer, joins a Ballet company in Bristol run by dance director Daniel. Mandy becomes infatuated with principal dancer Paul while Daniel becomes increasingly disenchanted with his star ballerina Isabelle.
The police, with the help of a baker, try to find the owner a loaf of bread accidentally poisoned with potassium cyanide.
A clerk sees his big chance to escape a humdrum existence, but his resolve is tested as many unexpected obstacles arise.
Percy Pointer's passion in life is the theatre, and all his spare time is devoted to the play he is writing.When it's finished it arrives on the desk of a London impresario, at a time when he wants to stage a flop.