Explore TV Series

Ernest Hemingway attained celebrity at the age of twenty-five. Some of his novels are among the greatest bestsellers of American literature. His life is a legend woven with countless passions, encounters and experiences. This colossus of a man was a novelist, journalist polemicist, playwright, hunter, fisherman, adventurer... A globetrotter with a hermit's soul, he went through three wars, had a life-long romance with danger, and made death his closest companion and his main source of inspiration. The son of a Puritan family, he was also a pleasure seeker. A self-confessed male chauvinist, he thought of Woman as a muse, a worshipper, a second mother. His four wives- Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gellhorn and Mary Welsh - represented both his mirror and his straight man, seeking to appease his torments and contradictions and to accompany him to the end of his dreams.

Charters and Caldicott is a 1985 BBC mystery series featuring the characters Charters and Caldicott from the film The Lady Vanishes. It featured six 50 minute episodes broadcast on BBC1 at 9.25pm on Thursdays from 10 January to 14 February 1985.

Form master Sam Sylvester inspires the proud non-achievers of Hawkwood Comprehensive to compete in a tetrathlon (running, swimming, shooting, riding) against the posh Greycoats School, challenging stereotypes and finding inner strength.

Break in the Sun is a British television drama serial created and written by Bernard Ashley. The six-part series stars Nicola Cowper as a young girl named Patsy Bligh, who runs away from her violent stepfather and tries to return to her mother's old home in Margate. Notably grittier and more controversial than standard BBC children's serial fare up until that time, it was well received by critics and audiences.

A group of 16-year-olds—Sean, Sammy, Roger, Dikey, Gerry, and Cathy—graduate from Meadowcroft Comprehensive School and are now out in the world looking for work.

A tale of supernatural terror, concerning the discovery of a secret brotherhood of international financiers and politicians meeting clandestinely on Rhodes. The head of the brotherhood, Raoul Lavalliere, had his own secret concerning his ancestor Tibald de Montrefort, a particularly unpleasant individual from the middle ages when the Knights Templar settled on Rhodes.

15-year-old John Trenchard meets the innkeeper Elzevir Block in the town of Moonfleet. You hear about a mysterious legend of Blackbeard and a treasure. The two decide to get to the bottom of the matter. A dangerous journey begins.

A sad and sudden event brings to an abrupt end the happiness shared by Mrs Jessop and her younger daughter, Alison, in their cottage by the sea. One room over a laundry in the slums of London is to be a very different life for them both.

A young Englishman becomes convinced that his friend and guardian has been murdered by his mysterious second wife.

It's 1946, and when Ron Archer discovers that the pier at the nearby seaside town of Midbourne is up for sale, he sets out with his son Trevor to find the money to buy it.

Twelve-year-old Gordon Weaver is killed on waste-ground in Liverpool. His grandfather, Doyle, sends for the boy's father, who returns from Spain to search for the killers. He goes to an old friend to obtain finance for his stay, and gets involved in a raid on a city club owner.

Take a Letter, Mr Jones was a short-lived 1981 British sitcom produced by Southern Television for ITV. It ran for a single series of six episodes. Graham Jones works as personal secretary to female executive Joan Warner within a London-based multinational corporation called 8-Star. Although he ably assists her in their busy office, Graham often helps Joan with her equally hectic domestic arrangements as she is a single mother to seven-year-old Lucy.

Dr Robyn Penrose is a lecturer in English at Rummidge University. Vic Wilcox is the Managing Director of Pringle's, an engineering firm in Rummidge. They meet when Robyn is told by her Head of Department to "shadow" Vic as part of Industry Year. They are initially hostile to each other but gradually come to understand each other's point of view. Based on the novel by David Lodge.

Having hastily left the Met before his dubious activities finally caught up with him, ex-detective Ronald King has formed the Manor Debt Collection Agency with David Castle, a young, somewhat naive martial arts expert and part-time genealogist. Castle's skills come in handy in his new line of work, as do King's old police contacts, and in their dealings with a range of duplicitous, sometimes dangerous clients the chalk-and-cheese duo somehow manages to survive on the right side of the law.

Chocky is a 1984 children's television drama based on the 1968 novel by John Wyndham and was broadcast on ITV in the United Kingdom. Two sequels were produced. All were written by Anthony Read and produced by Thames Television. The series was also broadcast and popular in Czechoslovakia - both dubbings were made. While the 1968 novel was set in an unspecified 'near future', the TV adaptation was set contemporaneously in the mid-1980s. The Gore family acquire a second generation Citroen CX car which was marketed as being technologically advanced at the time.

Behaving Badly is a 1989 British television serial directed by David Tucker. The teleplay by Catherine Heath and Moira Williams is based on Heath's novel of the same name. It was initially broadcast by Channel 4. The series was released on DVD in 2005. The plot focuses on Bridget Mayor, a middle-aged housewife and part-time teacher who is forced to re-evaluate her life when her husband of twenty years abandons her for a younger woman.

Act of Will is a four-part 1989 British television serial directed by Don Sharp, based on Barbara Taylor Bradford's 1986 novel of the same name. Three beautiful women – grandmother, mother and daughter – struggle bravely through five eventful decades of hidden love, high drama and sudden death. From 1926 to present day, from the Yorkshire Dales to London, Paris and New York, how each woman commits an act of will that changes their life and world.

Sketch show starring Brian Conley, Peter Piper, Doon Mackichan, Andrew Secombe and others.

Short-lived sketch show which is notable today for early appearances by Ben Elton, Dame Emma Thompson, Stephen Fry, and Hugh Laurie. Originally broadcast only in the Granada television area, it was refashioned as Alfresco (1983) for national broadcasting.

Anyone for Denis? is a British video-taped television version of the stage play of the same name broadcast by the ITV network on 28 December 1982. The original play, first performed at the Whitehall Theatre in 1981, was written by satirist John Wells. It is based on Private Eye's 'Dear Bill' letters, purportedly written by Denis Thatcher, the husband of Margaret Thatcher, the prime minister at the time. Set in Chequers, the play parodies the couple's relationship. The title is a punning reference to the more familiar question "Anyone for tennis?" The television production, for Thames Television was directed by Dick Clement and stars John Wells, Angela Thorne, John Cater and Nicky Henson.

Arnie Cole and his wife Maud are an odd couple, having entered into the state of matrimony for purely practical reasons. However, their marriage of convenience gives way to genuine partnership as Maud becomes caught up in Arnie's ambitions to start his own film production company.

In the early 1800s, Mary Yellan's life is changed after her father is murdered by shipwreckers. When her mother dies of a broken heart not long afterwards, Mary is forced to go live with her Aunt Patience at her inn on Bodmin Moor. It's there that she discovers her slightly mad Uncle Joss is the wreckers' ringleader and that Jamaica Inn is their headquarters. Mary is determined to bring Joss and his gang to justice and calls upon Joss' younger brother Jem to help.

British sitcom in which Reverend Philip Lambe, after becoming bored in his wealthy Oxfordshire parish, asks for a transfer to a more difficult assignment. Sent to Edendale, a fictional urban town in the Midlands, he is accompanied by his wife Emma, sixteen-year-old daughter Miranda and twelve-year-old son Peter.

Don’t Rock The Boat follows the adventures of widower Jack Hoxton,who runs a riverside boatyard with his two grown-up sons: Les and Billy.Jack meets a young girl Dixie who puts the spring back in his step. When he decides to marry her ructions ensue, as up until the marriage his sons had run a perfectly well-ordered, resoundingly all-male establishment. Now with the arrival of Dixie, a former conjurer’s assistant and chorus girl, things have changed. Now the boys have a stepmother who’s barely older than they are.

Young Sherlock: The Mystery of the Manor House was a 8-episode television series about the youthful years of Sherlock Holmes. The show was produced by Granada Television and premiered on 31 October 1982. Although there was no televised sequel to this story, Gerald Frow penned a follow-up for Granada's Dragon Books. Young Sherlock: The Adventure at Ferryman's Creek went on sale in 1984.

Teenage Stookie Doyle navigates gang rivalries, family life, and social struggles in Glasgow's East End.

The Other 'Arf is a British television ITV sitcom series broadcast from 1980 to 1984. It stars John Standing as upper class Conservative politician Charles Latimer, MP, who begins a relationship with working class cockney Lorraine Watts. The series was produced by ATV, and was screened by ITV.

A series about the life, career and works of the movie comedy genius.

Forced to stay with his aunt and uncle for the summer holidays, Tom Long is lonely and bored, until one night he hears the clock strike 13. He suddenly finds himself transported to a magical Victorian garden of the 1880s and meets a girl.

Three drama-documentary films set in a Paris art studio during a century of scandal and revolution, exploring the lives of French artists Jacques-Louis David, Jean-Auguste Ingres, and Théodore Géricault.

Following the local council elections, County Hall is now controlled, for the first time, by a coalition. The Rate Payers Alliance are part of this but discover how difficult real change is

A harassed secretary at a private golf club steeped in bigotry faces challenges amidst its desperate financial straits. Key events unfold in the club's bar, The Nineteenth Hole. The series was widely condemned as racist, sexist and homophobic. TV producer Paul Stewart Laing, then-controller of programmes for the Plymouth based TSW (Television South West) ITV region, stopped after only three episodes.

Following on from the hugely popular Out of Town, Old Country saw Jack Hargreaves continue his exploration of rural life in Thomas Hardy country – reflecting on its character, traditions, history and folklore, and the skills that had passed from generation to generation.

Criminal lawyer Dominic Rossi returns Glasgow and an unprovoked murder that leads to an investigation in to corruption at the hands of a Mr Big called Tim Forsythe.

That's love! is a British television sitcom about the domestic problems of a young married couple, lawyer Donald and designer Patsy.

Dramatisation of the second part of Lewis Grassic Gibbon's 'Scots Quair' trilogy, in which Chris is now married to the minister of a small industrial town.

Gran is a children's stop motion animation television series narrated by Patricia Hayes and directed by Ivor Wood. There were only two main characters, namely Gran and her grandson, Jim. The programme was made by Woodland Animations and was written by Michael and Joanne Cole. Ivor Wood created thirteen five-minute episodes in 1982. The series was broadcast on the BBC between 17 February 1983 and 12 May 1983, and was repeated in both 1986 and 1992. A children's book based on the series was also released in 1983. The shorts were also shown in the U.S. as part of the Nickelodeon series Eureeka's Castle. Despite moderate popularity with young audiences in the mid-1980s, the series has not been seen on UK television since being repeated in 1992, and no further episodes were made. Series 1 was released on Region 2 DVD in the U.K. on 7 March 2005 but has since been deleted.

Therese, an attractive young woman married to her sickly cousin Camille, leads an extremely monotonous life until Camille brings home Laurent, an old schoolmate.

Get Lost! is a 1981 British television drama serial produced by Yorkshire Television for ITV. Written by Alan Plater, the plot concerns the disappearance of the husband of Leeds schoolteacher Judy Threadgold. Investigating the disappearance, with the aid of her colleague, woodwork teacher Neville Keaton, Judy learns of a secret organisation that helps disaffected people leave their unhappy lives behind.

Affairs of the Heart is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1983 to 1985. Starring Derek Fowlds, it was written by Paul Daneman. It was made for the ITV network by Granada Television.

Chronicles the lives of brothers Jonathan and Harold Dakers, in the Black Country, focusing on their close bond and the challenges they face, particularly during World War I.

Hell's Bells is a 1986 British sitcom produced by BBC Television starring Derek Nimmo as traditionalist Dean 'Selwyn' Makepeace, who finds himself consistently at loggerheads with modernising new Bishop Godfrey Hethercote.

The Hello Goodbye Man is a short-lived 1984 British sitcom, starring Ian Lavender as Denis Ailing, a nervous salesman struggling with his job and romantic life, particularly with his colleague Jennifer. The series follows his disastrous attempts to succeed, including using pep pills and adopting unethical sales tactics, leading to awkward social and professional situations.

Chessgame is a British television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV network in 1983. Based on a series of novels by Anthony Price, the series dealt with the activities of a quartet of counter-intelligence agents: David Audley, Faith Steerforth, Nick Hannah and Hugh Roskill. One series of six episodes was made. ⁕The Alamut Ambush ⁕Enter Hassan ⁕The Roman Collection ⁕Digging up the Future ⁕Flying Blind ⁕Cold Wargame The series was rebroadcast as three TV movies in 1986 called The Alamut Ambush, The Deadly Recruits, and The Cold War Killers.

Noel's Saturday Roadshow is a BBC television light entertainment show which was broadcast live on Saturday evenings from 3 September 1988 to 15 December 1990. It was presented by Noel Edmonds, his first major TV project since the demise of The Late, Late Breakfast Show in 1986. The programme contained several elements which had been found in its predecessor, such as phone-in quizzes, celebrity interviews and bands performing in the studio. The premise for the new show was that unlike The Late Late Breakfast Show, which had been broadcast from the BBC's studios each week, the Roadshow would come from a new, different and exotic location each week. These 'locations' were in fact elaborate studio sets dressed to resemble each week's location, such as the North Pole, a space station, Hollywood, or Niagara Falls. The irony of this was not lost on Edmonds, whose self-deprecating presentation style frequently made light of the low budget production values. The programme was a slow-burning success, and following the third series in 1990, Edmonds' popularity and reputation were sufficiently re-established with the public for Edmonds to pitch Noel's House Party to the BBC. The show also introduced regular features such as the Gunge Tank, the "Gotcha Oscars" and "Wait 'Till I Get You Home", which would all be carried across and subsequently developed in Noel's House Party. Another item was "Clown Court", where a guest actor from a TV series would be on trial for all the bloopers made during the shooting of that show, such as Sylvester McCoy in the title role of Doctor Who, and Tony Robinson as his character of Baldrick in Blackadder the Third.

There you'll find Pip, always ready for adventure, and his clever little sister Daisy, along with Grandpa, who has an extraordinary old barn filled with everything anyone could possibly need.

No Frills was a television sitcom broadcast on BBC1 in 1988, and consisted of 7 episodes. It starred Kathy Staff as Molly Bickerstaff, a recently widowed woman who moves from Oldham to live in London with her divorced daughter Kate and gothic granddaughter Suzy.

Interceptor is a British game show created by Jacques Antoine, Jean Jacques Pasquier and Malcolm Heyworth. It was produced by Chatsworth in association with Thames and shown on the ITV network during the summer of 1989, with one last episode held back and shown on 1 January 1990 for a New Year special. It was made in between Treasure Hunt and The Crystal Maze, game shows from the same production company. The show was hosted by former tennis player and Treasure Hunt sky-runner Annabel Croft. The eponymous Interceptor was played by actor Sean O'Kane. Interceptor was received well by critics and viewers, yet only eight episodes were made. Nonetheless, the show has something of a cult following, which influenced re-runs on digital TV channel Challenge from 2001 onwards. A public vote by UKGameshows.com in 2002 saw the series voted the UK's 13th best game show.

The Family-Ness is a British cartoon series produced in 1983. It was first broadcast on BBC One from 5 October 1984 to 5 April 1985, and it was created by Peter Maddocks of Maddocks Cartoon Productions. Maddocks later went on to produce Penny Crayon and Jimbo and the Jet Set in a similar style. Family-Ness was about the adventures of a family of Loch Ness Monsters and the MacTout family, particularly siblings Elspeth and Angus. The 'Nessies' could be called from the loch by the two children by means of their "thistle whistles". The series was followed with a large collection of merchandising including annuals, story books, character models and even a record. The single "You'll Never Find a Nessie in the Zoo" was written by Roger and Gavin Greenaway, but never made it into the Top 40.

A young boy discovers a teenage caveman living in the local rubbish dump.

Seven kids form a theatre troupe, staging plays for family and friends. Seeking recognition and the coveted Seymore Trophy, they utilize their talents while overcoming parental doubts.

The Secret Life of Machines is an educational television series presented by Tim Hunkin and Rex Garrod, in which the two explain the inner workings and history of common household and office machinery. According to Hunkin, the show's creator, the programme was developed from his comic strip The Rudiments of Wisdom, which he researched and drew for the Observer newspaper over a period of 14 years. Three separate groupings of the broadcast were produced and originally shown between 1988 and 1993 on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom, with the production subsequently airing on The Learning Channel and the Discovery Channel.

A BBC children’s drama that premiered on 12 March 1986, The December Rose unfolds over six episodes as young chimney sweep Absalom “Barnacle” Brown (Courtney Roper‑Knight) stumbles upon a dangerous conspiracy among London’s Victorian elite and becomes the target of the menacing Inspector Creaker (Ian Hogg). Fleeing to the safety of a Thames barge, The Lady, under the care of kindly skipper Tom Gosling (Tony Haygarth), Barnacle adapts to life on the river and befriends the formidable Mrs McDipper (Judy Cornwell) and her daughter Miranda (Cathy Murphy). As Creaker’s gang closes in and a mysterious foreign vessel, The December Rose, docks with a perilous secret aboard, the story builds to a feverish climax in which Barnacle and his allies confront evil head‑on. Based on Leon Garfield’s novel, the series is rich with Dickensian characters and atmospheric location filming across Norfolk, Gloucester, Leeds and Hull

A mock-historical documentary utilising old, often obscure, film clips to satirise world history, with hosts Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones presenting behind desks and featuring a running gag about Smith's ancestors appearing in the footage. A second series features a slightly altered format focusing on topics like medicine, law, and science.

A one-episode television pilot for a proposed 1981 spin-off of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features former series regulars Sarah Jane Smith, an investigative journalist played by Elisabeth Sladen, and K9, a robotic dog voiced by John Leeson. Both characters had been companions of the Fourth Doctor but they had not appeared together before. The single episode, A Girl's Best Friend was broadcast by BBC1 as a Christmas special on 28 December 1981 but was not taken up for a continuing series.