Explore TV Series

Based on real-life experiences, Tenko remains one of the most fondly remembered and acclaimed BBC dramas of the early 1980s. It follows a group of women, formerly comfortably well-off ex-pats living in Singapore, as they are captured by the Japanese during World War II.

The Clothes Show is a British television show about fashion that can currently be seen weeknights on Really. It was formerly broadcast on BBC One from 1986 to 2000.

London's Burning is a British television drama programme produced by London Weekend Television for the ITV network that focused on the lives of members of the London Fire Brigade, principally those of the Blue Watch at a fictional fire station called Blackwall.

Out of the norm police officer Navarro and his team investigate the most troubling, serious and heart rendering cases in the city of Paris.

Reilly, Ace of Spies is a 1983 television miniseries dramatising the life of Sidney Reilly, a Russian Jew who became one of the greatest spies ever to work for the British. Among his exploits, in the early 20th-century, were the infiltration of the German General Staff in 1917 and a near-overthrow of the Bolsheviks in 1918. His reputation with women was as legendary as his genius for espionage.

Worlds Beyond is a British television anthology broadcast on ITV from 1986 to 1988, based on real-life supernatural experiences described in archival documents from the Society for Psychical Research. A book was also released to accompany the series.

Spanning 1919 to 1982, in the fictional village of Schabbach, live Maria Simon and her family, whose lives and community are changed by historical events around them.

David Frost wanders into celebrities' houses and a panel of celebrities has to guess who the famous homeowner is.

"Fredy" is a black ant who solves his problems in every episode with his intelligence and the help of his friends.

Juliet Bravo was a drama that focused on two female police inspectors, neither of whom were called Juliet Bravo! These two inspectors worked in the small fictional town of Hartley, Lancashire. Jean Darblay was on the scene first and had trouble with her sexist colleagues. However she soon managed to gain their trust and prove a woman could be a successful police officer and housewife. Jean's call sign was Juliet Bravo. When she was promoted and moved on she was replaced by Kate Longton who not only took over the patch but also the headaches that went with it.

Samuel Etienne hosts this emblematic game, which sees four candidates compete each evening around questions of general culture.

An un-scripted comedy show in which four guest performers improvise their way through a series of games, many of which rely on audience suggestions.

Paris By Night is a popular Vietnamese language musical variety show, produced by Thúy Nga and hosted by Nguyễn Ngọc Ngạn and Nguyễn Cao Kỳ Duyên, featuring musical performances by modern pop stars, traditional folk songs, one-act plays, and sketch comedy.

The Tube was an innovative United Kingdom pop/rock music television programme, which ran for five seasons, from 5 November 1982 until 1987. It was produced in Newcastle upon Tyne for Channel 4 by Tyne Tees Television, which had previously produced the similar music show Alright Now and the music-oriented youth show Check it Out for ITV; production of the latter ended in favour of The Tube. The Tube was presented live by hosts including Jools Holland, Paula Yates, Leslie Ash, Muriel Gray, Gary James, Michel Cremona, Nick Laird-Clowes and Mike Everitt. The brand name was relaunched by Channel 4 as an online radio station in November 2006. The show was directed by Gavin Taylor; Geoff Wonfor directed some of the insert videos along with other staff programme director of Tyne Tees Television Martin Cairns. Many other specials were made, including one for the eve of the millennium.

Each self-contained episode features a different kind of horror, varying from witches, werewolves, ghosts, devil worship and voodoo, but also includes non-supernatural themes such as cannibalism, confinement and serial killers.

Never the Twain is a British sitcom that ran for eleven series from 7 September 1981 to 9 October 1991. It was created by Johnnie Mortimer, and was the only sitcom he ever created without his usual writing partner, Brian Cooke. Mortimer wrote the entirety of the first two series and four episodes out of six of the eighth, with the rest being mainly written by Vince Powell and John Kane. It starred Windsor Davies and Donald Sinden as rival antique dealers, and also starred Derek Deadman, Zara Nutley, Robin Kermode, Tacy Kneale, Julia Watson, Honor Blackman, Teddy Turner and Maria Charles. The title is taken from the Rudyard Kipling poem; The Ballad of East and West.

Motormouth was a Saturday morning children's television series that was produced by Television South and aired across the ITV network for four series, running between 3 September 1988 and 4 April 1992. Each series generally ran from the autumn of one year to the spring of the next, as was common among many 'main' Saturday morning series. The programme was launched following the decision to axe No. 73, which had run in the same slot until early 1988. No. 73 had been revamped during its final series as 7T3, with a partially exterior set. However, the new 7T3 set-up was expensive and difficult to produce, and so it was decided to switch to a fully studio-based set-up. The new show was produced as the same studio complex as its predecessor, and many of the production team transferred to the new show. Whereas No. 73 had included an inherent narrative storyline, the decision was taken that Motormouth would have a straightforward magazine presentation format. The studio set for the first series was dominated by several giant inflatable elements, including a giant motorised mouth, from which the show took its name. In the second series, billed in some cases as Motormouth II or Motormouth 2, there were changes, including the introduction of new graphics and set elements based on cogs and sprockets. The use of the giant mouth declined following this alteration.

Compelling crime anthology looks at some of Britain's most notorious murder trials, in which both male and female defendants stood accused of the murder of women. Presented by Robert Morley, seven hour-long dramas reconstruct sensational trials which shocked Britain, offering in-depth analyses of individuals' motives and methods.

Peter Strohm is a private detective with radical methods. His work begins where police work ends; he takes on sensitive cases that require a certain scale, or explosive situations that can lead to international crises.

La Bola de Cristal was a Spanish TV Show that aired on TVE from 1984 to 1988. The show was the brainchild of Spanish writer Dolores Rico Oliver and was hosted by pop singer Alaska. The show, which was ostensibly targeted at a young audience, reflected the spirit of the times, that of the post-Franco Spanish transition and of the cultural and musical movement known as la movida. In contrast to previous shows, with a very childish use of language, it had continuous puns related to electronics: the Electroduendes puppets included Maese Cámara, Hada Vídeo and Bruja Avería as regular characters.

A short-lived anthology television series from Hammer Studios. Though similar in format to the 1980 series Hammer House of Horror, the Mystery and Suspense series had feature-length episodes, usually running around 70 minutes without commercials. Co-produced by Hammer Studios with 20th Century Fox Television, it is known in the United States as Fox Mystery Theater. Unlike 1980's Hammer House of Horror, all episodes feature American actors as either the leads or in key roles. It first broadcast in the UK on ITV in 1984, though was not simulcast and was shown in different timeslots throughout the various regions.

Mr Jason Rafiel seeks Miss Marple's help to solve a crime but he does gives her any details. In fact, he can't be sure that a crime was committed at all.

SuperTed is a Welsh fictional anthropomorphic bear character created by Mike Young. Originally created by Young as a series of stories to help his son overcome his fear of the dark, SuperTed became a popular series of books and led to an animated series produced from 1982 to 1986.

A young couple from Merseyside and their off again/on again relationship.

France, 17th century, under the reign of Louis XIII. Dogtanian is an impetuous and innocent peasant from Gascony, as well as a skilled swordsman, who travels to Paris with the purpose of making his dream come true: to join the Corps of Muskehounds of the Royal Guard.

The Lightning League drives white and silver vehicles with assorted weaponry, and are led by a teenager named Jayce. The villains are organic green vegetable-based creatures called the Monster Minds, who tend to take the shape of black and green vehicles. They travel via large green organic vines which can grow in and across interstellar space, and sprout seeds that rapidly grow into further Monster Minds. They are led by Saw Boss.

Pumuckl is a Kobold from a German radio play series for children. He is a descendant of the Klabautermänner. He is invisible to people around him except for the master carpenter Eder with whom Pumuckl lives. Pumuckl was invented by Ellis Kaut for a radio play series of the Bavarian Radio in 1961. Later on it was turned into a very successful TV series. Three movies and a musical also deal with the adventures of the little kobold. Pumuckl is one of the most popular characters in children's entertainment in Germany and several generations have now grown up with the cheeky but funny little Kobold.

Helicopter skyrunner Anneka Rice races against the clock to find directions to treasure at locations worked out by studio guests from cryptic clues.

Crosswits is a British television quiz show produced by Cove Productions and Action Time in association with Tyne Tees and filmed from their City Road studios in Newcastle upon Tyne. It ran from 1985 to 1998. It was originally hosted by Barry Cryer for the first 2 series, then comedian Tom O'Connor took over from series 3 until the show ended. The show consisted of two members of the public competing against each other to solve simple crossword puzzles. Each member of the public was helped out by a "celebrity" partner. The announcers for the show were generally Tyne Tees continuity announcers such as Judi Lines, Jonathan Morrell and Bill Steel.

Catchphrase is a British game show based on the short-lived U.S. game show of the same name. It originally aired on ITV in the United Kingdom between 12 January 1986 and 19 December 2002. It was presented by Northern Irish comedian Roy Walker from 1986–1999; followed by Nick Weir from 2000–2002, and Mark Curry in 2002. In the original series, two contestants, one male and one female would have to identify the familiar phrase represented by a piece of animation accompanied by background music. The show's mascot, a golden robot called "Mr. Chips", appears in many of the animations. In the revived version of the show, the same format remains, but there are three contestants. In August 2012, it was announced that Stephen Mulhern would host a revived version of the show beginning on 7 April 2013. On 21 August 2013, it was confirmed that Catchphrase has been re-commissioned for a second series, following the success of the first.

Shine on Harvey Moon! is a British comedy-drama series made by Central Television for ITV from 8 January 1982 to 23 August 1985 and briefly revived in 1995 by Meridian. This generally light-hearted series was created by comedy writers Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran. The series is set in the East End of London shortly after the Second World War. Upon being demobbed RAF serviceman Harvey Moon, played by Kenneth Cranham, returns home and finds his family involved in various troubles. His wife Rita, played by Maggie Steed, is not interested in resuming their relationship, and works in a seedy nightclub frequented by American servicemen. He becomes involved with the Labour Party and the union movement. The name of the series is a wordplay on the title of the popular 1908 song 'Shine On, Harvest Moon'. The first series was commissioned and recorded by ATV at their Elstree studios with the remaining series filmed at newly constructed facilities in Nottingham.

A young girl embarks on a series of misadventures, causing her friends and teachers to be worrisome. Based on the children's books by Ludwig Bemelmans.

Allsorts is British children's television series that was produced by Granada Television for nine series, which aired from 8 January 1986 to 12 December 1995 on CITV.

Telly Addicts is a game show hosted by Noel Edmonds, that was first broadcast on BBC1 from 3 September 1985 until 29 July 1998 and produced at the BBC's Pebble Mill Studios. All questions were based on television programmes past and present, and generally took the form of a short clip being shown followed by a series of questions either specifically about the clip or more generally about the programme from which it had been taken. Two teams sat opposite each other on sofas. The final series in 1998 had three teams of two players.

Don't Panic! The story of Arthur Dent, an average Englishman whose life was spared by his friend, who turned out to be an alien, while the planet Earth is destroyed. His friend tells him about the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a guide with anything you ever needed, and wanted to know. They travel across the galaxy, meeting friendly, and not so friendly characters in order to find the great question (the answer being 42).

Denmark, by the end of the 19th century. Gov. Dihmer gives his resignation because of his illness. Two friends, a pastor and a physician, try to awaken his willpower and transcend a journey to Italy. Meanwhile, in the homeland, there are political breakthroughs that make little hope for new times.

No 73, later re-titled 7T3, was a British 1980s children's TV show produced by Television South for the ITV network. It was broadcast live on Saturday mornings and ran from 1982 to 1988. The show starred, amongst others, Sandi Toksvig, Neil Buchanan, Andrea Arnold, Kim Goody and Richard Waites. When Television South won the contract to provide ITV coverage for the South of England in 1980, the first thing they set up was a children's department. A team put together with a background in theatre and drama, soon decided to produce a Saturday morning show that differed from the usual Tiswas and Saturday Superstore formula: This show would feature actors in character as hosts, performing their own comedic storyline around the usual guests, music videos, competitions and cartoons. Much of the show was improvised, and a whole week of rehearsals plus an extensive dress rehearsal on Friday preceded each live broadcast on Saturday morning.

Attention please! Are you ready for an adventurous tour through the human body? With a lot of humour, our physical appearance is being introduced from head to toe along cells and organs in an educational way. The heart, blood, nerves and kidneys, each single one is a miracle which renders life possible.

The Campbells was a Scottish-Canadian television drama series, which aired on Scottish Television and CTV from 1986 to 1990. A historical family drama, the series starred Malcolm Stoddard as James Campbell, a Scottish doctor living in 1830s Upper Canada with his three children, Neil, Emma and John.

Musikantenstadl is a live television entertainment program broadcast in the German language throughout Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. It features Austrian, Swiss, and German popular folk music, international pop and folk music as well as interviews and comedy. As a production of Eurovision, is co-produced by the Österreichischer Rundfunk, Bayerischer Rundfunk and Schweizer Fernsehen. Aside from the live television broadcasts it also tours in Austria and Germany as live concerts. It is currently hosted by Andy Borg and its location of broadcast varies between towns in different regions in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. The show could be compared to being a much larger German version of the UK 1970's entertainment show The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club. However Musikantenstadl consists of a large ski lodge Set construction and not a Social Club.

After his proposal to sail west to the East Indies is rejected by Portugal, Columbus overcomes court intrigue in Spain to gain support for his expedition.

Highway is a British television series, broadcast from 1983 until 1993. Presented by Sir Harry Secombe, the show was a mixture of hymns and chat from various locations across Britain, produced by their respective regional ITV franchise holders. The programme was administered by Tyne Tees Television in Newcastle upon Tyne, who had a track-record for organising cross-franchise series for the ITV network. Guests sang religious songs, gave readings or talked about their lifestyles and spiritual feelings. The series was broadcast on Sunday evenings. The final series was moved to Sunday afternoons. Highway was replaced by Sunday Morning with Secombe in which he would broadcast from the venue of the following Morning Worship service.

Jacko is a painter and decorator with an eye for the ladies. He works with Eric, who's married to his sister Jean. The painting and decorating firm they work for is owned by Lionel Bainbridge.