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Son of Fred

Son of Fred was the successor series to The Idiot Weekly, Price 2d and A Show Called Fred. It was made by Associated-Rediffusion and broadcast only in the London area, Midlands and Northern England. It was the third and final in a series of sketch comedy shows attempting to translate the humour of The Goon Show to television. Spike Milligan concentrated on writing and only made small walk on appearances, leaving the lead acting to Peter Sellers. The series was produced and directed by Richard Lester.

Son of Fred

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Grandstand

Grandstand was a British television sport programme. Broadcast between 1958 and 2007, it was one of the BBC's longest running sports shows, alongside BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Its first presenter was Peter Dimmock. There were only four main presenters of the programme during its long history: David Coleman, Frank Bough, Des Lynam, and Steve Rider. Changes in the structure of the programme during its last few years, however, meant it did not have a regular main presenter during this time. Among the more occasional hosts were Alan Weeks, David Icke, Clare Balding, Hazel Irvine, Bob Wilson, David Vine, Barry Davies, Dougie Donnelly, Harry Carpenter, Harry Gration, John Inverdale, Tony Gubba, Helen Rollason, Ray Stubbs and Sue Barker. The last editions of Grandstand were broadcast over the weekend of 27–28 January 2007.

Grandstand

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The Idiot Weekly, Price 2d

The Idiot Weekly, Price 2d was the first serious attempt to translate the humour of The Goon Show to television. It was made by Associated-Rediffusion during 1956 and was broadcast only in the London area. It combined elements of a sitcom and sketch comedy with Peter Sellers as the editor of a tatty Victorian newspaper, The Idiot Weekly. The headlines of the paper were used as links to comedy sketches. Although written mainly by Spike Milligan, there were many contributions from members of the writers' co-operative Associated London Scripts, including Dave Freeman and Terry Nation, with Eric Sykes credited as the script editor. The series was produced and directed by Richard Lester. It was followed by A Show Called Fred and Son of Fred. The title was revived by Spike Milligan for the Australian radio series The Idiot Weekly.

The Idiot Weekly, Price 2d

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A Show Called Fred

A Show Called Fred was the successor series to The Idiot Weekly, Price 2d. It was made by Associated-Rediffusion and broadcast only in London area. It was 25 minutes plus adverts. It was predominantly a sketch comedy attempting to translate the audio antics of the The Goon Show into visual antics in bizarre and often surreal comedy sketches which just suddenly ended with a new sketch beginning. Many performers played small parts in the shows like Ernest Clark, Jon Jon Keefe, Patricia Driscoll, etc. Famous people of the day like Hans and Lotte Hass were parodied. Canadian star, Patti Lewis had a singing spot about the middle of the show, and Max Geldray a music spot later on. There were few taboos with sketches showing people in various states of undress, cameramen, behind the scenes workers and the studios. The Ying Tong song was sung for no apparent reason at various times. The series was written by Spike Milligan and produced and directed by Richard Lester. It was followed by Son of Fred later in 1956. A half hour special Best of Fred was broadcast on 18 September 1963 combining surviving sketches from A Show Called Fred and Son of Fred. The 1995 convention of the Goon Show Preservation Society was billed as A Weekend Called Fred.

A Show Called Fred

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Juke Box Jury

Juke Box Jury was a musical panel show which originally ran on BBC Television from 1 June 1959 until December 1967. The programme was based on the American show Jukebox Jury, itself an offshoot of a long-running radio series. Throughout its run the series featured celebrity showbusiness guests on a rotating weekly panel judging the hit potential of recent releases. By 1962 the programme attracted 12 million viewers weekly on Saturday nights. The concept was later revived by the BBC for one series in 1979 and a further two series in 1989/1990.

Juke Box Jury

8.0 N/A
The Gay Cavalier

The Gay Cavalier was a 1957 British television adventure series set during the English Civil War and starring Christian Marquand as a fictionalised Captain Claude Duval. The series was made by Associated Rediffusion and shown on ITV between May and August 1957. In truth, Duval was a successful gentleman highwayman who came from France to post-Restoration England, but The Gay Cavalier portrayed him in heroic fashion. In each of the series 13 episodes, Duval was to be seen emnbarking on an adventure which required him to undertake such tasks as retrieving a piece of treasure, thwarting a plot by the Roundheads or saving a woman in trouble. Each of the adventures was self-contained and Duval was often accompanied on these exploits by a female companion. The series also starred a number of other actors who generally appeared in one of the adventures. These included Christopher Lee, John Le Mesurier, Conrad Phillips, Nigel Stock and Sam Kydd. The series was similar in genre to others of the time, such as The Adventures of Robin Hood, and though it was shot on film, it is unique in that not one of its episodes has survived.

The Gay Cavalier

8.0 N/A