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Press Gang
''Press Gang'' is a British children's television comedy drama consisting of 43 episodes across five series that were broadcast from 1989 to 1993. It was produced by Richmond Film & Television for Central, and screened on the ITV network in its regular weekday afternoon children's strand, Children's ITV, typically in a 4:45 pm slot (days varied over the course of the run). Aimed at older children and teenagers, the programme was based on the activities of a children's newspaper, the ''Junior Gazette'', produced by pupils from the local comprehensive school. In later series it was depicted as a commercial venture. The show interspersed comedic elements with the dramatic. As well as addressing interpersonal relationships (particularly in the Lynda-Spike story arc), the show tackled issues such as solvent abuse, child abuse and firearms control. Written by ex-teacher Steven Moffat, more than half the episodes were directed by Bob Spiers, a British comedy director who had pre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comedy Drama
Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical hour-long legal or medical drama, but exhibit far fewer jokes-per-minute as in a typical half-hour sitcom. In the United States Examples from United States television include: ''M*A*S*H'', ''Moonlighting'', '' The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd'', '' Northern Exposure'', '' Ally McBeal'', '' Sex and the City'', '' Desperate Housewives'' and '' Scrubs''. The term "dramedy" was coined to describe the late 1980s wave of shows, including '' The Wonder Years'', ''Hooperman'', '' Doogie Howser, M.D.'' and '' Frank's Place''. See also * List of comedy drama television series *Black comedy * Dramatic structure * Melodrama * Seriousness * Tragicomedy * Psychological drama References Comedy drama Drama Drama is the specific mode of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
CiTV
CITV (short for Children's ITV, also known as the CITV Channel) is a British free-to-air children's television channel owned by ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive and acquisitions, every day from 6 am to 9 pm which was previously 6 am to 6 pm until 21 February 2016. It is also the title of a programming block on the ITV network at weekends. ''Children's ITV'' launched on 3 January 1983, as a late afternoon programming block on the ITV network for children aged 5–13.At this point, there was only one "ITV" channel in any given area- transmitter overlap and split weekday/weekend franchises aside- and "ITV" was solely a generic/collective name for the various regional commercial television stations. It replaced the earlier ''Watch It!'' branding and introduced networked in-vision continuity links between programmes. These links were originally pre-recorded from a small London studio, up until 1987 when Central won the contract to produce liv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Bunch Of Fives
''A Bunch of Fives'' is an English children’s television show from ATV, broadcast for two series of seven episodes each in 1977 and 1978 on ITV. A precursor of ''Grange Hill'', it starred Andrew Rinous, Lesley Manville and Jamie Foreman as Fifth formers who start a school newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, spor .... The show spawned one paperback tie-in. The series was released on DVD by Network in May 2010.http://www.networkdvd.net/product_info.php?products_id=1144 References and notes External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bunch Of Fives 1970s British children's television series 1977 British television series debuts 1978 British television series endings ITV children's television shows British teen drama television series Television series about teenag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Audio Commentary
An audio commentary is an additional audio track, usually digital, consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with a video. Commentaries can be serious or entertaining in nature, and can add information which otherwise would not be disclosed to audience members. Types of commentary The DVD medium allows multiple audio tracks for each video program. DVD players usually allow these to be selected by the viewer from the main menu of the DVD or using the remote. These tracks will contain dialogue and sound of the movie, often with alternative tracks featuring different language dialogue, or various types of audio encoding (such as Dolby Digital, DTS or PCM). Among them may be at least one commentary track. There are several different types of commentary. The two main types simply define the length of the commentary rather than the type of content. They are: *Partial or scene-specific, which only covers selected scenes of the film. Som ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Personal Stereo
A personal stereo, or personal cassette player, is a portable audio player using an audiocassette player, battery power and in some cases an AM/FM radio. This allows the user to listen to music through headphones while walking, jogging or relaxing. Personal stereos typically have a belt clip or a shoulder strap so a user can attach the device to a belt or wear it over their shoulder. Some personal stereos came with a separate battery case. History Astraltune, also known as the Astraltune Stereopack, was a personal stereo player created by Roy and Andy Bowers that appeared on the market in Reno Nevada on September 1, 1975. The tape deck fit into a padded sleeve and was worn on the chest using a harness. The headphones hung under the chin rather than over the head. Controls were protected by a zippered flap that faced upwards. Astraltune filed for trademark in 1978 and patent of invention in 1980 but were denied. The first patented personal stereo was the Stereobelt, devised by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was named. The street has been an important through route since Roman times. During the Middle Ages, businesses were established and senior clergy lived there; several churches remain from this time including Temple Church and St Bride's. The street became known for printing and publishing at the start of the 16th century, and it became the dominant trade so that by the 20th century most British national newspapers operated from here. Much of that industry moved out in the 1980s after News International set up cheaper manufacturing premises in Wapping, but some former newspaper buildings are listed and have been preserved. The term ''Fleet Street'' remains a metonym for the British national press, and pubs on the street once frequented ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clive Wood
Clive Wood (born 8 May 1954) is an English actor, known for his television roles in ''Press Gang'' (1989–93), ''The Bill'' (1990), '' London's Burning'' (1996–99), and as King Henry I in ''The Pillars of the Earth'' (2010). His stage roles include playing Stephano in '' The Tempest'' at Shakespeare's Globe (2011) and Antony in ''Antony and Cleopatra'' at the Haymarket (2014). His film appearances include '' The Innocent'' (1985), '' Buster'' (1988) and ''Suffragette'' (2015). Career Film and television Born in Croydon, Surrey, Wood's first starring TV role was as Vic Brown, opposite Joanne Whalley and Susan Penhaligon, in the 1982 ITV drama series based on the novel '' A Kind of Loving''. He has played Matt Kerr in ''Press Gang'', DCI Gordon Wray in ''The Bill'' and Jack Morgan in '' London's Burning''. He also played Captain Smollett in the 1990 TV film, ''Treasure Island'' (having previously played Dick in the 1977 BBC version). He has also appeared in a cameo as an Auto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cult Following
A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. A film, book, musical artist, television series, or video game, among other things, is said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fanbase. A common component of cult followings is the emotional attachment the fans have to the object of the cult following, often identifying themselves and other fans as members of a community. Cult followings are also commonly associated with niche markets. Cult media are often associated with underground culture, and are considered too eccentric or anti-establishment to be appreciated by the general public or to be widely commercially successful. Many cult fans express their devotion with a level of irony when describing entertainment that falls under this realm, in that somethi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fawlty Towers
''Fawlty Towers'' is a British television sitcom written by John Cleese and Connie Booth, broadcast on BBC2 in 1975 and 1979. Two series of six episodes each were made. The show was ranked first on a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000 and, in 2019, it was named the greatest ever British TV sitcom by a panel of comedy experts compiled by the '' Radio Times''.Mattha Busby, 9 April 2019"Fawlty Towers named greatest ever British TV sitcom" ''The Guardian'', Retrieved 24 May 2019 The series is set in Fawlty Towers, a fictional hotel in the seaside town of Torquay on the English Riviera. The plots centre on the tense, rude and put-upon owner Basil Fawlty (Cleese), his bossy wife Sybil ( Prunella Scales), the sensible chambermaid Polly (Booth) who often is the peacemaker and voice of reason, and the hapless and English-challenged Spanish waiter Manuel ( Andrew Sachs). They show their attempts to run the hotel amid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Comedy
Throughout film, television, and radio, British comedy has become known for its consistently peculiar characters, plots, and settings, and has produced some of the most renowned comedians and characters in the world. History British comedy history is measured in centuries. Shakespeare incorporated many chase scenes and beatings into his comedies, such as in his play ''The Comedy of Errors''. The quarrelsome couple Punch and Judy made their first recorded appearance in Britain in 1662, when Samuel Pepys noted a "pretty" puppet play being performed in Covent Garden, London. The various episodes of Punch and Judy are performed in the spirit of outrageous comedy — often provoking shocked laughter — and are dominated by the anarchic clowning of Mr. Punch. Satire has been a major feature of comedy in the British isles for centuries. The pictorial satire of William Hogarth was a precursor to the development of political cartoons in 18th century England. The medium developed under t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bob Spiers
Robert Alexander Spiers (27 September 1945 – 8 December 2008) was a Scottish television comedy director and producer. He worked on many sitcoms and won two British Academy Television Awards for ''Fawlty Towers'' and ''Absolutely Fabulous''. He also directed the film '' Spice World'' (1997). Biography Born in Glasgow, Scotland, he attended Southgate College in the 1960s. "Jock", as he was affectionately known at the time, organised several student trips from the college to mainland Europe, including Brussels and Cologne, during this period. He was also already an accomplished tennis player, having achieved a very high national standard during the time he lived in Scotland. Spiers joined the staff of the BBC in 1970,Anthony Hayward, Jon Plowma"Bob Spiers: Director of 'Absolutely Fabulous', 'Fawlty Towers' and 'Dad's Army'" ''The Independent'', 9 December 2008 working as an assistant floor manager and later a production assistant, before eventually working his way up to become ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Firearm
A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes containing gunpowder and pellet projectiles were mounted on spears to make the portable fire lance, operable by a single person, which was later used effectively as a shock weapon in the Siege of De'an in 1132. In the 13th century, fire lance barrels were replaced with metal tubes and transformed into the metal-barreled hand cannon. The technology gradually spread throughout Eurasia during the 14th century. Older firearms typically used black powder as a propellant, but modern firearms use smokeless powder or other propellants. Most modern firearms (with the notable exception of smoothbore shotguns) have rifled barrels to impart spin to the projectile for improved flight stability. Modern firearms can be described by their caliber ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
