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Peter Childs
Peter Childs (31 August 1939 – 1 November 1989) was an English character actor best known for playing Cockney Detective Sergeant Ronnie Rycott, nemesis of Arthur Daley in ''Minder''. Biography Childs was born at Eastbourne, East Sussex, on 31 August 1939, and was educated at the local grammar school before training to be an actor. He trained at the Birmingham Theatre School, toiling 10 years doing repertory work before breaking into television, playing a small role in the Anton Rodgers crime series ''Zodiac''. Later Childs gained valuable experience working with the Manchester 59 company, appearing in ''Erb'', a show that transferred to London's West End. He also played a comical undertaker in Joe Orton's '' Loot'' to great effect. A regular performer at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East, Childs gave an outstanding performance in Joan Littlewood's last performance there, '' So You Want to Be in Pictures''. During this time he showed considerable gifts for comedy and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastbourne
Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the larger Eastbourne Downland Estate. The seafront consists largely of Victorian architecture, Victorian hotels, a Eastbourne Pier, pier, Congress Theatre (Eastbourne), theatre, Towner Gallery, contemporary art gallery and a Napoleonic era, Napoleonic era Eastbourne Redoubt, fort and military museum. Although Eastbourne is a relatively new town, there is evidence of human occupation in the area from the Stone Age. The town grew as a fashionable tourist resort largely thanks to prominent landowner William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire, William Cavendish, later to become the Duke of Devonshire. Cavendish appointed archite ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Onedin Line
''The Onedin Line'' is a BBC television drama series that ran from 1971 to 1980. The series was created by Cyril Abraham. The series is set in Liverpool from 1860 to 1886 and covers the rise of a fictional shipping company, the Onedin Line, named after its owner captain James Onedin. Around this, it depicts the lives of his family, most notably his brother and partner Robert, a ship chandler, and his sister Elizabeth, giving insight into the lifestyle and customs at the time, not only at sea, but also ashore (mostly lower- and upper-middle-class). The series also illustrates some of the changes in business and shipping, such as from wooden to steel ships and from sailing ships to steamships. It shows the role that ships played in such matters as international politics, uprisings and the slave trade. Overview The Onedin Line is a classic BBC drama series set in 19th century Liverpool, and narrating the changing fortunes of the ambitious Captain James Onedin and his family. A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European islands by area, largest European island, and the List of islands by area, ninth-largest island in the world. It is dominated by a maritime climate with narrow temperature differences between seasons. The island of Ireland, with an area 40 per cent that of Great Britain, is to the west – these islands, along with over List of islands of the British Isles, 1,000 smaller surrounding islands and named substantial rocks, comprise the British Isles archipelago. Connected to mainland Europe until 9,000 years ago by a land bridge now known as Doggerland, Great Britain has been inhabited by modern humans for around 30,000 years. In 2011, it had a population of about , making it the world's List of islands by population, third-most-populous islan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Task Force
A task force (TF) is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology. Many non-military organizations now create "task forces" or task groups for temporary activities that might have once been performed by '' ad hoc (designated purpose)'' committees. In non-military contexts, working groups are sometimes called task forces. Military Naval Army In the U.S. Army, a task force is a battalion-sized (usually, although there are variations in size) ''ad hoc'' unit formed by attaching smaller elements of other units. A company-sized unit with an armored or mechanized infantry unit attached is called a ''company team''. A similar unit at the brigade level is called a ''brigade combat team'' (BCT), and there is also a similar ''Regimental combat team'' (RCT). In the British Army and the armies of other Commonwealt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Public Eye (TV Series)
''Public Eye'' is a British television drama that ran from 1965 to 1975, produced by ABC Weekend TV for three series, and Thames Television a further four. It depicted investigations handled by enquiry agent Frank Marker (Alfred Burke), an unmarried loner who is in his early forties when the series begins. The title is a twist on the more usual "private eye". Background The series was created by writers Roger Marshall and Anthony Marriott with the aim of getting away from "square-jawed" heroes of the type featured in Hollywood movies—a wish shared by Alfred Burke, the actor chosen to play Marker. This aim allowed for flexibility in the structure and plot lines of the episodes; each individual episode usually dealt with an individual case for Marker, but story arcs spanning several episodes, or in one case an entire series, were produced during the life of the programme. Marker's work ranged broadly, from routine matters such as gathering evidence for divorces (at a time whe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced street in the fictional town of Weatherfield in Greater Manchester. The location was itself based on Salford, the hometown of the show's first screenwriter and creator, Tony Warren. Originally broadcast twice weekly, ''Coronation Street'' increased its runtime in later years, currently airing three 60-minute episodes per week. Warren developed the concept for the series, which was initially rejected by Granada's founder Sidney Bernstein, Baron Bernstein, Sidney Bernstein. Producer Harry Elton convinced Bernstein to commission 13 pilot episodes. The show has since become a significant part of British culture and underpinned the success of its producing Granada franchise. Currently produced by ITV Studios, the successor to Granada, the seri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soap Opera
A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored by soap manufacturers.Bowles, p. 118. The term was preceded by ''horse opera'', a derogatory term for low-budget Western (genre), Westerns. According to some dictionaries, for something to be adequately described as a soap opera, it need not be long-running; but some authors define the word in a way that excludes short-running serial dramas from their definition. BBC Radio's ''The Archers'', first Broadcasting, broadcast in 1950, is the world's longest-running soap opera. The longest-running television soap opera is ''Coronation Street'', which was first broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV in 1960. According to Albert Moran, one of the defining features that make a television program a soap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Granada TV
ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend Television was its weekend counterpart. Granada's parent company Granada plc later bought several other regional ITV stations and, in 2004, merged with Carlton Communications to form ITV plc. Granada Television was particularly noted by critics for the distinctive northern and "social realism" character of many of its network programmes, as well as the high quality of its drama and documentaries. In its prime as an independent franchisee, prior to its parent company merging with Carlton Communications to form ITV plc, it was the largest Independent Television producer in the UK, accounting for 25% of the total broadcasting output of the ITV network. Granada Television was founded by Sidney Bernstein at Granada Studios on Quay Street in Manchester and is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tucker's Luck
''Tucker's Luck'' is a British television drama series made by the BBC between 1983 and 1985. The series is a spin-off from the school drama ''Grange Hill'' and capitalised on the popularity of one of the series' original characters – Peter "Tucker" Jenkins, played by Todd Carty. ''Tucker's Luck'' followed the exploits of Tucker and his friends, Alan Humphries ( George Armstrong) and Tommy Watson (Paul McCarthy), after they had left school and their attempts to find employment and cope out there in the "real world". Three series were made (although by Series Three, Tommy was gone – his absence explained by his having decided to join the Navy), with several former ''Grange Hill'' cast members reprising their roles for the spin-off (such as Linda Slater as Susi MacMahon, Alan's former school girlfriend, in Series One; Michelle Herbert as Tucker's old class enemy Trisha Yates in the final episode of Series Three) and Peter McNamara as Tucker's nemesis (and subsequently friend) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grange Hill
''Grange Hill'' is a British Children's television series, children's television drama series, originally produced by the BBC and portraying life in a typical Comprehensive school (England and Wales), comprehensive school. The show began its run on 8 February 1978 on BBC1, and was one of the longest-running programmes on British television when it ended on 15 September 2008 after 31 series. It was created by Phil Redmond, who is also responsible for the Channel 4 dramas ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside'' and ''Hollyoaks''; other notable production team members down the years have included Television producer, producer Colin Cant and script editor Anthony Minghella. The show was cancelled in 2008, having run every year for 30 years. It was felt by the BBC that the series had run its course."BBC to shut gates on Gra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blakes 7
''Blake's 7'' is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. Four series of thirteen 50-minute episodes were broadcast on BBC1 between 1978 and 1981. It was created by Terry Nation, who also wrote the first series, produced by David Maloney (series 1–3) and Vere Lorrimer (series 4), and the script editor throughout its run was Chris Boucher (writer), Chris Boucher, who wrote nine of its episodes. The main character for the first two series was Roj Blake, played by Gareth Thomas (actor), Gareth Thomas. ''Blake's 7'' was broadcast in 25 other countries. It had a low budget but featured many Trope (literature)#literature, tropes of space opera, such as Spacecraft, spaceships, robots, galactic empires and Extraterrestrials in fiction, aliens. Critical responses have been varied; some reviewers praised the programme for its dystopian themes, strong characterisation, ambiguous morality and pessimistic tone, as well as displaying an "enormous sense of fun", b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ever Decreasing Circles
''Ever Decreasing Circles'' is a British sitcom which ran on BBC1 between 1984 and 1989, consisting of four series and one feature-length special. It was written by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey, and it reunited them with Richard Briers, who had starred in their previous popular sitcom '' The Good Life''. It was made toward the end of a run of British comedies focussing on the aspirational middle class, with ''The Guardian'' describing it as having "a quiet, unacknowledged and deep-running despair to it that in retrospect seems quite daring". Synopsis Richard Briers plays Martin Bryce, an obsessive, middle-aged man at the centre of his local suburban community in Mole Valley, Surrey. This relatively unsympathetic character was the antithesis of Tom Good. Briers said that it was his favourite sitcom role. The show's signature running gag (which appeared in almost every episode) was Martin walking past the telephone in his hallway and turning the receiver around. Martin is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
