alfredstvthoughts

[alfredstvthoughts]

Z Cars - Eviction (3 March 1975)

As I had hoped, this week's episode of Z Cars broadcast on Talking Pictures TV concluded the storyline that began in last week's episode Squatters, finally showing the ultimate outcome of the eviction of the tenants squatting in the houses marked for demolition.

With PC Quilley (Douglas Fielding) having been hospitalized with a rather nasty blow to the head as the eviction turned violent at the end of Squatters, Inspector Lynch (James Ellis) has taken a harder line towards the squatters and isn't taking any more nonsense. Indeed, he is even rather cold towards the doctor squatter (Peter Mayock) who tended to Quilley's injury during the melee. Councillor Barwell (Patrick Troughton) however still fears the eviction could turn violent again and desperately bargains with the squatters one last time to try and address their concerns with the aim of convincing them to come out peacefully.

The tensions between Lynch and Barwell over how to deal with the squatters is handled really well and the excellent performances from Ellis and Troughton reflect this, most notably when Lynch refuses Carrie (Maureen Morris), one of the squatters who had gone outside to negotiate with Barwell re-entry back into the occupied house. Barwell protests but Lynch stands firm.

As in the previous episode, tensions also exist between the squatters and they are split over whether to accept Barwell's offer or not. Frank (John Kane), the self-proclaimed leader of the squatters is extremely stubborn and feels that even the slightest concession to the council is a sign of weakness and that they must resist at all costs while Carrie is more open to the council's offer, being more concerned with the immediate issue of just where the squatters are going to live once they're evicted instead of trying to defy the council, feeling that by surrendering now they'll receive better treatment than if they continue to resist.

The tensions between everyone in all factions (the police, the council, the squatters and Henderson's (Rio Fanning) security firm) are extremely well written and show how in a situation like this there are no easy answers. Indeed, the police see themselves as being caught in the middle, with this great exchange of dialogue between Carrie and Lynch showcasing perfectly their different views on the role of the police:

Carrie: You don't think we've got anything to protest about?

Lynch: No, I think it's time you took your fair share of the blame instead. You've been telling people it's society's fault for so long, nobody's got any respect for the law anymore.

Carrie: But surely even you can see that things need changing.

Lynch: Maybe, but not your way, I'm a copper, I'm in the middle. We get spat at, yelled at and get the blame from both sides. We're only trying to keep the peace.

Carrie: Propping up the establishment?

Lynch: Well somebody has to prop something up, love! Nowadays we're expected to be peacemakers, public relations officers, social workers, even bomb disposal experts and you still say we're in the wrong. If we weren't here to clean up the mess after you, nobody else would.

The eviction is finally over with around halfway through the episode, meaning the remainder of the episode brings to the forefront the sub-plot from the first half of the episode involving the hunt for Peter Davis (Alan Guy), the squatter suspected of attacking Quilley during the earlier melee. However, there is a great twist that throws Peter's role into doubt when Quilley claims from his hospital bed that he had managed to restrain Peter at the time he was hit during the fight and suspicion then falls on Henderson, who could well have used the fight to settle his score with Quilley given what we know about their shared history from the previous episode.

Overall, the 2-part storyline covered in both Squatters and Eviction is one of the strongest yet covered in the Z Cars episodes I've seen and packs a great deal of interest across both episodes, with numerous well-written characters, a great deal of tension and some excellent performances, the scripts written by Bill Lyons are of the very highest standard. This is Z Cars at it's very best as far as I've seen and I highly recommend both parts.

[alfredstvthoughts]

OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes - Whacky Jaxxyz (Season 2 Episode 30; 2 June 2019)

OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes is arguably one of the finest animated series of the last 10 years and one of the last great series Cartoon Network has made, such has been their decline in recent years where they have produced very little of note.

The show centred on KO, a 6-11 year old boy (the show deliberately referred to him as 6-11 without pinning an exact age on him) who dreams of being a hero and has several varied adventures which often involved a great deal of combat.

However, one of the most appealing aspects of the show was it's huge and diverse range of unique characters. While the show had a core cast of regular characters, many characters who otherwise would have remained in the background would have the opportunity to shine in at least one episode in which they played a larger role.

Whacky Jaxxyz is a representative example of this, bringing Nanini, a classmate at KO's school into the forefront of the action in what would be her only major role in the show. Nanini helps introduce KO to a new game called Whacky Jaxxyz (a bizarre take on the classic game of jacks) which he becomes obsessed with, ditching his beloved POW Cards for the new game (but as Dendy observes, he's ditched POW Cards for other obsessions before only to come back to them later). A professional Whacky Jaxxyz player called Johnny then appears and informs them about a tournament in another dimension where the stakes are a lot higher than simple bragging rights at school...

In addition to being a great example of giving a supporting character a chance to have a major appearance, Whacky Jaxxyz also is a great example of OK K.O.!'s other strengths including strong writing, really loveable, fun and unique characters and the use of multiple unique art styles, which can be seen here with the look of Johnny, the other Whacky Jaxxyz tournament players and even KO and Nanini later in the episode. It also displays the show's fondness for the unusual and weird with it's depiction of how Whacky Jaxxyz is different to regular jacks (with multiple weapons used to disrupt opponents) and also the otherworldly tournament, in which the losers are encased in crystals.

The depiction of KO (my favorite of the show's characters) in this episode shows him at his fun-loving and adorable best and I also really enjoyed seeing Nanini, who makes a strong impression here and is also really loveable, it's a shame this was her only major appearance as I feel she had the potential to have more major roles in other episodes to make them even better.

Overall, Whacky Jaxxyz is an episode that is a perfect example of why I love OK K.O. so much, it is a favorite episode of mine I am always happy to revisit and enjoy watching.

[alfredstvthoughts]

Mona the Vampire - The Sandman/ Von Kreepsula's Day Off (Season 4 Episode 11; 26 March 2004)

It's been a while since I reviewed an episode of Mona the Vampire here, but I am happy to be back reviewing 2 further examples of what makes the show a favorite of mine.

The Sandman opens with Mona, Charley and Lily participating in a sand sculpture competition at the beach where they construct a giant sandman. After leaving to grab some lunch, they return to find most of their competitors' sand sculptures destroyed and their sand man missing. The trio suspect their sandman is alive and these suspicions are strengthened further when they notice trails of sand everywhere in town and people falling asleep as per the old Sandman legend.

The Sandman is another example of how much fun the show is and how imaginative the trio are. The sand sculpture created by the trio is a great way to introduce a literal Sandman and there are numerous funny moments with people falling asleep everywhere and even Lily and Charley seem to be under the Sandman's spell when Mona tries to get them to stay up late to try and catch him! The solution Mona comes up with to prevent the Sandman's chaos without harming him is also imaginative and shows her resourcefulness which I always love about her.

Von Kreepsula's Day Off sees the return of the titular Von Kreepsula, a comic book vampire who is Mona's vampire arch-rival and had appeared twice before in the show in major roles in the Season 1 segments Von Kreepsula Runs Amok and Von Kreepsula's Revenge. In the latest issue of the Von Kreepsula comic, Von Kreepsula has his memory erased by Dr Nefarious so that he can become Nefarious' slave. After Mona drops her copy of the comic in a thunderstorm, which leads to the ink from the pages running, she believes Von Kreepsula and Dr Nefarious have escaped from the comic and believes 2 men at a comic book convention who bear a resemblance to them are the real Von Kreepsula and Dr Nefarious. She plans to return them to their comic book home, which leads to her eventually forming a temporary truce with Von Kreepsula to defeat Dr Nefarious.

Season 4 featured a number of return appearances of previous characters from earlier seasons and it's nice to see Von Kreepsula return again here. The plot is as imaginative as ever with Mona's attempts to return Von Kreepsula and Dr Nefarious to their comic. As usual, there is a more normal explanation for who 'Von Kreepsula' and 'Dr Nefarious' are and why the Dr Nefarious lookalike is tormenting 'Von Kreepsula', which is handled well.

Overall, both these segments continue the usual high standard I've come to expect from Mona the Vampire and are both supremely enjoyable, I have no trouble recommending this episode at all!

[alfredstvthoughts]

Public Eye - The Morning Wasn't So Hot (Season 1 Episode 12; 10 April 1965)

The other surviving Season 1 episode, The Morning Wasn't So Hot was planned to be the first episode broadcast in a number of ITV regions (some regions got the show early while others got it later) but was eventually replaced by All for a Couple of Ponies, which was the first episode broadcast in most other regions. That said, this episode did end up being the first episode of Public Eye broadcast in the Scottish and Grampian regions later in 1965.

It has been claimed that the last minute switch was due to this episode's content, which would make sense considering this episode has a rather grim and seedy tone which doesn't end particularly happily.

Jenny Graham (Carole Ann Ford) has run away from Yorkshire to London, where she has subsequently been groomed by pimp Mason (Roland Curram) into becoming a prostitute. Frank Marker (Alfred Burke) is tasked with trying to find her, but as he bluntly tells solicitor Drummond (Richard Butler) the chances of finding her in a city as big as London is remote.

Meanwhile, the extremely shady agent Dannon (Philip Madoc) wants to buy Jenny from a reluctant Mason and while the 2 eventually agree a price for her, Jenny has gone missing again which won't look good for Mason…

The better of the 2 surviving Season 1 episodes, The Morning Wasn't So Hot, written by Roger Marshall has a more engaging plot and better performances, particularly from Philip Madoc who plays Dannon as really cold and chilling while pretending badly to be friendly. The way he tells Marker that Mason has 'retired' coldly yet with a somewhat gleeful edge leaves us in little doubt that Mason hasn't actually retired at all...

Carole Ann Ford also impresses as Jenny, who seemingly takes to the prostitution business like a duck to water and overconfidently believes it is her way to wealth and success. Disbelieving Marker's warnings that she like other prostitutes will most likely be dead, addicted or desperately poor soon enough, she therefore finds it a shock when she finds out too late from Dannon that she is totally under the control of the clients he is purchasing her for.

Indeed, whereas the expected ending may be that Marker rescues Jenny and brings her safely home, this being Public Eye where truly happy endings are a rarity, Jenny refuses to listen to Marker's warnings, but even if she did it was probably already too late to save her as Dannon's men had already tracked her down. Indeed, Marker gets thrown into the Thames for his trouble and getting the warning promptly closes the case.

However, despite the main storyline ending bleakly, the episode does end on a ray of hope as fellow prostitute Sue Forbes (Susan Burnet), who has also been pimped by Mason after running away to London asks Marker for help.

Generally this a solid episode except for 2 flaws I have identified. One is that the subplot involving Jenny being used by salesman Alan James (Brian McDermott) to blackmail fellow businessman Gordon Reynolds (Gilbert Wynne) doesn't really fit in well with the main storyline and once it ends is simply forgotten about. Another is that in common with Nobody Kills Santa Claus, the production values do seem a bit ropey at this early stage (a good example comes in Marker's first scene where Richard Butler as Drummond opens the door to Marker's office too early and stands there clearly awaiting his cue), thankfully the later seasons would cut down on this sloppiness.

Overall however, The Morning Wasn't So Hot shows once again that even this early, the Public Eye formula would work well and make for really gripping TV, this would have been a solid season opener had the original plan been followed.

[alfredstvthoughts]

Z Cars - Squatters (24 February 1975)

The tenants of run-down houses on a street marked for demolition and redevelopment have formed a commune to resist their upcoming eviction and Inspector Lynch (James Ellis) has been tasked by local councillor Barwell (Patrick Troughton) to assist with the eviction. Meanwhile, PCs Quilley (Douglas Fielding) and Render (Allan O'Keefe) have to deal with troublemaking football fans on the same afternoon and check on security at a large suburban house, where Quilley ends up crossing paths with old police colleague and rival turned private security contractor Henderson (Rio Fanning).

This episode, written by Bill Lyons has an interesting plot that offers a lot to see and promises much tension throughout as the eviction nears. While Barwell confides in Lynch that he's not proud of what he's got to do, the tenants understandably feel betrayed particularly as they understood that the council were going to let them stay for at least 2 years.

The interactions between the different tenants are interesting to see and there is some tension between them. Frank (John Kane) pretty much serves as an unofficial leader and is very concerned that Pete (Alan Guy) is bringing stolen property into the house which if discovered will harm support for their cause and their case for remaining. It is also implied that Pete is behind a break-in at the aforementioned house that Quilley and Henderson feel they're responsible for, particularly as they notice not much of value has been taken but plenty of food has been stolen and indeed Pete does come back to the squat with a lot of food.

The rivalry between Quilley and Henderson is also interesting and it is revealed they both served together at Chorley. When arresting 2 young brothers who weren't really major league criminals, Henderson had used unnecessary force against them and the authorities believed Quilley's account of the incident, which led to Henderson resigning. There are also interesting interactions between Quilley and Render regarding their opinions of the squatters which helps distinguish them. Quilley has some sympathy for the squatters' plight but Render simply believes they are workshy and don't want to wait fairly like everyone else in line for a council house.

With the eviction due to begin and Henderson's security firm due to take part too, the tension truly can be felt as the squatters refuse to listen to Lynch and Barwell's requests for them to leave.

With Pete having returned too late from disposing of his stolen property, he attempts to climb up the back window into the squat but is intercepted by Henderson's security men and this fast descends into a brawl between the squatters, the police and Henderson's men, ultimately ending on an apparent cliffhanger as Quilley appears to have come off worst and Lynch, who previously had sympathy with the squatters finds himself agreeing with Henderson's suggestion to be more aggressive...

Overall, this was a really interesting episode with a lot of intrigue, tension and interesting characterization. Having noticed that the next episode to be broadcast next week on Talking Pictures TV is called Eviction, I hope that episode will conclude this storyline and show what happens next as this story is too good to just end anticlimactically after a sole episode and I want to find out if Quilley will be OK, having been one of my favorite characters in this run of episodes so far, it would be sad to see him go if his injuries are serious enough. A most impressive effort.

[alfredstvthoughts]

Public Eye - Nobody Kills Santa Claus (Season 1 Episode 2; 30 January 1965)

Public Eye, one of my all-time favorite live action TV series about the investigations undertaken by private detective Frank Marker (Alfred Burke) has turned 60 years old today. To celebrate, I will be reviewing every one of the show's 51 surviving episodes (out of 87 total) this year, with a new episode review every week.

Unlike the more glamorous American private detective films or series, Frank Marker frequently took on ordinary cases often involving troubled marriages, blackmail or missing persons and was constantly struggling to find enough work to keep the lights on. The appeal of the show lay in this depiction of the less glamorous side of private detective work along with the interesting characterisation of Marker, thanks in large part due to Alfred Burke's excellent performance as well as the provincial flavor lent by it's diverse settings in places like Birmingham, Brighton and Windsor, complete with much location filming.

The first broadcast episode of Public Eye, All for a Couple of Ponies is missing, so Nobody Kills Santa Claus, the second episode broadcast is the earliest surviving epsiode. Sadly, the majority of episodes from the first 3 seasons produced by ABC Television are now missing, with only 5 out of 41 surviving, it will be not be long before we arrive at the 4th season which marked the beginning of Thames Television's involvement with the show and where all episodes from then on thankfully survive.

Despite being the second episode to be broadcast however, this does serve as a first in that this was the first ever episode of the show to be produced barring an unbroadcast pilot episode.

Onto the episode itself now, written by co-creator Roger Marshall which sees whizkid young businessman Paul Garston (Keith Baxter) receiving mysterious blackmail threats over the telephone. Wishing to avoid bad publicity by involving the police, particularly as a vital loan his business needs is in the balance, Garston gets his managing director, Eric Hart (Peter Barkworth) to hire Marker, with the plan being that Marker effectively serves as Garston's bodyguard, posing as his chauffeur.

Garston is also having an affair with Anne Johnson (June Barry), the wife of draughtsman Ray (Robert Tunstall) who also happens to work for Garston. Ray is suspicious of his wife's frequent trips away, but how much does he know about the affair and is he the blackmailer?

Remember when I mentioned above that some of the key aspects of Public Eye was Alfred Burke's characterisation of Marker and the location filming in the provinces? Watching this and fellow Season 1 surviving episode The Morning Wasn't So Hot, you will soon find that neither aspect is particularly developed here. Unlike the others, the first season had a fairly stock London setting but was pretty much entirely studio-bound anyway with location filming not being introduced until the second season.

Also Marker's character actually has a much more minor role than expected here and doesn't appear at all for the first 11 minutes. Even after his introduction, he only really serves to help the plot forward to find out who the blackmailer is. For a viewer more used to the surviving Thames episodes which would often focus on Marker's character, this can come as a shock that is difficult to get used to.

Nevertheless, the potential of the show is in evidence even at this early stage thanks to it's engaging plotline, well-drawn characters and the intrigue regarding the somewhat shady practices of Garston's business (though the ostensible victim, Garston is no saint) and the attempts to find who the blackmailer is keeps things very interesting.

There are a few minor flaws such as the sometimes amateurish acting (particularly Peter Barkworth who on a few occasions is clearly stumbling over his lines) which can distract from otherwise solid performances and the ending is not entirely clear with regards to just what Hart's role was in the blackmail scheme and how Marker uncovered it. Overall, though I would not recommend Nobody Kills Santa Claus for a Public Eye newcomer due to it being fairly unrepresentative of what the show would later become, it is an undeniably solid episode that was an early example of just how much potential the show had.

[alfredstvthoughts]

Z Cars - Transit (10 February 1975)

CONTENT WARNING: This episode concerns the discovery of 2 shot horses in a warehouse, one who has died and the other wounded, this review will discuss this animal cruelty due to it being integral to the plot.

An old lockkeeper (Patrick McAlinney) at the docks reports hearing strange noises, which leads to PC Yates (Nicholas Smith) and PC Fisk (Martin Read) investigating. At first Yates thinks the lockkeeper is confused and it's all a waste of time, but it turns out the noises were caused by an injured horse kicking out in one of the abandoned warehouses, this injured horse and another one who has died have been shot.

While Yates and Fisk await assistance and a vet for the horse, DS Haggar (John Collin) also arrives to see what's going on and they meet runaway June Brent (Janette Legge) who has been squatting inside another warehouse as she attempts to make her way down south to escape her family. She proves to be difficult in cooperating, but can she also help explain why 2 horses have been shot?

This slow-paced but engaging episode, written by P.J. Hammond offers much to see and several interesting plot points. In addition to the discovery of the shot horses and the presence of June Brent, the lockkeeper seems to be hiding a secret of his own as Fisk discovers him hiding a bunch of brass, lead and copper fixtures and fittings in his office (unfortunately this sub-plot doesn't go anywhere but it does provide extra interest).

While it's likely I could have missed other appearances due to the fragmented nature of Talking Pictures TV's Z Cars reruns, I had only seen PC Yates before in Gardens where there wasn't too much to say about his character, but this episode helps expand his character a bit more.

He wants to leave his wife and was planning to sort out the paperwork to make this possible before he was called to investigate the noises, his work is threatening to scupper his plans particularly as his wife has also arrived at Newtown police station and is making a stink about his planned departure to everyone there all the way up to Inspector Lynch.

Although this doesn't necessarily endear him to the viewer, it does help make his character more interesting, but he does seem to have a nicer side when he interviews two youths fishing (Sean Flanagan and Ian Allis), who later provide crucial information when they spot Charlie Price (Barney Dorman) arrive on the docks with a gun, could he be the horse shooter?

DS Haggar is also another character who I find is growing on me and he gets many great moments in this episode too as he assists Yates and Fisk and also there's an amusing moment as he tries to egg Yates and Fisk into the warehouse where the horse is, only to do it himself when they're too nervous to go in on account of the horse kicking out.

While this is overall a very solid episode that I enjoyed very much, I must point out that this episode may be distressing for animal lovers due to the scenes featuring the injured horse and the ending scene is also likely to cause distress (although what happens does take place largely off-screen).

[alfredstvthoughts]

Star vs the Forces of Evil - Star Comes to Earth/ Party with a Pony (Season 1 Episode 1; 18 January 2015)

Today marks the anniversary of Star vs the Forces of Evil, one of my favorite animated series of all-time and one that has always been close to my heart. Although I discovered it relatively late, first watching it shortly after the conclusion of the show's 2nd season in 2017, it took no time at all for the show to become a favorite of mine.

This opening episode certainly helped with forming an excellent first impression. Star Comes to Earth helps set up the premise of the show. Princess Star Butterfly of Mewni is celebrating her 14th birthday and according to tradition, she receives the family magic wand upon turning 14. However, Star is rather too energetic and chaotic for her own good (the opening scene depicting her crashing into the castle on a wild unicorn is a perfect example) and her first use of the magic wand leads to disaster, so her parents send her to Earth, where she meets Marco Diaz and his parents, who have been entrusted with looking after her there.

Star Comes to Earth does a superb job of establishing the premise of the show, explaining neatly how and why Star comes to live on Earth and introduces us to several main characters and their personalities. Star is energetic, fun, enthusiastic and means well, even if a lot of the time what she does ends up in disaster. This helps make her extremely loveable and the excellent vocal performance from Eden Sher brings her personality across extremely well.

Marco Diaz's personality is an interesting contrast. Despite having karate skills and wanting to be seen as a bad boy, he has a reputation as the 'safe kid' which he is unhappy with, but the way he attempts to guide Star safely through all the hazards in their first scenes together would suggest that reputation is well-deserved. At this point, it seems Marco's personality hadn't quite been fully settled on yet and would change a bit in future episodes, with him losing the attempted bad boy side of his personality later on, which I think was for the better as I don't think it works here and is one of the only flaws with this episode.

The introduction of Star and Marco's relationship (which would become ever stronger over the course of the series) is also shown here, while Star's energy and disastrous mishaps initially repel Marco, by the end, the beginnings of their friendship are clear to see and their chemistry as friends shows great promise even this early on.

Finally, we are introduced to Ludo and his minions, who follow Star to Earth and do battle with her. Ludo is an extremely fun villain and would be the main villain of the show's first 2 seasons before sadly being sidelined during the final 2 seasons and his introduction helps provide a rival for Star to do battle against, and also introduces us to Marco's karate skills.

Overall, Star Comes to Earth is an excellent start to the series that does a great job of setting up the series' premise and the main characters.

The second segment, Party with a Pony begins with Marco and Star looking rather settled in at the Diaz house, but this episode has introductions of it's own, most importantly Princess Pony Head, Star's best friend from back on Mewni.

Princess Pony Head at first seems really fun and a great friend to Star, but is secretly really jealous of Marco when Star tells her that he is her best Earth friend. Hence, a rivalry between Pony Head and Marco begins as Pony Head desperately tries to ensure that she remains Star's best friend and not Marco. Pony Head is also on the run from agents who want to bring her to the notorious and dreaded 'princess jail' St Olga's Reform School for Wayward Princesses (which had also been mentioned in Star Comes to Earth and would become important later on).

While I've always had mixed feelings on Pony Head (mainly because Jenny Slate's voice for her can be grating if heard too much), I do like how funny she is in this debut episode and her rivalry with Marco is fun to watch, as Star remains largely oblivious to their rivalry until near the end. Without the need to focus so much on introducing the show, this allows for this segment to simply be straightforward fun.

Overall, this is an excellent introduction to Star vs the Forces of Evil that makes a great first impression and certainly made me excited to watch more of the show, as far as first episodes go, this does an excellent job of introducing the premise and main characters while being extremely fun to watch, it's no wonder SVTFOE quickly became a favorite show of mine.

[alfredstvthoughts]

The Unstoppable Yellow Yeti - Long Time No Ski/ Yeti as Yeti (Episode 2; 14 May 2022)

The Unstoppable Yellow Yeti was a short-lived but fun animated series from Finland about the titular yellow yeti called Gustav who befriends Osmo, a newcomer to the town of Winterton who has moved with his father and is staying with his cousin Rita, the daughter of Chrome, the town's mayor. Gustav usually ends up donning a variety of disguises due to the town's ban on monsters while Osmo and Chrome usually do not see eye-to-eye.

The first segment is a good illustration of the latter point in particular. Osmo is the only person in Winterton without a skiing armlet, which means he hasn't passed the town's mandatory skiing test and if he fails, he will be banished from town. Osmo has to learn to ski in a hurry from Gustav before the test, but he has an unfortunate knack of always crashing into trees...

There are some really funny moments in this segment, mainly concerning Osmo's attempts to learn to ski and how blaming the weather, snow and weather is part of a Winterton skiier's skillset! This episode also highlights the difficult relationship between Osmo and Mayor Chrome with most of the episode's interest coming from whether Osmo can win and stay in town or if Mayor Chrome will come off better and exile Osmo (which he seems perfectly happy to do).

The second segment sees the town in a panic following the broadcast of a low-budget horror movie with an evil yeti, which offends Gustav because he feels it misrepresents his kind. To satisfy the townspeople, Chrome decides to hold monster emergency drills and Gustav, in disguise as a janitor volunteers to dress up in a yeti costume as part of an attempt to improve yetis' reputation among the townspeople.

This time, Gustav is the most fun part of this segment as he has a lot of fun in the yeti outfit trying to convince the townspeople yetis aren't as bad as they think and the idea that the people are scared of yetis because they watched a low-budget horror movie is also funny. Osmo and Rita don't get quite as much to do in this segment I feel but this is a minor quibble.

Overall, both segments are fine examples of how much fun The Unstoppable Yellow Yeti can be, with Long Time No Ski perhaps being the slightly better of the two, there is much to recommend here.

[alfredstvthoughts]

Z Cars - Tonight and Every Night (3 February 1975)

In the latest episode shown as part of Talking Pictures TV's reruns of 1970s Z Cars episodes, Tonight and Every Night (written by Allan Prior) opens with PCs Quilley (Douglas Fielding) and Render (Allan O'Keefe) hearing a road traffic accident occur and they quickly rush to the scene. One of the drivers, Danny Smith (Alan Lake) is injured and needs to be taken to the hospital while a bag containing £800 is found on the passenger seat of the other car, driven by Elizabeth Brierley (Mitzi Rogers).

Suspicious of just how she managed to get that £800, Elizabeth is brought to Newtown police station where Inspector Lynch (James Ellis) also takes an interest. When Elizabeth slips out of the police station after being left unattended in the interview room, the police search for her and are become more suspicious of her intentions.

Another really good episode where the initial car crash hides a complex and interesting plot, where both drivers end up being not entirely as they seem. The contrast between them is interesting. While both are keen to get home as soon as possible, Elizabeth is more openly difficult while Danny at first seems more cooperative if reluctantly so.

This is also a good episode for WPC Howarth (Stephanie Turner) and I like how she is able to atone for her earlier error of leaving Elizabeth unattended in the interview room by being the one to recapture Elizabeth and bring her back to the police station. The mystery of just where Elizabeth got the £800 also engages and this leads to an interesting twist, which in turn leads to an interesting conclusion where it's up to the viewer to decide who to believe is actually telling the truth. In conclusion, another very good episode of Z Cars that remains interesting throughout.

[alfredstvthoughts]

Beau Geste - Episode Eight (19 December 1982)

At the end of the seventh episode, John Geste (Jonathon Morris) and Sergeant Major Lejaune (John Forgeham), along with a mortally wounded Beau Geste (Benedict Taylor) were the only survivors of the Tuareg assault on Fort Zinderneuf, where John then saw Lejaune robbing the body of Beau, who as it turns out had the Blue Water jewel on him all along.

This eighth episode continues John and Lejaune's confrontation, which is quickly over when John kills Lejaune with some assistance from the dying Beau. As Beau dies, he tells John to send letters to fellow brother Digby (Anthony Calf) and Aunt Patricia (Wendy Williams).

The following events then neatly tie into the events of the first half of the first episode where Major de Beaujolais's (David Sumner) relief column arrives at the fort and a bunch of mysterious things happen that no one there can quite explain. It turns out the bugler who disappeared inside the fort was Digby, who found Beau and Lejaune's bodies and then hid while attempts were made to find him, while the mysterious explosion that then followed was Digby's attempt to give Beau the Viking funeral he always wanted with what's available.

Digby then escapes into the Sahara and reunites with John and later their American friends Buddy (Barry Dennen) and Hank (Christopher Malcolm). The 4 then make their way across the desert, making an ambitious raid on a Tuareg camp along the way for supplies. Sadly Digby also dies, leaving John alone to return back to Brandon Abbas where he is reunited with his love Isobel (Sally Baxter) and his aunt.

The ending that follows is an emotional and perfect way to end the series with John reading out Beau's letter to Aunt Patricia at her request, where we finally learn a surprising truth about the Blue Water and what Beau knew about it.

After 7 episodes of sheer brilliance, this finale thankfully ends the series on a high with a final 30 minutes of engaging plot and character drama. There are some really emotional moments and the acting as ever is superb while showing the events of the first episode from Digby's perspective is a perfect way to resolve the mysteries that first episode left us and it's good to see the women at Brandon Abbas once more for the ending.

Overall, I have really enjoyed Talking Pictures TV's rerun of this truly excellent serial, just about everything about it is worthy of praise, the acting, characters, storytelling and production values are all of a very high standard throughout and I am sad now it's all over, this adaptation of P.C. Wren's story has been highly enjoyable throughout. It is truly a hidden TV treasure that I am glad to have discovered and I give all thanks to TPTV for making it happen.

[alfredstvthoughts]

The Owl House - A Lying Witch and a Warden (Season 1 Episode 1; 10 January 2020)

Today marks the 5th anniversary of The Owl House, one of the first great shows of the 2020s about Luz Noceda, a human who travels to the Boiling Isles in another dimension and learns to become a witch.

This first episode nicely sets up the premise of the show and introduces us to the main characters. Luz Noceda, a human with a particularly vivid imagination finds herself in trouble at school, seemingly unable to fit in and her principal suggests she be sent to a summer camp in order to fit in.

Just as Luz is about to leave for summer camp, a mysterious owl-like creature steals her Good Witch Azura book and she follows it through a mysterious doorway into the Boiling Isles, where she soon meets Eda, a witch selling various human items from Earth, but it soon turns out she is a wanted criminal on the run, but she takes a liking to Luz and takes her with her, where Luz's adventures in the Boiling Isles begin...

Compared to later episodes, this is a somewhat unusual first episode and I remember thinking at the time that the various supporting characters who appear in this episode would become major characters before their roles were much reduced in future episodes, and major characters like Amity Blight, Willow and Gus would only be properly introduced in future episodes (however they all make their debut in the closing credits of this episode).

Nevertheless, this is a good way to begin the show by introducing the main trio of Luz, Eda and King, a self-proclaimed king of demons with a thirst for power who is nevertheless seen by Luz and Eda as a rather adorable creature. Their personalities are quickly established and the foundations of Eda and King's relationship with Luz are laid. They all make great first impressions, particularly Eda who is an extremely funny character and from her first scenes in this first episode, it's no wonder she subsequently became my favorite character in the show.

The prison break plot that occupies the second half of this episode is also solid and features a few funny surprising twists too.

Overall, an entertaining start to a great show that makes a good first impression and does an excellent job of establishing the show's premise and the characters. But even better was about to come...

[alfredstvthoughts]

Z Cars - Local Knowledge (13 January 1975)

The latest Z Cars episode to be shown on Talking Pictures TV, Local Knowledge (written by Bill Lyons) sees Inspector Lynch (James Ellis) being tasked by Superintendent Armstrong (Peter Forbes-Robertson) to find Stephen Peake, a corrupt local councillor facing trial who has disappeared.

Lynch's enquiries lead to the other councillors becoming upset, including John Barton (Donald Morley), a long-time friend of Lynch. However, Stephen Peake must be found and Barton himself is potentially implicated in the scandal especially as it turns out he'd accepted a cut-price flat from Peake in a new development.

Meanwhile, PC Render (Allan O'Keefe) finds himself dealing with newly released prisoner Bernie Planter (Reg Lye) who is homeless and up to no good on the streets, sleeping in the back of other people's vans and begging. Encouraged to get a job, Bernie manages to get one working for Jimmy McLintock (Glenn Williams) but soon ends up stealing his wallet, which indirectly causes something of a breakthrough regarding the main plot about Peake's corruption...

After 2 rather mediocre outings, this episode in my opinion marks a return to form for Z Cars with a really interesting story that focuses well on Inspector Lynch and his personal dilemmas in potentially having to arrest Barton, his long-time friend.

The B-plot involving PC Render and Bernie Planter is also nicely handled with an interesting relationship between the two as PC Render is frequently annoyed at Bernie's shenanigans and his apparently wanting to be arrested so he has a warm place to sleep in the police station but also shows a softer side towards him sometimes, particularly after Planter is viciously attacked at night. With his increasing number of important appearances recently, the character of Render is also growing on me a lot too.

A good episode overall that marks a return to form for Z Cars and has me more excited once more for the next episodes that Talking Pictures TV will show.

[alfredstvthoughts]

Beau Geste - Episode Seven (12 December 1982)

With Sergeant Major Lejaune (John Forgeham) now the commanding officer at Fort Zinderneuf, the soldiers of the French Foreign Legion under his command are understandably unhappy about it and legionnaire Schwartz (Bunny Reed) leads a conspiracy to try and murder Lejaune. Both Beau (Benedict Taylor) and John Geste (Jonathon Morris) are opposed to this scheme but find themselves in a minority.

Lejaune finds out and prepares to execute Schwartz and his conspirators but suddenly, a more urgent matter arises: the Tuareg are attacking the fort, so Schwartz has a temporary stay of execution, but nevertheless is punished by Lejaune to a certain death by being sent to fight on top of a high observation tower. Indeed even in battle Lejaune remains utterly merciless (with John Forgeham reliably as ever portraying this unpleasant character extremely well), throwing the wounded and dead back on to the ramparts and threatening anyone who leaves their post so much as to help the wounded.

Indeed as the fort comes under intense attack, many of the legionnaires are soon dead and the question is can the fort hold out until a relief column arrives?

Another excellent episode of what has been an very well-made and crafted serial so far and there is a definite sense of the end nearing with only one episode remaining now. Indeed there is a more sombre tone here as the ranks steadily dwindle with Beau and John preparing themselves to die and trying to get their affairs in order, with Beau wanting John to send certain letters back to England should he die. These scenes between the 2 help to provide this episode with an emotional edge.

The initial conspiracy plot is very interesting and this gives way to an extended battle scene that lasts most of the episode. Last week I criticized a rather unexciting battle scene in Episode Six but thankfully the major set-piece battle here is handled a lot more competently and is very well-staged.

By the end, only 2 survivors remain, but to avoid spoilers you'll have to wait for the review of the final episode to find out who they are...

I'm excited to watch next week's final episode to see how the story ends, but I will also be sad to miss this truly excellent serial once it ends, it's been seven episodes of absolutely amazing TV so far.

[alfredstvthoughts]

Mona the Vampire - Ghouls Rule!/ The Transylvanian Twist (Season 3 Episode 11; 7 May 2002)

Sometimes, Mona the Vampire would bring back old favorite villains for further outings, and Ghouls Rule! is a perfect example of this with not one but numerous villains returning for an encore.

Mona, Charley and Lily have been invited to Angela's party (as it turns out to serve as waiters) while Mona's parents are holding a garage sale. However, Mona's priceless Book of the Slimy, which holds the spirits of her various defeated foes has been sold to George (who then passes it on to Lawrence) leading to various foes such as the Polyester Powersuit, the Phantom Dog Catcher and most importantly, the Cyborg Phantasm escaping to cause havoc, leading to Mona, Charley and Lily having to do battle with the Cyborg Phantasm once again at Angela's party. A really entertaining segment overall and it's nice to see several old villains return again.

In the second segment, The Transylvanian Twist, Mona and her friends notice 2 unusual looking people at the cinema who they think are an evil vampire and a werewolf. As the trio investigate them further, they find their other quirks to be even more convincing proof of them being a vampire and werewolf. However once they read of a vampire/werewolf romance in a gothic poetry book, they soon believe they must get the 2 together romantically to prevent further trouble and so undertake a number of schemes to get them together...

Perhaps the lesser of the 2 segments but still another fun outing and this episode overall is yet more proof of what a creative show Mona the Vampire is, thanks to the unique imagination of the titular character and the inventive depictions of classic horror monsters.

[alfredstvthoughts]

Z Cars - House to House (16 December 1974)

House to House, the latest episode of Z Cars shown on Talking Pictures TV begins with teacher Hazel Jay (Darlene Johnson) entering her flat in a grim tower block, closing the door behind her and suddenly screaming. It turns out she had been assaulted upon entering the flat, and DS Haggar (John Collin) leads the investigation to find her attacker, directing the police under his command to conduct house to house enquiries to see if any of the neighbors heard anything.

As the constables interview the locals, Haggar himself talks with the recovering Hazel in hospital, hoping she can describe her attacker which will then give the police a better idea of who to look for, but with Hazel having previously had an affair with another teacher, Haggar soon feels she might be hiding something...

The episode starts well and there's also a festive theme running through the episode (although only in a minor way with some Christmas decorations visible and DC Skinner (Ian Cullen) complaining that the house to house enquiries are ruining his plans for Christmas shopping). Some of the initial house to house enquiries are interesting as the police get an idea of what's going on and there's a large cast in this episode of varied local characters. Also with his increasing presence in the show, I'm enjoying seeing more of PC Render (Allan O'Keefe) too.

However, in an opposite problem to that faced by some of the other Z Cars episodes I've seen as part of the TPTV reruns which start slow but get more interesting later, this episode then runs out of steam before the end, the revelations about just what is going on with Hazel and who the suspected attacker could be just aren't interesting enough.

Overall an average episode that starts promising but ultimately peters out, this definitely isn't a patch on writers Bob Baker and Dave Martin's excellent previous effort Quiet as the Grave but has it's moments.

[alfredstvthoughts]

Beau Geste - Episode Six (5 December 1982)

The action is really kicking in now we're on the sixth episode of Beau Geste, an adaptation of the French Foreign Legion story written by P.C. Wren.

The Legion has been sent to Fort Zinderneuf as part of the response to the tribal uprising in Sudan. The march through the Sahara is difficult and starts affecting the men, most notably Maris (John Moreno) who it quickly becomes clear is not cut out for Legion life, complaining to the Geste brothers he feels like he's losing his mind and then losing his nerve when the Legion comes under attack by hostile tribesmen. A tragic fate is in store for him and he won't be the only one...

Arriving at Fort Zinderneuf, the brutal Sergeant Major Lejaune (John Forgeham) increasingly asserts control from the ineffective commanding officer Captain Renouf (Damien Thomas) who is also struggling to cope and has turned to drink. When Maris deserts from the fort, his death sentence is effectively sealed as he will either die from thirst in the desert, be killed by the revolting tribes or if he's returned to the fort Lejaune promises him a fate worse than death.

Lejaune also remains determined to make life miserable for the Geste brothers and their American friends Buddy (Barry Dennen) and Hank (Christopher Malcolm) and his decision to promote Boldini (Stefan Gryff) to corporal ends up being an unpopular one...

Another very good episode with John Forgeham once again impressing as Sergeant Major Lejaune, a truly intimidating and brutal presence and the intrigue at the fort helps make the episode even more interesting. There is also a well-played and surprising tragic conclusion to the episode.

Although overall very engaging, there are a couple of minor flaws that means this episode does fall slightly below the excellent standard set by the fourth and fifth episodes.

For starters, the Geste brothers and Boldini are mostly relegated to the background during the episode. As the main characters, the Geste brothers should have had more to do and it's a shame Boldini does not do as much in this episode as Stefan Gryff's performance as the slimy, dishonest Italian had been a highlight of the previous 3 episodes.

Also the skirmish against the tribesmen in the desert is rather underwhelming and unexciting, suggesting that battle scenes are not the strength of this production.

But the real strengths of this show lie in it's excellent characters and intriguing plotting, I await eagerly the final 2 episodes of this excellent show which will soon be broadcast by Talking Pictures TV.