#Alan Dibley

[stevebattle]

T4 AKA "Thezeus 4" (1982) by Alan Dibley, Cheddar, UK. The first photo above shows Alan Dibley demonstrating his ZX81 based Thezeus on Johnny Ball's 'Think of a number' programme in 1983. The previous year, the University of Tampere, Finland, hosted the 1982 Euromouse finals, and snatched victory from Thezeus 4, with Minitaurus. "Thezeus 4 showed the contest to be no foregone conclusion with a time of 46s, and the promise of a faster strategy and boosted motor volts for the final the following day. Two of Alan Dibley's four Thezeii suffered gravely when the box was stacked upside down in the cargo hold of the plane, and Son of Thezeus may never run again. … All traces of unconcern (sic) had disappeared when Dibley ran Thezeus 4. Supercharged to the limit, it snapped around corners with no break in speed but five times rushed headlong into trouble. At last it made a clean run of 45 seconds." – Mighty mice battle in Europe, by John Billingsley, Practical Computing, December 1982.

T4 returned to claim victory in the 1983 British Euromouse finals at Earls Court. "Alan Dibley’s T4 ... buzzes about the maze like an angry bluebottle. Unless completely cornered it keeps going no matter what. Then with an impatient shrug it performs a three-point turn and bustles on its way. It entered its first contest last year in Finland, where it missed the European Championship by a mere two seconds. ... T4 was clearly not up to its best, but after several restarts reached the centre in 1 minute 2 seconds. On a later run it proved that the maze really was not so difficult and could be solved in 47 seconds. ... Alan Dibley’s T4 was awarded the £1,000 first prize while Nick Smith and Stirling Mouse won the third prize of £25-worth of books from John Wiley Ltd. Alan Dibley has generously undertaken to spend his £1,000 on a combined trip for both Dibley and Woodfield families to travel to the Euromicro Conference in Spain so that Britain can be represented in force at the European Final." – Maze Mastery, Practical Computing, September 1983.

[terrible-titles]

A Hodepodge of Older Shows to Watch During the Strike

We support the writer’s strike here, and in a Culture of New, TV execs are going to use the “impact” to currently running shows in order to try to shift your support to them. But here in Tumblr we have revived century-old novels and put them firmly in the mainstream by having a Tumblr-wide bookclub, so I think we can do the same to older shows--not only to keep ourselves entertained, but to remind us all why writers are so important to begin with. Now that AI is coming dangerously close to replacing writers’ work (and is indeed one of the issues the writers are striking over), I think it’s important to remember that our favorite lines (one of mine is “Everything is confetti” from Haunting of Hill House) couldn’t have happened without a writer creating and then fighting for it. Writers deserve healthy workplaces, fair compensation, and recognition for their talent.

Disclaimers: 1. As with all shows, but especially older ones, there will be problematic content. 2. I will try to avoid obvious recs that still have an active fanbase like Star Trek or Buffy, but I don’t have my finger on the pulse of pop culture so maybe I rec something that’s still pretty popular and I don’t realize it. I’m also not necessarily going for “obscure” or “you’ve never heard of this,” but just shows people might have overlooked. Yes, I’m from the US (sorry!) and yes, I would love to hear from non-US people about the best shows from your country that I’m missing out on! Please feel free to reblog and add your favorites to this!   3. Maybe my taste doesn’t align with yours and you disagree. Maybe I missed something because I didn’t want this to be 500 pages long. That’s fine! Again, reblog with your own recs. The more, the better! 4. Genres are weird. I tried. 5. I chose not to add where you could find these series because it can vary country to country, but if all else fails, check your local library’s media collection! (And if that fails, you might sail the seas...) 6. Please be cool... please. 

Comedies

Better Off Ted (2009, 2 seasons) A workplace comedy in an evil corporation. Perfect for fans of The Office or Arrested Development. Happy Endings (2011, 3 seasons) It’s like if Friends was just every so slightly more diverse. Takes place in Chicago, which is cool.

M*A*S*H (1972, 11 seasons) You’ve probably heard of this comedy/drama that stars cultural icon Alan Alda as a cynical army medic just trying to survive the Korean War, but have you watched it yet? You should.

NewsRadio (1995, 5 seasons) A workplace comedy in a news radio station starring Phil Hartman. A less cringy Office and a less sophisticated Frasier. Vicar of Dibley (1994, 3 series + specials) Dawn French plays the first-ever female vicar in a small English village. Watch out for an utterly amazing Spice Girls reference and Richard Armitage. Keeping Up Appearances (1990, 5 series) A British woman from a lower class family attempts to social climb to predictably hilarious results. Was apparently one of the Queen Mother’s favorite shows though I can’t for the life of me figure out what she got from it.

You’re the Worst (2014, 5 seasons) Just two really toxic people in a relationship trying to make it work. Definitely has dramatic undertones in addition to being pretty funny.

Side note: If you like comedy, get a subscription to Dropout TV. I’m not a shill. Nobody’s paying me to say this. I just really love it and they’re a great company to support.  Science Fiction/Supernatural

Babylon 5 (1994, 5 seasons) Was Deep Space Nine your favorite Star Trek series? Watch this. (Watch it even if it wasn’t.)

Sliders (1995, 5 seasons) An updated Quantum Leap. Jerry O’Connell and John Rhys-Davies star. A couple of scientists and their unfortunate friends are stuck sliding between alternate universes trying to find their way home.

Wynonna Earp (2016, 4 seasons) The great-great granddaughter of Wyatt Earp is tasked with sending reincarnated outlaws back to Hell. Often called the spiritual successor to Buffy, this is a real campy adventure in the Wild West and everything Supernatural wished it could be. 

Lost Girl (2010, 5 seasons) This show is about a bisexual succubus named Bo. I don’t know what else you need to watch this.

Drama

The Darling Buds of May (1991, 3 series) The British Little House on the Prairie if Pa were a con man you like to root for. An early Catherine Zeta-Jones stars as the oldest daughter who kidnaps and marries a tax inspector in order to avoid paying taxes. Incredible. Icon.  

Midsomer Murders (1997, 24+ series) Technically, this one is still going (and I’m sure everyone’s heard of it), but there’s so many back episodes to get through, I still feel okay recommending it because it’s great for binge-watching when you’re sick. You’ll never run out of episodes. Cozy murder mysteries that take place in England’s most deadly village. Joyce deserves better.

In the Heat of the Night (1988, 7 seasons + films) A crime procedural in the Deep South in the US, a big city Black detective is hired as the head detective in a small town in rural Mississippi. Progressive (for its time), this show dealt with racial issues, police corruption, poverty, and more.

Six Feet Under (2001, 5 seasons) Two brothers work together to run the family business, a funeral home, in the wake of their father’s death. The show’s finale is considered one of the greatest of all time, so you can go in having confidence in a satisfying conclusion.

Historical Fiction/Fantasy

Rome (2005, 2 seasons) A collaboration between HBO and BBC, one of the most expensive series of its time. Has so many incredible character actors. You will constantly be on your phone asking where you recognize That Guy from. Polly Walker was instrumental in my discovering my sexuality. 

Xena: Warrior Princess (1995, 6 seasons) Okay, I know this is another popular one, but it also feels like a show people have heard of and never watched, so this is your reminder to do so. Brideshead Revisited (1981, 1 series) British schoolboys doing what schoolboys do best (falling in love with each other). Adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s novel by the same name. Galavant (2015, 2 seasons) Hilarious musical comedy about a downtrodden knight trying to rescue his girlfriend from King Richard, even though she is actually pretty happy being Queen. Catchiest theme ever. SUPPORT WRITERS.

[tony-angelino]

So hi

Ahh I’ve just gone for it, I need to sleep but I’ve made a new blog instead 👍. I’ve considered making a sitcoms blog for a while so hey why not here we are 😂. Important info I guess, the sitcoms I like the most (and will probably post about the most) are The Young Ones, Only Fools and Horses, Red Dwarf, I’m Alan Partridge, uh... Dinnerladies, The Vicar of Dibley, Father Ted, Fawlty Towers... I need to make a list but those are the ones I can think of right now 😂. There might be a lot of reblogs on here so sorry ✌️. If anyone likes any of these sitcoms then hey let’s be friends! 😂. My main blog is @sailorzakuro​ so if you see that username floating around this blog it’s me 😂. Anyway that was me, just... making my presence known, thank you 😂.

[harrietvane]

do you mind talking about why you dislike Love Actually and Richard Curtis's romcoms? I've seen you mention it in some of your tags and I'd love to hear your thoughts :)

Long post, so scroll now, ye who care not.

OK, so like better voices than mine have articulated Why Love Actually Sucks Balls, but you were kind enough to ask for my view, so strap in I’m gonna talk about Jane Eyre, and the 1990’s Fran Drescher sitcom The Nanny also. It’s coming up on western civilisations’ holiday season, so why not, it’s a good time to tell this movie to choke, because it’s about to be repeatedly thrust upon us once again. (Disclaimer: I acknowledge Richard Curtis is responsible for Blackadder and Vicar of Dibley, so whatever else, we’re still cool on that basis. But I have spite and to spare, so there’s plenty to go around).

My main beef is actually the context. Technically, if all of the below bullshit was in an offbeat movie from any other movie market (I’m thinking maybe a French, or Spanish movie from the 90′s boom, Almodovar style?), the focus would probably be a black humour take on ���Lord What Fools These Mortals Be!’, sort of look at the inherent ridiculousness of mankind, and how we get in our own way, blah blah, might have been cute. I’d buy that. This movie? A british movie for the american market? It’s sold with a big holiday sticker on it saying ‘ROMANCE’, and specifically ‘ADORABLE ASPIRATIONAL ROMANCE THAT YOU SHOULD ADORE AND ASPIRE TO’. Also the context *inside* the movie itself (through a narration voiceover no less) is that all of these narratives is somehow proof that ‘Love, Actually is all around’, and specifically in a good, wholesome, happy way, overall at least. These stories are redeeming, even if they’re not all happy, they’re Good™ or whatever. The context outside the movie is the same: british TV advertising, hard copy packaging, holiday specials, outdoor gala screenings: they all say over and over: THIS IS SQUISHY HOT PINK NEON LOVE, wholesome, healing, and healthy. You should want this, aspire to this, think this is the cat’s pyjamas! It’s a wide and varied look at the beautiful power of love from all angles, comic, tragic, the lot. 

Is it fuck. The ‘positive’ romance stories range from Stage-5 Creeper to Crotch Puppet Afterthought, the ‘melancholy’, thwarted romance stories seem to say ‘if you’re a woman who’s not readily/immediately bangable to your allocated straight dude, romance is over for you I’m afraid’. Let’s recap, shall we:

Much has already been said about Andrew Lincoln’s character BLANTANTLY SHARKING ON HIS BEST MATE’S WIFE being uhhh, less than fresh. I don’t even feel like I need to justify this one, it’s so over-the-top. The main point is that movie itself maintains this as a tragic, swoony, thwarted, heart-string-tugging missed connection, rather than The Worst Friend Ever (meaning: it assumes we’ll be 100% onboard with Keira Knightley skipping secretly away from Chiwetel Eijiofor to grant his best mate one treasured kiss, as opposed to saying ‘what the FUCK Mark, why are you telling me this, this is super inappropriate?? and my only wedding video is just you zooming in on my face? Pls get help’.

We all love National Treasure Colin Firth and all, but like is Love, Actually fixating on a woman who literally can’t speak to you? Has said nothing understandable to you? About whose own life you’ve never yet, and could never have asked about? Whose main interactions with you have been to wordlessly clean your room, bring you food, and tidy it away after? Your ideal woman, who you meet immediately following a break up, is one who silently meets all your domestic needs, while making zero emotional or intellectual demands on you whatsoever? WOW, SHOCKER. (Oh but it’s cute or whatever, they have him propose, and there’s a mix up when her sister appears, but she’s Ugly™, so it’s funny that the sister is not getting romance. I mean, how could she, an uggo?? Classic joke. Good times.)

The Prime Minster and his tea lady: more on Curtis’ Domestic Servitude Kink below, whoo boy.

Laura Linney would really really like to sleep with Rodrigo Santoro, and god bless her who wouldn’t, but she is tragically unable to, because she has family commitments as being the sister – not even fulltime carer, just RELATED TO -  a brother living with disability. Sorry folks, romance is OFF THE CARDS, FOREVER for Laura here. How can she??? That’s the nature of love, actually. Can you have sex right now this moment? No? Whelp, sorry, thanks for playing, back to the Tragic Assisted Living facility for you. Gosh it’s unfortunate that’s a truth universally acknowledged that any whiff of disability = no romance for you ever. (Don’t start me on 4 Weddings* [edit: *it’s totally Notting Hill, not 4 Weddings, thank] and how that husband is like The Best because he continues to love his wife even though her legs don’t work. What a champ, honestly, do they have an award for that?) I have to stop now before I get sarcasm poisoning, but my eyes will continue to roll.

How could I say anything bad about the Liam Neeson widower and his adorable lovestruck son storyine? Lol, I’m gonna. Have you seen the Buffy episode The Zeppo? Xander is convinced the only way girls (as a concept, not in the specific) will like him enough to sleep with him is if he has A Thing. The Thing is posited as ‘being cool’ by having an object or skill that alone will be the magic bullet to romance. Musical instrument prowess is considered, and he ends up just getting a car to be his Thing. This just seems like a redux of that logic. This kid could get some genuine direction from the movie to get to know this girl, learn her interests and share his, see if she likes him as a person by being A PERSON, but the narrative just backs away from that and eventually DOES just say ‘play the drums in the show, she’ll like you’ and that’s …it. But it’s cool, teenagers don’t learn key interpersonal dynamics at this age or anything, she kisses him for some reason, whatever. (Bonus points for gifting his dad with a literal supermodel as a punchline, after making that an actual joke earlier about the shallow nature of attraction, and love is about filling a one-sided need.)

I could go on, but I have very little to say about Freeman falling for a girl whose tits he’s been holding for a week, the no-homo pop star Nighy plot, or the guy that goes and has sex in Wisconsin with Bond Girls, and can’t be bothered, which leads me to…

Richard Curtis’ Domestic Servitude Kink. Must I kinkshame Richard Curtis in his own home?? Nope, I’m kinkshaming him AT WORK in his narratives, surrounded by his nubile, pliant, adorable female employee characters. Oh Mr Curtis, I seem to have dropped a pencil!

OK, so like a M/F Domestic Servitude romance is an extremely old trope, and extremely common, and I’m not here to tear that up, because done well it’s amazing, lot of petrol in that King Cophetua narrative tank. I’m a fan. The most famous in-context historical example being Jane Eyre, for instance: he’s her boss, she’s his paid subordinate, they’re both 100% aware of that. It’s a great way to explore the real-life class and power dynamics of these 2 train wrecks of human beings, and they vomit their ridiculous drama llama feelings all over a 600 page novel. Super fun, they’re both awful humans, I love them. Mid-century you might have The Sound of Music, and in more modern times you get 1990s sitcom The Nanny, both extremely well-developed romances involving paid employees, and part of their value is that the shows KNOW THIS. They’re aware it’s the basis for their dynamic, that they have to directly play with that, and develop beyond to go anywhere. Watching Fran Fine in her runway-fresh Moschino minidresses jump on Maxwell Sheffield’s desk for the 800th time making him super uncomfortable (and not a little turned on) is always such a treat. It’s right out there on the label. The problem with Love, Actually, is Curtis doesn’t want to admit that naughty secretary seems to be a cornerstone of what gets him going, romantic-stylez. 

One (1) time in the movie would be ‘sure, why not’. Literally the highest political office in the land, making overtures to the woman who brings him tea, i guess might be a bit off, but let’s say it’s done well, and maybe Hugh Grant and Martine McCutcheon’s charisma gets us over the line (his behaviour is cute because her last man didn’t like her body, but the prime minister DOES like her body! so it’s cute!). Whatever, seen worse. Two (2) times however is making a point, and Colin Firth is driving his silent portuguese maid home - not a french maid but so close! - and deciding he’d like her to bring him tea and clean his toilet for as long as they both shall live, and that also seems to be her greatest joy. Ah, l’amour. OK, I guess you like the thing, everyone has a thing, but at least you’re done now. Wait, you mean there’s a third (3rd) one? Everyone’s Fave Alan Rickman drives the plot of his own marriage’s tragic romance because he’s having stiffening feelings about his own Naughty Secretary halloween costume, after all. All the beautiful speeches about Joni Mitchell give Thompson some nice things to do, but it still assumes the Nature of Romance is to want to plough the help. A man can’t help it! It’s how romantic attraction works! Once would be whatever. Three times and there’s a tag on Ao3 for that, so please just scratch that itch and stop selling it to me in a heartwarming christmas movie as the Universal Nature Of Romance, so varied, so vast, the full spectrum! Just 2 hours to tell a story: but 3 whole narratives and 7 actors devoted to the variants on the naughty maid story. My point is be upfront about it and I’d be all for it - pretend it’s not A Thing You’re Doing and my creep-meter goes ping. Steven Shainberg’s ‘Secretary’ has a scene where the boss literally puts a saddle on his employee, and I find it to be one of the most genuinely moving romances I’ve ever seen. Love Actually makes me feel like Curtis is sending me a ‘u up?’ late night text about his secretary fantasy.

Anyway, I fucking hate this film, and not necessarily because of the content, but because of the context. The movie tells me to love it as aspirational romance. My culture tells me to love it as aspirational romance. Everyone tells me to love it as a varied and full exploration of reasons to get up in the morning, because it’s an aspirational romance. It makes me want to claw my own face off.

[dottiep]

Happy Valley (series 3)

The long-awaited third series of Sally Wainwright’s Bafta-winning crime drama had previously been expected to finally air in 2019, however it’s looking more likely to hit screens in 2020, with Sarah Lancashire reprising her role as no-nonsense copper Catherine Cawood.

Last Tango in Halifax (series 4)

Derek Jacobi, Anne Reid, Sarah Lancashire and Nicola Walker will all return for four more episodes of the much-loved comedy drama, written by Sally Wainwright. The Bafta-winning drama tells the story of former childhood sweethearts Celia and Alan who have rekindled their relationship later in life, as well as following the lives of their respective grown-up daughters.

Glass Houses

The Vicar of Dibley star Dawn French is set to play a dangerous village gossip in Glass Houses. Her character Maggie Connors is a busybody who gives an indiscreet interview to a local radio interviewer that sparks off a series of unexpected happenings in the fictional town of Thurlbury.

Jan 22nd

Created by and starring Michaela Coel of Chewing Gum fame, Jan 22nd promises to be a “provocative” series exploring the question of sexual consent in today’s world, where gratification is only a dating app away.

Call the Midwife

The midwives of Poplar return for another series (plus a 2019 Christmas special) which starts in January 1965 with the funeral of Winston Churchill, and sees Nonnatus House “entering a bold and innovative era”. And there’s good news for Midwife fans – the drama has been green-lit for a further two series so will be on our screens until at least 2022.

Killing Eve (series 3)

Killing Eve will return to screens in 2020 with a new female showrunner at the helm: Suzanne Heathcote. But who will be reprising their roles? Well, it largely depends who survives series two.

Gentleman Jack (series 2)

Suranne Jones will be back to bring the remarkable story of Anne Lister to life in a second series of the period drama, which was recommissioned after just two episodes of the first season had aired.

Unforgotten

DCI Cassie Stuart (Nicola Walker) and DI Sunny Khan (Sanjeev Bhaskar) dig into another historic crime in this critically acclaimed series from writer Chris Lang

[sexydeathparty]

12 TV Shows From The 90s You'd Almost Forgotten About

We all remember the likes of Absolutely Fabulous, SM:TV Live, Blind Date, but there’s been a whole host of other shows from back in the 90s that have been consigned to the TV vaults. 

As HuffPost continues its celebration of old-school televisual treats in our series Rewind To The 90s, we’re raiding the archives to uncover a host of programmed you’d likely forgotten all about... until now. 

1. Man O Man

Man O Man turned the concept of a beauty pageant on its head and featured a host of male contestants, with a female audience voting on the winner after they were put through various challenges. It memorably saw losing contestants pushed into a swimming pool behind them. 

Based on the German gameshow of the same name, Man O Man was hosted by Chris Tarrant and aired for two series between 1996 and 1999. 

2. Don’t Try This At Home

After learning her craft as a presenter with roles on MTV and a number of late night shows, Davina arrived on prime time with her own Saturday night series, Don’t Try This At Home, in 1998. 

It saw members of the public facing tough and extreme challenges, such as bungee jumping, or facing their fears by being locked in a room full of spiders. 

One episode saw Davina have to bungee jump from a helicopter into the Grand Canyon after one contestant pulled out of a challenge at the last minute.  

3. Hetty Wainthropp Investigates

Patrica Routledge is beloved for her role as snobby neighbourhood busybody Hyacinth Bucket in BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances. But after leaving the show in 1995 at the height of its popularity, Patricia said she wanted to pursue other more dramatic roles – the first of which came a year later when she began playing the titular character in detective series Hetty Wainthropp Investigates. 

Airing for four series between 1996 and 1998, viewers followed Hetty – a retired woman from the North West of England – solving crimes that were often seen as too trivial for the police. 

4. Ground Force

Coming off the success of home renovation series Changing Rooms was its horticultural counterpart Ground Force. 

Each week a team of designers, builders and gardeners, headed up by Alan Titchmarsh, Charlie Dimmock and Tommy Jones would transform an unloved garden, sparking a national obsession with decking and pebble bubble fountains. 

5. The Thin Blue Line

The 90s was a golden era for British comedy, with shows like Absolutely Fabulous, Keeping Up Appearances, Desmond’s, Dinnerladies, Men Behaving Badly and The Vicar Of Dibley among the most notable. 

One that is often less well remembered is The Thin Blue line – a sitcom penned by Ben Elton set in a police station. 

Starring Mr Bean himself Rowan Atkinson and Rudolph Walker (aka EastEnders’ Patrick Truman), it focused on the divide between the uniformed squad and CID and their conflicting approaches to policing. 

Only 14 episodes were made across two series between 1995 and 1996. 

6. Sunburn

Sunburn was a BBC drama that followed the lives of a group of British holiday reps working in the Algarve, starring Michelle Collins, Sharon Small, Sean Maguire and Paul Nicholas. 

The idea for the show, which ran for two series between 1999 and 2000 – came about after writer Mike Bullen (the man behind Cold Feet) watched the docu-soap Holiday Reps. 

7. The Grimleys

This comedy drama followed the trials and tribulations of the everyday Grimley family, based in the Midlands in the 1970s. 

Written by Line Of Duty creator Jed Mercurio, it also starred Amanda Holden in one of her early dramatic roles, where she played school teacher, Miss Geraldine Titley. 

After a pilot in 1997, it ran for three series between 1999 and 2001. 

8. The Cruise

Following the success of the BBC’s fly-on-the-wall documentary series Airport, the broadcaster set its sight on the seas, and launched The Cruise, which followed the staff aboard the luxury liner Galaxy. 

It was also the show that launched the TV career of Loose Women legend and cruiser extraordinaire Jane McDonald. 

Jane was working as a singer on board and captured the nation’s hearts with her down to earth sense of humour and blossoming relationship with partner Henrik, who she went on to marry on the show, which aired for 12 episodes in 1998. 

9. House Doctor

One of the key shows in Channel 5’s early years was House Doctor – a home renovation series with a twist. 

Each episode would see Californian real-estate stylist Ann Maurice come to the rescue of people struggling to sell their homes, helping them to declutter and redecorate on a budget in order to attract potential buyers. 

Having originally aired between 1998 and 2003, there was a brief revival in 2016, where Ann was succeeded by new designer Tracy Metro. 

10. Peak Practice

Peak Practice was an ITV drama that ran from 1993 to 2002 which was set in a fictional GP surgery in the Peak District. 

Kevin Whately, Amanda Burton and Sarah Parish were among those who appeared during the course of its 12 series. 

The show ended on somewhat of a cliffhanger when it was axed by ITV, with two characters going over the edge of a cliff, with their fate remaining unclear. 

11. Talking Telephone Numbers

This ITV game show gave viewers the chance to win cash based on their telephone number. 

During the course of each episode, various variety acts would perform and play a short game that would generate a number. Once five digits were selected, viewers who had them in their phone number could call into one of the show’s 96 telephonists. A phone line would then be picked at random, and that person given the chance to win £25,000. 

The show was presented by Phillip Schofield between 1994 and 1997, with Emma Forbes joining him for the first four series, and Claudia Winkleman co-hosting the final run with him. 

12. The Frank Skinner Show

Graham Norton and Jonathan Ross make up the majority of hosts on the chat show circuit these days, but back in the 90s, they had company from the likes of Michael Parkinson, Mrs Merton, Des O’Connor and Frank Skinner.

You might have forgotten that Frank hosted an eponymous late-night show for the BBC between 1995 and 1999, before moving to ITV for its final six years.

As well as celebrity chat, the show also used to feature a stand-up routine, sketches and a comedy song.

BACK TO THE 90S:

22 Nostalgic Top Of The Pops Performances That Will Take You Right Back To The 90s

These Classic TV Moments All Celebrate Their 30th Anniversaries In 2022

The Definitive Ranking Of The 20 Best Kids TV Shows From The 90s

from HuffPost UK - Athena2 - All Entries (Public) https://ift.tt/SkX6FPJ via IFTTT

[theinvisiblehulk]

britcom alignment chart

lawful good: The Vicar of Dibley neutral good: I’m Alan Partridge chaotic good: Father Ted lawful neutral: Yes, Minister true neutral: Red Dwarf chaotic neutral: Absolutely Fabulous lawful evil: Keeping Up Appearances neutral evil: Fawlty Towers chaotic evil: Blackadder

[kwebtv]

Fat Friends  - ITV  -  October 12, 2000 - March 24, 2005

Drama (25 episodes)

Running Time: 60 minutes

Stars:

Alison Steadman as Betty Simpson

Gaynor Faye as Lauren Harris

Ruth Jones as Kelly Chadwick (née Simpson)

Jonathan Ryland as Kevin Chadwick

James Corden as Jamie Rymer

Janet Dibley as Carol McGary

Richard Ridings as Alan Ashburn (series 1 and 2)

Kathryn Hunt as Val Lorrimer (series 1 and 2)

Lisa Riley as Rebecca Patterson (series 2 through 4)

Lynda Baron as Norma Patterson (series 2 through 4)

[williamemcknight]

RHS Malvern Spring Festival hailed a success

This year has been a groundbreaking year for the RHS Malvern Spring Festival.  The landmark gardening and food event took place from Thursday 11 to Sunday 14 May and welcomed over 100,000 people onto the Three Counties Showground to explore the fresh new look, layout and theme for the four-day festival.

Head of RHS Malvern, Jane Furze said: “What a phenomenal year for RHS Malvern Spring Festival, we couldn’t be happier with how it’s gone. We had so many exciting new features, alongside our usual vibrant lineup, which meant there was something for everyone to enjoy.  Gardening and food royalty shared their bountiful knowledge and endless enthusiasm and hopefully festival goers will have left brimming with inspiration and ideas. We are also extremely pleased to announce that the festival now has a plant named after it, the gorgeous Dahlia ‘Malvern Spring’ has been unveiled and will be available to buy next year. We’re now very much looking forward to Malvern Autumn Show in September when we can do it all again.”

Kicking off the Royal Horticultural Society’s summer season of shows, RHS Malvern Spring Festival welcomed the top names of the gardening and food world to share their knowledge, including Alan Titchmarsh, Raymond Blanc, Monty Don and BBC Gardeners’ World presenters, Carol Klein, Joe Swift and Adam Frost. Visitors immersed themselves in stunning show gardens, were spoilt for choice with over 100 specialist nurseries on site, marvelled at Malvern’s longest ever Floral Marquee, indulged in the vibrant food and drink pavilion and were entertained by the many spectacular workshops and demonstrations held by industry experts.  Top children’s authors and BBC Blue Peter Gardener Chris Collins welcomed budding gardeners to a dedicated family weekend, whilst 14 schools, including one from Russia, took part in the much-loved School Garden Challenge.

Each year RHS Malvern Spring Festival raises the bar for design and horticultural talent and 2017 was no exception. The winners of the RHS Malvern Spring Festival Medal categories were:

Best Show Garden – ‘At One With…A Meditation Garden’ by Howle Hill Nursery – GOLD

Best Construction Award – ‘At One With…A Meditation Garden’ by Howle Hill Nursery – GOLD

Best Spa Garden – ‘Molecular Garden’ by Denis Kalashnikov & Ekaterina Bolotova – GOLD

RHS Gold Medals have been awarded to:

‘At One With…A Meditation Garden’ by Howle Hill Nursery

The Refuge (Garden) in aid of Help Refugees UK by Sue Jollans

Molecular Garden by Denis Kalashnikov & Ekaterina Bolotova

RHS Silver-Gilt Medals have been awarded to:

The Retreat by Villaggio Verde

RHS Silver Medals have been awarded to:

Buckfast Abbey Millennium Garden by Buckfast Abbey

Treehouse Garden by Mark Eveleigh

I Follow the Waters and the Wind by Baines-Stiller Garden Design

RHS Bronze Medals have been awarded to:

A Garden Framed by Tim Lawrence

The Ocean Garden by Damien Michel

Bubble Drops by Keith Browning

People’s Choice was awarded to the following:

Show Garden

Buckfast Abbey Millennium Garden by Buckfast Abbey

Spa Garden

I Follow the Waters and the Wind by Baines-Stiller Garden Design                                                                                                                                                                                                    

The 2017 Floral Marquee was the biggest that has ever appeared at RHS Malvern Spring Festival. It played host to 69 specialist nurseries, welcomed 6 new nurseries, 3 anniversaries and a record-breaking number of new plant varieties.

Taking home the top title in the Floral Marquee was:

Best Floral Marquee Exhibit and GOLD Medal Winner, Hampshire Carnivorous Plants, boasting a fantastic range of carnivorous plants from around the world.  Celebrating their 20th year at RHS Malvern Spring Festival, Hampshire Carnivorous Plants brought with them a new variety of Sarracenia, ‘Scarlet Bell’, a compact and trumpet shaped fly-catcher with bright red flowers, ideal for growing indoors in greenhouses or conservatories.

Hampshire Carnivorous Plants owner Matt Soper was also presented with an RHS Cultural Commendation for Nepanthes x mixta

An impressive 30 gold medals have been awarded in the Floral Marquee this year, including:

Dibleys Nurseries Gareth and Lynne Dibley, brother and sister team have launched a rare scented Streptocarpus at this year’s RHS Malvern Spring Festival. Streptocarpus ‘Sweet Rosy’ is a large plant (approx. 30cm x 30cm) with a rounded head of scented flowers (approx. 6cm) that are a beautiful rose pink and white that change colour as they age to a soft purple and white.

Cooks Garden Centre Specialising in hardy and tender plants. The stand was inspired by a ‘Wedding Breakfast’ and was created with the help of Abberley Primary School. Owner Paul Cook has inspired the pupils with an ‘introduction to horticulture’ project. The pupils helped set up the stand and continued to help over the four-day event.

Lockyer Fuchsias (Stand MFM715) Fuschia collection showcasing two new varieties, Fuschia ‘Jamam’, a bright pink and lilac coloured fuchsia and Fuschia ‘Soila’, a fuchsia with a deep pink hue.

  Award winning designer and grower Jon Wheatley introduced Dahlia ‘Malvern Spring’ to the festival for the first time.  Bred by Greenyard Flowers on behalf of the National Dahlia Collection, Jon Wheatley launched Dahlia ‘Malvern Spring’ as part of the new Grow Zone display.  Dahlia ‘Malvern Spring’ will be available to buy next year.  It is a single flowered variety which produces bright cerise flowers in abundance on dark foliage.  It reaches approx. 2ft in height and so is perfect for the front of a border or on a patio in a container.

  For more information and full winner details from 2017, please call 01684 584900 or visit www.rhsmalvern.co.uk

[stevebattle]

Son of Thezeus (1981) by Alan Dibley, Cheddar, UK. While 'Son of Thezeus' first competed in the 1981 Micromouse finals in Paris, the Thezeus family came to the fore at the British finals of the Euromouse ’82 competition held at the Earls Court Computer Fair in April 1982. From a field of seven finalists, Alan Dibley's Thezeus 3 took first place, with 'Son of Thezeus' coming second with a best time of 3 min 21 sec. Featuring the characteristic sawn-off Sinclair ZX80, "Son of Thezeus was faster than his predecessor on the straights and used a different method to turn. He also used 500mAh nickel-cadmium cells rather than Thezeus's 1.2Ah cells, and had an infrared emitter/sensor for tracking wheel motion. But he did use similar mechanical steering and microswitch wall sensors. Mechanical sensors must be retracted during a turn, and result in complication and wasted time, so later versions use infrared sensors, which are also faster to act and do not bounce. The microswitch used to keep track of wheel revolutions on Thezeus would not be reliable at any higher speed." – DIY about the mouse, by Alan Dibley, Practical Computing, July 1984.

[beautyqueenlana]

Do you watch comedy series like the it crowd or black books? If you do what can you suggest to me like these shows?

I like The IT Crowd, seen a couple of episodes. But I’ve never seek Black Books, what’s that like? - I’m very much into British comedies, like Only Fools and Horses, Father Ted (Irish), The Inbetweeners, The Vicar of Dibley, Alan Partridge etc. I guess Gavin and Stacey and panel shows like Have I Got News For You and 8 Out Of Ten Cats are similar to the IT Crowd?

[stevebattle]

T6 (1985) by Alan Dibley, Cheddar, UK. The International Personal Robots Congress at the London West Hotel hosted the 1985 Micromouse British Finals. "Thezeus the Ancient came out of retirement, but even heart massage failed to make it run - its practice exertions had proved too much for its old batteries. KnownAim also failed to live up to its reputation, and eventually retired. That left the contest open to the two favourites, Alan Dibley's T6 and David Woodfield's Enterprise. T6 was suffering battery problems of its own, and after reaching the centre on an early run in a time of 1 min 51 sec was unable to complete a follow-up run to exploit its acquired knowledge of the maze." – Micromouse British Finals 1985, by John Billingsley.

"In 1985 the Japan Micromouse Association held a World Micromouse Contest coinciding with the World Expo in Tsukuba City, Japan. ... It soon became apparent that Thumper was most confused, and T6 was steering straight into the walls. Preferring not to attribute this performance to jet lag, we suspected that the maze itself was not giving the infrared signature required by the mice. The mice detect the walls by using active infrared sensors that stick out above the walls of the maze and look down. The tops of the walls are meant to be reflective in infrared (around one micron wavelength) and the black floor of the maze is meant to absorb infrared. However, the floor of the maze, though black, looked rather shiny in the infrared, so after obtaining permission from the IEEE Computer Society, we covered the maze floor with a thick coat of the mattest black emulsion we could find. Thumper and T6 still occasionally went blind, so we began to suspect the walls. Using Thumper as an infrared reflectometer, we found that the dull red plastic layer that covered the tops of the walls was actually a very poor reflector of infrared. So we covered all the wall tops with strips of highly infrared reflective red sticky paper, and this solved the problem." – The Museum Mouseathon, The Computer Museum Report/Spring 1986.

[stevebattle]

T3 AKA "Yetanotherthezeus" (1982) by Alan Dibley, Cheddar, UK. The Micromouse competition has come of age, and now the problem facing most competitors is not how to reach the target, but how to get there faster. The pre-match favourite at the 1982 British finals of Euromouse, Thumper, was beaten into fifth place by Alan Dibley's T3 which came first with a winning time of 1 min 13 secs. "T3 was my first second-generation mouse, and works quite differently. The single front wheel is driven by a motor and gearbox mounted on a vertical pivot. It is steered by a radio-control servo working through a pair of connecting links similar to steam-locomotive con-rods — but a bit smaller. The mouse has two rear wheels which are free running. The tricycle arrangement allows the mouse to turn about his own centre at corners and dead ends. … To turn, the mouse stops at the centre of the square. Then the software takes control of the servo, turns the front wheel 90° left or right, turns the motor on for the correct count of wheel pulses, straightens the steering, switches back to hardware steering control, and restarts the motor." – DIY about the mouse, by Alan Dibley, Practical Computing July 1984.

[stevebattle]

T5 AKA "Thezeus 5" (1983) by Alan Dibley, Cheddar, UK. "The British finals of the [1983] Euromouse Contest were held at the Computer Fair at London's Earls Court. Alan Dibley's T4 gained victory from David Woodfield's KnownAim only because its fastest untouched run was shorter. KnownAim had made a shorter run still but had needed a helping hand round an awkward corner. T5 was also unveiled at the fair but once again reliability let it down." – Getting on to the right track, by John Billingsley.

"The lure of five free trips to Japan brought 14 micromice to Copenhagen for the 1984 European finals. … Alan Dibley brought T4, T5 and a Thezeus with revamped software. … T5 blundered on an awkward corner and failed to find the shortest path." – Top mouse, by John Billingsley, Practical Computing, November 1984.

"In Copenhagen, at Euromicro 1984 ... David Woodfield (Enterprise) and Alan Dibley (Thezeus-5) won travel prizes donated by the Japan Science Foundation to join teams from Finland and Germany in the Japanese 'All World' contest in Tsukuba, held in August 1985." – Alternative Robotics: Robat and Micromouse – the Cybernetic Challenge, by Professor John Billingsley, Practical Electronics, July 1986."

At Expo '85 in Tsukuba, "A disconsolate Alan Dibley had to explain to the audience that T-5 had leaped off a table and suffered a broken wing - the cover in which the wall sensors were mounted. Even with the help of the Japanese mousers (special thanks to Mr. Higasa) the necessary lining up and adjustments could not be made in time. T-5's servomotors had then been sacrificed in an attempt to help the Finns. T-6 had been left at the hotel in disgrace after its failure to qualify, leaving the visitors still with a zero score." – Micromice at Expo '85, by John Billingsley.

[stevebattle]

Quester (1981) by David Buckley, London, UK. Quester was originally designed as a micromouse maze solver, taking part in the Wembley heats of the July 1981 Amazing Micromouse Contest, and in the September 1981 EUROMICRO competition in Paris. It was later converted into a general purpose robot with the addition of a gripper. It uses vision to detect the walls of the maze, and segmented bump sensors in case it doesn't, and uses a layered behaviour control program running on a 6502 based Acorn System 1. Quester was also a finalist in the Robotics Age "Home Robot Photo Contest" (1982), and ultimately won the Thezeus Award 1996 created and presented by Alan Dibley.

"The chassis consists of two main drive wheels with fore and aft casters. The drive wheels are hardboard disks with vacuum-cleaner belts for tires, each powered by a 6V DC motor. Via homemade shaft encoders the motors also drive two 8-bit up/down counters so that a preprogrammed path may be followed. Wire loops connected to micro-switches can be seen around the base - these provide reflexes through hardware timers on the interface board. Power comes from a 6V lead-acid battery in the central column which allows about three hours of service between charges. Twelve photo-transistors arranged as three pairs per side provide obstacle detection. One of each pair senses ambient light while the other is only sensitive to light from a particular direction. … At the front of the chassis are a pair of ultrasonic transducers for range-finding." – Quester, by David L. Buckley, Robotics Age, Jan/Feb 1982.

[stevebattle]

Sterling Mouse (1980) by Nick Smith, Ruislip, West London. The finals of the European Micromouse Maze Contest were held at Euromicro 80, Imperial College, London. The robot mice were required to find their way to the centre of a 16 x 16 maze with a central 'moat' corridor, designed to rule out simple wall-followers. Nick Smith’s Sterling Mouse became the first ever (and that year the only) micromouse to find the centre and know it had done so. It, "was the most primitive and the most successful. A nose switch detects walls in front, while a brass wing on each side provides directional stability and detects side walls. These wings ride on top of the walls, and by the height of the wing, distinguish three conditions: no wall, wall in place, too close to wall. However, when passing through a junction there is only one wall and no way to prevent it from straying off that wall. Sterling Mouse also had no way to recover if it scraped into a wall. It was centre-seeking, as appropriate to this style of maze. However, the mouse sometimes spiralled outward, retraced its path, and showed apparently erratic behavior. Simulations of several centre-seeking algorithms have shown similar problems. Since orientation at a junction is independent of global path orientation, this is to be expected. A good fix may be to incorporate knowledge about moats." – On Micromice and the First European Micromouse Competition, Wayne H. Caplinger, AISB Quarterly issue 39 December 1980.

"According to the inveterate mouse builder Alan Dibley the name is a play on Stirling Moss - the famous racing driver." – David Buckley