Monday November 19th English: Metropolitan Police - inspired by a visit from a policeman, who impresses upon us how very, very good the police are at catching criminals. This may have been part of West Yorkshire Police’s huge campaign to flush out the Yorkshire Ripper. Afterwards, I pair up with Andrew Wall in a disastrous attempt to make plastercasts of our footprints. This is the last piece I write in my English book during my first term. 7.30 pm: The cast and crew working on the Doctor Who story Shada return from lunch to find the studio locked, owing to a strike called by the Association of Broadcasting and Allied Staffs (ABS). Unable to complete the recording block they had just prepared for, they continue rehearsal for the next two weeks, hoping to catch up in December. Other programmes like Top of the Pops are also affected (its shows this week and next feature no new studio recording). The strike is resolved by the end of the month, but on November 30, BBC management decide to reallocate Doctor Who’s studio time to other shows they prefer instead. As a result, Shada is never finished. Tuesday November 20th A group of around 200 militants occupy Mecca's Grand Mosque. They are driven out two weeks later by French commandos after bloody fighting that leaves at least 250 people dead. The Target book Doctor Who and the Destiny of the Daleks is published. Not The Nine O’Clock News: Series 1, Ep 6 - the last episode with Chris Langham. Kicks off with a barrage of jokes about Anthony Blunt, making up for last week’s weird anti-topical Christmas themed sketches. Plus a great little sketch riffing on the Life of Brian debate on Friday Night Saturday Morning a couple of weeks ago. The series will return in March 1980 fronted by its classic line-up with Griff Rhys Jones (who’s actually in this episode more than Chris Langham anyway). Wednesday November 21st The United States Embassy in Islamabad is attacked by a mob and set on fire, killing four. Thursday November 22nd Marvel Superheroes No 356 Doctor Who Weekly No 7 Spectacular Spider-Man Weekly No 351 Hulk Comic No 39 Star Wars Weekly No 92 features an ad for Action Man and another for Rolf Harris’ “new electronic stylophone” (which has been around since the 1960s). Top of the Pops - another one that’s difficult to find, presented by Dave Lee Travis. From this playlist it looks like there may not have been many newly- filmed clips this week. Except maybe this one by The Pretenders? Must have been scuppered by the same strike that affected Doctor Who (see above). Friday November 23rd In Dublin, IRA member Thomas McMahon is sentenced to life in prison for the assassination of Louis Mountbatten. In August 1998, he is released as part of the Good Friday Agreement. BBC 2, 6.05 pm: Monkey Turns Nursemaid Saturday November 24th Doctor Who: Nightmare of Eden - Part One Nightmare of Eden is a great little Doctor Who story. It’s silly in places and suffers from the same lack of budget the rest of the show suffers from, but it’s full of great ideas and crackles with an energy the other stories around it don’t quite have. On transmission however, I remember this being a bit of a milestone in terms of how dissatisfied I was with the show as a whole. My Dad had been wearing me down for a while. Maybe because he didn’t want to keep spending money on Doctor Who books and Doctor Who comics, I don’t know. But he thought (not without good reason) Doctor Who was a bit rubbish really, a bit embarrassing. Especially when you compared it with something like Star Wars, which had been made with a much higher budget and much better special effects. And actors with American accents, which sounded much more realistic in space. Or maybe even Blake’s 7, which was still British and piss-poor for cash, but a bit more grown-up, with people who occasionally snogged, and other stuff that adults liked. Doctor Who was just a kids show basically, and I was eight years old now. I should be growing out of stuff like that. But this week, Dad was mad keen to watch it, because he’d heard (I think from some DJ on Radio 1) that this week’s cliffhanger was hilarious. And sure enough, when the monster (a Mandrel) came bursting through a hole in a wall at the end of the episode, we all burst into laughter at how ridiculous it looked. I had to admit, for once, that my Dad was right. Doctor Who was indeed rubbish, and I really should start growing out of it as soon as possible. Pity I didn’t understand the drug storyline or I might have felt differently. I still continued to watch it every week. For now. 2000 AD Prog 141 The Professionals: The Madness of Mickey Hamilton Sunday November 25th UK SINGLES CHART No 1: When You’re in Love with a Beautiful Woman Dr Hook No 5: Walking on the Moon The Police No 26: Another Brick in the Wall Pink Floyd No 38: Rapper’s Delight The Sugarhill Gang No 45: Don’t Bring Harry The Stranglers No 61: Wonderful Christmastime Paul McCartney No 67: Bomber Motorhead No 69: I Just Can’t Be Happy Today The Damned UK ALBUMS CHART No 1: Greatest Hits Vol. 2 ABBA No 14: ELO’s Greatest Hits Electric Light Orchestra No 64: Teach the World to Laugh The Barron Knights

Monday November 19th - Sunday November 25th, 1979

TERM 1: Week 11

TERM 1 (Sept - Dec 1979) Week 0 (Aug 25 - Sep 2, 1979) Week 1 (Sep 3 - Sep 9, 1979) Week 2 (Sep 10 - Sep 16, 1979) Week 3 (Sep 17 - Sep 23, 1979) Week 4 (Sep 24 - Sep 30, 1979) Week 5 (Oct 1 - Oct 7, 1979) Week 6 (Oct 8 - Oct 14, 1979) Week 7 (Oct 15 - Oct 21, 1979) Half Term (Oct 22 - Oct 28, 1979) Week 8 (Oct 29 - Nov 4, 1979) Week 9 (Nov 5 - Nov 11, 1979) Week 10 (Nov 12 - Nov 18, 1979) Week 11 (Nov 19 - Nov 25, 1979) Week 12 (Nov 26 - Dec 2, 1979) Week 13 (Dec 3 - Dec 9, 1979) Week 14 (Dec 10 - Dec 16, 1979) Week 15 (Dec 17 - Dec 23, 1979) Christmas (Dec 24 - Dec 30, 1979) New Year’s Eve (Dec 31, 1979)

TERM 1 IN LINK FORM

Waen Shepherd Arrives in Fairburn Sep 1979

Yorkshire Ripper Claims 11th Victim Sep 2, 1979

Cars Gary Numan

ITV Returns Oct 24,1979

Not The Nine O’Clock News Oct 16, 1979

The Path of Least Resistance The Human League

Video Killed the Radio Star Buggles

Iran Hostage Crisis Nov 4, 1979

Life of Brian Debate Nov 9, 1979

Invasion of Afghanistan Dec 24, 1979

BBC VT Christmas Tape Dec 1979

Another Brick in the Wall Pink Floyd

TERM 1 WEEK 12 >

< TERM 1 WEEK 10

TERM 2 (Jan - Apr 1980) TERM 3 (Apr - Jul 1980)

Mountbatten State Funeral Sep 5, 1979

Destiny of the Daleks Sep 1, 1979