TERM 2: Week 2
Monday January 14th -
Sunday January 20th, 1980
BBC 1, 7.15 pm: The third
series of Blake’s 7 continues
with Powerplay, another
strong episode which
introduces us to new crew
member Del Tarrant and
firmly establishes that Blake
will not be returning to the
Liberator any time soon. The
rest of the series, in my
childish mind, is all about the
desperate search for Blake.
But watching it again as an
adult, the crew obviously
couldn’t care less.
BBC 2, 8.10 pm: The Goodies
return for their eighth series,
the last set of episodes they
make for the BBC. Politics,
with its surreal coverage of a
very silly general election,
clearly should have been
broadcast the previous May
when there was a real one
happening. But it’s still a
brilliant piece of work. The
Goodies are often looked at
as a kind of kids’ teatime
version of Monty Python and
some of their humour has
dated, but this is still a
cracking show with a broad
appeal. It’s clever, it’s got
good jokes and there’s
something for everyone. But
all the bits one half of the
audience likes would
probably turn the other half
off and vice versa, giving it a
weird energy - like it’s actively
trying to pull its audience
apart. Well worth seeking
out.
UK SINGLES CHART
No 1: Brass in Pocket Pretenders
No 15: Too Much Too Young (The Special AKA Live!)
The Specials
No 33: Coward of the County Kenny Rogers
No 45: Someone’s Looking At You Boomtown Rats
No 49: Jane Jefferson Starship
No 54: The Plastic Age The Buggles
No 60: Baby I Love You The Ramones
No 63: Riders in the Sky The Shadows
No 67: Underpass John Foxx
No 70: Love on the Line Barclay James Harvest
No 71: Motorbike Beat The Revillos
No 72: Black Orchid Stevie Wonder
No 75: Captain Beaky Keith Michell
UK ALBUMS CHART
No 1: Pretenders Pretenders
No 14: Permanent Waves Rush
No 31: Short Stories Jon & Vangelis
MEANWHILE, IN AN ALTERNATE
UNIVERSE…
Doctor Who: Shada - Part One
•
Without Shada, Season 17 of Doctor Who
seems cheap, scrappy and incomplete,
making the show look shoddy and unloved.
With Shada, it has a chance to be looked at
as one of Doctor Who’s most notable
seasons. This final six-part story crystallises
Douglas Adams’ vision for the show - a
refreshingly clever take on a format that
shows no sign of tiring.
Saturday January 19th
My parents take me to see a performance of
Sleeping Beauty at the Civic Centre in Castleford.
After a brief tonsillitis alarm (which turns out to be
nothing when my Dad threatens me with an early
bedtime), I am taken back to Castleford to stay
overnight with my Gran (as documented in my
English book the following Monday).
2000 AD Prog 149: the first appearance of the
iconically terrifying Judge Death - an unforgettable
strip, written by John Howard (with stunning artwork
by Brian Bolland), that has a deep and lasting impact
on me.
ITN News: Barbara Windsor visits her husband
Ronnie Knight in Brixton Prison for the first time,
after he is charged with the murder of Alfredo
Zomparelli. Knight is acquitted at the trial, but
eventually convicted in 1995 of receiving stolen
goods. By which time they were divorced.
Friday January 18th
BBC 1, 5.10 pm: Grange Hill: Series 3, Episode 4 - in
which Trisha, Doyley and Penny Lewis compete to
win a place on the school council.
BBC 2, 6.10 pm: Monkey - The Beginning of Wisdom
Thursday January 17th
Doctor Who Weekly No 15
Star Wars Weekly No 100: a
new look for the comic as it
reaches its 100th edition.
Taking a cue from the
successful new Doctor Who
comic (part of the overhaul of
Marvel UK’s brand under the
editorship of Dez Skinn), the
front cover sports a
photograph rather than an
illustration. Tantalisingly, the
comic features a three-page
spread in the middle that
warns of a forthcoming
sequel this summer.
BBC 1, 7.20 pm: Top of the
Pops - presented by Simon
Bates, with:
•
Living By Numbers New
Musik
•
With You I’m Born Again
Billy Preston & Syreeta
•
Strange Little Girl Sad Cafe
•
Got To Love Somebody
Sister Sledge
•
My Girl Madness
•
We Got the Funk Positive
Force
•
Dance Stance Dexy’s
Midnight Runners
•
Better Love Next Time Dr
Hook
•
Paradise Bird Amii Stewart
•
Babe Styx
•
Green Onions Booker T &
The M.G.s (via Legs & Co)
•
Escape Rupert Holmes
•
Brass in Pocket Pretenders
•
I Hear You Now Jon &
Vangelis (playout)
Wednesday January 16th
Paul McCartney is arrested while on tour in Tokyo
for possession of marijuana. He is imprisoned for
nine days before being released and deported
without charge, but the tour - which would have
been his last with Wings - is cancelled. Here’s a
report about the arrest on BBC News.
English: The Hat’s Adventure
Tuesday January 15th
BBC 1, 5.10 pm: Grange Hill: Series 3, Episode 3 - in
which Alan nearly burns down an entire forest after
hearing Penny ask Susie to take off her bra
Monday January 14th
BBC 1, 11 am: We all sit down to watch an episode
of Merry Go Round (part of the BBC Schools and
Colleges series broadcast each term-time morning).
This week it’s all about a village in Yorkshire. Sadly
not our own. I then write about it in my English
book under the title Luddenden.
Sunday January 20th
I visit Wayne Old, who lives next door to my Gran,
but he can’t play out because he is ill.
ITV’s fortunes are slightly restored after their recent
troubles when a screening of the James Bond film
Live and Let Die achieves the highest ever viewing
figures for a film screened on UK television (23.5m) -
a record it still holds to this day.
Worzel Gummidge: A Fishy Tale
St Pauls
Riots
Apr 2, 1980
Mugabe
Elected
Mar 4, 1980
Echo Beach
Martha and the
Muffins
TERM 2 IN LINK FORM