TERM 2: Week 3

Monday January 21st - Sunday January 27th, 1980

Hi-de-Hi! Jan 1, 1980

Steel Strike Jan 2, 1980

St Paul’s Riots Apr 2, 1980

Judge Death Jan 19, 1980

My Girl Madness

Blake’s 7 Returns Jan 7, 1980

Barbara Woodhouse Jan 7, 1980

Grange Hill Roof Death Feb 25, 1980

Underpass John Foxx

Mugabe Elected Mar 4, 1980

Atomic Blondie

Games Without Frontiers Peter Gabriel

Robin Cousins Wins Gold Feb 21, 1980

Echo Beach Martha and the Muffins

TERM 2 IN LINK FORM

State of the Union Jan 23, 1980

BBC 1, 7.15 pm: Blake’s 7 - Volcano - a dull episode which focuses mainly on the new additions to the crew and some very boring colonists on a deeply boring volcano planet. For once, Cally’s telepathic abilities are instrumental to the plot, but only for one scene. BBC 2, 7.25 pm: Rock Goes to College, featuring The Specials playing live at the Colchester Institute. Because God forbid you should like Blake’s 7 AND pop music. That’d just be too much, wouldn’t it? But don’t worry if you missed it - there are two versions of it on YouTube: • Shorter, better quality • Longer, worse quality BBC 2, 8.10 pm: The Goodies - Saturday Night Grease. Despite everything I said about The Goodies last week, this one hasn’t aged well. It’s definitely memorable - some of the images burned themselves deeply into the weirdness centres of my brain - not least the disturbingly surreal sight of Robin Yad (basically Graeme Garden with a bag on his head, which for some reason chilled me to the core). It was obviously appealing to kids, with its silly dancing, corny jokes and squeaky-voiced John Travolta impressions. But it’s hard to imagine it appealing to an adult in 2021 - the blacking up, the violently sexist language, the general impression that they’re saying it’s a shame you can’t get away with feeling people up on the dance floor any more - and it’s even harder to believe it would appeal to an adult in 1980, mainly because the targets (Grease, Evita, Saturday Night Fever) were all so embarrassingly out of date. This one was clearly written two years prior and things had definitely moved on.

BBC Radio 4, 10.30 pm: The second series of The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy begins, its five instalments broadcast one a night over the course of the week. In the lexicon of the Hitch-Hiker’s production continuity, this episode is referred to as Fit the Eighth (the first series or Primary Phase having been Fit the First to Fit the Sixth, with Fit the Seventh having been broadcast as a one-off Christmas special at the end of 1978). I didn’t listen to this at the time. I didn’t know it existed. I don’t think I even knew Radio 4 existed. We were strictly a Radio 1-only household. It might also be worth mentioning that, in this series and indeed all the Hitch-Hiker’s radio series, Ford Prefect is played by Geoffrey McGivern and, one day in the far-flung future of the 21st century, we would both be in the same BBC sci-fi show - both as recurring characters - though we never actually met on screen. And, in another alternative future career as a composer, I once wrote a piece of music to accompany a film of him striding about the woods bellowing about magic. Which you can listen to here (and buy a copy of here). Another thing worth mentioning is the incidental music by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop’s Paddy Kingsland. Even if I’d heard this at the time, I still wouldn’t have known it was a sneak preview of the way Doctor Who would sound later in the year. Tuesday January 22nd Grange Hill: Series 3, Episode 5 - yet another safeguarding nightmare, as Miss Peterson’s refusal to take Sally seriously when she says she’s not feeling well leads to a terrible accident in the gym. This place should have been closed down years ago. The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Fit the Ninth Wednesday January 23rd English: What I Do on Monday The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Fit the Tenth President Jimmy Carter uses his State of the Union Address to discuss the Iran Hostage Crisis and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. A full video and transcript can be seen here. Thursday January 24th Star Wars Weekly No 101 - continuing its new blend of fiction and behind-the-scenes fact with an article about actor Mark Hamill. There’s also an ad for something called The Incredible Hulk - The Movie, based on the TV series of the same name starring Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno. Apparently it’s due to hit UK cinemas on January 27th and, in those days of double features, is twinned with The Magic of Lassie. Good luck finding a kid who wants to see both. Doctor Who Weekly No 16: another week, another lame attempt at the Crazy Caption Competition. Except this week, it’s almost quite good. Or it would have been if I hadn’t inexplicably cut out half the photo for some other mysterious purpose:

Monday January 21st English: Sleeping Beauty BBC 2, 6.50 pm: Training Dogs the Woodhouse Way, Part 3 - in which Barbara Woodhouse trains the owners (because it’s the owners she’s really training, not the dogs) to teach the dogs to sit. “Si- TTT!”

Meanwhile in London, this article about the Blitz nightclub appears in the Evening Standard. BBC 1, 7.25 pm: Top of the Pops - presented by Mike Read, with: • The Plastic Age Buggles • I’m in the Mood for Dancing The Nolans • Spirits Having Flown Bee Gees (via Legs & Co) • It’s Different For Girls Joe Jackson • Mama’s Boy Suzi Quatro • I Wanna Hold Your Hand Dollar • Too Much Too Young The Specials • Caravan Song Barbara Dickson • Buzz Buzz a Diddle It Matchbox • Spacer Sheila & B Devotion • 7 Teen The Regents • Brass in Pocket Pretenders ITV: TV Eye - about the Government’s proposal to ban secondary picketing. BBC Radio 4, 10.30 pm: The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Fit the Eleventh Friday January 25th Paul McCartney is released and deported after spending nine days in a Tokyo jail. Grange Hill: Series 3, Episode 6 Monkey: Pigsy Woos a Widow The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Fit the Twelfth Saturday January 26th 2000 AD Prog 150: Judge Death, Part 2 - introducing popular recurring female character Judge Anderson Ants manager Malcolm McLaren calls a meeting, during which Adam Ant is effectively fired from his own band. He keeps the name - the remaining three members renaming themselves Bow Wow Wow - and vows to beat McLaren at his own game.

In other Doctor Who news, Target Books publish Terrance Dicks’ novelisation of Doctor Who and the Underworld.

Sunday January 27th Robert Mugabe returns to Rhodesia after five years in exile. Paul McCartney returns to the UK after nine days in a Tokyo jail. Worzel Gummidge: The Trial of Worzel Gummidge - a great episode in which Worzel faces a true existential threat, first in the form of an “electronic crow scarer” and then in the form of a trial at the hands of the Crowman.

UK SINGLES CHART No 1: Too Much Too Young The Specials No 29: Three Minute Hero The Selecter No 30: Save Me Queen No 37: And the Beat Goes On The Whispers No 60: Touch Too Much AC/DC No 62: Carrie Cliff Richard UK ALBUMS CHART No 1: Pretenders Pretenders No 26: Flex Lene Lovich No 30: Metamatic John Foxx

< TERM 2 WEEK 2

To be continued…

MEANWHILE, IN AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE… Doctor Who: Shada - Part Two • Not quite as appealing as last week’s episode, but the thrilling chase sequence through Cambridge in the last five minutes totally redeems it