Year: 2012

Sitting Tennant

Friday’s Sitting Tennant (week 44, 2012)

23 November 2012 Rob Buckley Post a comment

Hebbie's Sitting Tennant

Sister Chastity's Sitting Tennant

Toby's Sitting Tennant

Don’t you think he’s looking a bit tired?

  1. Toby, Hebbie: 20
  2. Sister Chastity, Janice: 10

Sitting Board of Winners 2012
January
Hebbie, Sister Chastity

February
Sister Chastity

March
Sister Chastity

April
Sister Chastity, Shilohforever

May
Hebbie, Sister Chastity

June
Hebbie, Sister Chastity

July
Hebbie

August/September
Toby, Sister Chastity

October
Hebbie, Sister Chastity

Got a picture of David Tennant sitting, lying down or in some indeterminate state in between? Then leave a link to it below or email me and if it’s judged suitable and doesn’t obviously infringe copyright, it will appear in the “Sitting Tennant” gallery. Don’t forget to include your name in the filename so I don’t get mixed up about who sent it to me.

The best pic in the stash each week will appear on Tuesday and get ten points; the runners up will appear on Friday (one per person who sends one in) and get five points.

Each month, I’ll name the best picture provider and then at the end of the year, the overall champion will be announced for 2012!

Friday’s “New BBC DG, new commissions for BBC1, BBC3, Channel 4 and E4, and UKTV’s extra Freeview slot” news

23 November 2012 Rob Buckley Post a comment

Happy 49th birthday to Doctor Who!

Audio plays

UK TV

  • Tony Hall is the new BBC DG
  • BBC1 commissions What Remains, The Escape Artist, The Great Train Robbery, Happy Valley, By Any Means and more Inspector George Gently
  • BBC3 commissions Way To Go
  • Channel 4 orders third series of Fresh Meat
  • E4 orders third series of PhoneShop
  • UKTV gets an extra Freeview slot

US TV

The Weekly Play

Play for Today: Armchair Theatre – The Hothouse (1964)

22 November 2012 Rob Buckley 2 Comments

In an exciting mirror of the real world and to cover up the fact that I was too busy yesterday to do The Wednesday Play (sorry), for this week at least, The Wednesday Play has become Play For Today. 

This week’s play comes from ITV’s flagship play strand, Armchair Theatre. Most people interested in UK TV plays tend to focus on the BBC’s Play for Today, The Wednesday Play, et al, but ITV did produce a really superb range of plays itself. Making its first appearance in 1956, Armchair Theatre was the most notable of ITV’s play strands, attracting writers such as Fay Weldon, Jack Rosenthal, John Hopkins, John Mortimer and Allan Prior, and giving us A Night Out from Harold Pinter, Robert Muller’s Hitler ‘what if’ The Night Conspirators and Alun Owen’s Lena, O My Lena.

Various plays were even popular enough to launch spin-off series, including Callan (A Magnum for Schneider), Out of This World (Dumb Martian), Armchair Mystery Theatre, Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width and The Sweeney (Regan).

However, today’s play is the 1964 production The Hothouse, starring Harry H Corbett from Steptoe and Son, and Diana Rigg, a year before she became Emma Peel in The Avengers. Written by and co-starring Donald Churchill, this light-hearted play pulled in an all-time audience record of 8.3m homes. In it, Churchill plays Gordon Parsley, the assistant manager of a supermarket, part of a chain owned by self-made millionaire Harry Fender (Corbett). Hoping to be promoted, Gordon’s prospects look bright when, at the annual staff dance, Harry takes a shine to the ambitious employee’s vivacious wife, Charlotte (Miranda Connell).

On the other hand, the boss’s interest in Charlotte could spell trouble – especially when Harry’s wife Anita (Rigg) decides to meddle and invites the young couple to spend a weekend at the Fenders’ country cottage, where Harry tends his precious mangoes and melons in a hothouse.

Here it is, remastered in all its glory. If you like it, get buy it on DVD (it’s a special feature on The Avengers series 4 DVDs). Enjoy!