An occasional look at what classic TV shows Talking Pictures (Sky 328 | Freeview 81 | Freesat 306 | Virgin 445) is going to be airing soon
We’re now into November with the Talking Pictures schedule, and there’s a good few ‘new’ and returning shows coming to the line-up that I’ve been able to spot, including one biggie.
Full details of when you can watch The June Allyson Show, Rooms, Hannay, Out and – because you demanded it, apparently – Upstairs Downstairs.
The June Allyson Show (aka The DuPont Show with June Allyson)
Sunday, 1 November, 5pm and Saturday, 14 November, 3.30am
American anthology drama series that aired on CBS from September 21 1959 to April 3 1961. The series was hosted by actress June Allyson – only the third woman in network history to host such a series, after Loretta Young and Jane Wyman.
Like Young and Wyman, she not only hosted the series but starred in more than a third of the 57 episodes. Actors and actresses who appeared in episodes included Ginger Rogers, Harpo Marx, Bette Davis, and Ronald Reagan.
Rooms
Wednesdays and Thursdays, 2pm. Starts: Wednesday, November 4
Two-part weekly dramas concerning the various drifters who rent rooms in a lodging house.
Out
Fridays, 9pm. Starts: November 20
Frank Ross (Tom Bell) returns from an eight-year prison sentence for a robbery that was thwarted because somebody ‘grassed’ the gang. Nobody knows who put the finger on him, but Ross is determined to find out and seeks revenge on those who betrayed him. Whilst inside, his wife has gone into a home and his son is going off the rails. Little by little, Ross pieces together the trail that leads to a dramatic conclusion.
You can read more in TMINE’s DVD review.
Hannay
Sundays. Starts: November 22/23, 4am
Robert Powell in the ITV 1980s (sort of) adaptation of the John Buchan stories. You can read about in TMINE’s Nostalgia Corner.
Upstairs Downstairs
Sundays, 6pm (I think). Starts: November 29
Set in a large townhouse in Belgravia in central London, Upstairs Downstairs depicts the servants – “downstairs” – and their masters, the family – “upstairs” – between the years 1903 and 1930, and shows the slow decline of the British aristocracy. Great events feature prominently in each episode but minor or gradual changes are also noted.
The show stands as a document of the social and technological changes that occurred between those 27 years, including the Edwardian period, women’s suffrage, the First World War, the Roaring Twenties, and the Wall Street Crash. It was a ratings success for ITV and received outstanding acclaim worldwide, winning multiple awards.
