Only two more days until Doctor Who returns, you lucky people. To keep you ticking over, here’s the penultimate part of Pond Life for you.
Nostalgia Corner: Big Deal (1984)
Gambling addiction is a terrible thing. It destroys lives, ruins relationships and is the cause of a whole lot of crime.
So what better subject for a comedy drama, hey? That, at least, was the thinking behind Big Deal, which starred Ray Brooks (Cathy Come Home, Daleks – Invasion Earth 2150AD, Mr Benn, King Rollo) as poker addict Robby Box and Sharon Duce (99-1, Drowning Not Waving, Natural Lies) as his long-suffering girlfriend. Created by Geoff McQueen (Give Us A Break, Stay Lucky, The Bill), the show followed Box from poker game to poker game, in between which he did whatever he could to make ends meet so that he could play poker – although he’d pretty much gamble on anything. If things went badly, he’d bounce back and if things went well… well, that didn’t last for long, despite his best intentions. All the while, he’d be promising Duce that he’d quit just as soon as he’d made enough money, something that usually resulted in a break up followed by reconciliation.
The show lasted for three series, during which Box won and lost a club (in a card game) and Duce and family left for Australia, only to come back again. Over time, it built up a large supporting cast of gamblers down at the betting shop, and its theme tune, by Bobby Gubby of Bucks Fizz, hit number one, making it probably the thing most people remember about the show:
Despite its popularity at the time and a repeat on UK Gold, it’s faded into obscurity and only the first series has been released on DVD. But there are a couple of clips on YouTube for you to enjoy. The first should give you an idea of what the constant gambling was like.
Trivia lovers should note that Brooks and Duce were later reunited on the BBC’s Growing Pains (1992), a continuation of a BBC radio series they’d also starred in, where they played middle aged foster parents.
Dirk Benedict in the 25th Century is coming soon
Yes, it’s really happening. You are not imagining this.
The story sees Dirk signing autographs at a convention when a mysterious scientist appears, transporting him to Earth’s far-flung future, where he discovers he is mankind’s only hope against an oppressive computer and its robot army.
It’ll be out in November.
[via]
French TV
The first few minutes of Engrenages/Spiral – season 4
The new season of Canal+/BBC4’s Engrenages/Spiral begins on 3 September in France – no word yet from BBC4 on when it will air it, I’m afraid, but with 11 episodes of Inspector Montalbano left on Saturdays, I don’t imagine it’ll be for a a while yet. So to tide you over and get you all unfairly excited, here’s the first couple of minutes of the new season. In French obviously. Sorry, non-French speakers.
Don’t forget you can also play Inside Engrenages over on the Canal+ web site. And there are lovely pictures of Audrey Fleurot and Grégory Fitoussi there, as well as of other cast members and plot-relevant moments from the new season, too.
See?