Betamax Find: Claire Rayner's Casebook (Homosexuality)

Every now and then, I come across something on an old video tape which strikes a chord with people. At the weekend, I dug up a 1983 edition of Claire Rayner's Casebook, a series which looked at the various problems and hardships people faced in their everyday lives. Episodes ranged from divorced parents through to alcoholics and couples who couldn't have children. Rayner, of course, is well remembered as a beacon of hope and advice, so I was delighted to unearth, on a Betamax tape, the 10th March 1983 episode of Claire Rayner's Casebook, which focused on homosexuality.

A King Rollo Comic Strip from July 1983

Digging deep into my collections of Buttons comics, most of which I picked up in a job lot off Ebay in 2021, I found this charming King Rollo adventure which I just had to share. It's from the 23rd July 1983 edition of Buttons and, as you can see, features King Rollo learning a lesson in gluttony.

Is it Time to Revive the British Superhero Classic Misfits?

British television writers are famous for offering their unique takes on classic themes, and the way that Misfits subverted superhero themes was a prime example of that. The black comedy from Howard Overman ran for five series between 2009 and 2013 but was ultimately cancelled due to falling ratings.

New 'Old' Episode of Bric-a-Brac Emerges onto YouTube

In what can only be described as excellent news, Neil Miles (tape archaeologist extraordinaire) has captured a complete episode of Bric-a-Brac and uploaded it to YouTube. Starring the inimitable and highly charming Brian Cant, Bric-a-Brac focused on the wonder of phonetics and ran for two series in 1980 and 1982.

Don't Forget About the Curious British Telly Substack

 

Just a quick reminder that the Curious British Telly Substack is alive and well. If you're not familiar with Substack, then read on. Substack is, in fact, many things: a newsletter, a blog, a website and, indeed, whatever you want it to be in terms of a publication. It can be read either online or you can sign up for all updates to sent to you via email. I've been fairly active on there recently, so there's all sorts of extra Curious British Telly bits on there. If you want to take a closer look then head over to curiousbritishtelly.substack.com/

Remembering Paul O’Grady’s Cheeky Forgotten Sitcom “Eyes Down

Welcome to The Rio bingo hall in Liverpool. It’s where short-tempered manager Ray Temple (Paul O’Grady) tries to corral his lackadaisical staff and impress the elderly collection of customers who frequent his establishment. To top it off, this curmudgeon hates them all. All the while he’s dealing with self-loathing that produces outbursts that’d make Lily Savage smile from ear to ear. The Rio isn’t Ray’s Ritz and he’s quite disappointed about it.

Random Episode: Thinkabout (25/11/1985)

Over the many years that Curious British Telly has been running, I've covered plenty of children's programmes which have become obscured by the mists of time. However, barely any of these have fallen under the sub-genre of educational programming. You know the type, the programmes which you watched at school when the teacher would wheel out the TV in a caged fortress. So, today, we're going to take a look at a fine example of these in the form of Thinkabout.