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That Was the Year That Was - The Answers

2017-01-07T10:00:00+00:00

Dennis Waterman as William Brown in the �� adaptations of Richmal Crompton's stories - he was succeeded in the role by Denis Gilmore

For the benefit of anyone bamboozled by last Sunday's Genome quiz, here are the answers you're been waiting for:

JANUARY - Dennis Waterman played the lead in schools drama Terry, and had earlier played William (aka Just William) in the children's series.

FEBRUARY - Peter Cook and Dudley Moore rose to fame after the success of Beyond the Fringe, which also starred Alan Bennett and Jonathan Miller.

MARCH - The last composer to work at the Radiophonic Workshop was Elizabeth Parker. The Workshop was located at the �� sound studios in Maida Vale.

APRIL - The star of A for Andromeda was Julie Christie, and Susan Hampshire replaced her in The Andromeda Breakthrough a year later.

MAY - Angela Rippon and Tom Coyne presented the original, Midlands-only version of Top Gear.

JUNE - Jessie Matthews took over the lead role in The Dales (formerly Mrs Dale's Diary), which was replaced in 1969 by Waggoners Walk NW.

Annette Mills and brother John on the set of Muffin the Mule, plus cameraman's elbow (not a recognised medical condition)

JULY - ITMA stood for It's That Man Again, originally a newspaper reference to Hitler, but in this context referring to Tommy Handley. Band Waggon starred Arthur Askey and Richard Murdoch.

AUGUST - Jeremy Lloyd was co-writer of Are You Being Served? with David Croft. The sequel was Grace and Favour, unless you're American in which case it was Are You Being Served? Again!

SEPTEMBER - The emperors in I, Claudius were Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula and Claudius (of course). There was also a cameo appearance by Nero in the last episode, played by Christopher Biggins. The actors (but not Biggins!) have all appeared in Doctor Who at one time or another.

OCTOBER - Sir John Reith left the �� in 1938. The questioner in the original version of Face to Face was John Freeman.

NOVEMBER - Ray Alan's alien character was Mikki the Martian, while the host of Pops and Lenny and other shows featuring Lenny the Lion was Terry Hall.

DECEMBER - Professor Quatermass was called Bernard, in tribute to astronomer Bernard Lovell. The link between Quatermass and Muffin the Mule, as seen above, is that the last television Quatermass, John Mills, was the brother of Muffin's friend Annette Mills.

More Genome blog larks in the Sunday Post on The Forsyte Saga - coming soon to a computer near you.

The Sunday Post: That Was the Year That Was

2017-01-01T10:00:00+00:00

In a 1970 episode of Not Only... But Also, Dud (Dudley Moore) and Pete (Peter Cook) discuss eternal verities - lovely girl Verity...

And what a year it was… Anyway, as Millicent Martin would sing, it’s over, let it go!

To celebrate the New Year, we’re taking a quick look back at the year just gone, in the form of a quiz – because I know you were all paying attention – based on some of the things I’ve talked about in the Genome Sunday Post through 2016. The relevant blog appeared in the month named above each question.

Pens at the ready – no cheating now…

JANUARY

Which future star of New Tricks had an early role as the title character, Terry, in a schools broadcast in 1969? Even earlier in his career, he played the lead in which �� children’s series?

FEBRUARY

1960s comedy giants Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, stars of Not Only… But Also, first came to fame in which revue, originally presented at the 1960 Edinburgh Festival and televised in 1964? Who were their famous co-stars in that revue?

MARCH

The �� Radiophonic Workshop provided electronic music and special sound for �� programmes from 1958 to 1998. Which female composer was the last person to be employed at the Workshop? And where in London was the Workshop based?

Early Top Gear presenter Brendan Coogan prepares to blow up a car - but he wasn't the first host of the show...

APRIL

Our guest blogger Greg Bakun talked about his love for British television – one series he has been able to enjoy on DVD (albeit in truncated form as it is not complete in the archives) is A for Andromeda. Which famous film star’s career was launched by the series, and who replaced her in the follow up, The Andromeda Breakthrough?

MAY

Top Gear was one of the motoring programmes discussed in our blog on all things automotive. But who was the original lead presenter, and in what English region was the programme first shown, before it was networked?

JUNE

Jessie Matthews took over the lead of which radio soap in 1963 – and what was the name of the new soap, set in North London, that replaced it six years later?

The cast of Are You Being Served? have probably served themselves this time, in the staff canteen of Grace Brothers' department store

JULY

Tommy Handley starred from 1939 to 1949 in ITMA, the great wartime comedy – but what did the initials stand for? And who were the two comic stars of rival show Band Waggon?

AUGUST

Are You Being Served? was one of the most popular comedy series of the 1970s, but who co-wrote it with producer David Croft? What was the 1990s sequel that reunited many of the cast?

SEPTEMBER

I, Claudius featured Brian Blessed, George Baker, John Hurt and Derek Jacobi as successive Roman emperors – what were their names, and in which other drama series have all four actors appeared at different times?

Lord Reith, formerly Sir John, late of the �� - seen here while being interviewed by Malcolm Muggeridge in 1967 for Lord Reith Looks Back

OCTOBER

Sir John Reith was the first Director General of the ��. In which year did he leave the Corporation? He was interviewed on �� television’s Face to Face in 1960 but who was the unseen questioner in that series?

NOVEMBER

Ventriloquist Ray Alan's best-known character was the aristocratic Lord Charles. But who was his earlier extra-terrestrial dummy who often appeared in children’s television? And which other ventriloquist’s show, Pops and Lenny, once featured the Beatles?

DECEMBER

Writer Nigel Kneale was celebrated as a pioneer of television writing, and of the genre of science fiction. What is the first name of his recurring hero, Professor Quatermass? And a final, trickier question – what is the connection between Quatermass and Muffin the Mule – apart from their both appearing on �� television in the 1950s?

No prize for the first set of correct answers I’m afraid – �� Genome has an even lower budget than Blankety Blank! Back to the usual style of blog next week, when we celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Forsyte Saga.

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That Was the Year That Was - The Answers

The Sunday Post: That Was the Year That Was

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