Show Notes
For the first time in this series Andy & Martin turn their attention to the ghost story genre with an examination of the the critically acclaimed 1989 Nigel Kneale adaptation of Susan Hill's novella The Woman in Black. This version sees Adrian Rawlins as Arthur Kidd, Bernard Hepton as Sam Toomey and Pauline Moran as the spooky title character.
Martin watched during the day with the lights on until the bulb went (!) while Andy watched in the evening and despite not being a horror fan wanted more jump scares and creepy bits than were ultimately delivered.
Along the way they discuss, the workings of Eel Marsh House's generator, the stage play, wax cartridges, a tin soldier and the extent of the Woman in Black's power and reach, and inevitably, of course, this TV film's famous shock ending and that pre-ad break scare.
The question is do the pair think tis adaptation lives up to its reputation? Click play if you dare!!!
Next Time: The XYY Man
More from An A to Z of UK Television Drama
[Spoiler alert! This series is almost 50 years old but we will be revealing - around 90 minutes - in who spectacularly dies in the literal cliffhanger to episode 7. You have been warned!]
After a brief hiatus, Andy and Martin resume the second season of A to Z with the letter V. Admittedly cheating a little, their choice was 'Vote, Vote, Vote for Nigel Barton', the second of two autobiographical Dennis Potter plays from 1965 in The Wednesday Play strand. They also cover the first play, 'Stand Up, Nigel Barton'. Both feature Keith Barron as the title character who we follow from childhood, to university, to a reluctant attempt to stand as a Labour candidate in the General Election.
Andy and Martin travel back in time to the summer of 1965 and the adventures of HR consultant Drew Heriot and his sister-in-law Anne as they face up to the machinations of 'Undermind’: aliens who have brainwashed British citizens in order to cause national unrest ahead of their imminent invasion. Their various schemes include: spreading pirate radio misinformation; inciting youth violence in a seaside resort; influencing the works of a popular children’s author; the distribution of suicide-inducing birthday records; interference with the printing of exam papers, and most abominably of all, the assassination of Eamonn Andrews! Yes, really.
This month Andy and Martin review the highly regarded 1987 BAFTA-winning Scottish drama Tutti Frutti, written by John Byrne and starring Robbie Coltrane and Emma Thompson.
Twenty-one years after their first recorded interview on the first Survivors DVDs back in 2003, Andy catches up with Carolyn Seymour who played Abby Grant in Survivors.