717 Fell Tiger

First  viewed : 24  July  1985

This  six-part serial  on  Wednesday  evenings  seems  to  have  fallen  through  the  cracks  which  is  a  little  surprising as  it  was  the  first  TV  series  to  give  the  leading  role  to  David  Hayman. It  also  featured  one  of  the  last  appearances  of  Dr  Who's  Ian  Marter  in  a  supporting  role.

Hayman  played  Joe  Barrow, a  dour  professional  rock  climber  who  is  forced  to  re-evaluate  his  life  when  a  serious  accident  curtails  his  career. His  marriage  to  Kath  ( Alison  Spiro ) is  on  the  rocks  but  he  fancies  his  doctor, Susan ( Jan  Harvey ) anyway. He  gets  a  job  as  an  instructor  at  an  Outward  Bound  School in  the  Lakes  but  his  lack  of  people  skills  and  dodgy  boss  Don  ( Neil  Phillips  from  A  Kind  Of  Loving  )  don't  make  his  new  life  any  easier.

The  similarity  in  the  premise  to   the  soon-to-come  Howard's  Way  had  me  looking  at  the  respective  crews  for  connections  but,  apart  from  proximity  and  Jan  Harvey  starring  in  both,  I  couldn't  find  any.

Fell  Tiger  had  great  scenery  ( the  main  draw  for  me ) but  not  much  else  to  recommend  it. If  I  recall  correctly  there  wasn't  much  climbing  footage  in  it. The  series  went  out  at  8pm  and it  perhaps  needed  to  be  post-watershed to  pep  up  the  party  with  some  sex  and  violence.