302 The Krypton Factor

First  viewed  :  Autumn  1977

This  game  show  first  arrived  in  September  1977  in  the  pre-Coronation  Street  timeslot  on  a  Wednesday  evening. It  was  a  Granada  TV  production.

The  Krypton  Factor   marketed  itself  as  Britain's  "toughest  quiz" . It  aimed  to  find  Supermen  and  Superwomen  by  testing  various  facets  of  human  ability . The   format   was  tweaked   from  time  to  time  over  its  original  run  but  the  most  enduring  features  were  as  follows :

• A  physical  ability  test  set  on  an  army  assault  course  for  which  female  and  older  contestants  were  given  a  head  start. Although  unknown  to  me  at  the  time,  the  course  was  situated  not  too  far  away  from  me  at  Holcombe  Moor  and  I  live  even  closer  to  it  now.
• An  observation  test  based  on  a  film  clip ,which  climaxed  with  an  identity  parade  where  contestants  had  to  decide  who  was  the  third  pedestrian  to  walk  by  in  the  background  from  a  selection  of  identical-looking  candidates.
• A  mental  agility  test  usually  based  on  memorising  a  sequence.
• An  intelligence  test   devised  by  a  Maths  professor  from  Manchester  University  where  contestants  had  to  re-assemble  a  shape   from  its  constituent  blocks
• A  quickfire  general  knowledge  test   which  concluded  the  programme.

The  points  gained  by  the  four  contestants  on  each  round  went  towards  their  score  or  "krypton  factor"  and  the  winner  went  through  to  a  semi-final.

The  host  throughout  the  original  18  year  run  was   news  reporter  and  anchor  man   Gordon  Burns  who  was  genial  when  facing   the  audience  but  tough and  inflexible  in  his  dealings  with  the  contestants.

I  never  really  liked  it  because  it  made  me  feel  inadequate  but  some  of  that   response   was  artificially  created. For  example , the  intelligence  test   often  took  the  contestants  nearly  twenty  minutes  to  complete  rather  than  the  edited  two  on  screen.   

In  1995  the  show  was  pulled  after  a  major  re-vamp  was  though  not  to  have  worked  but   inevitably  there  was  a  revival  with  Ben  Shepherd  which  lasted  two  years  from  2009  to  2010  which  passed  me  by.

On  the  theme  of  me  not  noticing  things , I  was  going  to  conclude  by  saying  that  we  in  the  north  west  still  get  to  see  Burns  as  co-host  of  the  BBC's  regional  news  programme  but  it  turns  out  he  retired  four  years  ago  !  

301 Robbie

First  watched : Uncertain

I  didn't  watch  too   much  of  this  because  I  hated  it.

"Robbie"  was  Fyfe  Robertson, a  weird,  gaunt-looking  bloke  with  an  aggravatingly  over-enunciated  Scottish  accent. He  dressed  like  an  Edwardian  laird , surely  the  inspiration  for  beyond-irritating  racing  pundit  John  McCririck,  but  at  least  had  the  excuse  of   being   born  into  that  era  , already  in  his  seventies  when  the  first  of  his  four  short  series  was  aired  in  1973.

I  had  no  idea  who  this  professional  eccentric , roaming  around  Britain  like  a  geriatric  Alan  Whicker, was,  but  he  had  a  long  background  in  serious  journalism  prior  to  appearing  before  the  cameras  in  Tonight   ( the  precursor  of  Nationwide   in  the  late  fifties  /early  sixties ; Whicker  also  cut  his  teeth  on  the  programme ).

There  was  a  whiff  of  self-indulgence  about  the  programme  - one  episode  allowed  him  to  foam  at  the  mouth  about  modern  art  -  but  I  guess  he'd  earned  it. The  final  series  in  1980  consisted  of  Fyfe  dropping  in  on  other  examples  of  the  active  elderly  such  as  ghastly  "novelist"  Barbara  Cartland  and  catering  tycoon  Charles  Forte.

Robertson  died  in  1987  aged  84.

300 The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau

First watched : Uncertain

I'd  have  placed  this  a  bit  earlier  but  it  turns  out  it  didn't  occupy  the  Sunday  teatime  slot  I  recall  until  1977.

The  Undersea  World  of  Jacques  Cousteau  was  a  documentary  series  highlighting   marine  biodiversity  through  the  explorations  of  French  diver  and  film-maker  Jacques   Cousteau  from  his  boat  the  Calypso. Though  the  grizzled  ex-naval  officer  spoke excellent  English  he  was  not  particularly  gregarious  and  the  series  employed   a  voiceover  narration  by  actor  Richard  Johnson.

Though  I  was  interested  in  the  subject  matter  I  never  found  the  programme  particularly  illuminating  but  it  was  clearly  popular  as  it  ran  for  seven  years  between  1968  and  1975  and  made  Cousteau's  name  synonymous  with  scuba  diving. You  do  suspect  that  the  series'  appeal  had  as  much  to  do  with  the  exotic  locations  as  the  issues  covered.

Cousteau's  work  continued  unabated  after  the  series  finished. In  1996  he  sued  his  own  son  for  using  the  Cousteau  name  for  a  holiday  resort  in  Fiji. He  died  the  following  year  aged  87.    

299 World in Action

First  watched : Uncertain

I  don't  know  when  I  first  caught  ITV's  flagship  current  affairs  programme; perusing  a  list  of  the  episodes  on  imdb  the  first  one  that  I  know  for  certain  I  saw  was  broadcast  on  4th  July  1977.

That  was  entitled  "The  Very  Public  Death  of  Enrico  Sidoli"  and  highlighted  the  difficulties  the  police  were  having  investigating  the  death  of  a  15  year  old  autistic  boy  from  injuries  sustained  during  a  bullying  attack  in  the  crowded  Parliament  Hill  Lido  in  London  the  year  before. The  police  described  meeting  a  "wall  of  silence"  from  the  local  community  during  their  investigation.  It  was  quite  frightening. The  case  was  featured  again  in  a  BBC  Schools  programme  in  1982  and  as  far  as  I'm  aware  the  crime  remains  unsolved. I  wonder  what  Enrico's  family  think  when  they  hear  the  latest  development  in  the  never-ending  Steven  Lawrence  saga.

World  in  Action  had  been  going  since  1963  and  been  the  subject  of  frequent  controversy  as you  would  expect  of  a  series  based  on  investigative  journalism  but  it  usually  ended  up  being  vindicated  as  with  The  Poulson  Affair.  It  had  its  own  brash  style  , pitching  you  straight  into the  story  without  an  onscreen  presenter  and  using  various  attention-grabbing  visual  techniques  to  hold  the  viewer's   attention.

It  also  had  the  most  terrifying  title  sequence  of  any  TV  programme  with  that  descending  organ  tune - still  the  subject  of  a  copyright    dispute -  and   the  use  of  da  Vinci's  Vitruvian  Man  which  looks  disturbingly  occult  ( though  it  actually  isn't ).

I  watched  it  on  and  off  over  the  years. Though  no  doubt  compulsory  viewing  for  politicians  and  journalists ,  I  think  the  sheer  breadth  of  the  subjects  covered  prevented  it  becoming  appointment  TV - for  me  at  least. We  would  often  watch  the  first  minute  to  see  what  it  was  about  and  then  change  channels.

World  in  Action  was  the  flagship  programme  from  the  golden  age  of   Granada  Television. When  ITV  had  its  big  franchise   shake-up  in  1992  (  you  will  note  a  steep  decline  in  the  number  of  ITV  programmes  featuring  here  from  that  time  on )   there  were  many  publicly-expressed  fears  that  the  series  was  under  threat ,  particularly  after  its  chief  defender,  David  Plowright   chairman  of  Granada  Television , was  ousted  by  Granada's  catering  arm  in  a  classic  case  of  tail  wagging  the  dog. In  the  event  the  series, protected  by  its  totemic  status ,   survived  for  another  six  years  before  it  was  finally  axed  and  replaced  by  the  anaemic  Tonight  which  has  never  been  fit  to  lace  its  boots.  

World  In  Action has  remained  hugely  influential  for  good   (e.g.  the  monumental   Seven  Up  documentary series  which  started  out  as  a  WIA  episode  )  or  bad  ( it  launched  the  career  of  the  ghastly  John  Birt )   and  will  always  feature  heavily  in  any  history  of  British  broadcasting.

298 Winner Takes All

First  watched  : Uncertain

I  really  have  no  idea   when  I  first  saw  this  so  I  may  as  well  include  it  now,  having  noted  the  third  series  began  in  July  1977. I  mainly  associate  it  with  Friday  nights  at  my  Gran's   in  the  early  eighties  because  she  liked  it. I  preferred  game  shows  which  got  through  more  questions  rather  than   watch  people  dithering  over  how  much  to  gamble  but  this  was  still  better  than,  say , Play  Your  Cards  Right  or  Deal  Or  No  Deal.

Hosted  by  obnoxious  professional  Scouser  Jimmy  Tarbuck , the  series  combined  general  knowledge  with  gambling. The  four  contestants  were  given  50  points  to   start  with  then  multiple  choice  questions  with  odds  applied  to  each  of  the  six  possible  answers. They  gambled  with  their  points  and  received  more  according  to  the  odds  if  they  got  it  right. Otherwise  they  lost  their  stake. The  winners  of  two  earlier  rounds  faced  each  other in  a  final  played  for  cash . The  one  with  the  most  cash  kept  it , up  to  a  maximum  of  £1,000.  

Jimbo  was  assisted  off  screen  by  the  programme's  creator  , former  Top  of  the  Form  presenter  Geoffrey  Wheeler  who  presented  the  last  series  himself  after  Tarbuck  left  the  show  in  1987. There  was  a  brief  revival  on  a  satellite  channel  in  1997  presented  by  Bobby  Davro.

       

297 Cannon

First watched : June  1977

This  U.S.  detective  series  had  already  ceased  being  made  by  the  time  I  first  caught  it  on  Saturday  evenings  but  I  thought  it  was  one  of  the  better  ones.

Frank  Cannon  was  an  ex-police  detective  in  L.A. who  becomes  a  P.I.  after  the  death  of   his  wife  and  child. He  was  played  by  William  Conrad  a  rather  portly  individual  with  a  deep  voice. like  a  cut-price  Orson  Welles. In  sharp  contrast  to  Jim  Rockford, Cannon  liked  big  cars  and   fancy  restaurants  so  tended  to  take  high  value  cases  particularly  if  the  client  was  female.

I  remember  one  episode  where  he  was  acting  for  some  girl  who'd  aggravated  a  local  cult  and  saved  her  from  a  gang  of  murderous  hippies  who  cut  her  phone  wire  and  threw  a  noose  around  her  beams. I  found  the  scene  absolutely  terrifying  and  had  no  idea  at  the  time  it  was  based  on  the  real-life  Sharon  Tate  murders.

The  series  ran  for  124  episodes  between  1971  and  1976. Conrad  went  on  to star  in  two  more  TV  series  Nero  Wolfe  and  Jake  and  the  Fatman  ( neither  of  which  mean  anything  to  me )  and  a  lot  of  voiceover  work  before  his  death  in  1994  aged  73.

296 The European Cup Final

First  watched : 25  May  1977

The  1977  European  Cup  Final  was  another  milestone  in  my  engagement  with  football, the  second  full  match  I  ever  watched.

It  was  Liverpool's  first  appearance  in  the  Final  and  they  were  playing  just  four  days  after  being  defeated  by  Manchester  United  in  the  FA  Cup  Final. They  were  the  third  English  club  to  reach  the  Final  after  United's  victory  in  1968  and  Leeds'  controversial  defeat  in  1975. They  were  playing  the  German  side  Borussia  Monchengladbach  in  Rome. The  match  was  also  going  to  be  significant  as  Kevin  Keegan's  last  appearance  for  Liverpool  as  negotiations  for  his  move  to  the  German  club  SV  Hamburg  were  now  public  knowledge.

Although  Keegan  didn't  score  in  the  game  he  was  probably  man  of  the  match  leading  perennial  fall  guy  Berti  Vogts  who  was  marking  him,  a  merry  dance. The  moment  I  remember  best  is  veteran  hatchet  man  Tommy  Smith  putting  Liverpool  back  in  front  from  a  corner  and  commentator  Barry  Davies's   delighted  surprise  at  this  unlikely  scorer.  The  match  ended  3-1  to  Liverpool  and  began  a  long  run  of  unbroken  English  success  in  the  competition  involving  three  different  clubs.

Keegan  was  not  the  only  player  whose  Liverpool  career  was  coming  to  an  end.  His  usual  strike  partner  John  Toshack  was  felt  not  to  have  recovered  sufficiently  from  injury  for  the  game  and  only  made  five  appearances  the  following  season  before  being  allowed  to  join  Swnsea  City  as  player-manager. His  replacement  on  the  bench  Alan  Waddle  left  for  Leicester  in  the  summer  and  another  unused  sub  Alec  Lindsay  went  to   Stoke. Reserve  goalkeeper  Peter  McDonnell  left  for  Oldham  a  few  months  later  having  never  made  a  League  appearance  for  the  Reds.  Smith  had  planned  to  make  the  match  his  last  but  was  persuaded  to  continue  and  made  another  34  appearances  before  joining  Toshack  at  Swansea .

The  game  was  probably  the  pinnacle  of  Borussia  Monchengladbach's  1970s  heyday   although  they  won  the  UEFA  Cup  two  years  later. In  the  eighties  they  slipped  back, unable  to  compete  financially  with  the  likes  of  Bayern  Munich  and  haven't  regained  their  former  standing  since.

Liverpool  retained  the  trophy  the  following  year,  having  the  advantage  of  playing  at  Wembley  against  Belgian  champions  FC  Bruges.  Ray  Clemence   was  a  virtual  spectator  in  that  game  as  the  Belgians  camped  in  their  own  half   although  he  needed  to  rescue  the  situation  after  a  bad  back  pass  from  young  centre  half  Alan  Hansen  after  eighty  minutes. Kenny  Dalglish  scored the  only  goal  with  a  chip  over  the  keeper  from  a  tight  angle.  Record  appearance  holder  Ian  Callaghan  was  an  unused  sub  for  the  game   before  he  too  went  to  Swansea.  

Liverpool  only  qualified  for  the  following  year  as  holders, having  lost  the  domestic  title  to  Brian  Clough's  Nottingham  Forest. As  Forest  had  no  European  pedigree  they  weren't  seeded  and  so  conceivably  could  be  drawn  against  Liverpool. That's  exactly  what  happened  and  Clough  outwitted  Paisley  to  see  Forest  through  2-0  on  aggregate.  That  hurdle  negotiated  Forest  went  through  to  the  Final  after  surviving  a  real  wobble  in  the  semis  against  FC  Cologne. Their  unlikely  opponents  were  Sweden's  Malmo  FC  managed  by  Englishman  Roy  Hoghton  who  had  somehow  scraped  their  way  through.

Malmo  played  as  defensively  as  Bruges  the  year  before  but  Forest  had  an  ace  up  their  sleeve  in  £1,000,000  man   (  how  quaint  that  seems  now  ) Trevor  Francis  making  his  European  debut. I  remember  my  Mum   thrilling  to  one  of  his  runs  and  my  retorting  "Well  you  don't  pay  a  million  pounds  for  nothing !"  Francis  duly  stamped  his  mark  on  the  competition  by  settling  the  game  with  a  headed  goal  from  a  John  Robertson  cross.

The  following  season  Forest  got  to  the  Final  again  with  Dinamo  Tibilisi  removing  Liverpool  ( who  had  regained  the  title  in  emphatic  fashion ) . Now  featuring  former  Leeds  man  Frank  Gray  at  left  back, desperate  to  make  up  for  the  disappointment  of  five  years  earlier,  Forest  faced  SV  Hamburg  including  Kevin  Keegan. To  be  honest  I  don't  recall  much  of  the  match  which  was  settled  by  a  John  Robertson  goal  in  the  first  half. Forest's   veteran  striker   John  O' Hare  made  his  last  appearance  as  a  substitute  in  the  Final.

I  can't  remember  who  ended  Forest's  run  in  the  competition  in  1980-81   but  it  wasn't  either  of  the  Finalists,  Liverpool  and  Real  Madrid.  Liverpool  won  with  a goal  from  Alan  Kennedy  but  deep  into  revision  for  my  O  Levels  I  didn't  watch   the  game.

Liverpool  didn't  make  it  to  the  next  Final  but  we  were  represented  by  1980-81's  surprise  domestic  champions  Aston  Villa. I  watched  this  one with  great  trepidation  feeling  sure  England's  run  would  be  over  now. Villa  had  little  European  experience, had  made  a  poor  defence  of  their  title  finishing  ninth  in  the  League  and  had  lost  their  manager  Ron  Saunders  just  a couple  of  months  earlier. My  fears  increased  when  goalkeeper  Jimmy  Rimmer  had  to  come  off  after  10 minutes  and  be  replaced  by  Nigel  Spink  making  only  his  second  appearance  for  the  club. He  held  his  nerve  though , and his  place  in  the  side  for  the  next  decade, and  Villa  won  1-0  with  a  headed  goal  from  Peter  Withe.    

But  all  good  things  come  to  an  end  and  neither  Liverpool  nor  Villa  made  it  to  the  Final  in  1983  so  I  had  no  interest  in  watching  that  one. Liverpool   made  the  next  one  which  they  won  via  a  penalty  shoot-out  when  Bruce  Grobbelaar  did  his  famous  wobbly  legs  routine. I was  at  University  by  then  and  I  have  a  feeling  I  only  caught  the  tail  end  of  that  one.  I  have  a  feeling  that  the  following  year  I  walked  out  of  the  room  before  the  game  itself  had  begun  having  seen  enough  with  the  violence  at  the  Heysel  Stadium. Liverpool  lost  the  game  and  English  clubs  had  to  sit  out  European  competition  for  the  next  five  years.    

The  next  one  I  watched  was  the  1991  final  between  Red  Star  Belgrade  and  Marseilles. I  had  become  captivated  by  Yugoslavia  after  their  performance  in  the  1990  World  Cup  and  they  seemed  to  be  the  coming  nation  with  players  like  Prosinecki, Pancev  and  Savicevic  all  of  whom  were  in  the  Red  Star  line  up.  Red  Star  had  further  endeared   themselves  to  me  with  their  utter  demolition  of  Rangers  in  the  Second  Round. Marseilles  ironically  had  the  greatest  Yugoslav  player  of  all  in  Dragan  Stojkovic  though  he  was  so  doubtful  through  injury  that  he  only  appeared  as   an  extra-time  substitute. Unfortunately  Red  Star  decided  their  best  tactic  was  playing  for  penalties  from  the  first  minute  and  the  game  was  a  crushing  bore   decided  by  Pancev's  nerveless  penalty  in  the  shoot-out. Then  the  reason  why  Yugoslavia  under-achieved  internationally  became  all  too  obvious  as  ethnic  tensions  tore  the  country  apart and  that  great  team  was  rent  asunder. The  successor  nations  have  had  their  moments  but  none  have  ever  looked  strong  enough   to  really  challenge  for  the  big  prizes. Stojkovic  sadly  wasted  the  latter  part  of  his  career  playing  second  rate  football  in  Japan   and  remains  there  as  a  successful  manager.

After  the  1992  Final  of  course  things   changed  completely. I  don't  consider  the  Champions  League  to  be  a  continuation  of  the  European  Cup   so  that  will  have  to  come  later.