jegleggott
A Smashing Day (BBC, 17 August 1962)
David Kynaston recently released the latest volume of his epic history of post-war Britain. A Northern Wind covers 1962 to 1965, so...
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Stay Cool: An Alan Plater blog
jegleggott
Apr 2, 20239 min read
Flambards (ITV, 26 January to 20 April 1979)
I have a quick question for you. What does Alan Plater have in common with Noel Edmonds? That’s right, they both produced shows that were...
86 views0 comments
jegleggott
Mar 4, 20235 min read
'Goldilocks and the Three Bears', Bedtime Stories (BBC Two, 3 March 1974)
Bedtime Stories was a six-part BBC anthology of contemporary takes on classic fairy-tale stories. Plater’s contribution, ‘Goldilocks and...
68 views1 comment
jegleggott
Feb 25, 20235 min read
'A Tale of Two Hamlets', Midsomer Murders (ITV, 24 January 2003)
When I tell you that ‘A Tale of Two Hamlets’ is the first episode of Midsomer Murders (1997-present) I’ve ever watched all the way...
71 views2 comments
jegleggott
Feb 17, 20238 min read
The Loner (ITV, 7-21 May 1975)
Les Dawson is one of those comedians that I’ve never really had a particular opinion about. He didn’t make a huge impression on me when...
91 views2 comments
jegleggott
Feb 11, 20235 min read
'The Golden Striker', Spender (BBC One, 4 February 1992)
I was bamboozled when I found out fairly recently that Plater had written an episode of Spender (1991-93), the gritty early 1990s police...
48 views0 comments
jegleggott
Feb 2, 20236 min read
The Consultant (BBC One, 11 June to 2 July 1983)
Of the numerous novels that Plater adapted for the screen, only a handful had been recently published and were set in the present day....
53 views0 comments
jegleggott
Jan 28, 20235 min read
Tales of Sherwood Forest (ITV, 11 June to 23 July 1989)
In a promotional interview for The Guardian in the run-up to the first episode of the seven-part Tales of Sherwood Forest, Plater sounded...
54 views2 comments
jegleggott
Jan 25, 20234 min read
The Rainbow Machine (BBC Home Service, 25 September 1962)
Now and again I put the words “Alan Plater” into YouTube on the off-chance that someone has uploaded something by him that I’ve yet to...
60 views0 comments
jegleggott
Jan 24, 20236 min read
'The Reluctant Juggler', The Edwardians (BBC Two, 26 January 1972)
The first time I watched ‘The Reluctant Juggler’, I was rather impatient to get through it quickly, and may even have – gasp! –...
65 views1 comment
jegleggott
Jan 21, 20238 min read
Xanadu/Bobby Dazzlers (unmade film)
Speaking in his radio series Abandoned Projects, Plater admitted that, for all his many successes over forty years as a writer, the...
86 views0 comments
jegleggott
Jan 15, 20237 min read
Curriculee Curricula (BBC Two, 28 May 1978)
The person who uploaded Curriculee Curricula onto Youtube says in their description that ‘this might be the most painful 50 minutes of...
62 views0 comments
jegleggott
Jan 11, 20234 min read
Night People (BBC Two, 6 December 1978)
When I saw that Alan Plater had written a TV play called Night People, I assumed it would be set around a cool jazz club, with lots of...
95 views0 comments
jegleggott
Jan 9, 20233 min read
Who's Jimmy Dickenson? (BBC Radio 4, 10 February 1986)
Although I’m starting to get a handle on Plater’s trajectory as a TV writer, I’ve still got some work to do to fathom his radio career....
22 views0 comments
jegleggott
Jan 8, 20235 min read
The Last Will and Testament of Billy Two-Sheds (BBC One, 17 January 2006)
The Last Will and Testament of Billy Two-Sheds (2006), with its running time of an hour, was the last of Plater’s single TV dramas...
88 views0 comments
jegleggott
Jan 6, 20236 min read
Lewis (ITV, various 2007-10)
Alan Plater never finished his university studies. His period in Newcastle in the late 1950s reading architecture was clearly not time...
105 views0 comments
jegleggott
Jan 5, 20234 min read
'A Quiet Night', Z Cars (BBC One, 2 October 1963)
I’d wager that most people with a familiarity with Z Cars (1962-1978) lore know already why Alan Plater’s second episode for the BBC’s...
43 views0 comments
jegleggott
Jan 5, 20235 min read
Priest of Love (film, 1981/85)
Because I’m going be using this blog to promote and enthuse about Plater, I reckon it’s fine to confess when one of his projects isn’t my...
56 views0 comments
jegleggott
Jan 4, 20234 min read
Sweet Sorrow (stage play, 1990)
My deep-dive into Alan Plater has so far given me numerous surprises. A few examples: a musical about the Tolpuddle Martyrs written in...
53 views0 comments
jegleggott
Jan 4, 20235 min read
Terry (BBC One, 30 January 1969)
One of the distinctive and pleasing aspects of Plater’s career is his comfort in writing ‘trigger’ material for educational or...
69 views0 comments
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