Black and Blue (TV series)

Black and Blue
Title screenshot from episode one
GenreDrama
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes6
Production
ProducerMark Shivas
Running time60 minutes
Original release
NetworkBBC 2
Release14 August (1973-08-14) –
18 September 1973 (1973-09-18)

Black and Blue is a BBC TV comedy-drama series, first broadcast in 1973. Its overall title refers to the black and blue humour of the episodes.

The show consisted of 6 television plays of 50–60 minutes duration, each being separate and self-contained from the others, the only connection between them being the two types of humour.

The first episode was broadcast on 14 August 1973,[1] with the last episode airing on 18 September 1973. The episode "Secrets" was wiped,[2] only surviving because a domestic videotape copy was made from the mastertape by its producer, Mark Shivas.

Episodes

No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1"Secrets"James Cellan JonesMichael Palin and Terry Jones14 August 1973 (1973-08-14)[3]

Three employees working at a chocolate factory accidentally fall into a vat of chocolate for the company's 'Secrets' assortment. When sales start to soar, it turns out that British consumers have a taste for cannibalism.

2"The Middle-of-the-Road
Roadshow for All the Family"		Mark CullinghamPhilip Mackie21 August 1973 (1973-08-21)[4]

A Wardour Street movie tycoon accidentally hires the wrong script-writer to pen a film about the life of Queen Anne and pays him £500,000, and now has to figure out how to get the money back.

3"High Kampf"Michael AptedHugh Leonard28 August 1973 (1973-08-28)[5]

When a wealthy member of a family lays dying in his bed, a bunch of unscrupulous relatives show up and circle him like a pack of vultures waiting for him to die.

4"Rust"Waris HusseinJulien Mitchell4 September 1973 (1973-09-04)[6]

When a flu pandemic sweeps over the country and threatens to wipe out civilization, a drug concocted by a British pharmaceutical company might just be the answer, but alas, it does have a side-effect: it renders people impotent.

5"Soap Opera in Stockwell"Tim AspinallMichael O'Neill and Jeremy Seabrook11 September 1973 (1973-09-11)[7]

When a possible and accidental baby-snatching occurs in front of a launderette, all hell breaks loose. In this episode, all the women over 35 are played by men.

6"Glorious Miles"Ian MacNaughtonHenry Livings18 September 1973 (1973-09-18)[8]

A millionaire decides to hire a butler just so he can impress his friends, but the butler thinks he has been hired for a much deadlier and sinister purpose.

References

  1. ^ Hollman, Ken (14 August 1973). "Hard To Swallow?". TV Preview. Liverpool Daily Post. p. 2.
  2. ^ "Black And Blue Series 1, Episode 1 - Secrets". British Comedy Guide.
  3. ^ "Black & Blue - Ep1 - Secrets". BBC Two. 1973.
  4. ^ Hollman, Ken (21 August 1973). "The Wardour Street Blues". Liverpool Daily Post. p. 2.
  5. ^ "Vulture Heirs". Viewing Highlights. Derby Evening Telegraph. 28 August 1973. p. 4.
  6. ^ "Black and Blue". Television and Radio Entertainment. Liverpool Echo. 4 September 1973. p. 2.
  7. ^ "BBC TV 2". Television and Radio. Burton Mail. 11 September 1973. p. 8.
  8. ^ "BBC TV 2". Burton Mail. 18 September 1973. p. 8.