Neat and Tidy: Adventures Beyond Belief

Neat and Tidy: Adventures Beyond Belief (also known as Adventures Beyond Belief) is a British comedy adventure television series that aired for five episodes from February 12 to March 11, 1988, on Channel 4 and was created by Tony Brooke, Kevin Lygo and Marcus Thompson.[1] It featured a soundtrack of original Elvis Presley music including Guitar Man (song) as the theme song.[2][3][4]

Series overview

Wimpish hero, Nick Neat (Skyler Cole) is a motor mechanic riding around the world on a Harley Davidson motorcycle on the run for a murder he did not commit. He comes across Tena Tidy (Jill Whitlow), the daughter of a gangster, on the run from school in search of "beer and biology". Assorted evil villains pursue the pair, including Elke Sommer, Graham Stark and Thick Wilson.

Cast

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1TBAMarcus ThompsonKevin Lygo, Anthony Rooke, Marcus ThompsonFebruary 12, 1988 (1988-02-12)
2"Morocco"Marcus ThompsonKevin Lygo, Anthony Rooke, Marcus ThompsonFebruary 19, 1988 (1988-02-19)
Nick and Tena find themselves in a casbah
3"Wild West"Marcus ThompsonKevin Lygo, Anthony Rooke, Marcus ThompsonFebruary 26, 1988 (1988-02-26)
Nick and Tena are in the Wild West fighting against barroom bullies and a half-naked sheriff
4"India"Marcus ThompsonKevin Lygo, Anthony Rooke, Marcus ThompsonMarch 4, 1988 (1988-03-04)
Nick and Tena are in India, where Tena is tricked into joining the harem of a Maharaja
5TBAMarcus ThompsonKevin Lygo, Anthony Rooke, Marcus ThompsonMarch 11, 1988 (1988-03-11)
Final episode

Reception

Brian Taylor of Hull Daily Mail wrote, "If you like humour which is bizarre in situations which are highly improbable, Neat and Tidy is your kind of programme."[5] Ian Macfarlane said in Cambridge Evening News, "Look out for an explosion of action, adventure and wild humour, to the sound of original Elvis Presley recordings, in this new series."[6]

In a review of the first episode, critic Renata Rubnikowicz suggested it would be a "zany, wacky, a cult comedy hit", writing it was "definitely a jolly first episode, with Mafia connections and Euro locations".[7] The Guardian's Sandy Smithies stated, "this wildly camp new comedy is worth taking the earplugs out for".[8]

References

  1. ^ Terrace, Vincent (1997). Experimental Television, Test Films, Pilots, and Trial Series, 1925 Through 1995: Seven Decades of Small Screen Almosts. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 413. ISBN 0-7864-0178-8. Retrieved 2023-07-17 – via Internet Archive.
  2. ^ "Elvis on the upbeat". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. 1988-02-12. Archived from the original on 2023-07-17. Retrieved 2023-07-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "'Neat & Tidy' On The Run: Movie On WMDT Saturday". The Daily Times. 1987-01-03. Archived from the original on 2023-07-17. Retrieved 2023-07-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Calling all Elvis fans". Nottingham Evening Post. 1988-02-12. Archived from the original on 2023-07-17. Retrieved 2023-07-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Taylor, Brian (1988-02-12). "Neat and Tidy—with Presley". Hull Daily Mail. Archived from the original on 2023-07-17. Retrieved 2023-07-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Macfarlane, Ian (1988-02-12). "Pick of the day: Neat and Tidy". Cambridge Evening News. Archived from the original on 2023-07-17. Retrieved 2023-07-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Rubnikowicz, Renata (1988-02-06). "Highlights of TV and radio". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2023-07-17. Retrieved 2023-07-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Smithies, Sandy (1988-02-12). "Watching brief". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2023-07-17. Retrieved 2023-07-17 – via Newspapers.com.