Odds &Amp; Sods | Tellyspotting

August 19, 2021
For sale: ‘The Blackadder Pub’ — AND….it comes with a house!

Most fans of any television series are satisfied enough to just buy the entire series on DVD. Some may visit the town where a favorite series was filmed such as Port Isaac (Doc Martin), Holmfirth (Last of the Summer Wine) or, on my personal bucket list travel destination, Portmeirion (The Prisoner). For some lucky buyer, Edmund Ramsdale took his love of a certain British comedy series to not just the next level but far beyond that.
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June 23, 2021
Remembering ‘Test Card F’ and Carole Hersee, the ‘test card girl’.

Known within the BBC as Test Card F, the iconic image was used on television in the United Kingdom and in countries elsewhere in the world for more than four decades. Like other test cards, it was usually shown while no programs were being broadcast. While I never experienced ‘Test Card F’ in real-time, I first became aware of the ‘test card girl’ during the British police procedural, Life on Mars, as the card was in use during the time in 1973 that Sam Tyler ‘woke up’ following a near-fatal car accident.
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June 21, 2021
The history of ‘station identification’ from BBC to Thames TV to London Weekend Television

Station identification. What is generally perceived to primarily be an FCC requirement to retain your license, has taken on a much higher level of importance the last 7+ decades when looking back at BBC1, Thames Television and London Weekend Television. BBC1 While the BBC can trace its’ roots back to 1936, the BBC logo has […]
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May 25, 2021
International Towel Day 2021 — The 20th anniversary of a day like any other day….or, not!

Earlier this month, H2G2 fans marked the 20th anniversary since the all-too-early passing of creator/writer, Douglas Adams. Festivities continue around the world throughout the month of May which will also mark also the 20th anniversary of the first Towel Day which took place just two weeks after Adams passed away from a heart attack on May 11, 2001. So you won’t have to have your Pangalactic gargle blaster all by yourself this year, there are numerous online virtual events that you can participate in across the globe.
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May 4, 2021
Remembering Peter Mayhew on May the Fourth, a.k.a. Star Wars Day

When May 4 rolls around each year, it’s traditionally that cringe-worthy moment when those non-Star Wars fans grin and bear it when someone says goodbye by saying ‘may the fourth be with you‘. Cringe-worthy or not, it is a day born out of the Hallmark playbook warranting some sort of greeting card. On this May […]
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May 1, 2021
Changing Big Ben’s clock….and you thought changing your microwave clock was difficult!

Twice a year, while many of us grouse about having to remember how to change the clock in the car, the clock on the microwave or even on your landline phone (if you’re the one that’s still in possession of one), imagine being tasked with having to change Big Ben‘s clock. Just imagine being the individual […]
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April 26, 2021
Sir Anthony Hopkins takes home Best Actor Oscar in surprise win over Chadwick Boseman.

In what seems to be generating descriptive words such as shock, surprise and upset across the Internets, Sir Anthony Hopkins took home the Academy Award for Best Actor Sunday evening for his titular role in The Father, winning the Oscar over Chadwick Boseman. Boseman was widely expected to win the award for his final movie role in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
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April 18, 2021
Breaking News: Gnome shortage engulfs U.K.!

Forget the fact that we could still be a good year away from a new series of The Crown or that much of the British period drama loving public is still in limbo as to whether or not there will be a second series of Sanditon or the reality that every day that passes is another day without a new episode of Sherlock, the real horror sweeping the UK as we enter into the 2nd quarter of 2021 is…there are no garden gnomes to be found anywhere in the UK!
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April 16, 2021
Happy 70th, Peter Davison!

Earlier this week on 13 April, Peter Davison, a.k.a. the 5th Doctor, a.k.a. Tristan Farnon, a.k.a. Albert Campion, a.k.a. David Braithwaite turned the tender young age of 70. It was Davison that initially drew me in to Doctor Who and the original All Creatures Great and Small. It continues to be a treat to see him pop up […]
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April 10, 2021
R.I.P. — Prince Philip (10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021)

On Friday, Buckingham Palace announced the passing of the Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor Castle. “It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband,” the Palace said. Prince Philip, who would have turned 100 on June 10, was the longest-serving royal consort in British history having been at […]
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