They Don't Make TV Series For Kids Nowadays Like This/ 1.The Feathered Serpent/2. Catweazle/3.Ace Of Wands/4.THE GHOSTS OF MOTLEY HALL/ 5. TIMESLIP

       SERIES 2

S2 E1 THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT

The ghosts feel very sullen as christmas has come round again and they are stuck in Motley in perpetuity alone. Suddenly some force returns them in time to over a century earlier. Still in Motley at christmas time but when Sir George was a boy and his parents were getting ready for Xmas celebrations.

The ghosts witness these past events, see the Xmas tree being brought in by servants , but an evil spirit seems to have invaded Motley.

Sir George's parents bicker at each other as they are manipulated by this spirit. The young ten year old George comes downstairs in the middle of the night to look at the presents under the tree and encounters Sir George,  his older self now a ghost. Sir George reassures his young self about the glorious future he'll have in the military and not to worry about his quarrelling parents.

Bodkin realises that the evil invading spirit only entered once the tree was brought into the house. The spirit of a young boy who died falling out the tree haunts the tree and is causing mayhem in the house. Bodkin persuades the spirit to depart and enjoy the freedom he has now his spirit had been released from the tree when it was cut down. The mysterious force propels the ghosts back to present day Motley.

This is such a nice episode it doesn't really matter that exactly how the ghosts relive the past is not fully explained.
A left over psychic energy of events in the house drag the spirits back, perhaps the trapped poltergeist is responsible. Whatever it's great seeing the young George talk to his older self, and Sir George realising that his childhood memories of his Xmas encounter with a strange old man was in fact a meeting with himself.
Lynette Davies was good too , stupidly I didn't at first realise she played both Sir George 's mother and the last surviving Uproar we saw at the start.
A charming tale. 

 

 

S2 E2 SIR PEVERIL'S HOARD ( in depth)

The White Lady appears in the hallway, no one is about but she notices the front door is open, she disappears. The ghosts can move at will disappearing and reappearing at will .
Up in the attic, Sir George and Francis are sitting on wooden crates playing cards.
G " hammering you say?"
F " yes, kept we awake half the night "
G " hammering not drumming "
F " no why?"
G " the ghostly drummer "
F " have we got one?"
G " supposed to have "
F " on the roof?"
The White Lady appears,
WL " have you seen Gudgin "
G" no"
WL " well the front door is open and he is nowhere to be seen "
Bodkin and Matt suddenly appear.
B " we know where he is "
WL " where?"
Both Matt and Bodkin look up.
Sir George and Francis stand up in respect.
G " how ghastly "
F " poor old Gudgin "
M " no not dead, on the roof"
F " what's he doing up there?"
G " inspecting it of course, the beggar is jolly thorough "
M " he was up there yesterday with that soldier "
G " soldier?"
B " you mean that policeman went up there with him"
Bodkin recognizes a policeman despite dying in the Elizabethan age, experience of haunting the place for centuries.
Sir George is looking worried, Matt a Georgian stable lad asks,
M " what's wrong Sir George?"
G " police on the roof with Gudgin, banging and hammering in the night.."
F " something is awry"
G " don't like the sound of it, if only we could get out of the house "
B " Matt can"
G " yes, but can you ( points up)?"
M " easy"
G " very well"
Sir George a military man always gives orders military style when he can.
G " stand to attention..now..upward..go"
Matt concentrates then floats upwards through the ceiling and onto roof.
Freddy Jones is Sir George, Arthur English is Bodkin.

On the roof Matt unobserved watches Gudgin the realtor, with another man.
S " that's nearly 200 square feet they've taken, lead fetches a good price even today. They did Chiselham church the other week and got away with two lorry loads "
G " how long before I can have your estimate Mr Sands ?"
S " shouldn't take long"
G " any idea how much?"
S " well Mr Gudgin you won't see much change out of 2000 pounds "
Peter Sallis is Gudgin, Johnny Allan is Sands.

The ghosts sit around the long table in the great hall.
G " he'll never be able to afford that "
The White Lady dramatically stands and wails as is her style.
WL " whoa...whoa..."
Sheila Steafel is the White Lady.

B " stop moaning that ain't going to help "
G " with the lead off the roof Motley is at the mercy of the elements, the rain will pour in, the ceiling will come down, and before we know it grass will grow through the floor "
M " can't we do anything "
F " er..mow it"
G ( shouts) " MOW IT!!"
B " it's money Gudgin needs and we ain't got a farthing "
M " ain't there anything in the house we could sell"
B " don't be daft son the place is empty "
M " what about the cellar, there's a lot of stuff down there "
G " nothing but rubbish "
M " how d'you know, there might be something valuable "
G " because if there had been Gudgin would have found it by now "
Bodkin looks hopeful,
B " hang on, no he wouldn't have, because he never goes down there, afraid he'll see something ( points to White Lady)"
G " by George you're right"
They all get up to go downstairs, except Francis.
F" I know why don't we take a look"
Francis looks up , they've all gone, Francis isn't the brightest of fellows.
Nicholas Le Provost is Francis

In the cellar they are looking through stuff dumped here, it does seem to be rubbish.
G " good heavens "
F " what's that Sir George?"
G ( holding bat) " my old cricket bat F@nny, played for the Gentlemen you know, 1858, rain stopped play"
M " Sir George look"
Matt has found a large chest containing papers ,documents.
G " letters, lawsuits, accounts, nothing of value there"
Bodkin holds up an old birdcage.
B " Sir George remember Lady Agatha's parrot "
G " yes, drank stout "
B " did it"
G " fool! Lady Agatha....parrot drank gin"
Matt has found something ,
M " what's this?"
It's a clay bust, a head of a man, quite miserable looking.
B " don't know "
F " miserable looking cove ain't he"
B " who's that Sir George?"
G " nobody I know "
Suddenly a groan is heard.
B ( to White Lady) " was that you?"
WL " certainly not"
B " someone moaned"
WL " when anyone moans you always think it's me"
B " you don't know you're doing it half the time, it's like biting your fingernails "
WL " I never bit my fingernails in my life, and haven't started since"
More groans and moans are heard, something or someone is in the cellar with them.
Sean Flanagan is Matt.

In the hall the groans can still be heard as they all troop in.
M " oh no he's followed us up here"
B ( shouts) " stop your cacophony "
WL " perhaps it knows "
B " what about "
WL " the roof"
B " no that ain't it, I think one of these things we've found belongs to him and he wants us to put it back "
More moans, a bit lighter in tone ,a sort of aaahhhh.
F " I think you've hit it Bodders"
G " yes but which one?"
Francis holds up a violin .
F " is this what you want?"
Silence,
B " how about this?"
Bodkin holding cricket bat,
G " THAT'S MINE!"
WL " or this", holding painting.
M" or this", holding bust.
Louder moans and a AARRGGHH cry.
WL " yes that "
G " better get rid of it, wouldn't have got much for it anyway, ugly old thing "
B " no wait, let me have another look at that "
Bodkin places bust on table.
More groans,
WL " oh do be quiet "
B " I do know him, so do you F@nny "
F " do I?"
B " yeah, a very good likeness it is too. Don't you remember we haunted him once"
F " we've haunted lots of people Bodders, can't expect a fellow to remember them all"
B " but you wouldn't forget this one, the miser of Motley, Sir Peveril Uproar"

B " I told you he'd go berserk "
G "DON'T YOU CARE WHAT HAPPENS TO MOTLEY?"
F " the place could collapse for all he'd care"
WL " Sir Peveril do be reasonable, we don't want it , it's no use to us...but your money.."
SP " oooohhhh...AARRGGHH "
B " see..money money money it's all he cared about "
M " if he won't tell us maybe we could find it for ourselves "
G " where do we start?"
F " there's absolutely nothing to go on"
B ( shouts towards stairs) " tight fisted old stump"
WL " don't antagonize him"
B " it's no good to you anymore, can't you see that "
M " it must be somewhere "
SP " ooww...ooww...oooo."
WL " how long do you think he'll go on with that awful noise"
B " until we put that thing back "
Sir George motions Matt to return bust to cellar.
WL " hang on, wait a minute, look an inscription at the base of it"
G " Sir Peveril Uproar I expect "
The White Lady studies bust closely.
WL " no it has more words than that, ( whispers) it could be a clue to where the treasure is buried "
SP " no..no.....!!"
G " AH HA!...it is"

G " wait a minute I seem to remember an ivy covered shed nearby "
B " Matt, an ivy covered shed "
M " I'll find it"
Matt vanishes and reappears outside the house. Looks around for a minute then runs off into the overgrown huge gardens.
The others in the house staring out of the window.
G " no the fools' going the wrong way "
B " are you sure Sir George "
G " cause I'm sure, DAMN IT why can't he see he's going wrong, COME BACK MAN COME BACK"
B " keep calm Sir George he can't hear you"
G ( ranting)." CALM! CALM!"
George rages , jumps up and down and slowly vanishes.
And for the first time since his demise he is outside Motley.
G " good lord..I'm out.."
Sir George walks slowly disbelieving, touching the foliage as he walks in the grounds, then sees Matt.
In the house the others are astonished.
F " how did he do it?"
WL " I wish I knew"
B " so do I, but I tell you what, we've got twice as much chance now of finding the treasure, haven't we Sir Peveril "
SP " AARRGGHH..OOHH"
B " yes..exactly"

George meets up with Matt,
G " don't like to tell you but you're going the wrong way....it's over here "
M " but..but..you're out of Motley "
G " yes I thought you needed some assistance "
M " are the others....."
G " no they haven't mastered it yet....forward"
Matt points to far wall of grounds,
M " look Sir George, ivy covered shed "
G " aha!"
They see monument.

G " look, a cat"
The memorial is a square stone construction with a stone cat at its centre. George reads the inscription.
G " in memory of Tibbs"
M " anything else?"
G " yes...her little tongue will never wag to let the cat out of the bag"
Meanwhile in Motley there are now two disturbed spirits, Sir Peveril and now Tibby, the ghost of the cat too!
SP " AAARRRGHHH "
Cat " ....mmmmeeeeooww.."
F " my god what's that?"
B " caterwauling "

Matt and Sir George continue investigating monument. Matt raps on stonework on one side of monument.
M " it sounds hollow"
G " but how does it open"
Matt examines the four stone pillars, one of them is a bit loose, he turns it , and at ground level a little hatch opens.
M " Sir George look"
G " aha!"
Sir George bends down and puts hand into opening and pulls out a jewellery box. He opens it, it's empty except for a note.

G (reading)" to all greedy fools, my gold is gone now I am dead, it's secret locked within my head"
M " we've been led by the nose like a brace of donkeys "
Sir George tosses the box away and heads sullenly back to the house.

Back at Motley,
SP ""
B " he's changed his tune again "
WL " something is wrong I can sense it"
Outside,
G " bamboozled by that ghastly ghoul"
M " what now Sir George?"
G " we've suffered a setback that's all. We'll return to HQ regroup and plan another sortie..come on"
Matt reappears in Motley, Sir George breathing the air joyfully, enjoying this experience before returning to Motley, he may never get out again.
Matt tells others what happened,
M " there was no gold, no jewels, just another message telling us what fools we are"
WL " where's Sir George?"
Outside Sir George disappears but reappears not in Motley but still outside at the wall of the house, he can't get in. He tries again and fails. He stops, thinks, was it the rage he was feeling before he disappeared from Motley that got him out?
He recreates that rage,
G ( jumping up and down)"LET ME IN I WANT TO GET IN"
He vanishes and reappears inside, he is still seething as Sir Peveril continues to laugh.
G " WHERE ARE YOU YOU OLD DEVIL COME OUT AND FIGHT"
Sir George leaps onto the table and accidentally kicks the clay bust hurting his foot.
G " owww! ( more laughs from Peveril) how dare you laugh at me"
Sir George picks up bust and hurls it onto floor.
SP " NO NO !!Nooooo!" 
The bust smashes and amid the broken clay pieces is the treasure.

M " look!..the gold is safe now I am dead it's secret locked within my head "
On the floor, are jewels, gold, precious stones.
G " of course "
F " the cunning old fox "
WL " we can save Motley "
Matt looks out of window,
M " Gudgin is here"
Matt vanishes and reappears outside, Gudgin and Mr Sands get out of a truck , ready to replace the lead tiles.
Inside Motley,
G " put the treasure on the table, Gudgin is bound to see it there "
WL " but I can tell him about it"
G " no better write him a note , we don't want to scare the beggar off, he ran away last time he saw you "
The treasure is laid out on the table with a note written by the White Lady.
G " you know I don't know what Gudgin would do without us"
Matt returns,
M " Sir George what's insurance ? is it money...Gudgin said..."
G " insurance! why didn't I think of that ,Motley is bound to be insured "
B " you mean he didn't need the treasure "
G " no, never did it was all for nothing "
M" they're coming in"
G " quick hide the treasure "
The ghosts between them scoop up the valuables and all run into a priest hole in the wall that Bodkin opened up which only the ghosts know about.
WL " we can save it all for a rainy day , oh one more thing"
The White Lady runs out of hidey hole and picks up letter to Gudgin that she wrote tears it up into tiny pieces and throws them into the air, and dashes back to join the others in the priest hole.....just as Gudgin enters....and sees tiny bits of paper fluttering in the air falling to the floor...the ghosts are around...again.
Gudgin " oh no not again "
THE END

S2 E3 WHERE ARE YOU,  WHITE FEATHER ?

Emily Tiffin a powerful medium turns up at Motley Hall after her car crashes into a tree just outside, and Gudgin comes to her rescue .
She can see all the ghosts and wants to free them from their earthly existence. What the ghosts want is irrelevant to her.
Not a pleasant woman , who has a Red Indian called White Feather as her spirit guide, played by Tenniel Evans, Major Daley in Carnival of Monsters.
Bodkin foolishly agrees to take White Feather's place until sunset so he can go off to happy hunting ground, enraging Emily Tiffin who now takes Bodkin away with her.
Can the ghosts get him back? Good teamwork needed to make their plan succeed. Gudgin initially thinking Emily must be nuts to believe Motley is populated by spirits, is convinced by the end.
Sir George's attitude to White Feather is expected from a man of his era, a bit racist , calling him a painted savage, but White Feather does save the day, so respect is shown at the end. A serious situation in this episode, so not outrageously funny but entertaining.

S2 E4 GODFREY OF BASINGSTOKE 

The ghost of Godfrey of Basingstoke turns up, a knight from the Crusades, after Matt tossed a ring down a well and disturbed Godfrey's spirit, and he recognises The White Lady, " my Aylesbury duckling". 

Good episode, Iain Cuthbertson is always class, here as the hapless Godfrey, a knight from the Crusades who recognises The White Lady as his wife. No wonder she looks distraught, having him boring her for eternity with his tales of daring do.
Matt here is a bit nasty to The White Lady for no real reason, other than he thinks she's lied about not being able to leave Motley.
" I absolutely refuse to be Matilda of Aylesbury, property of that buffoon" Luckily Matt's wandering around the grounds reveals a twist, but him dropping a ring down the well started it all off, so he saving the situation nicely concludes the story.

S2 E5 GHOST OF A CHANCE 

A nice episode as Gudgin accidentally gets his head stuck through the stair bannister at Motley. His cousin, with wife and child are camping in the grounds and the ghosts have to lure one of them to Gudgin's aid.
Matt who can leave Motley tries spooking the kid and get him into the house. However he scares him too much.
Gudgin is comforted in his predicament by all the ghosts, who he can now see .
Matt, who can't be seen by the kid Raymond, realises that if he puts a sheet over his head and be a ghost playing at being a ghost, he can attract attention and save Gudgin.

S2 E6 HOROSCOPE 

Lovely performance from Brian Wilde as an obnoxious millionaire who has bought Motley. An unlikeable man who does nothing without consulting his horoscope. He knows the place is haunted and refuses to be driven out.
His servants, Mr and Mrs Hamilton a weaselly pair of crooks are overheard by Bodkin chatting about how they make up the astrological advice to Hives ( Wilde ) in order to line their pockets. The ghosts must get rid of Hamilton. Hives is an orphan, so Bodkin tries to play on that make Hives doubt his astrological sign.
Enjoyed this episode, and a side issue about Sir George's portrait having been sold by Hives, and the resolution of this makes for a nice end to series 2.

           SERIES 3

S3 E1   XMAS SPECIAL 

             PHANTOMIME

This is very funny, as Francis finds a bottle, opens it and releases a genie.
Also a girl Elle, arrives at Motley with two aunts after their car breaks down.
Elle can see all the ghosts and there is fun as she interacts with them much to the bewilderment of the aunts who think she's going mad.
The Genie wonderfully played by Alfred Marks has taken over Motley, turned Sir George mute and generally makes the ghosts lives(?) a misery.
Elle and the ghosts devise a plan to beat him. The aunts are of the wicked variety and have stolen an air ticket sent by Elle's father to Elle inviting her to live with him in Saudi Arabia where he works. The aunts cruelly want to keep Elle with them as a dogsbody.

(Double length episode)

S3 E2 FAMILY TREE

 A husband and wife turn up at Motley. They are from the American branch of the Uproar family.
She is convinced the ghost of Sir George is in Motley, which it is of course, and can help her put together a family tree.
She has various gadgets to try and communicate with Sir George, all fail.
Meanwhile the moaning ghost of Old Gory turns up, and the ghosts get him to be a conduit between them and her. What will happen when she sees a headless ghost is revealed at the end. 

S3 E3 GHOST WRITER

A film crew arrives at Motley to make a documentary about an alleged plot carried out by Bodkin to assassinate Queen Elizabeth the first. The ghosts must persuade Gudgin to find a tombstone to disprove the allegations.

This is a lovely episode, possibly my favourite. The cast get to play other characters as well as their own, well three of them do anyway.
A TV crew is in Motley filming a documentary on the Uproar family. Nicholas Le Provost excels as the obnoxious filmmaker determined to blacken the Uproar name by claiming Bodkin and an ancestor of Sir George attempted to assassinate Queen Elizabeth the first.
Arthur English and Freddie Jones play the actors playing the alleged assassins.
It's up to Gudgin to prove the documentary is a load of baloney, by searching for Bodkin's grave, which has inscription on it proving his innocence. Great fun especially when the ghosts delay the filming as Le Provost's St John Desmond, the filmmaker starts cracking up as he sees his documentary descend into chaos.

S3 E4 SKELETON IN THE CUPBOARD- PART 1

Enjoyable stuff, as Gudgin brings a Mr Webster to Motley as a potential buyer. Sir George is furious and using the usual antics scares Webster away.
The other ghosts fall out with Sir George after he swears he'll continue driving buyers away until Gudgin agrees to live there himself.
Gudgin also has set up a croquet set on the lawn in readiness for a match between local charities. Sir George seems terrified of the sight of croquet and Bodkin remembers how croquet was a big part of Sir George's life, then suddenly when his sister died, the playing of croquet suddenly stopped.
The ghosts summon the spirit of Alexandra, the sister to keep Sir George in check, with disastrous results.
Also we have a duel with pistols between F@nny and George, as their disagreement over Motleys future boils over.
Joan Sanderson, a 70's tv actress usually playing battleaxe characters plays Alexandra. She was Mrs Richards in Fawlty Towers.

S3 E5 SKELETON IN THE CUPBOARD- PART 2

Battleaxe Alexandra makes life miserable for everyone, and wants Matt returned to the stables and The White Lady properly dressed and corseted.
The ghosts realise they've made a big mistake summoning her from the hereafter. But a game of croquet holds the key to getting rid of her. Bodkin and Matt surmise that her spirit is restless because she never beat Sir George at the game when alive. Sir George must be convinced to challenge Alexandra to a game, and deliberately lose, easier said than done.
Another excellent episode with some nice humour.
Matt tells F@nny to tell Sir George;
" if you win she'll stay, but if you lose she'll go"
Simple enough one thinks, but F@nny tells Sir George;
" if she stays she wins...er no that's not right...if you lose she wins and you go...er no...got it...if you win she'll go"

An unusual episode where the "fourth wall" is broken.
A grand piano is being stored at Motley, coming with it is the ghost of its owner Ludwig Stumpf. The ghosts want a sing song evening, a concert, Stumpf agrees so long as he can take part. A funny ending, and a surprise rendition of the series theme tune with lyrics sung by the ghosts to the camera.

As I said, the fourth wall is breached here in this light hearted musical episode.
Ludwig Stumpf the owner of the grand piano, a ghost who has arrived at Motley following his grand pianoforte is insistent on showing his talent for playing to the ghosts.
They agree on condition that they all perform a little party piece first.
So we have the whole episode virtually, the ghosts telling jokes, singing, reading poetry.
The white Lady sings and dances around Motley, Francis sings an old song from his era, Sir George recites a poem about the Charge of The Light Brigade, and finally all of them sing together the theme of the show, with added words, direct to camera. The final joke is revealed when Stumpf starts playing at the end, an ending I won't reveal.

     FINAL EPISODE 

S3 E7 NARCISSUS BULLOCK'S BELL

Michael Elphick guest stars as Narcissus Bullock, a highwayman ghost who haunts the crossroads near to Motley, the patch where he did his villainy.
Gudgin has inadvertently propelled all the ghosts outside Motley by bringing Bullock's bell into the hall and rung it. The bell has unusual properties and the ghosts materialize miles away, near to Bullock's haunting ground.
F@nny knew him, and apparently he and Narcissus were a bit of a pair of likely lads, rabble rousing ruffians.
Bullock wants F@nny to ditch his ghostly pals and turn Motley into a den of iniquity, a haven for departed villains and loose women. Will he agree?
Last episode, brings back memories watching these again. Very enjoyable like Richard Carpenter's previous series Catweazle.

             THE END

          TIMESLIP 

THE WRONG END OF TIME (6 episodes)

Jean and Frank Skinner take their daughter Liz on holiday to the village of St. Oswalds, in the Midlands; also with them is Simon Randall, whose mother has recently died and whose father, Tom, is Frank’s ‘oldest friend’. Learning that a local girl named Sarah has mysteriously disappeared, Simon and Liz decide to investigate the nearby disused naval base, where the missing girl was last seen. They encounter an invisible energy barrier, and when they pass through it, find themselves on the same base, but now during World War II. After the two children are arrested by the base personnel they encounter a sailor named Frank, and realise that he is Liz’s father; they are then taken to meet the officer in charge, Commander Traynor, who believes them to be enemy spies. Back in 1970, the present version of Traynor prevents Jean and Frank from notifying the police of their daughter’s disappearance; it seems that he has another agenda. Meanwhile, in the Time Bubble in 1940, Liz and Simon watch helplessly as the base is taken over by German troops led by Herr Kapitan Gottfried, who have come to steal a top secret project that Traynor is overseeing. As events in the past play out, the truth behind Frank’s amnesia is revealed - but it may come at the cost of Liz’s life.

2. TIME OF THE ICE BOX (6 episodes)

Liz and Simon leave the naval base in World War II and attempt to return to the present via the time barrier; however, they instead arrive in the freezing, snowy wastes of the Antarctic in the year 1990. After passing out from the cold, they are rescued by personnel from an underground research base named The Ice Box, run by a man named Morgan Devereux. Liz and Simon meet scientists Doctor Bukov, Doctor Edith Joynton, and Jean Skinner, who is investigating her telepathic powers. After the two children also encounter Beth Skinner, Liz’s cold and arrogant future self, they decide to leave, and manage to use the barrier to return to 1970. However, they are both soon convinced into returning to 1990 by Commander Traynor, who wants to discover what developments are being researched in the future, particularly a longevity drug called HA57, which the scientists are testing on themselves. Traynor also reveals that he knew Devereux, and that he supposedly died in 1969. Liz and Simon return toThe Ice Box, and learn from Jean that when she and Frank lost their home in the late 1970's, Liz took an intelligence enhancement course which altered her entire personality; she changed her name to Beth and then suggested that they go to The Ice Box. While Liz tries to discover what has happened to her father, Simon learns that Devereux is actually an experimental clone. However, he has become unstable and is now suffering from blackouts - and his mental link with the base computer may result in the destruction of The Ice Box and everyone in it…

3. THE YEAR OF THE BURN UP  (8 episodes)

After Liz and Simon return to the present, Simon is summoned to Whitehall by Traynor. Although the commander is still interested in the longevity drug that Simon saw in The Ice Box, he warns the boy to stay out of the future; however, this only serves to pique Simon’s interest. Liz realises that she misses Simon, and decides to join him; together they once more travel through the time barrier, this time arriving in an alternate version of 1990, in an England that is a lush, tropical jungle. Here the two children once more encounter Beth, but this alternate version is a much friendlier person because she did not take the intelligence enhancement treatment, and she is the leader of a commune of ‘misfits’ who live a primitive but simple life in the jungle. This version of 1990 is ruled by the Technocrats, a scientifically-advanced elite that has no interest in anyone of a lesser intelligence, and who are carrying out a Masterplan that will re-shape the world into a more ordered state. Unfortunately, these experiments are causing vast global-warming, and the Earth is rapidly drying up. Simon soon encounters a Technocrat known only as ‘2957’ – in truth Simon’s future self; together, the two of them travel to the future version of Whitehall, where they learn that sabotage is disrupting the Masterplan. With time running out Simon tries desperately to discover the identity of the saboteur, and he soon finds that it is none other than another future version of Commander Traynor. This alternate Traynor was the originator of the Technocrat Masterplan - and his scheme is about to cause the destruction of the entire planet in a blanket of fire…

FINAL STORY..

THE DAY OF THE CLONE ( 6 episodes)

Liz and Simon have escaped the destruction of Earth in the future and returned to 1970. However, Liz has now inexplicably disappeared, and Simon decides to find her; his search takes him to Traynor's newly founded Ministry, where he meets several members of staff who seem to be the originals of the clones staffing the Technocrat headquarters in 1990. Learning of a mysterious research establishment designated R1, Simon decides to investigate; sneaking inside, he soon finds Liz imprisoned in a room without windows, and manages to set her free. Together, the two children explore the complex and find it full of elderly people; however, before they can learn more, Liz and Simon are discovered by Traynor and his men, who try to capture them. With the help of an old lady named Maria, Simon and Liz manage to escape, and, after heading for the abandoned naval base where the time barrier is located, they travel back to the research institute in 1965. Here they learn that R1 was established by Morgan Devereux, and that a number of young people – including Maria - have volunteered for scientific tests. Liz and Simon realise that the volunteers they met in 1970 have all been prematurely aged by an early version of the longevity drug, and that Devereux’s death in 1969 was a result of him trying the experimental drug on himself. The children also meet a younger version of Traynor, who is attempting to learn the truth behind secret operations happening at the institute. Having uncovered explanations for The Ice Box and the Technocrat Masterplan, Simon and Liz are then captured by Devereux, and subjected to a deadly experimental sonic beam. Meanwhile, in 1970, it seems that Commander Traynor’s plans are about to come to fruition - but is he the real  Traynor..?

In the spirit of thoroughgoing rigour these Cult TV threads are distinguished by, might be useful to include a couple of significant quotes verbatim.

This was the introduction to the first episode of Timeslip given by ITN science editor Peter Fairley - 

"Have you ever had the feeling that you've been here before? And yet everyone tells you that you can't have been. Or perhaps you've felt that this has all happened to me before, just like it's happening now, and I know what's going to happen next.

Well, a lot of people do get these sensations and nobody can yet explain them. They seem somehow to involve the mind travelling forwards or backwards in time.

That's what this new series is all about. Children projecting themselves forwards and backwards in time. It's fiction of course, but it's very close to a new theory which scientists are now working on to explain the universe and time. Today's science fiction so often becomes tomorrow's science fact"

And from script editor Ruth Boswell -

"The reason Timeslip came about was because ATV, which was one of the seven major ITV companies, had an obligation under the ITC contract to produce children's programmes. And this was a responsibility which they only woke up to about ten minutes before they were due to put it on air"

This latter account is telling in that it foreshadows the resourceful improvisation required of the writers and producers as the various themes and narratives were interwoven across twenty-six episodes.

Had a browse through the yield of Children's TV DVDs I had a short spell nostalgically collecting. Aside from those already mentioned on this or other threads - 

Here Come the Double Deckers, Freewheelers, Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, The Secret Garden, Rogue's Rock. 

Plus another intriguing ATV series from 1973 called The Jensen Code.

Most remarkable of all is The Owl Service. First shown in 1969/70, I saw some episodes on a repeat run in 1978. Watched it a few times on DVD and still can't make my mind up. Gillian Hills is one of the leads. Quite fitting, given her role in Blow-Up, because The Owl Service has the aura of something directed by Michelangelo Antonioni. Have to pinch yourself that it was made for children.