The World from Here: Retro Blast

Sunday 18 July 2010

Retro Blast - July 1966

One good reason why I don't go back before I was born is because for years like 1966, I might as well not have been because I recall zilch. I would have been residing in Robertson's Buildings in Perth until that October though.

On telly was the first series of both "Adam Adamant Lives!" ( pictured above) and "The Troubleshooters" (though a series called "Mogul" had been broadcast with a similar set up), but was no doubt dominated by a certain sports competition happening on these very shores. We were only one week in, so nobody had won yet.

Pictured left is a Willy in a snowglobe as an extra clue.

Behind the scenes on the telly two lead actors had decided to move on.

Just as his on screen persona had unceremoniously dumped poor Dodo for a dolly bird and a sailor, William Hartnell was about to dump the Doctor. As the final episode of "The War Machines" closed season three, cast and crew were in studio at Riverside in Hammersmith for the next story, "The Smugglers" and here Hartnell made his decision and told his wife.

The next story after that, "The Tenth Planet" was to be Hartnell's last. No 14 month wait in 1966, oh no. In fact, I rather wonder when the public were told - anyone know?

Over in commercial TV-land at some point Patrick McGoohan had strode into an office, possibly banged a desktop and abruptly resigned ... as John Drake in "Danger Man". Just how abrupt and surprising is marked by the fact that the intended 1966/67 series, intended to be the first in colour (as with "The Avengers") only runs to two rarely-seen episodes, while McGoohan ran off to Wales to immediately begin work on "The Prisoner", which took over a year to see broadcast.

And now, in full monochrome, the prime movers in the music charts: