Play Away S8E1 (1978) - FULL EPISODE
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- Опубліковано 6 вер 2024
- Hello Hello. Anita Dobson (making her debut on the show), George Chisholm, Tony Robinson, and Simon the Parrot join Brian Cant and Julie Stevens for the usual jokes, songs, and general fun. This was originally broadcast on Saturday, 25th November, 1978, making it the oldest complete episode I've uploaded of anything. More pressingly, though, this is another important find, as this particular one is missing from the archives. In fact, I'm fairly certain that every single edition of Play Away originally broadcast in the year 1978 had its masters wiped by the Beeb. All of them. The blithering dunderheads.
(Side note: it's some people's favourite hobby to go straight to the Kaleidoscope/TV Brain website, search for an episode that I've declared to have had its masters wiped, find it listed, and then post a condescending comment to the effect that it was never actually missing at all. Well, you'll find this one listed by Kaleidoscope, too, along with the note "The only known complete copy was recorded on a domestic video format" - that's this off-air recording, which we sent them for preservation.)
The full Play Aways on this channel span six years from this one to the very end of its run, so what's different here compared to 1984? Well, there's still no live studio audience, (that was introduced the next series, a year on from this,) which comes with its pros and cons. Something later done away with is the backstage area, where we get skits apparently featuring the performers out of character and as their real selves. There's no proper theme tune - at least, not one that couldn't be taken for general background music - while the P-L-A-Y end song is mostly absent from this series, even though it was used extensively before and after.
All that said, everything we love about the show is pretty must present and correct, with silly sketches, puntastic gags, daft characters, and good relatively old-fashioned musical interludes - including from George and his trombone - with a broad running theme of telephones in this one. Tony Robinson only appears via a pre-filmed insert, and it's part of a running joke about his life being repeatedly complicated by run-ins with someone who happens to look curiously like Brian. I think my favourite bit has to be the Post Office parcel-sorting skit with its real place names ("This trumpet is for Tooting", "Ointment for Ealing" etc. etc.), but the extended detective agency sketch, which has a positively bonkers Looney-Tunes-style logic to it, runs it close.
Hearing Julie sing in this made it suddenly dawn on me that it was her singing in many of the Look and Read songs in my era. I don't know why I've never drawn that connection before. Note also the writing credit for one Christopher Lillicrap, perennial favourite of kids' TV. Oh, and don't miss the post-credits joke at the end, or the brief glimpse of the old BBC 2 ident just after that.
I really can't thank enough all those who helped save this recording, and in particular Lee for not wiping the tape in the first place.
(If you're a copyright holder and have any objections, please feel free to contact me. Alternatively, I haven't monetised the video, so you're welcome to do so, and that way everybody wins.)
I remember watching this a lifetime ago, aged seven (?).
Now I'm seeing it again a lifetime later and it's still just as engaging.
Briant Cant was a god.
Back in the 80s I had a crush on Anita Dobson, she was the one and ONLY reason I ever watched Eastenders.
This is before my time, ahead of it's time and contains a talking clock song that is just brilliant.
I see exactly what you mean about the singing in Look & Read - perfect match in my brain too!
Dear Brian Cant and Play Away would of been a youtube sensation perhaps, after being dumped by the BBC
It was always said here , Children’s tv program for grown ups.
When the world was so much more enjoyable
Angie watts and baldrick appearing in playaway before coming famous in their own right during the 80s
Oh wow!!
I'm in touch with Julie's daughter on Twitter.
Have given her the nod!
Thank you so much! There are more to come, so stay tuned. :-)
Woodbridge
Would this be the other oldest recording you have?
Oldest full episode of anything, yes. :-)
Never seen this before. How long did it run for?
It was long-running - from the early 70s through to 1984. You remember Play School? This was its spin-off for the next age group up, a comedy sketch show with the emphasis on wordplay and music. Maybe you'll just about remember the era when Floella Benjamin had joined - it had changed quite a bit by then: ua-cam.com/video/t1RF5MTF4k8/v-deo.html
@@VideotapeFTW oh wow, I didn't have a clue about that. I obviously remember play school though and Ms Benjamin.
Infact, me and the misses was only talking about her a few weeks ago, saying that we hadn't seen her in year's. 👍
@@TheRetroManRandySavage That's _Baroness_ Benjamin to you and me these days, believe it or not! (Seriously.) Floella was one of my early favourite TV presenters thanks to Play School and Play Away. :-)
@@VideotapeFTW wow, good for her. It's nice that she got some recognition. She was a large part of our lives in the 80s.
@@VideotapeFTW RAINBOW WITH GEOFFREY BUNGLE ZIPPY GEORGE ROD JANE AND FREDDY MR NEIL FITZGERALD LIKES RAINBOW VERY MUCH RAINBOW WITH GEOFFREY BUNGLE ZIPPY GEORGE ROD JANE AND FREDDY FOR MR NEIL FITZGERALD PLEASE
Shout out for Dave of Chas and Dave fame on guitar 😂
Dave Peacock? I don't think that's him...