First on this tape, Room 101, the Nick Hancock iteration, featuring guest Bob Monkhouse. His pet hates include Cilla Black’s singing voice, his own show The Golden Shot and The French.
Rather edgy, even for 1994, is a clip from the Black and White Minstrel Show.
BBC Genome: BBC Two – 4th July 1994 – 22:00
The next episode is missing the start, so the recording starts with Nick Hancock and Ian Hislop sitting down. Ian’s choices include Robert Kilroy Silk, Postman Pat and Hello Magazine.
I really can’t endorse his choice of Men With Beards, though.
BBC Genome: BBC Two – 11th July 1994 – 22:00
The next episode sees Jo Brand consign The Mona Lisa, The Renault 25 advert and Footballers spitting.
Putting The Magic Roundabout into Room 101 was deeply unpopular with the audience.
BBC Genome: BBC Two – 18th July 1994 – 22:00
Recording continues with a trail for Woodstock Diaries.
Then there’s a short programme, The Jupiter Collision, talking about the structure of Jupiter’s atmosphere, to coincide with the Shoemaker Levy comet colliding with the planet.
Then recording switches, and another episode of Room 101 already in progress, with Peter Cook choosing Rabbits, A Nationwide Advert and Gracie Fields.
BBC Genome: BBC Two – 25th July 1994 – 22:00
We’re missing a couple of episodes, which were on a tape I looked at way back in 2015, featuring David Baddiel and Tony Slattery.
The next episode features Maureen Lipman, who chooses Tom Jones, her own film A Smashing Bird I Used To Know, Leggings and The Word. She didn’t think much of Terry Christian’s interview technique. “Ooh, I’ve crapped meself.”
BBC Genome: BBC Two – 15th August 1994 – 22:00
After this, recording switches to the end of Shirley Valentine. There’s a trailer for Coming To America and for Chef.
Then, on BBC1, which I don’t remember, Space 1999. Radio Times tells me this was shown as part of a season of ATV programmes. Moonbase is being menaced by Mark 9 Hawks. I had a model kit of one of these. I loved it.
The base comes under attack – there’s some great slow-motion stunts, including this shot of someone being sucked into space. Very effective, and quite simple, as (I’m guessing) the set is constructed at 90 degrees, so the camera is actually shooting from the top down, and the stuntman just has to let go and fall. Really clever.
The usual lush alien planet.
Obligatory Eagle Landing shot.
Anthony Valentine is an alien testing the Moonbase crew. He tells Koenig and Russell that humans are a ‘contaminating organism, a fatal virus, a plague of fear’. Koenig’s counterargument isn’t good. “What I do have is an absolute faith in the strength of the human spirit. And the belief that someone or something is looking after us. God, if you like.”
Koenig’s answer is to start smashing up their equipment. They stun him, and trap Helena in a box.
Koenig escapes and orders the Alphans to leave moonbase and head to the planet. Professor Bergman leaves an emotional message on Alpha for future visitors to the Moon.
Look at all those Eagles
Koenig and Carter have to eject from an Eagle, although we don’t see the exact mechanism by which this was done.
In the end, it all looks bleak, then we rewind time to the start of the attack, and this time, for no real reason, Koenig tells the armed Eagles not to fire, and Moonbase is allowed to pass by unharmed.
BBC Genome: BBC One – 30th August 1994 – 23:15
Recording continues, with a trailer for Final Justice, and one for Terminator 2.
Then the tape plays out with the start of a film called Cold Turkey, starring Bob Newhart and Dick Van Dyke about
an offer from a tobacco company to donate $25 million to a city if it can give up smoking for a month. Newhart pushes the idea with the reassurance that no town would be able to do that. Dick Van Dyke is a local priest who’d rather be in a more prosperous town that the one he’s in, and sees the prize as his way out.
I’m slightly annoyed I don’t have the whole film here, as the start suggests it’s quite a black comedy.
The tape ends during this film.