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“Ah, list o’ Bond, I’ve been expecting you” – part five: 0010-001

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"Ah, list o' Bond, I've been expecting you" - 0010-001

TV Cream concludes its countdown of the 50 greatest moments from the James Bond films…

0010: Bond listens to a performance of a Bond theme

Linda McCartney not pictured

Great that they managed to get Linda McCartney to appear in person. (Live and Let Die, 1973)

Linda McCartney pictured

009: Bond meets a smart Alec

Bean counting

The only people who should ever call attention to Bond’s life outside MI6 are those who would have reason to have read up on him (agent XXX, Tiffany Case, Robbie Coltrane) or secret service staff who have been petitioned in person by outraged chefs and humiliated tailors. 007′s treacherous ex-colleague Alec Trevelyan (Sean Bean) falls into the second category when he delivers a brilliantly bitchy prediction of Bond’s funeral: “A small memorial service, with only Moneypenny and a few tearful restauranteurs in attendance.” (Goldeneye, 1995)

008: A pigeon does a double-take in time to a Viennese polka while Bond drives through St Mark’s Square in a motorised gondola

Fowl play BLINK!

Gondola-la-la-la

What do you mean it’s not in the book? (Moonraker, 1979)

007: “…close, but no cigar!”

Close, but no cigar

“James!” exclaims the best Moneypenny of them all, as 007 walks into her office. “Have you brought me a souvenir from your trip? Chocolates? An engagement ring?” Bond sidles over to her desk. “I thought you might enjoy one of these,” he declares, producing what can only be described as a tumescent metal tube. “How romantic,” observes Moneypenny, suggestively. “I know EXACTLY where to put that.” She promptly throws the container into her waste paper basket. “The story of our relationship,” sighs Bond. “Close – but no cigar.”  (The World is Not Enough, 1999)

006: Bond gives a driving lesson

The eyes still have it Some men don't like being taken for a ride

007 and XXX are in a van being methodically chewed to pieces by Jaws. Bond decides to pass the time by methodically chewing the scenery, settling back into the passenger seat and rifling through his repertoire of gags about women drivers. “Try the big one,” he informs Mrs Ringo Starr. “Can you play any other tune?…Let’s try reverse, that’s backwards… Would you like me to drive?” Of course, he’s not just being a sexist pig. Oh no. His jibes contrive to whip up XXX into a spot of Jaws-baiting road rage, while setting up the perfect retort once out of harm’s way. “Shaken,” she informs her companion coolly, “but not stirred” – at which Bond rolls his eyes, wonderfully. (The Spy Who Loved Me, 1977)

005: Bond considers a couple of points

Bond considers a couple of points

While posing as a businessman in the office of petrochemical megalomaniac Mr Osato (Teru Shimada), 007 finds talk turning to matters anatomical. After his host cautions him on the dangers of smoking, his host’s assistant Helga (Karin Dor) decides to reinforce her support of this position by referencing her own reinforced position. “Mr Osata believes in a healthy chest,” she flexes. “Really,” digests Bond, pointedly. (You Only Live Twice, 1967)

004: “It’s late, I’m tired, and there’s so much left to do.”

No rest for the wicked

Blofeld (Charles Gray) bemoans the lot of diabolical masterminds everywhere. (Diamonds are Forever, 1971)

003: The definition of safe sex

The definition of safe sex

It’s wise of our hero to remain armed in what appears to be a Russian leisure centre. It’s even wiser of him when it turns out the facilities are being shared by Xenia Onatopp, the Esther Rantzen of the anarcho-erotic underworld. “You don’t need the gun, commander,” she purrs. “That depends on your definition of safe sex!” retorts Bond, conscious of her predilection for swapping a pout for a bout. Sure enough, much verbal and physical petting ensues, until 007 has had enough. “No, no, no!” he states triumphantly. “No more foreplay!” (Goldeneye, 1995)

002: “Your problems are all behind you now!”

A little more cheek than usual

It’s the scene that always got cut out of ITV’s bowdlerised daytime versions of Bond, and one that has helped get the entire film bumped up from a PG to a 12. Both of these decisions were and are as ludicrous as the sequence itself, which is the second most flippantly yet amusingly outrageous moment in the whole of the official 007 canon. There is nothing suggestive here; just silliness. Heavens, it’s pure Carry On Bond, with our man pretending to call someone a bitch before slipping a cassette down their pants then making a joke about bottoms. Loose Women is a thousand times more offensive. (Diamonds are Forever, 1971)

001: The James Bond all-male close-harmony singers

Nobody does it wetter

“Do you think there’s a danger of the bends?” wonders Sir Frederick Gray, as the capsule containing Bond and Amasova bobs its way casually into the ledgers of cinematic legend. As the 007 “family” cluster round for a peek, somewhere off camera, clearing their collective throats, are the James Bond all-male close harmony singers, waiting for Roger Moore to deliver one of the greatest innuendos of them all. And waiting in line next to them, there’s only bloody Carly Simon and the greatest Bond theme of them all…

Baby's got the bends

Two minutes of (double 0) heaven ensues. (The Spy Who Loved Me, 1977)

Heroes one and all

JAMES BOND WILL RETURN…

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“Ah, list o’ Bond, I’ve been expecting you” – part four: 0020-0011

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"Ah, list o' Bond, I've been expecting you" - 0020-0011

TV Cream continues its countdown of the 50 greatest moments from the James Bond films…

0020: “I’m afraid you’ve caught me with more than my hands up.”

Talking cock

Yes, he is talking about what you think he is, and yes, he has done it before. But never with this much elan and, well, balls. (Diamonds are Forever, 1971)

0019: “Look after Mr Bond. See that some harm comes to him.”

The spy who loved tea

For someone preoccupied with launching a new civilisation that is literally out of this world, Hugo Drax (Michael Lonsdale) is a diabolical mastermind who is also remarkably down-to-earth. He is forever bustling about the place being all domestic and fussy, whether it’s looking after his pet dogs, doing a bit of business over the phone, or – as here – sipping a nice cup of tea while instructing his henchman to trap Bond in a centrifuge machine until his face melts. But he’d never dream of saying as much out loud, oh no, hence this winningly decorous turn-of-phrase. What a guy. (Moonraker, 1979)

0018: For your eyebrows only

Eye? Aye!

Mrs Ringo Starr may not be the world’s greatest actress – in fact, she’s not even an actress – but anyone who can move Roger Moore to essay not one but two class displays of acrobatic face furniture in quick succession more than deserves top billing. “We’ve really got to stop meeting like this,” cracks Bond when agent XXX joins in him the back of Jaws’ van. No, please don’t. (The Spy Who Loved Me, 1977)

The cold war gets hot

0017: Bond raises his hands

This time it really is just his hands

…in the most camp and insouciant manner as is possible while standing in a cave full of mudbaths opposite someone who’s murdered your wife. (Diamonds are Forever, 1971)

0016: Simply having a wonderful Christmastime

Having a wonderful Christmas time

Fine, she exists purely to enable one of the greatest closing lines of any 007 film. But Christmas Jones (Denise Richards) is more than just a jokey pay-off. She is one of the biggest and best jokes in the Bond franchise, right from the moment she first appears, disrobing her oh-so-serious nuclear overalls to reveal an oh-so-not-serious pair of hot pants. We are all in on the joke, including Bond. When six kilos of weapons-grade plutonium go missing, she wails: “I have to get it back, or somebody’s gonna have my ass!” 007 waits a well-timed beat before countering: “First things first.” (The World is Not Enough, 1999)

0015: Push-button pedagogy

Push-button pedagogy

There is absolutely no need for Auric Goldfinger (Gert Frobe) to have turned one entire wing of his lair into a collection of massive automated ooh-look-at-this models, but the fact he has done so, and all for just one five-minute chat with some mobsters, impresses them, us, and above all himself, immensely. After all, why bother with the back of an envelope when you can wield a giant pointing-stick at a hundred miniature trees? (Goldfinger, 1964)

0014: Bond meets a woman

Like you've never seen one before, 007 "Not married by any chance, are you?"

Not just any kind of woman. “I’m looking for Dr Goodhead,” Bond announces, with only the trace of a smirk. “You’ve just found her,” she replies. “A WOMAN!” 007 deduces tartly, apropos of nothing and everything in particular. “Your powers of observation do you credit, Mr Bond,” she acknowledges, with only a well-judged modicum of outrage. (Moonraker, 1979)

0013: Bond outlines his Middle East peace plan

Bond outlines his Middle East peace plan

“When one is in Egypt, one should delve deeply into its treasures.” So that’s where Tony Blair has been going wrong. (The Spy Who Loved Me, 1977)

0012: Klaus Hergersheimer, G section

The "G" stands for gloriousness

His job is checking radiation shields. He is “Klaus Hergersheimer, G section.” He is Bond’s alias for slipping into Blofeld’s laboratories and annoying the comedy Cher-man scientist Dr Metz. He is told to “please leave, you irritating man.” He does so. The real “Klaus Hergersheimer, G section” then enters. He’s checking radiation shields. Look, all of this is damn funny in the film, go and watch it. (Diamonds Are Forever, 1971)

0011: Desmond Llewelyn’s farewell

*sniff*

Vexed by the apparent idiocy of Q’s inferred successor, Bond has an important question. “You’re not retiring any time soon,” he asks the old man, “are you?” “Now pay attention 007,” Q replies gently. “I’ve always tried to teach you two things. First, never let them see you bleed.” “And the second?” “Always have an escape plan.” And with that he presses a secret button and sinks slowly out of sight. We will never see his like again. (The World is Not Enough, 1999)

JAMES BOND WILL RETURN…

…tomorrow, when we complete our countdown and discover the greatest 007 moment of them all.

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“Ah, list o’ Bond, I’ve been expecting you” – part three: 0030-0021

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TV Cream continues its countdown of the 50 greatest moments from the James Bond films…

0030: Lick and let die

Live and let lick

Poor Rosie (Gloria Hendry). She tries to act all headstrong and assertive in 007′s presence, only to nip into the bathroom and take umbrage at a bit of unnecessary tongue. “A snake, I forgot,” consoles Bond. “You should never go in there without a mongoose.” Thrown by such subtle wit, Rosie declares herself to be useless. “Well, I’m sure we’ll be able to lick you into shape,” contends Bond saucily – a line of dialogue, let the records state, improvised by Roger Moore. (Live and Let Die, 1973)

The eyes have it

0029: Size is everything

Delving deeply into national treasures

Sure, there’s epic Bond, of a car-rolling-through-the-air, skiing-down-a-bobsleigh-ride, fisticuffs-atop-the-Golden-Gate-bridge kind. But there’s also EPIC BOND, of a look-at-how-much-exoticism-we-can-cram-on-to-the-screen, here’s-the-biggest-studio-set-we’ve-ever-built kind. We know which sort we prefer. (The Spy Who Loved Me, 1977)

Lip' service

0028: The Acme pollution inspection

A warm hand on Bond's entrance

It’s the 1970s, which means you can’t just show up at an oil rig controlled by a diabolical mastermind in a bog-standard boat. You must instead flop out of an aeroplane while encased in an inflatable spiky cushion, which must then roll across the sea with you inside until you arrive at the oil rig just at the point where a party of guards is waiting, whereupon you unzip your inflatable sphere and proclaim: “Good morning gentlemen, the Acme pollution inspection. We’re cleaning up the world – we thought this was a suitable starting point!” (Diamonds Are Forever, 1971)

0027: “…you’ve never had me!”

She's even called Samantha BOND!

Pierce Brosnan’s first scene with Samantha Bond establishes a relationship between 007 and Moneypenny that easily surpasses anything Lois Maxwell or The Other One ever enjoyed. It is an exchange fizzing with mutual wit, easy repartee and glorious flirtation. “What would I ever do without you?” coos Bond. “As far as I can remember, James, you’ve never had me,” notes Moneypenny. “Hope springs eternal,” Bond sighs exaggeratedly. “This sort of behaviour could qualify as sexual harrassment,” Moneypenny continues. And what does that mean, Bond queries? “Some day you have to make good on your innuendos!” (Goldeneye, 1995)

0026: The nod of recognition

"No, after YOU!"

Roger Moore essayed a celebrated sequence of eyebrow-ascending acknowledgements during his long tenure as 007, but the best was the first: a silent doff of the head to the pilot of an adjacent helicopter, who also happens to be an assassin, who also happens to be actress Caroline Munro – she of the “lovely lines”. Five minutes later Bond blows her up. Still, at least he was polite about it. (The Spy Who Loved Me, 1977)

0025: Bond goes sightseeing

Water way to have a good time Dry? Another day!

Any sort of business that involves 007 out and about in London is a Good Thing. If there’s a handful of international landmarks involved, not to say a totemic slice of topical infrastructure plus a few precariously-balanced boxes of fruit, so much the better. (The World is Not Enough, 1999)

0024: Bond talks to a rat

Pipe down, 007

“One of us smells like a tart’s handkerchief – I’m afraid it’s me. Sorry about that, old boy.” (Diamonds are Forever, 1971)

0023: You must remember this

Barely secret army Judy spears

There’s only one thing that outranks the sight of Judi Dench looking knowing, and that’s the sight of Judi Dench looking knowing in the company of Geoffrey Palmer. Alas, their big screen rekindling of their small screen relationship was to last but one Bond film, but while it burned, it burned brightly. “Sometimes I think you don’t have the balls for this job,” Geoffrey rasps. “Perhaps,” counters Judi. “But the advantage is I don’t think with them all the time.” (Tomorrow Never Dies, 1997)

0022: Lift off with Conners and co

Sean Connery goes to great lengths to escape the Japanese media

We said we weren’t going to mention John Barry in this countdown, but he seems to have sneaked in, albeit as a co-conspirator with director Lewis Gilbert. At the time, this sequence was the most exciting thing to have happened in any Bond film ever. If Connery seems to be channelling his attitude towards gentlemen of the press during his rooftop romp, at least he’s far enough away from the helicopter’s swooping camera and sufficiently drowned out by Barry’s booming brass for us to neither see or hear. Or care. (You Only Live Twice, 1967)

Lift off with Conners and co

0021: Bond and Q have a giggle

They ALWAYS joke about their work

There’s a real warmth between Desmond Llewelyn and Pierce Brosnan that rivals – and possibly exceeds – the old man’s relentless sparring with Connery and patronising by Moore. Bond and Q never have more fun than they do here, teasing and sniggering their way around a carnival of contraptions. “They always did say the pen is mightier than the sword,” drawls 007 when Q presents him with a grenade-fitted Parker. “Thanks to me they were right,” Q responds, before demonstrating the pen’s capacity to blow up half a waxwork dummy. “Don’t say it!” begs Q. “The writing’s on the wall?” Bond wonders. “Along with the rest of him!” Q chuckles, delightfully. (Goldeneye, 1995)

JAMES BOND WILL RETURN…

…when we count down numbers 0020-0011 tomorrow and delve deeply into Egypt’s treasures.

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“Ah, list o’ Bond, I’ve been expecting you” – part two: 0040-0031

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"Ah, list o' Bond, I've been expecting you" - 0040-0031

TV Cream continues its countdown of the 50 greatest moments from the James Bond films…

0040: “She should have kept her mouth shut!”

Bigmouth strikes again

Here’s one of the earliest – and best – arguments in favour of the films over the books. Bond and colleague Kerim Bey (Pedro Armendariz) wait in a dark, rainy street for a shot at an enemy, then kill him while he climbs through a giant poster of Anita Ekberg. There’s no way this sequence would have been quite so gorgeously chilling and eerily entertaining had it existed merely on a page. It took a few years for the Bond production team to stop shooting adaptations and start making movies. This sequence pointed the way: ladles of atmosphere, an outburst of violence, some well-timed wit. (From Russia With Love, 1963)

0039: Bond takes out the trash

Curbed without enthusiasm

007 really ought to spend more time in New York. It’s his kind of town. Why, even strolling along an alley encrusted with rubbish – quite literally the dirtiest thing to ever make it into a Bond film – he seems at ease. And that’s despite being told by his unexpected yet soon-to-be-vanquished guests to “keep your hands up, honky” or they’ll “blow your frigging head off”. (Live and Let Die, 1973)

0038: From a blue to a kill

From a blue to a kill

It doesn’t happen very often, and it’s probably just as well, but now and again the Bond films have strayed dizzyingly close to looking like works of art. The director Lewis Gilbert is often to thank (or to blame). Here he concocts a few bravely self-conscious moments with French cinematographer Jean Tournier, placing Bond – albeit briefly – in a world where “filter” doesn’t just mean a type of cigarette.  (Moonraker, 1979)

A pain in the vase Moon*fake*er

0037: Moneypenny goes undercover

Anything to declare?

Imagine the meeting. “OK, we want to do something with Moneypenny on location this time. Dress her up a bit, make her more of the plot. Any suggestions?” “Well, there’s this scene at passport control in Dover harbour.” And yet, it works. This is possibly Lois Maxwell’s finest moment. “Anybody seeing you in that outfit, Moneypenny, would be most certainly discouraged from leaving the country,” observes Bond. Moneypenny asks for a present from Amsterdam. “Would you settle for a tulip?” quips 007 as he drives away. “Yes!” she cries, sweetly. (Diamonds are Forever, 1971)

0036: What a gay day

The living fey-lights

Only the best will do for Bond when in Rio. This means checking into the grandest of hotels, as well as being checked out by a grandly-coiffeured attendant who is one-half Noele Gordon, one-half Larry Grayson. “The president’s suite,” he confides, plumping up some cushions suggestively. “Really?” purrs Bond. “Don’t bother showing me the rest. If I get lost, I’ll take a cab.” Thoroughly out-camped, the concierge pouts gloriously, then sashays off, no doubt to investigate alarming reports of a chest of drawers with no bottom. As for 007, precisely two minutes later he is ostentatiously shagging a woman. (Moonraker, 1979)

A very camp bastion

0035: Behind you!

Behind you!

One of the best reveals in cinema history. (Goldfinger, 1964)

A WOMAN!

0034: The squeaky trolley

Wheely saying something

Bond is trapped. Dozens of trigger-happy Russians have their guns pointed at him, Sean Bean has just been shot in the head, and a set-piece finale is required to get this new era in 007 history off to a rousing start. Luckily for Bond, help is at hand in the shape of a Brosnan-sized metal trolley. Luckily for us, the trolley lets out a perfectly-timed ironically-timid SQUEAK every few seconds when being wheeled across the silent room, turning a dutifully stern stand-off in a delightfully tense showdown. (Goldeneye, 1995)

...squeaky... ...SQUEAKY...

0033: Bond and M share a brandy

Indifferently blended

Uh-oh. There’s the smell of something bad in the air – and it’s not just the nefarious antics of Auric Goldfinger. “Have some more of this rather disappointing brandy,” suggest Colonel Smithers, Bond and M’s dinner-guest and storyline consultant. “What’s the matter with it?” begs M, irascibly. “Indifferently blended,” concludes Bond. “Colonel Smithers is giving the lecture, 007,” squawks M – before taking a quick sniff when the others aren’t looking. (Goldfinger, 1964)

0032: Bond and M don’t share a sherry

Unmistakable!

It’s a few years later, and despite now being on the wagon, M can’t resist the opportunity for another pop at his agent’s liquor-based showboating. “Pity about your liver, sir,” drawls Bond, in between tiny sips. “’51, I believe.” “There is no year for sherry, 007,” spits M, irascibly. “I was referring to the original vintage on which the sherry is based, sir,” continues Bond, coolly: “1851. Unmistakable!” (Diamonds are Forever, 1971)

0031: Salmon-chanted evening

Eel met by moonlight

We’re not so fussed with 007′s car that can swim. We’re more smitten with what happens when 007′s car stops swimming and springs a leak. Forget the scenes of the holidaymakers on the beach, including The Man Who Looks At His Bottle Of Booze. Remember instead one of the neatest non-verbal gags in any Bond film, when Roger Moore nonchalantly winds down his window and nonchalantly tosses out a fish. (The Spy Who Loved Me, 1977)

JAMES BOND WILL RETURN…

…in numbers 0030-0021.

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“Ah, list o’ Bond, I’ve been expecting you” – part one: 0050-0041

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"Ah, list o' Bond, I've been expecting you" - 0050-0041

Welcome to TV Cream’s countdown of the 50 greatest moments from the James Bond films.

A word of warning at the outset. If you’ve come looking for the bit with the parachute, or the girl covered in gold paint, or anything to do with John Barry: sorry. As essential and justly-lauded as all those are, we’ve left them out. For we’re concentrating on the less iconic but equally vital moments. The ones that capture not just the spectacle but the spirit of Bond on the big screen.

We’ve also left out the two unofficial films. Not because they’re crap; far from it: both of them outrank at least three of the official ones (in entertainment value at least). No, as this is the 50th anniversary of the Broccoli/Saltzman-inaugurated, Monty Norman-hued Bond, that’s what we’ve focused on. So no room for Woody Allen and Kim Basinger – nor, for that matter, Bob Holness or Martin Jarvis.

Right, onwards. Feel free to debate, dispute and disregard any of what follows. After all, we’ve always said list and let list. (You know we did, you know we did, you know we did…)

0050: Bond makes an omelette

The world is not an oeuf

What better way to settle the stomach after a brush with a mob of snappily-dressed hoodlums than a dairy-based deep-layered snack? Bond serves Stacey Sutton (Tanya Roberts) his speciality dish: “Voila! Quiche de cabinet!” But his host fails to fall for this poncey moniker, despite believing the amateur chef to be something of a speciality dish himself. “An omelette,” 007 grudgingly explains. Come come, Roger: the world is not an oeuf. (A View to a Kill, 1985)

0049: Bond makes an espresso

Bond gets to grips with an attractive Italian piece *Thinks: must get Moneypenny to order one for the office*
Shaken, stirred, frothed, ground and thoroughly blended GOOD GOD!

“Coffee, sir?” our hero enquires when M (Bernard Lee) calls round at an indecent hour with news of some indecent behaviour at the United Nations. Bond placates his boss with a flash of an attractive Italian piece. Nope, not Madeleine Smith in a wispish negligee. We’re talking La Pavoni Europiccola, around which Bond’s entire kitchen has – rightly – been constructed. Thirty seconds of hisses, pops and continental-sounding pings later, hey presto: one cuppa. “Is that all it does?” gestures M, irascibly. (Live and Let Die, 1973)

0048: Bond eats caviar

On her majesty's secret room service

Room service has arrived at Bond’s Portuguese oubliette – plus a bad man in a boilersuit who whacks 007 over the head. The secret agent returns the gesture, crashing a chair across his assailant’s face and then several punches. As his enemy impassively absorbs each blow, our hero is perplexed, grunting quizzically with every strike: “Hmm? Mmm?”

"Hmm?" "Mmm?"
As Tony Hadley sang, it's through the balustrades Rye another day

Thankfully, an indoor wooden balustrade (there are many in this film – some might say it stars one) saves the day, Bond pushing his foe straight through it. “Gatecrasher,” muses our man as his quarry lies motionless on the rug. “I’ll leave you to tidy up.” Sloping off, the agent makes a quick stop at the buffet trolley and drops a dollop of caviar onto a crispbread (rye another day?). Taking a bite he then murmurs approvingly: “Mmm, Royal Beluga. North of the Caspian.” (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, 1969)

0047: “…unless she’s mental!”

If only he'd pulled a "der" face

While sorting through the latest sack of 007 fan mail, M stumbles upon the plot of Bond’s next mission – and it’s one full of Eastern promise. A Soviet beauty is smitten with one of Connery’s casting photos and is ready, decoding device in tow, to be plucked from Turkey. “Girls do fall in love with pictures of film stars,” sighs M, irascibly. Bond is quick to apply reason to the situation. “But not a Russian file clerk with a file photo of a British agent… unless she’s mental!” “Hmm,” replies M – the closest the old bugalugs is willing to come to a lecture in gender politics. (From Russia With Love, 1963)

0046: “…she’s just dead!”

"She's going to sit this one out - permanently"

You’re stuck in the middle of something that’s gone on too far long and shows no sign of ending. A wedding reception or office party, perhaps, or maybe a flabby and self-satisfied Bond film of the mid-1960s. You wonder, with desperation, how to pep up proceedings. Then it hits you: a spot of impromptu dancing! Suddenly everything snaps into life. “You’re mad, do you know that?” cries one passer-by. “Yes, isn’t everyone?” you reply, giddily. Suddenly you’re cheek to cheek with your nemesis and a gun has been pulled. A brisk do-si-do, a pause to think up a zinger, and boom: “Do you mind if my friend sits this one out? She’s just dead!” (Thunderball, 1965)

0045: Bond upsets Sir Frederick ‘Freddie’ Gray

A deeper shade of Gray

“I’ve never been so humiliated!” barks Britain’s longest-serving minister of defence and social hob-nobber with most of the world’s top diabolical masterminds. And who can blame him. Agent 007 has just forced him to don a gas mask and parade around inside a staggeringly ornate but perfectly safe reading room occupied by a maniac who not only plays bridge but DRINKS TEA. “Your man should be taken off the assignment,” Gray (Geoffrey Keen) orders M as the three of them stroll awkwardly through Venice. M realises it’s all good-natured rubbish, while Bond realises he should probably hold off from publicly addressing his government chum as “Freddie”. At least for the next three films. (Moonraker, 1979)

0044: Bond’s van breaks down

"BOINGGGGG!"

Marvin Hamlisch composed one of the finest Bond scores of all time, thanks not least to his fondness for musical jokes. A particularly ripe one occurs when Bond and Russian agent XXX (Barbara Bach) make good their escape from a necessarily-perilous Egyptian building site in a comically dilapidated van. Cue a comically dilapidated soundtrack, which segues from something appropriate to the Arkansas Chuggabug to, as the van grinds to a halt and expires, something appropriate to Terry Scott very slowly falling on his arse. Boingggg! (The Spy Who Loved Me, 1977)

0043: “I feel like an idiot.”

Don't lets be beastly to the Cher-mans

Dr Kaufman has Bond in his sights. He is, in ascending order of importance, a professional assassin, a professional German and a professional gossip. All three collide in a delightful jumble of awkwardness when the Doctor is required to interrupt his killing to find out how to unlock 007′s car. “Did you call the Auto Club?” he bitches to his supervisor. “Oh, OK. Ja, I ask. This is very embarrassing. I feel like an idiot. I don’t know what to say.” Bond merely smiles. (Tomorrow Never Dies, 1997)

0042: The Russians are coming!

Cold war, kids! Berking off

Giant maps: what’s not to like? Especially when they come with equally-giant Dad’s Army-esque moving arrows depicting the end of Western civilisation. But a preposterous scenario can only be taken seriously when explained by a preposterous person. Step forward, or rather swagger forward, Steven Berkoff, a man whose ego conveniently matches the size of several former Soviet republics. (Octopussy, 1983)

0041: M loses it with Q

The man with the golden pun M appeal

Having been visibly discomfited by the effort of paying a house call to Bond’s bachelor pad in Live and Let Die, it’s no wonder M reacts the way he does at having to leave his office a second time in as many films and decamp all the way to the wreck of a liner in Hong Kong harbour. Ever the loyal attendant, Q obliges with enough pointless remarks to allow M to growl with satisfying irascibility: “Oh Q, shut up,” followed for good measure a couple of minutes later with: “Oh, SHUT UP Q!” (The Man with the Golden Gun, 1974)

JAMES BOND WILL RETURN…

…in numbers 0040-0031

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“Now pay attention 007…”

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Bond and beyond!

Wondering why TV Cream is looking very 007-ish today? Actually, you’re probably not – it’s obvious! But this is to tip you off that from Monday to Friday next week we’re going to be keeping the British end up by revealing our 50 best James Bond moments. So we’re just getting the site sorted out and ready…

And thanks in advance to Anthony Hope who suggested a rather good name for this to-be-expected new franchise (we didn’t go with ‘List and Let Die’ in the end).

NB. Features no Daniel Craig bits.

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Our radio rocks! With laughter!

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Tim Worthington's six form common room radio, yesterday
Fun At One by Tim WorthingtonAnother week, and another TV Cream-related book hits the internet – and we turn our wallpaper stripey in celebration! This time it’s Tim Worthington’s Fun At One! A history of Radio 1 comedy, if you can believe such a thing could exist.

Read more about the book at Tim’s FAO website, and listen to Tim yakking about it with his good pal Ben here and here. Finally, buy the book here (one person has already rated it five stars – probably Tim’s good pal Ben).

Or, alternatively, you could win an eBook copy, sent directly to you by Mr TJ Worthington himself. How? All you have to do is answer the following poser…

Who were the hosts of Radio Tip Top?

Send your answer to competition@tvcream.co.uk. The closing date is Tuesday, October 9th, 2012, at which point Tim will contact the winners directly and furnish them with their ‘ePrize’. Dunno how many winners we’re going to select – that’s up to Tim.

NB. Tim Worthington will not enter into personal correspondence over the virtues or otherwise of Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle.
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The Good Word: MICHAEL BARRATT’S NATIONWIDE MEMOIRS pt 2

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The Good Word: Michael Barratt's Nationwide Memoirs pt 1

It’s the second and final part of our Michael Barratt podcast!

This time Michael talks about his career before Nationwide, and after, and recalls his exit from the show, which took the form of a farewell tour of the UK on board an especially-hired train. 

You can download part two here; subscribe to our podcast feed via iTunes; or listen to it right here:

 

Missed part one? Well, that’s here or press ‘play’ below:

 

Thanks, of course, go to Michael Barratt, who has a new book out from our good friends at Kaleidoscope Publishing titled, of course, Mr Nationwide.

If you like the podcast, maybe give it a retweet?

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The Creamup Summer Special 2012

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Flicking your 'beach' switch

Subscribers to our TV-listings-and-nothing-but (apart from a feature in the middle) ‘e-mag’, Creamguide, got an unscheduled visitor last night when a special issue of Creamup – our much-rested miscellany of features and fancy – popped into their inboxes. The first Creamup to be sent out for something like four years, we put it together to celebrate 15 years of TV Cream.

Now, you may not be a Creamguide subscriber, or your spam filter might just have exquisite taste. But, if you are interested in seeing what all the fuss was about (NB. there has been no fuss) then we’ve pasted the whole thing onto a webpage for your inspection.

Because of TVC’s own template, it would be too much of a ball-ache to present the thing in situ (it would play havoc with our JPEGS) so instead find the page, floating all alone, right here.

Let’s get the chant going now: “15 more years! 15 more years!”

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The Good Word: MICHAEL BARRATT’S NATIONWIDE MEMOIRS pt 1

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The Good Word: Michael Barratt's Nationwide Memoirs pt 1

Today is TV Cream’s 15th birthday. And what better way to celebrate than releasing our new podcast, which we can safely say is our best yet – because none of us are in it.

Instead it’s wall-to-wall Michael Barratt. A true TV Cream hero, Michael welcomed us into his house (we even met Dilys) to talk about our favourite ever teatime show… Nationwide. In this first part (of two) Michael talks about the origins of NW, why it was nearly cancelled, working with Bob Wellings and the gang – and what he made of this year’s jubilee coverage on the BBC.

You can download part one of this two-part podcast here; subscribe to our podcast feed via iTunes; or listen to it right here:

 

You should know, of course, Michael has a new book out from our pals at Kaleidoscope Publishing. And it’s much recommended: Mr Nationwide.

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Increasingly Desperate Dan

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The seven - well, three - ages of Dan
The Dandy - is that still going? Maybe not.Gulp! Looks like The Dandy could be brandishing that doom-laden “EXCITING NEWS FOR READERS INSIDE!” banner across its front cover quite soon. John Freeman’s excellent Down The Tubes has the story, but, pals, what’s our response?

With the paper’s 75th birthday due in December, this year’s celebratory annual already out, plus a retrospective gift book written by former ‘Ed’ Morris Heggie, a commemorative set of Royal Mail stamps and a TV documentary in the works, perhaps it’s best to bail out when you’re at the top.

But we’d still be terribly sad to see it go. TVC readers might expect us to be anti-modern day Dandy, however we’re anything but. Under editor Craig Graham (who took over the title in 2006) the publication – sure – did rebadge as ‘Dandy Xtreme’, but really picked up the pace with a further Harry Hill-led revamp in 2010, which brought in creator-owned strips (who’d have thought?), lots of new cutting-edge cartoonists, a ban on reprints (now lifted) and radical redesigns for flagship characters like Desperate Dan and Bananaman. In short, an all-out renaissance.

But, with sales dropping to somewhere in the region of 7,000 and none of the above doing anything to arrest that, what to do? DC Thomson have made noises that the comic’s key characters will continue online, but… who cares about online?

Desperate Dan Pie-Eaters Club members – turn in your wallet here.

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Guest-starring Bernard Cribbins as Sydney Newman

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From L-R, then: Matthew Macfadyen, Jeremy Northam, Keeley Hawes and Zoe Tapper

From L-R, then: Matthew Macfadyen, Jeremy Northam, Keeley Hawes and Zoe Tapper

So, that’s who we’d cast in BBC4′s inevitable ‘The Road To Dr Who’-style drama. While they’ve got the new gang together, could they please do a remake of The Tenth Planet part 4? That would be super.

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Win: London Tales!

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The Children’s Film Foundation: London Tales

Remember back in about 2003 when we all used to wax lyrical about the Children’s Film Foundation?  Well the noughties obsession with the 1970s via the conduit of CFF is back – 2012 style!  Our good friends at the BFI (in that they emailed us about this and everything) have recently released on DVD The Children’s Film Foundation: London Tales. Doubtless to tie in with the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, this collection brings together The Salvage Gang, Operation Third Form and Night Ferry.

First let’s get the bad news out of the way – only one of these three films is from your actual 1970s.  However, the good – indeed great – news is that The Salvage Gang features Frazer Hines and a cameo from Wilfred Brambell, and Night Ferry (which hails from 1976) boasts Bernard Cribbins in the lead role. Sadly, from the BFI press release we can’t find much to commend Operation Third Form, but we’re sure it’s ace too.

WIN!

Unfeathered CribbinsThe BFI have given us three copies of The Children’s Film Foundation: London Tales to give away to TV Cream readers. All you need to do is to tell us the name of the character the aforementioned Bernard gave voice to, that subsequently led to him being referred to in TV Cream circles as “The Feathered Cribbins”. Send your answer to competition@tvcream.co.uk, marking the subject line “CFF Competition”. The closing date is 31 August, after which we’ll select three lucky winners at random and drop you a line for your postal address.

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Freeeeeetime! (Watcha gonna do? Watcha gonna do?)

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Cor! Apple core!

How blissful. It’s Joanna Lumley, in a jumpsuit, on a boat. With summer days driftin’ away for all of us, we thought we’d share some picture postcards from other Cream era celebs on holiday, or just relaxing. Click on the images below to see them in their full glory.

Lumley stuff!

A Purdey-era Joanna Lumley raises a glass.

Bit of a Thaw point

John Thaw walks the canals. In a cap.

Les Dawson's seaside special

Les Dawson reclines on the front. With a fag.

Pam Ayres and pals

“Oi sat on a swing near the grass…”

It's a Harty party!

Russell Harty, out on a limb. As ever.

Hare, apparent

Hartley Hare, braving the roads around Pipkins.

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A Waltz for Sir Richard Stilgoe

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Life Stilgoe's on!

To honour Giscard O’Hitler’s recent, much deserved knighthood, we’ve recorded a very special song. Listen to it by clicking on the link below…

 

Or download from here.

You’ll surely also want a proper copy of the record sleeve to make your iTunes look all nice, so here it is…

Rhymes 'Euphrates' with 'A Kick Up The Eighties'

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Giscard O’Hitler

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The tables are turned: a collection of anagrams of Richard’s name.

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Schedules revisited: silver jubilee

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Susan Hampshire and Peter Wyngarde treat pensioners to a slap-up silver jubilee meal at Annabelle's Cafe in Fulham Road - what's not to like?

Susan Hampshire and Peter Wyngarde treat pensioners to a slap-up silver jubilee meal at Annabelle’s Cafe in Fulham Road – what’s not to like?

Tuesday 7 June 1977

BBC1

6.40am Open University

Well, you didn’t think this was going to take a day off, did you? Then a blank screen from 7.55 until…

8.40 Mary, Mungo And Midge
8.55 Boss Cat
9.20 Babar

Printed in the tiniest typeface possible in the Radio Times, back in the days when every big occasion had to be preceded by cartoons while BBC1 cleared its throat. At least one paper will have referred to this as “breakfast television.”

9.44 Weatherman

Keith Best spends 55 seconds on the weather for The Mall, then five seconds on the rest of the country.

9.45 Nationwide Special

“Raising the curtain on jubilee day”, says the RT, but it neglects to mention what they actually did or who did it. Tch.

10.10 Silver Jubilee: a Day of Celebration

Tom Fleming dons his cravat and settles down for the main shift. Each moment on the day was timed to the second and noted down in the RT. They all left the Palace at 10.25 and were driven around London for an hour, with a quick excursion at 11.10 for the Queen to touch the hilt of the Pearl Sword offered by the Lord Mayor. Then they were all in their seats in time for…

GLC Chairman Lord Ponsonby is flanked by models Lina Hooks, left, and Jan Emery - both dressed in the attire of 1952 - as he introduces the first of 50 silver buses celebrating the silver jubilee

GLC Chairman Lord Ponsonby is flanked by models Lina Hooks, left, and Jan Emery – both dressed in the attire of 1952 – as he introduces the first of 50 silver buses celebrating the silver jubilee

11.30 A Service of Thanksgiving

A load of hymns from St. Paul’s Cathedral.

12.25pm The Queen Meets the People

As she walked through London on her way to a luncheon at the Guildhall. But enough of that, because up next it’s…

12.55 Nationwide Jubilee Fair

While the Queen had her dinner, we had Michael Barratt and Frank Bough in shirt sleeves toasting the entire country, and Valerie Singleton on CakeWatch. This was an actual real fair in the studio, with a huge merry-go-round in the middle of the floor, and Mike linked into all the reports via – can you guess? – a Venetian-blind styled Jubilee Scanner. They were also joined by the winners of their Song For A Jubilee competition. “Ba-bumba-ba-bumba-ba-bumba! It’s the jubilee rhumba!”

2.25 The Queen Speaks to the Commonwealth

Via the Beeb, ITV and all radio stations except for Radio 3.

2.50 The Return Procession

There wasn’t much to jubilee day, was there? After the lunch, there was another procession through London in a horse-drawn carriage, before the whole family appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace at 3.25. Then that was it until Thursday when the Queen and Prince Philip went up the Thames on a boat, a bit like Michael Jackson and those fake Olympic rings.

3.35 Black Beauty

Time to switch over to the racing on ITV.

5.20 Jubilee Jackanory

For shame, no Jubilee Blue Peter, or even John Craven’s Jubilee Newsround. Instead all you got was Penelope Keith reading a story by Helen Creswell about Posy Bates taking part in her school’s jubilee presentation.

5.35 News

A pre-moustachioed Richard Whitmore spends eight minutes talking about the jubilee, then two minutes on war and famine.

5.45 Regionalia!

Basically, regional news everywhere except for London, who got Tom and Jerry. Well, it’s not as if anything happened there today, did it?

5.50 Nationwide Special

Hopefully Mike and Frank put suits on for this one because it was official Nationwide time. And because they’d been on so much today, tomorrow the programme was just 20 minutes long so they could cram in One Million Years BC starring Racquel Welch.

6.20 The Women Superstars

“Since today was all about celebrating a strong woman, here are some more,” was presumably the idea behind this scheduling. Pickering and Vine are in Cambridge as Britain’s top sportswomen – Rachel Heyhoe-Flint, Anne Packer and some others we’ve never heard of – battle it out for the Diet Pepsi Trophy.

7.30 My Fair Lady

“A special BBC1 holiday presentation” is the way they always explained away the lazy option of just bunging on a really long film to fill up the evening.

10.20 News

We always associate Richard Whitmore with being on before the See-Saw programme, so this late night placing is all wrong.

10.40 The Good Old Days

Textbook stuff, this line-up, isn’t it? Max Bygraves was top of the bill, and also appearing were Millicent Martin, Julia McKenzie, Sheila Staefel and, er, The Hot Dogs.

11.40 Weather, Close

Not heard the national anthem enough today? Here it is again.

The Queen, yesterday - or indeed any day from the last 60 years

The Queen, yesterday – or indeed any day from the last 60 years

BBC2

6.40am Open University

An all-morning session, though with a 50-minute gap at 7.55 for the hell of it.

10.50 Interval

A quick burst of Walk The Talk until…

11.00 Play School

Julie Stevens and Brian Cant raise the flag for jubilee day and open up their Royal Scrapbook. No teatime repeat, alas.

Understated commemorations in Prothero Road, Fulham

Understated commemorations in Prothero Road, Fulham

11.25 Closedown

Bad luck, republicans.

4.25pm Goodies Rule – OK?

If this had been on an hour later, Michael Barratt would have been on two channels at once.

5.15 The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

They could easily have swapped it with this.

7.00 News on 2 Headlines

Followed by Weather on 2 – a more challenging, arty look at the weather, perhaps.

7.05 Conversazioni

BBC2 made a day of it, didn’t they? Part nine of the series on learning Italian.

7.30 News on 2

What, again?

7.40 The Magic Show

From the splendour of Caesar’s Palace in Luton (yes, really), Neville “This is not a stage name” King introduces a bunch of “top international magicians”, none of whom we’ve ever head of. Still “Los Magicos” is a great name, isn’t it?

8.30 The Old Grey Whistle Test

Eric Clapton performs at the BBC Television Theatre. Our uncle has a video on his shelf called Eric Clapton on Whistle Test, and one day we’re going to ask him if we could watch it, just in case Bob Harris is at the start. And then we’ll immediately turn it off.

9.30 Late News on 2

Bloody hell!

9.40 Silver Jubilee: a Day of Celebration

The minority channel oddly takes on the task of showing the highlights of the day. Given that this week’s Radio Times features a letter asking for consideration to be taken into account by the commentators for those still watching in black and white, it’s a shame those watching on 405 lines were left out once again.

10.40 Laurence Olivier in Love Among the Ruins

Back when you used to have seasons devoted to living actors.

12.20am-12.25 Music at Night

Fall asleep to the soothing sounds of John Williams on the guitar. And from all of them at Television Centre, goodnight.

Hazel Grove station gets a last-minute sweep ahead of a "right royal" visitation

Hazel Grove station gets a last-minute sweep ahead of a “right royal” visitation

ITV

9.30am Rainbow

Back in the golden years when it was on every day.

9.45 Royal Wedding

A film of the Queen and Prince Philip getting married in 1947. Zzzzz.

10.15 Er…

Alistair Burnet had sorted through all his 365 crevats in preparation, but to no avail. An industrial dispute meant all ITV viewers got was a documentary about Coventry Cathedral, an unspecified film, plus any old rubbish they could find on the shelves.

Bet, Annie and Fred supply ITV's sole jubilee festivities

Bet, Annie and Fred supply ITV’s sole jubilee festivities

12.50pm Jubilee Holiday Sport

This seemed to go out, though, with Dickie Davies introducing an afternoon of “all-round sporting entertainment”. Basically this was Roses Cricket, with commentary by Gerald Sinstadt (and Granada and Yorkshire were still showing that as recently as 1991, even though they showed no other cricket at any time and they could only fit in an hour or so a day), and The ITV Seven from Sandown and Redcar. At 1.25 there was the mysteriously-named Sports Special, which appears to be just some wrestling, and Dickie also had to introduce the Queen’s Speech to the Commonwealth and the News at One.

5.00 News

You knew it was a big day when Alistair Burnet was on at teatime.

5.20 Regionalia!

Some regions got Jubilee Mr and Mrs, but others, bizarrely, decided to show it the following day and tonight screened a bog standard episode of Sale of the Century. Perhaps they thought only Nicholas Parsons had the required gravitas for this special day. ATV had all the fun and excitement of, er, University Challenge, Anglia had Jubilee About Anglia, Southern had Jubilee Day by Day and Granada just flung on The Beverly Hillbillies.

5.50 The King’s Troop

Michael “London Bridge” Wale takes “a colourful and light-hearted look at this famous ceremonial horse artillery unit.” Mmm.

6.35 Crossroads

But they weren’t holding their own jubilee party in the motel, which is just not on.

7.00 Make ‘em Laugh

Not the crappy Saturday afternoon time-filler of clips from British films, instead a sort of proto-Video Entertainers – The Eight-Track Entertainers, maybe. All of them had appeared on New Faces, so we got Michael Barrymore, Jim Davidson and Roger De Courcey, but we also had Al Dean, Simone and the excitingly-named Monopoly.

7.45 Topaz

Opposite the Beeb’s long film, a long film. But at least this was a Hitchcock.

10.00 News at Ten

Including highlights of the day’s events if they’d grabbed some pictures off the Beeb.

10.50 The Malvern Enigma

You wouldn’t get a recreation of how Elgar wrote the Enigma Variations on ITV now.

11.35 Regionalia Epilogues!

A vicar from your region sends you off to bed.

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“It gets a little hairy up at the old scoreboard…”

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Nul points! All the songs are called Ding Ding Dong! And Norway are rubbish, aren’t they? Ho fucking ho.

It’s time for Eurovision once more, as the pan-continental search for Europe’s songatheyear comes round again. TV Cream likes to eschew the hateful “hey, it’s so bad it’s good” approach to the whole shebang, and for a start, we’d like to point out that they never say “nul points”, because the points system goes down from twelve to one, so no “nul points” are ever actually allocated or referred to. And people are still somehow wringing comedic mileage out of the mere words Katie Boyle! Grrr.

Anyway, now we’re post-Wogan, and hence – in theory – post a few of these Eurocliches. And although Tel’s shadow looms large (as it does whenever the sun comes out), let’s not forget that back in 1967, it was Rolf Harris on the BBC lipmic in Vienna, which seems a bit of a waste.

In 1970, it was David Gell, whoever the hell he was, the following year it was Dave Lee Travis, and in 1972 – Tom Fleming! Bet that was a rocking show. In 1973 it was Terry for the first time, with Pete Murray on the wireless, and in 1974 it was David Vine (“My goodness she sold that well!”)

In 1975 it was the exact opposite that it had been in 1973, as Tel was relegated to the radio, so he must have made a mess of it before, and Pete Murray was on the telly. In 1976 it was Michael Aspel, and Pete was back in 1977, before Tel made a triumphant return in 1978. John Dunn did it in 1979, bizarrely, and Tel wasn’t involved at all, as Ray Moore was on the radio.

But enough of that, because here’s a long list, in the shape of TV Cream’s guide to Ten Great British Eurovision
Failures:

1969 CONGRATULATIONS – CLIFF RICHARD
Ah, Cliff, forever wriggling around in figure-hugging blue crushed regency velvet in front of that big gold ‘E-U-R-O-V-I-S-I-O-N’ tableau. Penned by Coulter and Martin, responsible for Puppet On A String and, er, Back Home, but pipped into second by Spain’s La La La.

1974 LONG LIVE LOVE – OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN
To Brighton for 1974′s extravaganza, into which these isles pitched Olivia toothily into the fray, in naught but a blue nightie. But we were betting without Abba, and ONJ could only finish a meagre fourth. Pah.

1977 ROCK BOTTOM – LYNDSEY DE PAUL AND MIKE MORAN
Come on, with a title like that, it was asking for it. Our plucky participants sang at it grand pianos facing one another. Europe remained unimpressed. Second. France won.

1978 BAD OLD DAYS – COCO
Despite featuring a nascent Cheryl Baker amongst their number, they could only muster an appalling eleventh with their somewhat tribute to Conan O’Brien. Truly the dog days for Blighty, these. Prima Donna, anyone? Black Lace doing legit?

1982 ONE STEP FURTHER – BARDO
The ‘Do featured Sally-Ann Triplett off of Stu Francis-era Crackerjack, and were endorsed by none other than Neil Tennant in Smash Hits. None of which could help them in the heat of, ahem, Harrogate, and were swept aside by Nicole’s anthemic A Little Peace, which the headmaster of one of the residents of TV Cream Towers used to like to play in assemblies. Seventh.

1984 LOVE GAMES – BELLE AND THE DEVOTIONS
Now we really are getting desperate. Imagine a sort of Dorothy Perkins Bananarama, all ribbons and polka dots and miniskirts. Booed off stage. And seventh again. Sweden take the crown.

1990 GIVE A LITTLE LOVE BACK TO THE WORLD – EMMA
Emma! She was Welsh! She looked a bit like Sonia! She sang a song about world peace and ending starvation! She finished sixth! Italy won with a song about European integration!

1991 MESSAGE TO YOUR HEART – SAMANTHA JANUS
It’s Britain’s great Eurovision maxim: never learn from the previous year’s failure. Hence the succession of overwrought pastel-suited male balladeer flops from the 80s. Another song about starvation (“and every day is a compromise for a grain of corn”) and hence Game On was seen as a step *up*. Tenth.

1992 ONE STEP OUT OF TIME – MICHAEL BALL
One step out of time! (doof doof) One reason to put this love on the line! Fresh-faced and clean-cut, Michael was nothing if not Cliff’s spiritual heir, and thus emulated him by finishing second. Punched the air in time with the doof doof bit.

1996 OOH AAH JUST A LITTLE BIT – GINA G
Into the Jonathan King years and hence the Ireland Forever Winning years, as satirised by Father Ted. The last Eurovisioner to make No. 1 in Britain, fact fans, although Gina limped to eighth on the night. Better than Love City Groove, at least.

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20 small tales of Television Centre

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Fry and Laurie not pictured

On Thursday, May 17, BBC4 brings us a superb, 90-minute documentary, Tales of Television Centre. Here are 20 brilliant things about it.

Britain's best building1) Joan Bakewell calls Television Centre a “jewel box of activity”

2) There’s a people-being-stopped-by-the-Television-Centre-commissioner montage

3) Esther Rantzen confiding “walking into Television Centre meant sparkle time!”

4) Philip Glenister recalling visiting the Dr Who studios when he was nine years old. “My abiding memory was, ‘My God, that’s cheap!’”

5) A clip of Sarah Greene’s mum in Z Cars

6) Judith Hann recalling the time she had to share her dressing room with an otter that was scheduled to appear on Blue Peter

7) Sarah Greene (again) revealing what she and Smitty did in Dressing Room 2.

8) John Craven: “I was told Television Centre was built in a circle so the buck couldn’t stop.”

9) Clive Dunn on It’s A Square World dressed up as Dr Who William Hartnell.

Our endpaper-style guide to Television Centre

Click for our guide to TVC

10) The on-screen caption font is the old slopey BBC-tv typeface.

11) The brandishing of an ornate ‘TS’ card for recalcitrant production staff – the letters standing for ‘Tough Shit’.

12) Maggie Philbin’s revelation about what a BBC make-up girl did to her.

13) Behind the scenes footage from Eureka.

14) Katy Manning: “People were bonking all over the BBC!”

15) Eric ‘n’ Ern teasing Graeme Harper in a BBC lift and branding him ‘Choochie Face’.

16) Robert Powell inviting all of Pan’s People out for dinner – because he didn’t have the nerve to ask Babs alone.

17) “Merry Christmas VT!”

18) Johnny Ball’s revelation about Rick James and co.

19) How it was arranged for the BBC fountain to be switched on during the tap-dancing routine to raise money for Action Research For The Crippled Child.

20) A perfect choice of closing music.

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Index, linked

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The office of tomorrow, yesterday

We’re going to be updating the whole of TV Cream very soon. However, in the tidying-up that’s been going on around that, we’ve done a long overdue spot of filing and finally indexed our ever-popular Films and Bric-a-Brac sections.

So, for some Film Fun, from 10 Rillington Place to Zulu Dawn click here.

And for some Bric-a-Brac-based badinage, encompassing Active Learning all the way to Zigger Zagger, click here.

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