Friday, 14th June 1985
PICK OF THE DAY
9.30pm THE MAD DEATH, BBC1
One and only repeat showing for the made-in-1981-but-not-screened-until-1983 BBC Scotland East Kilbride Shopping Centre-set drama about rabies. Ah, rabies! We almost miss you. It would be remiss of us to go too heavy on the details, seeing as there’s a veritable essay about it elsewhere on TVC, so let’s instead acknowledge the excellent work put in by the rotating globe continuity announcer teeing up this rerun in the clip below: “…And the start of a three-part serial which dramatically shows what would happen if the deadly rabies were to arrive in this country… [PAUSE, CHANGE INFLECTION] The Mad Death.” Beautiful.
ALSO SHOWING:
7.15pm THE GREAT EGG RACE, BBC2
Has there ever been a more pleasing duo of photos? And what magic is conjured by the phrase ‘ANALOG DEVICES’! Here we are in the penultimate series, and the format now in its most finely-engineered form – most obvious in the issuing of coloured sweatshirts for the teams with ‘The Great Egg Race 85’ embroidered badges. The challenge from Heinz Wolff is build a machine that will take and develop a photograph within three minutes. Competing against ANALOG DEVICES (in yellow) are RUDDOCKS PRINTERS (green) and L.B.M.S CONSULTANTS (red).
9.00pm C.A.T.S EYES, ITV
Getting near the end of the first series, here, and therefore the Eyes’ deployment on a Friday night (they’d shift to Saturdays after this run). In an adventure entitled ‘Love Byte’, George Sewell has Maidstone’s own Debbie Harry, Frederica ‘Fred’ Smith, tail an ex-con who’s courting his daughter. Features a mention of ‘computer dating’. Executive Producer: Rex Firkin!
Glenn A
June 9, 2017 at 2:24 pm
The Mad Death was a classic series from a golden era for BBC Scotland. Their comedy and drama output in the eighties were never better. OK STV had the massive success of Taggart, but they were better known south of the border for the sleep inducing soap Take The High Road that was mostly confined to daytimes.
Glenn Aylett
March 30, 2023 at 6:46 pm
I was working in East Kilbride in 1994 and visited the shopping centre featured in The Mad Death and couldn’t help wondering if there was a rabid Alsatian on the loose, ready to jump out on someone.
Interesting place, a new town that by the nineties was nearly as big as Carlisle and featured miles of post war council and private estates, ring roads and shopping centres. However, as I was driving about on my sales job trying to drum up interest in my wares( not very successfully at times). I noticed one thing about East Kilbride, not a single pub in any of the housing estates.
Richardpd
March 30, 2023 at 10:53 pm
I stayed in East Kilbride a few years ago with my then girlfriend for a long weekend in Glasgow as it was cheaper then staying in central Glasgow.
I remember a few of the underpasses that town planners in the 1960s & 70s liked so much, fortunately a bit more inviting as the sometimes can be. I probably passed through the same shopping centre a few times on my way to & from the train.
Glenn Aylett
April 1, 2023 at 10:59 am
East Kilbride was a planned town, rather like Cumbernauld further east, but not as grim. Also being close to Glasgow meant it was popular with commuters.