In the beginning (if you call 1962 the beginning), there was
Z Cars. Z Cars was a series about the work of mobile uniformed police in
the fictional town of Newtown. This series was very successful but came to the
end of its original run in 1965. Two characters from the original series were
considered so successful that they were moved over to another series that moved
away from uniformed police but onto regional crime squads and plain-clothed CID
(Criminal Investigation Department). These two gentlemen were Detective Chief
Inspector Charles Barlow and Detective Inspector John Watt. They are the first
regulars we ever see in Z Cars and
that was the start of a very long working relationship. The series that spun
off from Z Cars was Softly, Softly. The series name comes
from the proverb “softly, softly, catchee monkey”. Like Z Cars which came back in 1967, Softly, Softly did not have a straightforward run and the duo of
Barlow and Watt would be making appearances in other series beyond this one.
This week, I look at the fifth episode of the fifth series. Although it was not
the end of the series changes were coming up for the Softly, Softly.
Dead Aboard 9/10/69

This episode has some familiar faces that people who are not
obsessed with British television may recognize. This includes some of the main
cast. Charles Barlow is played by Stratford Johns. Not only has he appeared in
such programs as I, Claudius some
people may know him best as Monarch in the Doctor
Who story Four to Doomsday,
Belkov in Blake’s 7, and Mr.
Stockton in Neverwhere. Watt is
played by Frank Windsor who appeared in Doctor
Who as Ranulf in The King’s Demons
and as Inspector Mackenzie Ghost Light.
He also appeared in other series such as The
Avengers, The Goodies and I most
recently wrote about him in my article for A for Andromeda. There are also some familiar faces in the guest cast such as
Howard Lang who plays Captain Donaldson. He was immediately recognizable from
his appearance Horg in An Unearthly Child.

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The Screengrab on the left is from this Softly, Softly episode and from the right is from the Z Cars episode "Limping Rabbit". The timecodes are very different. |
Even though I mentioned that May is the month of final episodes to series, this episode from Softly, Softly is not that at all. It is the 5th episode of the fifth series. It is the last episode I have of this series in my collection. Though, technically even that is not true. The eleventh episode of the fifth series saw the show renamed as Softly, Softly: Taskforce. The entire series consisting of Softly, Softly & Softly, Softly: Taskforce lasted for 12 series and ended in 1976. Stratford Johns left Softly, Softly but stayed with the character of Charles Barlow for Barlow at Large in 1971. The series lasted until 1975. Frank Windsor stayed with Softly, Softly: Taskforce until the series end. The iconic characters of Barlow & Watt reunited one last time in 1976 for the series Second Verdict. This was a series where these two characters look at unsolved mysteries/cases and try to come to a verdict themselves. Among the cases they look at are Lizzie Borden and Who Burned the Reichstag. They first did this type of program in 1973 with a look at the case of Jack the Ripper. During all of this Z Cars was still on the air. Z Cars ended in 1978 after 800 episodes made and although the characters of Barlow and Watt never appeared together on TV again after Second Verdict, Windsor reprised his role of Watt in the final episode of Z Cars, Pressure.
Sadly with this year being the 50th anniversary
of Z Cars, it would have been nice
if these programs officially saw the light of day. Like I mentioned, a lot of
people may have never seen these programs but if you are into British
television, you probably have heard of them. Programs like Z Cars & Softly, Softly
are important to the history of British television. I understand how releases
of hundreds of episodes is daunting but
I think if a sample set is released of not just Z Cars but maybe a Barlow/Watt set including episodes from all of
the different series they appeared in would not go amiss and probably wouldn’t
sell as horrible as some people may think. These are good programs and they
should be seen by everyone.
Next week: This
is where I deliver the goods. This article really did not have anything to do
with final episodes but next week will. I will be writing about a theme night
where I watched the final episodes of Black
Adder Goes Forth, Man About the
House, The Good Life, Only Fools and Horses, Upstairs Downstairs, Yes Minister, and Blake’s 7. I will explain why I think all of these episodes are
great final episodes and why, in some cases, some people never learn when to
keep a final episode final!
Have a great week!
Do you have feedback, article requests or want to talk about a program but do not want to leave a public comment? Feel free to drop me an e-mail at FTA13867@gmail.com I am on Twitter: @FromtheArchive I still have 1 follower!
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4 comments:
Great post! Coincidentally I've just been getting into Z Cars for the first time. It got me wondering why there's no DVDs of what's left of the show (like the DW Lost in Time type sets). I asked around in forums and no one knew so I contacted BBCWorldwide. Their response was that they doubt there'd be a strong market for it. BUT they also said that every quarter they go through their email and consider the volume of requests. So I think the only way to see it come out is to have people write in.
Contact them at http://www.bbcworldwide.com/contact-us.aspx#dvd
The direct email addy is DVDenquiryline@bbc.com
Hi Shonokin,
Thank you for the comment. Also, thank you for letting us know the response from BBC Worldwide. I know I will be using that DVD e-mail address and bug them about these series!
Hi Greg, I've been spreading this message around. You might've seen it at Gallifrey Base recently. I'm surprised at how few people have said they would indeed contact the BBC to let them know there is still an audience for it. But prefer to just complain that the Beeb isn't doing anything with it.
If there is an interested audience, but do not feel inclined to show that interest in a proactive way (emailing BBC to let them know), I'm not sure what hope there is.
A bit frustrating dealing with human nature!
That's a shame that no one wants to bother them. I sent my e-mail in. Maybe I should do an article at some point about programs we want to see on DVD and how can we make it happen!
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