British Invaders 172: Ghost Stories for Christmas (Part 2)
December 22, 2013 Leave a Comment
BBC1 ran A Ghost Story for Christmas annually throughout most of the 1970s. We discuss the last three stories of the 1970s run: The Signalman, Stigma and The Ice House. Let’s talk about some spooky stories for the season!
Please send us your comments, questions, requests and complaints. You can reach us at britishinvaders@gmail.com, and you can find us on the British Invaders Facebook Group. British Invaders is an audio podcast that discusses television shows. We do not distribute the shows themselves.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:27 — 20.9MB)
Subscribe: RSS
Blake’s 7 was a classic BBC TV series that ran in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In the distant future, Blake, Avon and their crew rebel against the oppressive Federation with a single powerful starship. Blake’s 7 has been adapted for audio several times. This time, we discuss some of the great audio releases from Big Finish Productions.
The first episode of Doctor Who was originally broadcast on November 23, 1963 — 50 years ago today! Doctor Who would become a classic, and it is still being produced today. Join us as we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the quintessential British Science Fiction series!
Ghostwatch was a 1992 BBC show that was presented as a live broadcast. Well known TV personalities searched for evidence of ghosts. The broadcast was highly controversial and drew some criticism from unusual places….
The Doombolt Chase is a 1978 ITV children’s adventure serial. What is Doombolt and how is it threatening England?
Dirk Gently was a BBC Four series inspired by the works of Douglas Adams. These brand-new stories draw on the characters and ideas from Douglas Adams’ novels. Time travel, synthetic intelligence and murder all feature in this science-fiction comedy detective series!
Star Maidens was a British-German co-production from the 1976. The planet Medusa is drifting through our solar system. Two men from this female-dominated planet flee to Earth. How will Humans and Medusans react to each other?
Episode 1 of The Quatermass Experiment was first broadcast on July 18, 1953 — 60 years ago today! The Quatermass serials would become some of the most influential television programs from the UK. Join us as we celebrate the anniversary of this classic.
Karaoke and Cold Lazarus were the final serials written by Dennis Potter. What will the memories of a twentieth-century writer tell the people of the distant future? How will these memories be used?
Noah’s Castle was a 1980 ITV serial about the collapse of society. The police and military take to the streets in riot gear and food hoarding is outlawed. The Mortimers are tucked away in a fortified house with no small amount of food….
Undermind was a 1965 series about people’s actions being controlled by a mysterious outside influence. Is it an outside power trying to destabilize society?
Outcasts was a BBC series from 2011 that followed a group of human colonists on the planet Carpathia. They deal with the hostile environment, the divisive politics and the mistakes of the past. Has something else been waiting for the people on Carpathia?
Gerry & Sylvia Anderson produced a number of puppet-based “Supermarionation” TV series in the 1960s. They went on to produce live action series in the 1970s. Most of these have been adapted as comic books. Some of them are still being released. We now conclude our discussion of the Anderson comics!
The Invisible Man was a BBC adaptation of the classic H.G. Wells novel. This six-part serial was unusually faithful to the original 1897 novel.
Crooked House was a 2008 BBC ghost story written and produced by Mark Gatiss. The three connected episodes told the strange story of a very old house called Geap Mannor.
Danger Mouse was an ITV cartoon series that ran from 1981 to 1992. Danger Mouse is the world’s greatest secret agent! Penfold is his faithful and bumbling assistant! Colonel K sends them on missions to thwart the plans of the evil Baron Greenback!
The Last Enemy was a futuristic spy thriller first broadcast on the BBC in 2008. When Stephen Ezard returns to England, he realizes that much has changed. How extreme are the new surveillance and ID card systems? Is he being tracked? What does this have to do with a disease outbreak and an explosion in Afganistan?
Captain Scarlet & The Mysterons was a Gerry Anderson “Supermarionation” show that was broadcast on ITV in the 1960s. Mysterious aliens wage a war to avenge themselves after humans attack Mars. Who are these alien Mysterons? Can the Spectrum organisation stop them?
Frankenstein was an adaptation of the Mary Shelley novel, but this version featured a female Doctor Frankenstein. Victoria Frankenstein accidentally creates a living creature, but what does she do next?
Out of the Unknown was a 1960s and 1970s BBC series that adapted stories from some of the great science fiction writers of the time. Space travel, time travel, parallel realities and psychological programming all appeared in this anthology series.
Hammer House of Horror was an anthology series from Hammer Film Studios. This ITV show brought us a wide variety of horror stories in modern settings. It featured monsters, haunted objects, psychological manipulation and more!