British Invaders 224: Ghost Stories for Christmas (Part 1)
December 6, 2015 Leave a Comment
It’s time for our annual discussion of the BBC’s excellent A Ghost Story for Christmas productions! This time, we’re looking at The Stalls of Barchester (1971) and Lost Hearts (1973). Please join us to talk about some spooky stories by M.R. James!
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The Boy from Space was an educational serial that ran as part of the Look and Read series under the BBC’s Television for Schools banner. It was first broadcast in 1971 and in a reformatted version in 1980. 
Dracula was a 1968 adaptation of Bram Stoker’s classic novel for the ITV series Mystery and Imagination. 
Misfits sees a group of young petty criminals being given special powers in a strange storm. What will they do with their new abilities? Will they ever grow up? This series combines science fiction, character drama and super-hero satire! 
Dick Spanner, P.I. featured a robotic detective prowling the streets in a strange alternate reality. This a 1980s science fiction and film-noire parody was a stop-motion animation series produced by Gerry Anderson and Christopher Burr.
Fireball XL5 was a 1962 “Supermarionation” series from Gerry Anderson. The crew of the Fireball XL5 go on regular missions into space for the World Space Patrol! 
Doctor Who has regularly appeared in comic strips from 1964 through to the present day. During the years that Doctor Who did not have a regular series on television (1989 – 2005), the Seventh and Eighth Doctors had some exciting coverage in comic strips (as did the earlier Doctors). Even newer things would happen when Doctor Who returned to TV in 2005! 
Astronauts was a 1980s ITV comedy that put three people and a dog on a space station. How will these conflicting personalities survive in a small confined space for six months? Is it funny? 
City Beneath the Sea and Secret Beneath the Sea were ITV serials from the 1960s. Mark Bannerman and Peter Blake find themselves in a strange underwater base. Can they trust the mysterious man who is running it? 
King of the Castle was a 1977 ITV children’s serial. Roland is struggling at school and is bullied near his home. A fall down a broken lift puts him on a journey through a strange and surreal world. 
The Fades was a 2011 BBC serial about supernatural ghost-like creatures. Can a teenager called Paul turn the tides in the battle against the dead? 
Red Shift was a 1978 BBC Play for Today that dealt with three young men living in different time-periods. Strangely, they seem to be connected through items, ideas and even physical ailments. 
Paradox was a 2009 BBC police series that saw pictures from the future arriving in the present. Can future crimes be solved before they happen? 
The Champions was a 1960s spy series from the ITC production company. Craig Stirling, Sharron Macready and Richard Barrett are granted super-human abilities after a strange experience in the Himalayas. How will they use their new skills? 
Frankenstein is a very faithful 1968 adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic novel. When Victor Frankenstein combines modern science with ancient mysticism, he creates something both intelligent and dangerous. 
Sky was a 1975 ITV serial about a strange teenage boy who appears without explanation. Sky appears to be battling the mysterious Goodchild, but who are they? Why are they here? 
Kinvig was 1981 science fiction comedy from the acclaimed writer Nigel Kneale. Repair man Des Kinvig discovers a battle between alien races. Can he help to save the peaceful aliens that live inside the planet Mercury? 
An Adventure in Space and Time was a docudrama that covered the origins of Doctor Who. This time, we discuss this 50th anniversary show and continue to look at the two 1960s Dalek films. This concludes our look at Doctor Who spinoffs into film and docudrama media. 
Doctor Who became very popular in the 1960s when the Daleks were introduced. This time we discuss the two cinematic adaptations: Dr. Who and the Daleks from 1965 and Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150AD from 1966. In part 2 we will look at the 2013 docudrama An Adventure in Space and Time. 
The Secret Service was a 1969 series from Gerry Anderson that mixed puppets with live-action footage. Father Stanley Unwin and his gardner Mathew are spies. A remarkable device reduces Mathew to one-third of normal size. Father Unwin and Mathew can go places where few others can…. 
The Deep was a five-part BBC serial from 2010. The scientific research submarine Orpheus investigates the sea-floor of the Arctic Ocean. The crew also follows the path of the Hermes, an earlier submarine that did not return. What will these explorers find beneath the sea? What happened to the Hermes? Why are foreign governments and agencies so interested in these missions?