Patrick McAlinney

A forgotten history of Northern Ireland is unveiled through a journey into Ulster Television’s archives, and the rediscovery of the first locally-produced network drama, Boatman Do Not Tarry.

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A British television anthology of stories, often with sinister and wryly comedic undertones, and a twist at the end. With early episodes written and presented by Roald Dahl, the series featured a plethora of big name guest stars.

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Ria Parkinson is a bored housewife and mother. She spends her time daydreaming, and meets regularly with wealthy businessman Leonard to relieve the monotony. Husband Ben, a dentist and avid butterfly collector is oblivious to it all, and her unemployed grown up sons, who both live at home also have other things on their minds, especially girlfriends.

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Bless Me Father is a British sitcom starring Arthur Lowe, Daniel Abineri, Gabrielle Daye, Patrick McAlinney, David Ryall, Derek Francis and Sheila Keith. It was aired on ITV from 1978 until 1981 and described the adventures of an Irish Catholic priest, Father Charles Duddleswell and his young curate in the fictional parish of St. Jude's in suburban London. 21 episodes, written by Peter De Rosa, were aired. De Rosa wrote the books on which the series was based using the pseudonym of Neil Boyd which was also the name of the young curate character; Boyd also served as the narrator in the series of novels upon which the series was based. It was made for the ITV network by London Weekend Television. The series was set in 1950 and 1951 and marked a departure from the middle class 'bank manager' roles associated with Lowe such as that in Dad's Army. The other regular characters included Mrs Pring, the housekeeper, the hard-drinking Dr Daley, the non-religious neighbour Billy Buzzle, and abbess Reverend Mother Stephen.

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A 13-episode miniseries from Yorkshire Television, about Charles Dickens, by now an internationally renowned novelist, during an 1869 tour of America, looking back over his life.

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Immediately after their miscarriage, the US diplomat Robert Thorn adopts the newborn Damien without the knowledge of his wife. Yet what he doesn’t know is that their new son is the son of the devil.

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Kizzy is a six-part 1976 BBC television miniseries based on Rumer Godden's novel The Diddakoi. It starred Vanessa Furst as orphan traveller (or Romani girl) called Kizzy, who faces persecution, grief and loss in a hostile, close-knit village community.

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Comedy series set in Liverpool about an half-protestant/half-catholic family.

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Churchill's People is a British anthology series based on A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, Winston Churchill's four-volume history of Britain and its former colonies. 26 episodes were produced by the BBC and initially broadcast from 30 December 1974 to 23 June 1975.

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Three kids get mixed up with jewel thieves and stolen diamonds in a 24-hour road rally.

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Anthology series of half hour plays produced in BBC's Television Centre's studios.

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Play set in Northern Ireland about Carson and the setting up of the Stormont Government of 1918-1920, after strong protests by the Northern Irish Protestants against Home Rule and separation from Great Britain.

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John and his class visit the Tower of London, where he loses his pet mouse. He falls asleep during a lesson on electricity, but with some help, he learns about it, invades the Tower, and saves his pet.

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An anthology series produced by Thames Television, comprised of short mystery, suspense or crime adaptations featuring, as the title suggests, detectives who were literary contemporaries of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.

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Ace of Wands is a fantasy-based British children's television show broadcast on ITV between 1970 and 1972, created by Trevor Preston and Pamela Lonsdale and produced by Thames Television. The title, taken from the name of a Tarot card describes the principal character, called "Tarot" who combined stage magic with supernatural powers. Tarot has a pet Owl named Ozymandias, played by Fred Owl. The series ran for two seasons of thirteen episodes and a third season of twenty, with fourteen story arcs, in a similar manner to early Doctor Who. Many, if not all, of the first 26 episodes are believed to have been wiped, although the final season is intact.

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The Misfit is an ATV sitcom created by Roy Clarke, broadcast from 1970 to 1971 on ITV. Basil Allenby-Johnson returns from Colonial Malaya to an England just emerging from the swinging sixties, a home he no longer recognises.

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Oh, Brother! is a British situation comedy show on BBC television starring Derek Nimmo, which was broadcast between 1968 and 1970.

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A millionaire returns to Ireland and loses his gold nuggets before disappearing and sparking a gold rush.

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ITV Playhouse is a British comedy-drama TV series that ran from 1967 to 1983, which featured contributions from playwrights such as Dennis Potter, Rhys Adrian and Alan Sharp. The series began in black and white, but was later shot in colour and was produced by various companies for the ITV network, a format that would inspire Dramarama. Actors appearing in the series included Leslie Anderson, Gwen Nelson, Ricky Alleyne, Pat Heywood, Michael Elphick, Ian Hendry, Edward Woodward, Margaret Lockwood, Jessie Matthews and Lloyd Peters.

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Series of short plays from different regions of the British Isles.

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The Informer is a British crime drama series broadcast on ITV from August 1966 to December 1967. Created by John Whitney and Geoffrey Bellman, it stars Ian Hendry as former barrister Alex Lambert, disgraced and disbarred, who has to rebuild his life. He utilises his former contacts on both sides of the law to become a paid informer. Living well from the rewards paid by insurance companies, Lambert still has to hide his activities from both his wife and others behind a new persona in the guise as a business consultant. Two seasons were produced, totalling 21 episodes. Only two episodes are known to exist, the remainder presumably wiped.

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A completely lost BBC1 drama series centred on the King family, who love, live, fight and work around a harbour in the Thames estuary.

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This English follows the East End working-class Garnett family, headed by patriarch Alf, a reactionary working-class man who wields racist and anti-Socialist views. His long-suffering wife Else manages to keep things in control... for the most part. Their progressive daughter Rita lives with them, as does her Irish husband Mike, who, with an array of liberal worldviews, often quarrels with his father-in-law. It inspired the American show "All In The Family" and several other international variations on the same theme.

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Theatre 625 is a British television drama anthology series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC2 from 1964 to 1968. It was one of the first regular programmes in the line-up of the channel, and the title referred to its production and transmission being in the higher-definition 625-line format, which only BBC2 used at the time.

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Story Parade specialized in adaptations of modern novels. It was broadcast on June 5, 1964 and repeated on August 28, 1964. The teleplay was by Terry Nation (who invented "Blake's 7" and the Daleks in Dr. Who), and Elijah Baley was played by the late Peter Cushing. It also starred John Carson John Carson as R. Daneel Olivaw and Kenneth J. Warren. The master tapes of the program were erased, however a few clips from the production have turned up in various documentaries about Isaac Asimov's work.

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An anthology of single plays offering up adaptations of either of prominent stage plays or novels.

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Pulled from actual case histories and utilizing newsreel and documented narratives, the activities of spies from various countries are depicted as far back as the American Revolution and as recent as the Cold War.

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The Human Jungle is a British TV series about a psychiatrist, made for ABC Television by the small production company Independent Artists for transmission on ITV. Starring Herbert Lom, it ran for two series which were first transmitted during 1963 and 1965.

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Simon Templar is The Saint, a handsome, sophisticated, debonair, modern-day Robin Hood who recovers ill-gotten wealth and redistributes it to those in need.

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'Zero One' is the call sign of the International Air Security Board, an international security network dedicated to the safety of air travel all around the world, with its HQ at London Airport. Airline detective Alan Garnett is called upon to combat hijackers and smugglers, prevent disasters, and generally preserve peace in the air and at airports.

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A kid-friendly take on the exploits of King Richard the Lion Heart, from his participation in the Crusades, to his capture in Austria, to his final return to England.

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Sir Francis Drake was a British adventure television series starring Terence Morgan as Sir Francis Drake, commander of the sailing ship the Golden Hind. As well as battles at sea, sword fights, the series also deals with intrigue at Elizabeth's court, often caused by Spaniard, Mendoza.

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Butler and Robinson have to track down a saboteur at an atomic research station before it is too late.

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According to the officer's handbook, 'an officer will perform whatever task confronts him with whatever men are available' and for Major Bell the men in question are drunks, thieves and deserters. With the German army closing in on his company's position, Major Bell undertakes a suicidal mission to blow up a bridge of strategic importance to the enemy. His only help will come in the form of a rag-tag band of army rejects who must become heroes if they are to fulfil their mission and come back alive.

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An obsessed man returns to claim the woman he loves.

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