Adam Adamant Lives! (partially lost BBC children's TV series; 1966-1967): Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
(I Will Finish These Edits Off Tomorrow Afternoon, Wait Till Then, Added Season 1 (And 2) Table, Will Add Info About Pilot Ep.) |
||
Line 13: | Line 13: | ||
The series became a cult hit and was massively influential. The show was supposedly an attempt by the BBC to enjoy the same huge success as ''The Avengers''<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/classic/adamant/intro.shtml</ref> (another British TV show from the 1960s with many missing episodes), and Adam Adamant himself was very much based around the Doctor from another British classic, ''Doctor Who.'' (in fact, ''Adam Adamant'''s show-runners were Sydney Newman and Verity Lambert, the former having been responsible for getting both ''Doctor Who'' and ''The Avengers'' off the ground in the first place, and the latter having written for ''Doctor Who'' extensively.) | The series became a cult hit and was massively influential. The show was supposedly an attempt by the BBC to enjoy the same huge success as ''The Avengers''<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/classic/adamant/intro.shtml</ref> (another British TV show from the 1960s with many missing episodes), and Adam Adamant himself was very much based around the Doctor from another British classic, ''Doctor Who.'' (in fact, ''Adam Adamant'''s show-runners were Sydney Newman and Verity Lambert, the former having been responsible for getting both ''Doctor Who'' and ''The Avengers'' off the ground in the first place, and the latter having written for ''Doctor Who'' extensively.) | ||
Due to the BBC poorly archiving and | Due to the BBC poorly archiving and cataloguing the majority of their television programs from the 1950s and 1960s, thirteen episodes are missing in their entirety. The BBC (through their Archive Treasure Hunt campaign) urges any member of the public to come forward with home video recordings so that the missing episodes can be restored and released to home media. | ||
The 2006 PAL DVD release has all seventeen surviving episodes,<ref>http://www.amazon.co.uk/Adam-Adamant-Lives-Complete-Collection/dp/B0006GVKB6</ref> spread over five discs. The show is also available ripped on YouTube.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCafDjhpj4ajaK76bR2L9WEQ</ref> | The 2006 PAL DVD release has all seventeen surviving episodes,<ref>http://www.amazon.co.uk/Adam-Adamant-Lives-Complete-Collection/dp/B0006GVKB6</ref> spread over five discs. The show is also available ripped on YouTube.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCafDjhpj4ajaK76bR2L9WEQ</ref> | ||
==List of Episodes== | |||
{|class="wikitable" | |||
|- | |||
! Season | |||
! Name | |||
! Status | |||
! Original Air Date | |||
! Comment <ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Adamant_Lives!#Episode_list] 'List of Episodes on Wikipedia - Retrieved 09 October '19'</ref> | |||
|- | |||
| rowspan="12"| Season 1 | |||
| align=center|''A Vintage Year for Scoundrels'' | |||
| align=center|'''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLB2WFszjQU <span style="color:green;">Found]'''</span> | |||
| align=center|23 June 1966 | |||
| align=center|On DVD and YouTube | |||
|- | |||
| align=center|''Death Has a Thousand Faces'' | |||
| align=center|'''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTMdsAsE0pA&t=22s <span style="color:green;">Found]'''</span> | |||
| align=center|30 June 1966 | |||
| align=center|On DVD and YouTube | |||
|- | |||
| align=center|''More Deadly Than the Sword'' | |||
| align=center|'''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJqNma-t35I <span style="color:green;">Found]'''</span> | |||
| align=center|7 July 1966 | |||
| align=center|On DVD and YouTube | |||
|- | |||
| align=center|''The Sweet Smell of Disaster'' | |||
| align=center|'''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mu9Zx2MubS0 <span style="color:green;">Found]'''</span> | |||
| align=center|14 July 1966 | |||
| align=center|On DVD and YouTube | |||
|- | |||
| align=center|''Allah Is Not Always With You'' | |||
| align=center|'''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m05e4QJkr74 <span style="color:green;">Found]'''</span> | |||
| align=center|21 July 1966 | |||
| align=center|On DVD and YouTube | |||
|- | |||
| align=center|''The Terribly Happy Embalmers'' | |||
| align=center|'''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzWdQlG6T2A <span style="color:green;">Found]'''</span> | |||
| align=center|4 August 1966 | |||
| align=center|On DVD and YouTube | |||
|- | |||
| align=center|''To Set a Deadly Fashion'' | |||
| align=center|'''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oa2BLiBmX2k <span style="color:green;">Found]'''</span> | |||
| align=center|11 August 1966 | |||
| align=center|On DVD and YouTube | |||
|- | |||
| align=center|''The Last Sacrifice'' | |||
| align=center|'''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXS58VH1-2A <span style="color:green;">Found]'''</span> | |||
| align=center|18 August 1966 | |||
| align=center|On DVD and YouTube | |||
|- | |||
| align=center|''Sing a Song of Murder'' | |||
| align=center|'''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSS5eGHZtDc <span style="color:green;">Found]'''</span> | |||
| align=center|25 August 1966 | |||
| align=center|On DVD and YouTube (though of '''Lower Quality''') | |||
|- | |||
| align=center|''The Doomsday Plan'' | |||
| align=center|'''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOhHYsrZ5FI <span style="color:green;">Found]'''</span> | |||
| align=center|1 September 1966 | |||
| align=center|On DVD and YouTube | |||
|- | |||
| align=center| | |||
|} | |||
===Legacy=== | ===Legacy=== | ||
''Adam Adamant Lives!'' has remained a beloved cult classic over the years, and has gone on to inspire many. Two such examples include New Wave band Adam and The Ants (eventually shortened to just Adam Ant) in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and the ''Austin Powers'' film franchise was said to have been influenced by ''AAL!'''s plot and Gerald Harper's unique look while playing the titular character.<ref>http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/517661/index.html</ref> | ''Adam Adamant Lives!'' has remained a beloved cult classic over the years, and has gone on to inspire many. Two such examples include New Wave band Adam and The Ants (eventually shortened to just Adam Ant) in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and the ''Austin Powers'' film franchise was said to have been influenced by ''AAL!'''s plot and Gerald Harper's unique look while playing the titular character.<ref>http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/517661/index.html</ref> | ||
Line 25: | Line 88: | ||
*[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059963/ The IMDb page on ''Adam Adamant Lives!''] | *[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059963/ The IMDb page on ''Adam Adamant Lives!''] | ||
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Adamant_Lives! The Wikipedia page on ''Adam Adamant Lives!''] | *[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Adamant_Lives! The Wikipedia page on ''Adam Adamant Lives!''] | ||
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Adamant_Lives!#Episode_list] | |||
==References== | ==References== |
Revision as of 00:50, 9 October 2019
Adam Adamant Lives! was a live-action children's television show produced by the BBC, airing from the 3rd of June 1966 to the 25th of March 1967 for 30 episodes (including one unaired pilot) over two seasons.
Premise
The show starred Gerald Harper as the eponymous hero, a swashbuckling Edwardian adventurer who is cryogenically frozen by his nemesis, The Face, and wakes up in 1960s England, where everything has changed for him. He and his companion Georgina Jones (played by Juliet Harmer) go on adventures together, with the series taking a particularly satirical look at the 1960s culture Adam finds himself completely out of his depth in.
Availability and Reception
The series became a cult hit and was massively influential. The show was supposedly an attempt by the BBC to enjoy the same huge success as The Avengers[1] (another British TV show from the 1960s with many missing episodes), and Adam Adamant himself was very much based around the Doctor from another British classic, Doctor Who. (in fact, Adam Adamant's show-runners were Sydney Newman and Verity Lambert, the former having been responsible for getting both Doctor Who and The Avengers off the ground in the first place, and the latter having written for Doctor Who extensively.)
Due to the BBC poorly archiving and cataloguing the majority of their television programs from the 1950s and 1960s, thirteen episodes are missing in their entirety. The BBC (through their Archive Treasure Hunt campaign) urges any member of the public to come forward with home video recordings so that the missing episodes can be restored and released to home media.
The 2006 PAL DVD release has all seventeen surviving episodes,[2] spread over five discs. The show is also available ripped on YouTube.[3]
List of Episodes
Season | Name | Status | Original Air Date | Comment [4] |
---|---|---|---|---|
Season 1 | A Vintage Year for Scoundrels | Found | 23 June 1966 | On DVD and YouTube |
Death Has a Thousand Faces | Found | 30 June 1966 | On DVD and YouTube | |
More Deadly Than the Sword | Found | 7 July 1966 | On DVD and YouTube | |
The Sweet Smell of Disaster | Found | 14 July 1966 | On DVD and YouTube | |
Allah Is Not Always With You | Found | 21 July 1966 | On DVD and YouTube | |
The Terribly Happy Embalmers | Found | 4 August 1966 | On DVD and YouTube | |
To Set a Deadly Fashion | Found | 11 August 1966 | On DVD and YouTube | |
The Last Sacrifice | Found | 18 August 1966 | On DVD and YouTube | |
Sing a Song of Murder | Found | 25 August 1966 | On DVD and YouTube (though of Lower Quality) | |
The Doomsday Plan | Found | 1 September 1966 | On DVD and YouTube | |
Legacy
Adam Adamant Lives! has remained a beloved cult classic over the years, and has gone on to inspire many. Two such examples include New Wave band Adam and The Ants (eventually shortened to just Adam Ant) in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and the Austin Powers film franchise was said to have been influenced by AAL!'s plot and Gerald Harper's unique look while playing the titular character.[5]
BBC 4 ran a six-part documentary series on the show in 2008,[6] and Diamanda Hagan of Channel Awesome/TGWTG ran a retrospective series covering all of the surviving episodes.[7]
External Links
References
- ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/classic/adamant/intro.shtml
- ↑ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Adam-Adamant-Lives-Complete-Collection/dp/B0006GVKB6
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCafDjhpj4ajaK76bR2L9WEQ
- ↑ [1] 'List of Episodes on Wikipedia - Retrieved 09 October '19'
- ↑ http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/517661/index.html
- ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0074t1p
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOt8i0lTzwazb3bj-dDS42LvzoXQUXGIV