Golden Sunsets - 50 Years Of Memories - Part 20 - 1986

We love you. That's why we're here...

1986:

The trivia:

• As a fundraising publicity stunt for the "United Way" charity, organisers released one and a half million balloons into the skies above Cleveland, Ohio. Unfortunately it all went disastrously wrong when the balloons clogged roads and waterways, shut down an airport runway, and forced the Coast Guard to suspend the search for two missing fishermen, who sadly ended up drowning. Multiple damage claims were made for millions of dollars.
• The cult dark comedy fantasy "Troll" stars Noah Hathaway (more famous as Atreyu in "The NeverEnding Story") as a character named Harry Potter Jnr. He is introduced to a hidden world of magic by a mysterious old woman who lives in the apartment upstairs. Just conicidental similarities to the J.K. Rowling publishing phenomenon? The producers of "Troll" don't think so...
• An estimated 30 million people tuned into a two-hour television special to watch star Geraldo Rivera open a secret vault beneath the Lexington Hotel supposedly owned by crime lord Al Capone. Hyped to possibly hold dead bodies or vast sums of cash, it actually turned out to be completely bare - except for a few empty bottles.

The memory:

A Very Peculiar Practice

Famously only written by Andrew Davies because he discovered he owed the BBC £17,000, this darkly comic satire is probably the finest thing actor Peter Davison has ever been part of (and that includes Doctor Who). Set in the fictional Lowlands University, "A Very Peculiar Practice" sees Davison play the painfully shy, mild mannered and idealistic Stephen Daker who joins the campus medical centre. All he wants is to make people better and get through the day. But instead of a set of highly professional colleagues, Daker discovers he has walked into a practice on the verge of collapse. 

At it's head is the booze-soaked Jock McCannon, played with feverish relish by the incredible Graham Crowden. Jock used to be a good doctor but now is disillusioned and apoplectic about the changes planned by the university Vice Chancellor, Ernest Hemingway (no, not that one), who Jock is convinced has it in for him.  Dictating his mythological treatise on the ills of modern life - "The Sick University" - into a tape recorder, Jock also bemoans his loss of virility, purpose, ability to cure and the crushing inevitability of his own demise.

Alongside this old retainer is the arrogant, constantly underachieving Alan Sugar wanabee Bob Buzzard - always one step away from a hyper active nervous breakdown. It's a role that was made for David Troughton. Bob has no interest in his patients, seeing them as an unpleasant distraction from his goals of climbing the corporate ladder. His scheming and sycophantic attempts to better his lot in life provide many of the best elements of humour.

The final piece in the Lowlands medical jigsaw is the white-coated Nurse Rose Marie played by Barbara Flynn. A radical ultra-feminist bisexual who believes that men are the root of all that is wrong with the world, she also oozes a powerful sexuality and manages to tie poor Doctor Daker (and any watching red-blooded males) in confused knots.

In between coping with the oddball behaviour of his fellow doctor's, Daker tries to support the student's emotional well-being, cure the faculty of their various malady's, handle the outbreak of an STD *and* deal with the machinations of the amoral Hemingway - who just wants to cut funding and earn tons of cash from foreign students. He also begins a tentative relationship with research student (and police woman) Lyn Turtle, who helps him overcome his touch phobias.

Series two sees the university purchased by smooth American Jack Daniels and his defence-contract buddies, who have an eye on stopping all that annoying ‘learning’ nonsense and turning the site into a pure research facility. Lyn has left to go back to the police force and Daker instead gets involved with feisty Polish art student Grete Grotowska.

The series is a biting satire on the state of British society as much as a character piece and is full of wonderful guest appearances from a bevy of British actors - including a very young Hugh Grant. There is a surrealist element to proceedings too - most prominently with the ever more bizarre antics of two unnamed and silent nuns, who are always digging through the rubbish bins, speeding round the campus in a Mini and getting drunk. The nuns seem to be like the ravens at the Tower of London - if they leave, the university dies. Andrew Davies even writes himself into the narrative, in the form of Ron Rust, a creative writing tutor who owes a large sum of money so tries to pen a television series based on Lowlands, The problem is, every outlandish idea he comes up with keeps coming true! 

The final moments are terribly bleak yet oddly fitting with what has come before and testament to the over-riding vision of the series sole writer. Davies wrote over the top characters and some of the situations could even be deemed as farcical, but every single episode was wonderfully enjoyable. Again this was one of those shows which I recorded off the TV onto video tape and watched repeatedly - in fact I don't think I found anything else quite as special outside of the SF and Fantasy genres until Alan Bleasdale's "G.B.H" in 1991.

1992 brought a sequel TV movie "A Very Polish Practice". While it was nice to see Stephen Daker and Greta and mad Bob Buzzard once more, outside of the university setting something was missing. and I've no real desire to watch it again, even with a supporting actors of the calibre of Alfred Molina. I'll stick with the twelve episodes of mad brilliance 

Honourable mentions:

• Comic Relief Utterly Utterly Live - The first (and some would say the best) "Comic Relief" event was a stage show in the style of the Amnesty International "Secret Policeman's Ball" at the Shaftsbury Theatre on three consecutive nights in early April 1986. Featuring a host of alternative comedians, celebrities and musical stars it was hugely popular, especially as the four stars of the BBC's "The Young Ones" performed their number one single "Living Doll" alongside the one and only Cliff Richard. Other highlights included Lenny Henry grinding against a poor audience member as Theophilus P, Wilderbeest, Ben Elton doing his "Train" set and for me, the gorgeous Kate Bush singing "Do Bears Shhhh... In The Woods" with Rowan Atkinson.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns - Frank Miller's alternate-world take on a much older, embittered Bruce Wayne and his return to the role that he has abandoned after the death of Robin. The world is a more violent frightening place, Superman has become a pawn of the government. and mutant gangs are on the rampage. Credited for ushering in the "dark" age of comic books and influencing a generation of new writers, Miller's most famous work is a politically-charged read that still stands up today (the various sequels less so...), My personal memory is being in my local comic shop as that week's new releases were un-boxed and we all gazed in wonder at this new "prestige " format with its square binding and glossy pages. It was the start of a new age of graphic storytelling, and I was there at the beginning.

• Crossroads - Not the terrible ITV soap opera, but the musical drama starring former "Karate Kid" Ralph Macchio. The film was inspired by blues guitar pioneer Robert Johnson, specifically the legend that he sold his soul to the devil at a crossroads in order to play better than anyone else - and also that there was a "missing song" that no-one had ever discovered. It's not the world's greatest story - at the core it's still the tale of a young man's relationship with an older montor (much like Macchio's previous successes) - but the performances and the "supernatural" elements help keep it fresh and watchable. What has mainly kept it alive in my memory though is the music. I've always been a fan of blues and talented artists such as Johnson, John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters - right up to more modern day players such as Eric Clapton or Chris Rea. In "Crossroads" the score comes from accomplished guitarist Ry Cooder and it's just wonderful. The final duelling guitars scene with a performance from Steve Vai is also worthy of particular praise. I seem to have a liking for musical takes on the "battle with the devil" motif, as two other guilty pleasures are 1979's "The Devil Went Down To Georgia" by the Charles Daniels Band and 1975's "Spanish Train" by Chris de Burgh (hey - don't judge til you've heard it...)

• Dice Man - A short-lived spin-off from 2000 AD that aped the "Fighting Fantasy" choose-your-own-adventure stories but in comic strip form. Readers had to jump between pages and panels dependant on decisions they made from the multiple choice options - either progressing through the adventure or dying a horrible death. Featuring 2000 AD stalwarts such as Judge Dredd, Nemesis and Slaine plus original characters, I loved it mainly due to the simply stunning artwork from the likes of Bryan Talbot, Kev O' Neill, Steve Dillon, David Lloyd and others.

• Biggles : Adventures In Time - Take a World War I flying ace who started in nearly 100 novels and stories. Mix in a dash of "Raiders of the Lost Ark". Add a large pinch of "Back to the Future" or even 1979s "Time After Time". What you get is this hodge-podge of a movie which if I'm honest is not the greatest thing in the world but still has a big place in my affections. Salesman Jim Ferguson (Alex Hyde-White) falls through time to 1917 and inadvertently saves the life of pilot James Bigglesworth (Neil Dickinson). The pair then find themselves flung backwards and forwards in time whenever the other is in danger - all the while trying to stop the Germans changing the course of history. Chiefly remembered now as being the last ever screen appearance by Peter Cushing, it's a great little movie. Just overlook the holes and go with the flow. A very 80s theme song and OTT soundtrack from "Yes" frontman Jon Anderson too. Dickinson even ended up reprising his performance as Biggles (sort of) in the Pet Shop Boys 1987 musical "It Couldn't Happen Here", while amongst many other things, Hyde-White went on to play Mr. Fantastic in Roger Corman's unreleased version of "The Fantastic Four".

• Watchmen - It's undeniably Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons's masterpiece and the comic book that changed the face of the industry forever (some would say not for the better) - so much so that even now it''s being used as a springboard for DC's latest relaunch. If you want to show non comics readers that the medium can be so much more than just superhero slug-fests, don't show them this. There are a hundred and one other excellent titles out there. To fully appreciate "Watchmen" I think you need to have at least some understanding of the comics form, because as well as a significant piece of literature and a logical extension of the "what if superheroes were real" concept, it's also a love letter to the way comics work. At the time of original publication I admit to being addicted to the series and bought every version and piece of merchandise going (yes even the smiley face watch) The "squid " ending is still poor though.