The mystery of Z-CARS in TV Terrors Forum

0 Points

Forum Jump

The mystery of Z-CARS

Author	Comment
Shonokin	The mystery of Z-CARS	Lead	[-]
May 11 12 3:20 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Just wondering if anyone has watched and or enjoyed this BBC classic? There's one episode and some snippets on youtube. Like Doctor Who of that era, it is missing many episodes though there are still apparently many hundreds surviving. But strangely it seems to not be on DVD at all?!? Seems like there's some VHS floating around but it's odd such a well-known classic would not have some sort of DVD representation. -Shonokin The Pulp Reader
Earl B		#1	[-]
May 11 12 4:34 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I've long been intrigued by Z-CARS (having heard it repeatedly referered to on DOCTOR WHO DVDs), and the brief clips I've seen have impressed me (sucker for early TV that I am). I've read somewhere that, in addition to being a police drama, it was something of a soap (i.e. continued storylines threading their way through everal episodes). No idea if that's correct, but that may explain why there's no video collection. But at least a "Best Of" or sampler would be nice to see. Or maybe it's just a rights issue (gotta get clearances from everybody). Thanks for the heads up about YouTube. I've never seen an entire episode.
Count Murco		#2	[-]
May 11 12 5:45 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Growing up in the UK in the 60's , Z cars was a massive deal to most young kids , I still remember getting for Christmas a Z cars police set comprising of hand cuffs , whistle and I think a cosh ! It seemed to be on for ever in my young years and had plenty of top tv stars appearing in it .It was far higher profile back then compared to say Dr.Who and to this day the theme tune is still played at Everton football club in the EPL as their theme tune. I think what episodes that are left are in a very poor condition , all the episodes were filmed on video tape so expect a quality similar to Steptoe and son if the BBC ever get their act together and release anything. Does anyone remember the 6 episode spin off where two of the Z car detectives tried to hunt down Jack the ripper ? that theme music use to freak me out !! . Last Edited By: Count Murco May 11 12 6:04 PM. Edited 2 times.
Shonokin		#3	[-]
May 11 12 9:50 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	You're welcome Earl B. I watched the episode on youtube today and was pretty impressed. I'd say it was almost a cross between hard boiled police procedural and film noir, with a gripping story that is sadly still relevant today. Also, if you are a Doctor Who fan and a sucker for old tv shows, you might want to check out Pathfinders in Space and City Under the Sea, both produced by Doctor Who's Sidney Newman and co-written by Malcolm Hulke. There's a sadly ignored thread for it here: http://monsterkidclassich...-Fi-series-coming-to-DVD Count Murco, thanks for your recollections! I love hearing stuff like this. As for the Jack the Ripper miniseries I think I've actually found all six episodes here (under the name "Barlow and Watts" (sp): http://www.veoh.com/list/c/jacktherippervaults Since it's also not available anywhere on dvd (that I could find) I hope it is okay to post that link here. I've had to search out some "collector's DVDs" to get another 30 or so episodes. Looking forward to checking that when it shows up. -Shonokin The Pulp Reader
Helrunar		#4	[-]
May 11 12 10:51 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I've heard references to this series for years (and I mean twenty plus years) but learned more about it just now reading through this topic than I ever knew before. Thanks! H.
Earl B		#5	[-]
May 11 12 10:55 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Wow - I remember (vaguely) the Jack The Ripper series. It was back in the earliest days of cable TV - when, aside from Home Box Office (as it was called then), the channel selection consisted mainly of broadcast stations from other cities. The series was run nightly for a week on WNEW ch 5 in New York City (I watched it on cable upstate in Schenectady). My memory's a little sketchy - this was probably 1975-76 or thereabouts - but I do remember feeling cheated at the end, when they didn't catch him (of course, being 13 years old, I wasn't as aware of the actual case in to any real extent). Thanks for dislodging that old memory!
madeleymade		#6	[-]
May 12 12 3:45 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I'm sixteen, and I know what Z-Cars is, probably because it was a very influential series. Brian 'Vultan off Flash Gordon' Blessed was one of the original stars.
Servant of Legendre		#7	[-]
May 12 12 5:38 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I don't ever remember watching it as a kid, but the theme tune is like one of those theme tunes I just seemed to be born having in my head! As kids at primary school we used to whistle it ever time we saw a policeman, just to annoy them.
WalesGuy		#8	[-]
May 12 12 6:06 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The theme tune pops up when Harry H Corbett is in his "police car" in CARRY ON SCREAMING
Count Murco		#9	[-]
May 12 12 7:45 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	How about Z cars chief rival of that time ??? http://youtu.be/MKB34LPhiGQ
madeleymade		#10	[-]
May 12 12 1:46 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Of course, evenin' all. At least he was immortal. Ever seen The Blue Lamp? How about a Coronatio nStreet thread?
Count Murco		#11	[-]
May 12 12 1:55 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	madeleymade wrote: Of course, evenin' all. At least he was immortal. Ever seen The Blue Lamp? How about a Coronatio nStreet thread? "Ever seen The Blue Lamp?" - Yes " How about a Coronatio nStreet thread? " - No ! I know this is called TV terrors but thats just to scary !
WalesGuy		#12	[-]
May 12 12 2:51 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Some Dixon of Dock Green episodes are heading to DVD soon. That was one of my gran's favourite shows - she adored Jack Warner.
Helrunar		#13	[-]
May 13 12 12:49 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Wow, I am really curious to see Dixon of Dock Green. A lot of my favorite Brit thesps guested on it, but of course, who knows which shows survive for release. Thanks, Wales Guy! H.
WalesGuy		#14	[-]
May 13 12 11:37 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Wikipedia gives a list of how many shows from each season survive, but not the episode titles themselves. http://www.amazon.co.uk/D...F8&qid=1336970235&sr=1-1 First 6 colour episodes are being released first.
Count Murco		#15	[-]
May 14 12 12:06 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The B/W "Dixons" were far better IMHO than the later colour one's .
John Van Helsing		#16	[-]
May 15 12 1:31 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	In the final episode of Z Cars there was a nostalgic scene where a number of old actors from the show returned for a ludicrous moment asking directions (one of them was Brian Blessed) JVH
Kilgour		#17	[-]
May 15 12 7:23 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I was an avid Z CARS viewer in the 60s and 70s (the series went off air for a few years in the mid-60s when a spin-off series called SOFTLY, SOFTLY started then it returned in a more soapy format two episodes a week) and have countless fond memories of it. I also recall the last episode when former regulars turned up in different brief cameos plus Frank Windsor returned as Watt and John (The Mummy's Shroud) Phillips as the Chief Constable. The final scene was like a curtain falling, as the police station's security shutter slowly lowered, ending the series. For a series which started out as a live programme, very earthy and gritty, showing policemen hitting their girlfriends, etc., it was quite a surreal finish.
Shonokin		#18	[-]
May 15 12 12:22 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Some other things of Z Cars interest... Troy Kennedy Martin, the original series scribe went on to write the screenplay for THE ITALIAN JOB and later the miniseries EDGE OF DARKNESS. And surprisingly to me, the script for KELLY'S HEROES. For the links, if you have amazon prime, you can watch for free on amazon's streaming videos. Doctor Who expert David Brunt has written a book or two on Z Cars, with the first one, representing the first few seasons, supposedly coming out sometime this year. I am still asking around at other places to see if there is a reason why none of the episodes have ever come out on DVD. I even wrote to 2 Entertain, and I guess we'll see if they ever respond. And now I'm interested in looking into Dixon too. -Shonokin The Pulp Reader
Shonokin		#19	[-]
May 17 12 5:54 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	DVDs showed up and I've watched four episodes so far and all of them have been really, and surprisingly good. I was expecting the episode on youtube that introduced me to the show to be really good and fool me into thinking it was good all the way around but then turning out to not shine all the way through. But so far I'm impressed! Very well-written human drama and cop pot boiler mixed together. Also, since I like to read up on stuff I'm watching, I found a pretty easily accessible book called Beyond Dixon of Dock Green: Early British Police Series which has a lengthy chapter on Z Cars and another on Softly, Softly. Looking foward to that now too. -Shonokin The Pulp Reader Last Edited By: Shonokin May 17 12 5:56 PM. Edited 1 times.
Shonokin		#20	[-]
May 18 12 12:03 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I actually got a response from BBC and here is what they say: Thank you for your recent communication regarding the availability of the above programme on DVD. I am sorry to have to disappoint you but upon investigation I can confirm that we have no immediate plans to clear and release this title on DVD. I’m unsure as to the reason, I expect it’s due to the low expectations we have at it being a successful DVD in the current market. However your correspondence will be kept on file as each quarter we review public enquiries and often revisit titles which are frequently requested. We appreciate all of the feedback that we receive from the viewing public, so thank you again for your correspondence. So if this is something you want to see ever hitting the light of day, it may only come from audience requests. If you want to see it happen spread the word and have your friends, and friends of friends contact the BBC and let them know! Contact them at http://www.bbcworldwide.com/contact-us.aspx#dvd The direct email addy is DVDenquiryline@bbc.com -Shonokin The Pulp Reader

<< Previous Topic Next Topic >>

Add Reply

Yuku free message boards

The mystery of Z-CARS

The mystery of Z-CARS