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30 Days of TV - Day 13
Jun. 2nd, 2010 08:14 am
( The Days )
Day 13 - Favorite childhood show
Dick Turpin was written by the same man responsible for Robin of Sherwood: Richard carpenter. IMDB says it began in 1979 and other sources agree, but that doesn't match my memory. I remember watching this show with my Dad and he died in April '79. Even if it aired in January '79, he would surely have been too sick by then to watch it with me.
But, memory issues aside, this was a really great television drama. First thing to note is that it's more a re-imagining of the legend than historically accurate. The real Dick Turpin was not a nice person, he didn't ride a horse called Black Bess and he certainly didn't ride from London to York in a night (that was someone else). He was hanged in 1739, in York.
This series begins a year later, 1740, with the premise that the man hanged in York was an imposter using Turpin's name and reputation. The "real" Dick Turpin returns to his old haunt in the south. He's a good guy who was forced into military service as a young man and who found on his return that the unscrupulous local landowner (with the Dickensian name Sir John Glutton) has stolen the land he should have inherited from his father. This forces him into highway robbery, but he has a bit of Robin Hood about him. In the first episode, he gets involved with an attempt to rescue a young lad who bungles a robbery in an attempt to steal money to save his mother's home, and winds up with an unwanted "apprentice". And that's your setup for three seasons of great, family entertainment.
I loved this show. I still do - they finally released the DVDs a few years back and it stands up remarkably well. Oh, you can see it was filmed on a low budget and the film isn't exactly up to DVD quality. The choreography of the fight and chase scenes looks forced to an eye accustomed to modern stunts and hand-held camera techniques. But the writing and the performances are still good.
( The Characters )
Day 13 - Favorite childhood show
Dick Turpin was written by the same man responsible for Robin of Sherwood: Richard carpenter. IMDB says it began in 1979 and other sources agree, but that doesn't match my memory. I remember watching this show with my Dad and he died in April '79. Even if it aired in January '79, he would surely have been too sick by then to watch it with me.
But, memory issues aside, this was a really great television drama. First thing to note is that it's more a re-imagining of the legend than historically accurate. The real Dick Turpin was not a nice person, he didn't ride a horse called Black Bess and he certainly didn't ride from London to York in a night (that was someone else). He was hanged in 1739, in York.
This series begins a year later, 1740, with the premise that the man hanged in York was an imposter using Turpin's name and reputation. The "real" Dick Turpin returns to his old haunt in the south. He's a good guy who was forced into military service as a young man and who found on his return that the unscrupulous local landowner (with the Dickensian name Sir John Glutton) has stolen the land he should have inherited from his father. This forces him into highway robbery, but he has a bit of Robin Hood about him. In the first episode, he gets involved with an attempt to rescue a young lad who bungles a robbery in an attempt to steal money to save his mother's home, and winds up with an unwanted "apprentice". And that's your setup for three seasons of great, family entertainment.
I loved this show. I still do - they finally released the DVDs a few years back and it stands up remarkably well. Oh, you can see it was filmed on a low budget and the film isn't exactly up to DVD quality. The choreography of the fight and chase scenes looks forced to an eye accustomed to modern stunts and hand-held camera techniques. But the writing and the performances are still good.
( The Characters )
