It seems the Beiderbecke series is like a bus, you wait years for it to appear on video and DVD and then several editions come along in quick succession. The first was released by Granada themselves and I managed to miss out on all but one series on VHS, then Cinema Club/2|Entertain released all three series as a set (and at a budget price) and now Network have issued the complete series 21st Anniversary Edition.
Of the three, the Network set wins hands down because not only has it got the Affair, the Tapes and the Connection, but it also has a host of never before released extras including the series Get Lost, the precursor to the Beiderbecke Trilogy.
Alan Plater's popular BAFTA-winning comedy-thriller trilogy was a big success story for ITV on its original transmission between 1985 and 1988. James Bolam is Trevor Chaplin and Barbara Flynn is Jill Swinburn, two teachers who are reluctantly drawn a web of intrigue when Trevor is paid a visit from a slightly-tarnished platinum blonde... Cue the murky world of national security, shady dealings, men in grey suits and plot twists galore, all cut to a hip, Jazz soundtrack.
Get Lost was the precursor to the Beiderbecke Trilogy and featured Alun Armstrong and Bridget Turner as two school teachers intent on trying to enjoy a half-term break. All four episodes of this series are included in the 21st Anniversary Edition as a special feature. In addition to this there are archive on set interviews with James Bolan and writer Alan Plater, a soundtrack CD also including Kenny Baker music, and last, but by no means least commemorative booklet written by TV historian Andrew Pixley.
Priced at £39.99 and with a feature run time of around 11 hours this is the definitive edition that fans of the series have been waiting for, and it is released on the 27th November.
The set is released on Monday (27th November) and to celebrate Network have been kind enough to provide me with one copy to give away, so as usual, to be in with a chance of winning it, all you have to do is send me the answer to this simple question:
James Bolam has played various roles on TV ranging from The Likely Lads to the more recent Born and Bred and New Tricks, but he played a famous cartoon character in the late 80s. Which newspaper did this character appear in?
Not an easy one there, but this is no normal prize! Answers should be sent here with Beiderbecke in the header. Note that if this is missing the enrty will be lost to the spam filters. The competition closes on the 14th December (so I can hopefully get the prizes out before Christmas) and no correspondance will be entered into. There is no cash alternative and multiple entries will be disqualified. The judges decision is final.
The Beiderbecke Affair
| Title | Synopsis | Tx. Date |
|---|---|---|
| What I Don't Understand Is This... | All Trevor Chaplin wants is a set of Bix Beiderbecke records. All Jill Swinburne wants is to stand for the council as a Conservation candidate. | 6.1.85 |
| Can Anybody Join In? | Jill is detained for police questioning while Trevor chases a beautiful platinum blonde. Big Al reveals some of the secrets of his dubious empire, while Sergeant Hobson watches everybody and tries to make three different jigsaws fit together. | 13.1.85 |
| We Call It the White Economy | Trevor and Jill attempt to solve the mystery over the setting on fire of Big Al's allotment while trying to come to terms with their temporary separation. Then the fire brigade appear at Jill's home after a mystery caller dialled 999... | 20.1.85 |
| Urn... I Know What You're Thinking | Trevor's stuck between a rock and a hard place when his ex-fiancee appears on the scene, and it's not a social visit - she wants him back. Meanwhile Big Al is keen to find out who informed the police of his dealings underneath the church. He thinks he knows who it is and even kidnaps them, but has he jumped to the wrong conclusion? | 27.1.85 |
| That Was a Very Funny Evening | Jill has some bad news for Trevor. She tossed a coin for him with his ex Helen - and lost! To add to Trevor's woe Big Al tells him that unless all the stock is moved out of the church basement by the weekend then they will all be arrested. Can it get any worse for Trevor? Enter Sgt Hobson... | 3.2.85 |
| We Are On the Brink of a New Era, If Only... | Jill is preparing for her contest for the by-election, much to the unhappiness of the headmaster who thinks her political ideas will have a bad influence on her pupils. Meanwhile Sgt Hobson is looking for more evidence for his investigation into corruption in the police force. | 10.2.85 |
The Beiderbecke Tapes
| Title | Synopsis | Tx. Date | Part One | Dragged into the murky world of national security, Jill and Trevor find themselves pursued and threatened by sinister grey men. And all Trevor wanted was a tape of Bix Beiderbecke music! | 13.12.87 |
|---|---|---|
| Part Two | The pursuit continues! From the moon-struck outer limits of Leeds, by way of downtown Amsterdam and the craggy heights of Edinburgh and back to Yorkshire again, the grey guardians of the nation's security cast their shadow over Jill and Trevor. | 20.12.87 |
The Beiderbecke Connection
| Title | Synopsis | Tx. Date |
|---|---|---|
| Oh Look - It's Average-Sized Trevor Chaplin | Trevor and Jill are back - this time with a baby in tow! Taking their family addition for a walk they bump into Big Al, who asks them for a favour... | 27.11.88 |
| Hello Sir, Hello Miss | Jill and Trevor are under slack-wristed police surveillance. They finally rid themselves of 'refugee' Ivan but are confronted with a new and even more surprising visitor who was once very close to Jill. | 4.12.88 |
| Is He the Lodger? | Jill explains to ex-husband Peter that Trevor is not the lodger, but the man she's living with and the father of her baby. When Ivan returns and confesses he is a bank robber using computer technology and Peter is a con-man, Jill and Trevor are faced with a terrible dilemma. | 11.12.88 |
| What Do We Have on Hockey Sticks? | There are only two kinds of people in the world, those who hear the music and those who don't, Trevor Chaplin tells Detective Inspector Hobson. Will Hobson's hockey stick be found? Will a day out at the seaside help to rid Trevor and Jill of Ivan and Peter? | 18.12.88 |