These were the highlights of my cult TV viewing in 2018. Not necessarily the best cult TV I watched, but the most rewarding in terms of exiting new discoveries, and some rediscoveries of forgotten old favourites.
The most exciting new discovery was Airwolf, which I think may well have been the best action adventure series of the 80s. With the 1984 first season being outstanding.
A fun rediscovery was Land of the Giants (1968) which turned out to be quite a bit better than my hazy memories initially suggested. Maybe not great TV science fiction but very enjoyable and with mostly fairly impressive special effects.
The Guardians (1971) is a British dystopian political thriller with some very unexpected subtleties and complexities.
There was also The F.B.I., an uneven, occasionally odd but interesting crime series.
As far as individual episodes are concerned the Danger Man episode Colony Three (1965) was the best of the year. The 1975 The Crazy Kill from Brian Clemens’ Thriller series was also exceptionally good with a great performance from Anthony Valentine.
I'd definitely recommend The Guardians, although I think the last episodes are the weakest. There was enough brilliance and enough oddity to keep me hooked.
ReplyDeleteI loved Airwolf as a kid/teen, but hated it when I saw it as an adult. I've never seen a whole episode of Land Of Giants - it's always been something at the back of my to-watch list. Based on your recommendation, I'll see if I can bump it up lol
I'm watching / trying to watch a series from 1963 that I'd never heard of called Espionage. It's a British ITV film anthology series about spies throughout the ages, with some serious talent involved (three episodes were directed by Michael Powell; he'd gone down in the world!) It was a US co-production - the leads in the first 3 episodes (on the disc) were Stephen Hill, Bradford Dillman and Dennis Hopper.
However, I'm really struggling. Despite the talent, the high production values (for 1963 UK TV) and some really mature/adult themes - there's a very graphic description of (off-screen) torture in one episode, by a character who is shown injecting herself with drugs - the sum really is less than its parts. God knows what audiences thought. If you've ever seen it, what did you think?
I'm watching / trying to watch a series from 1963 that I'd never heard of called Espionage.
DeleteI bailed out of that one after about seven or eight episodes. A couple were quite good but most were terrible. One of those British series that took itself too seriously and tried to be very political and ended up falling flat on its face.
I posted about it a few less back. Here's the link -
https://tinyurl.com/y8byv437
Yes, I found your review last night, not long after I'd posted this. Can't really disagree with anything you say.
DeletePersonally, I'd have included Special Branch on your list, but as the show is divided the way it is, it'd be difficult to recommend both (still haven't watched the later seasons)