In the Looking Glass is a surreal television series, broadcast on BBC2 in 1978. It starred John Wells

John Wells (satirist)

John Wells was an English actor, writer and satirist, educated at Eastbourne College and St Edmund Hall, Oxford...

, John Fortune

John Fortune

John Fortune is a British satirist, comedian writer and actor, best known for his work with John Bird and Rory Bremner on the TV series Bremner, Bird and Fortune. He was educated at Bristol Cathedral School and King's College, Cambridge, where he was to meet and form a lasting friendship with John...

, Carl Davis

Carl Davis

Carl Davis CBE is an American born conductor and composer who has made his home in the UK since 1961. In 1970 he married the English actress Jean Boht....

, and Madeline Smith

Madeline Smith

Madeline Smith is an English actress and comedienne. She was a model in the 1960s, and appeared in many comedy films Madeline Smith (born 2 August 1949 in Hartfield, Sussex) is an English actress and comedienne. She was a model in the 1960s, and appeared in many comedy films Madeline Smith (born 2...

, was directed by Andrew Gosling and produced by Ian Keill. The same team had previously created 1974's The End of the Pier Show. Wells, Fortune and Davis appear to have been the main writers for both series.

In the Looking Glass was notable for its design, overlaying live action and drawn or animated backgrounds, for instance, a hole drilled to the centre of the earth, or the Monopoly

Monopoly (game)

Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board shown, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was said to be introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-made Monopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence to Parker...

 board on which a character risks being crushed by rolling dice. The production team (Keill, Gosling and designer Graham McCallum) went on to develop this approach further in the "live action comic strip" series Jane

Jane (comic strip)

Jane was a comic strip created and drawn by Norman Pett exclusively for the British tabloid The Daily Mirror from 5 December 1932 to 10 October 1959.-Characters and story:...

(1982), for which McCallum won two BAFTA

British Academy Television Awards

The British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . They have been awarded annually since 1954, and are analogous to the Emmy Awards in the United States.-Background:...

 Best Graphics awards.

Awards

In the Looking Glass was nominated for the "Most Original Programme/Series" BAFTA award for 1978 (the award was won by Pennies from Heaven).

Episode list

Broadcast dates:

• Deserts (17 January 1978)
• Space (24 January 1978)
• Fading Away (31 January 1978)
• Atlantis (7 February 1978)
• The Centre of the Earth (14 February 1978)
• Monopoly (21 February 1978)