Theatre 625
Encyclopedia
Theatre 625 is a British television
drama anthology series, produced by the BBC
and transmitted on BBC2
from 1964 to 1968. It was one of the first regular programmes in the line-up of the channel, and the title referred to its production and transmission being in the higher-definition 625-line
format, which only BBC2 used at the time.
Overall, 114 ninety-minute plays were produced, and for its final year from 1967 the series was produced in colour; BBC2 was the first channel in Europe to broadcast in colour. Some of the best-known productions screened in the strand include a new version of Nigel Kneale
's 1954 adaptation of George Orwell
's Nineteen Eighty-Four (1965); the four-part Talking to a Stranger
by John Hopkins
(1966) which told the same story from four different viewpoints, and starred Judi Dench
; and 1968's science-fiction
allegory The Year of the Sex Olympics
, again by Kneale.
As much British television output of the 1960s, many editions of Theatre 625 were not retained. However, Talking to a Stranger exists, and was repeated on BBC2 as part of the channel's twenty-fifth anniversary season in 1989, being shown again on digital station BBC Four
in 2004. In a 2000 poll of industry experts conducted by the British Film Institute
to find the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes
of the 20th century, Talking to a Stranger was placed seventy-eighth.
Following the conclusion of the series in 1968, some of the colour plays were later repeated on BBC1
in the new Play for Today
strand in the early 1970s. The Year of the Sex Olympics was released on DVD
by the BFI
in 2003, although in black and white, as the original colour videotape was wiped, with only a film telerecording surviving in the archives.
Some episodes,previously though lost have been unearthed in Washington D.C. USA.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2010/nov/03/lost-bbc-drama-missing-believed-wiped
this is equivalent to 576i
.
British television
Public television broadcasting started in the United Kingdom in 1936, and now has a collection of free and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channelsTaking the base Sky EPG TV Channels. A breakdown is impossible due to a) the number of...
drama anthology series, produced by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and transmitted on BBC2
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
from 1964 to 1968. It was one of the first regular programmes in the line-up of the channel, and the title referred to its production and transmission being in the higher-definition 625-line
PAL
PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...
format, which only BBC2 used at the time.
Overall, 114 ninety-minute plays were produced, and for its final year from 1967 the series was produced in colour; BBC2 was the first channel in Europe to broadcast in colour. Some of the best-known productions screened in the strand include a new version of Nigel Kneale
Nigel Kneale
Nigel Kneale was a British screenwriter from the Isle of Man. Active in television, film, radio drama and prose fiction, he wrote professionally for over fifty years, was a winner of the Somerset Maugham Award and was twice nominated for the British Film Award for Best Screenplay...
's 1954 adaptation of George Orwell
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
's Nineteen Eighty-Four (1965); the four-part Talking to a Stranger
Talking to a Stranger
Talking to a Stranger is a British television drama, produced by the BBC and made up of four separate plays telling the story of one weekend from the viewpoints of four different members of the same family. Originally transmitted on BBC2 as part of the Theatre 625 anthology strand, the four...
by John Hopkins
John Hopkins (writer)
John Richard Hopkins was an English film, stage, and television writer.Born in southwest London, he graduated from St Catharine's College, Cambridge...
(1966) which told the same story from four different viewpoints, and starred Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
; and 1968's science-fiction
Science fiction on television
Science fiction first appeared on a television program during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary world not limited by the constraints of reality; this makes television an excellent medium...
allegory The Year of the Sex Olympics
The Year of the Sex Olympics
The Year of the Sex Olympics is a 1968 television play made by the BBC and first broadcast on BBC2 as part of Theatre 625. It stars Leonard Rossiter, Tony Vogel, Suzanne Neve and Brian Cox. It was directed by Michael Elliot...
, again by Kneale.
As much British television output of the 1960s, many editions of Theatre 625 were not retained. However, Talking to a Stranger exists, and was repeated on BBC2 as part of the channel's twenty-fifth anniversary season in 1989, being shown again on digital station BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
in 2004. In a 2000 poll of industry experts conducted by the British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
to find the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes
100 Greatest British Television Programmes
The BFI TV 100 is a list compiled in 2000 by the British Film Institute , chosen by a poll of industry professionals, to determine what were the greatest British television programmes of any genre ever to have been screened....
of the 20th century, Talking to a Stranger was placed seventy-eighth.
Following the conclusion of the series in 1968, some of the colour plays were later repeated on BBC1
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
in the new Play for Today
Play for Today
Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted...
strand in the early 1970s. The Year of the Sex Olympics was released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
by the BFI
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
in 2003, although in black and white, as the original colour videotape was wiped, with only a film telerecording surviving in the archives.
Some episodes,previously though lost have been unearthed in Washington D.C. USA.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2010/nov/03/lost-bbc-drama-missing-believed-wiped
Technical note
"625 lines" refers to the total number of lines transmitted; however, some of the lines constitute part of the blanking interval. The actual picture only constitutes 576 lines; in terms of digital televisionDigital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
this is equivalent to 576i
576i
576i is a standard-definition video mode used in PAL and SECAM countries. In digital applications it is usually referred to as "576i", in analogue contexts it is often quoted as "625 lines"...
.
See also
- Armchair TheatreArmchair TheatreArmchair Theatre is a British television drama anthology series, which ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by Associated British Corporation, and later by Thames Television after 1968....
- Comedy PlayhouseComedy PlayhouseComedy Playhouse was a long-running British anthology series of one-off unrelated sitcoms that aired for 120 episodes from 1961 to 1975. Many episodes later graduated to their own series, including Steptoe and Son, Till Death Us Do Part, All Gas and Gaiters, The Liver Birds, Are You Being Served?...
- The Wednesday PlayThe Wednesday PlayThe Wednesday Play was an anthology series of British television plays which ran on BBC1 from October 1964 to May 1970. Every week's play was usually written for television, although adaptations from other sources also featured...
- ITV PlayhouseITV PlayhouseITV Playhouse was a UK comedy-drama TV series that ran from 1967 to 1983, which featured contributions from playwrights such as Dennis Potter, Rhys Adrian and Alan Sharp. The series began in black and white, but was later shot in colour and was produced by various companies for the ITV network, a...
- Play for TodayPlay for TodayPlay for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted...
- The Afternoon PlayThe Afternoon PlayThe Afternoon Play is a series of individual plays which sometimes appear on BBC One during weekday afternoons. The first series began on 27 January 2003, and as of 2008 there have been five series...
- Screen OneScreen OneScreen One is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 between 1989 to 1993.Following the demise of the BBC's Play For Today which ran from 1970 to 1984, producer Kenneth Trodd was asked to formulate a new series of one-off television dramas...