Tickets for the Titanic
Encyclopedia
Tickets for the Titanic was a British
anthology series of television plays, transmitted on Channel 4
, that ran for two three-episode seasons in 1987 and 1988. The title came from the concept of Britain in the mid/late-1980s being a sinking ship. The series was produced by William G Stewart, and made by his company, Regent Productions.
, with a metaphorical theme tune about the sinking of the RMS Titanic, which included lyrics such as: "Send the lifeboats out to sea, we've only got a few. Let the women and children drown, man, we've got to save the crew."
Two days after the first episode was shown, the British cross-Channel
ferry MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsized with the loss of 193 passengers and crew. As a result, Channel 4 dropped the title sequence from the second and third episodes, and it was not used at all in the second season.
Two social misfits (Tessa Peake-Jones
and Martyn Hesford) team together to get revenge on everyone who has crossed them in the past; Charles Gray
appeared as Peake-Jones's father, the Tottenham Hotspur-supporting Earl of Albany.
Peter Firth
as an evangelical anti-filth campaigner; with Ian Bannen
as a corrupt police officer.
Hywel Bennett
steadily turns his suburban home into a virtual fortress.
Series 2:
A naive and innocent vicar (Tony Robinson
) is posted to a parish near a Greenham Common-esque American/nuclear airbase, and falls foul of both the conservative locals and the security services.
A young woman (Alexandra Pigg
) stops a much older man (Warren Mitchell
) from committing suicide at a railway station, and he moves into her squat with her.
A vicar (Jonathan Pryce
) and his family struggle in a future in which Thatcherism
has reached its logical conclusions.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
anthology series of television plays, transmitted on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
, that ran for two three-episode seasons in 1987 and 1988. The title came from the concept of Britain in the mid/late-1980s being a sinking ship. The series was produced by William G Stewart, and made by his company, Regent Productions.
Title sequence
Although the overall title was used for both seasons, tie only the very first episode carried the series title sequenceTitle sequence
A Title Sequence is the method by which cinematic films or television programs present their title, key production and cast members, or both, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound...
, with a metaphorical theme tune about the sinking of the RMS Titanic, which included lyrics such as: "Send the lifeboats out to sea, we've only got a few. Let the women and children drown, man, we've got to save the crew."
Two days after the first episode was shown, the British cross-Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
ferry MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsized with the loss of 193 passengers and crew. As a result, Channel 4 dropped the title sequence from the second and third episodes, and it was not used at all in the second season.
Episodes
Series 1:- "Keeping Score" by Guy JenkinGuy JenkinGuy Jenkin is a comedy writer who is best known for working on sitcoms and comedies such as Drop the Dead Donkey, Jeffrey Archer: The Truth and Outnumbered...
, directed by William G Stewart
Two social misfits (Tessa Peake-Jones
Tessa Peake-Jones
Tessa Peake-Jones is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Raquel in the television comedy series Only Fools and Horses. She had a co-starring role in the 1999 TV series Births, Marriages, and Deaths...
and Martyn Hesford) team together to get revenge on everyone who has crossed them in the past; Charles Gray
Charles Gray (actor)
Charles Gray was an English actor who was well-known for roles including the arch-villain Blofeld in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever, Sherlock Holmes' brother Mycroft Holmes in the Granada television series, and as The Criminologist in the cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show in...
appeared as Peake-Jones's father, the Tottenham Hotspur-supporting Earl of Albany.
- "The Way, the Truth, The Video"
Peter Firth
Peter Firth
Peter Firth is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Sir Harry Pearce in the BBC show Spooks, of which he is the only actor to have starred in every episode of the show's 10 series lifespan...
as an evangelical anti-filth campaigner; with Ian Bannen
Ian Bannen
Ian Bannen was a Scottish character actor and occasional leading man.-Early life and career:Bannen was born in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, the son of Clare and John James Bannen, a lawyer. Bannen served in the British Army after attending St Aloysius' College, Glasgow and Ratcliffe College,...
as a corrupt police officer.
- "Checkpoint Chiswick" by Andy HamiltonAndy HamiltonAndrew Neil Hamilton is a British comedian, game show panellist, television director, comedy screenwriter and radio dramatist.-Early life:...
, directed by Cyril Coke
Hywel Bennett
Hywel Bennett
Hywel Thomas Bennett is a Welsh film and television actor. Bennett is best known for his recurring title role as James Shelley in the television sitcom Shelley from 1979 to 1984 and its sequel The Return of Shelley from 1988 to 1992....
steadily turns his suburban home into a virtual fortress.
Series 2:
- "Pastoral Care" by Andy Hamilton, directed by Roger Bamford
A naive and innocent vicar (Tony Robinson
Tony Robinson
Tony Robinson is an English actor, comedian, author, broadcaster and political campaigner. He is best known for playing Baldrick in the BBC television series Blackadder, and for hosting Channel 4 programmes such as Time Team and The Worst Jobs in History. Robinson is a member of the Labour Party...
) is posted to a parish near a Greenham Common-esque American/nuclear airbase, and falls foul of both the conservative locals and the security services.
- "Incident on the Line" by Alastair Beaton, directed by William G Stewart
A young woman (Alexandra Pigg
Alexandra Pigg
Alexandra Pigg is a British actress who first came to prominence as Petra Taylor in the TV soap opera Brookside. Her best known film appearances are as Elaine in Letter to Brezhnev , for which she was nominated for a BAFTA award, and as Bridget Baines in A Chorus of Disapproval...
) stops a much older man (Warren Mitchell
Warren Mitchell
Warren Mitchell is an English actor who rose to initial prominence in the role of bigoted cockney Alf Garnett in the BBC television sitcom Till Death Us Do Part , and its sequels Till Death... and In Sickness and in Health , all of which were written by Johnny Speight...
) from committing suicide at a railway station, and he moves into her squat with her.
- "Everyone a Winner" by Barry PiltonBarry PiltonBarry Pilton is a travel writer, radio and television comedy scriptwriter and novelist. He was educated in Dulwich College and King's College London. In 1967-8 he taught English in Paris and from 1969 worked as a journalist on the Sunday Post, becoming a freelance writer in 1976...
, directed by Paul Joyce
A vicar (Jonathan Pryce
Jonathan Pryce
Jonathan Pryce, CBE is a Welsh stage and film actor and singer. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and meeting his longtime partner English actress Kate Fahy in 1974, he began his career as a stage actor in the 1970s...
) and his family struggle in a future in which Thatcherism
Thatcherism
Thatcherism describes the conviction politics, economic and social policy, and political style of the British Conservative politician Margaret Thatcher, who was leader of her party from 1975 to 1990...
has reached its logical conclusions.