johns-list's - Rented

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Following on from the hugely popular 'Out of Town', 'Old Country' saw Jack Hargreaves continue his exploration of rural life in Thomas Hardy country - reflecting on its character, traditions, history and folklore, and the skills that had passed from generation to generation.

With his extensive experience, knowledge and love of the countryside, Hargreaves' easygoing presentation style enthralled both rural and urban viewers alike, making this - his final series for television - hugely popular and fondly remembered to this day. An unsentimental record of a bygone time, his work set the bar high for all "country matters" series that were to follow in its footsteps.

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It's the beginning of World War II and the Japanese are closing in on Northern Australia. People are ordered to evacuate as soon as possible in case of aerial attacks. The people of Australia are wrought with panic and fear, uncertain of an imminent invasion.

Suddenly the government brings in a Scorched Earth policy: a devastating military strategy whereupon people are forced to destroy anything that might be useful to an invading enemy. Dan McAlpine (Chips Rafferty) is a farmhand who rebels against the government's strategic operation and refuses to kill his livestock. Instead he decides to risk his life by leading his immense herd of cattle beyond civilisation and into the hazardous terrains of the Ozzie outback. It's a deadly journey that will take him 1600 miles across the continent, amidst unforeseen terror, suspense and bravery.

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The TV adaptation of the highly popular series of 'Doctor' books by Richard Gordon was a massive hit for ITV on its original transmission in 1969. Centred on the hilarious misadventures of a team of young doctors at St.

Swithin's Hospital, the series showcased the talents of Barry Evans, Robin Nedwell, Geoffrey Davies and Richard O'Sullivan as their characters made painful progress from newly qualified juniors to fully fledged medical malcontents under the scrutiny of the fearsome Professor Loftus (Ernest Clark). Featuring scripts from a team of writers that included Bill Oddie and Graeme Garden (The Goodies}, John Cleese and Graham Chapman (Monty Python's Flying Circus), Barry Cryer (The Two Ronnies, The Kenny Everett Television Show) and Douglas Adams (Hitch-hiker's Guide...), its original setting and robust humour made the 'Doctor' series essential viewing. The series lasted for nearly a decade and this set presents every hilarious episode, originally screened between 1969 and 1977.

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Clem Morgan (Trevor Howard) is a bored and cynical ex-RAF fighter pilot who joins a criminal gang led by Narcy (Griffith Jones). On his first job, the gang are disturbed and their getaway car kills a policeman trying to stop their escape. The car then crashes and Clem is knocked unconscious.

As the gang make their escape they haul Clem into the driving seat and frame him for the policeman's murder. Sent to jail, Clem plans to escape and heads to London bent on revenge against the gang and Narcy. Whilst the massive police manhunt intensifies, an associate of Narcy, Sally (Sally Gray), shelters Clem from both the police and the mob. As the police close in, Clem must make one last desperate play to prove his innocence and confront the increasingly psychopathic Narcy.

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Ray Galton and Alan Simpson have long been regarded as Britain's most successful comedy writing partnership, having created and written the long-running series 'Hancock's Half Hour' and 'Steptoe and Son'.

Turning their hand to one-off stories, 'The Galton and Simpson Playhouse' consisted of seven individual comedy plays, with the stand-alone format allowing for a wide variety of characters and story-lines. The high calibre of the scripts attracted the cream of comedy actors from 1970's television, including Arthur Lowe, Leonard Rossiter, Richard Briers, John Bird, Frances de la Tour, Patricia Hayes and Warren Mitchell.

1. Car Along the Pass
Henry Duckworth is living proof that the English take their holidays very seriously indeed.
2. Swap You One of These for One of Those
Henry Fairlane's invite to a colleague's party has one big condition...
3. Cheers
Peter and Charles'long friendship is jolted by Peter's marriage plans.
4. Naught for Thy Comfort
An airline steward whose wife has left him finds no comfort in friends.
5. Variations on a Theme
The eternal triangle can have more than one outcome...
6. I Tell You It's Burt Reynolds
A film and TV know-all goes to absurd lengths to prove his knowledge.
7. Big Deal at York City
A man attracts attention travelling home from a day at York races.

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Sec against the Notting Hill race riots of the late 1950's The Wind Of Change is a gripping kitchen-sink drama focusing on the relationship between a father (Donald Pleasence), a world-weary yet liberal man who spends all his spare rime looking after his rabbits, and his rebellious, unemployed son

Frank (Johnny Briggs). Frank is a bigoted racist who believes that black immigrants arc taking all the British jobs, though he doesn't seem too concerned in trying to get one himself. When Frank and his gang of teddy boys beat up a black man who later dies of his injuries, he must face the consequence of his actions...

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David (Bob Monkhouse) and Brian (Ronnie Stevens) are recently graduated dentists from the King Alfred's Dental College, where according to the dean they are rotten molars' and hopeless.

So when they are offered a job endorsing a new, but less than savoury toothpaste 'Dreem' they think their luck is in. Little do they know that by signing the contract they will be stuck off the Dentist register forever. When they realise have been duped by the 'Dreem' team they set out to make a fantastic new toothpaste of their own. But to save their dental careers, with the help of 'Dreem' girl Jill (Shirley Eaton), they'll have to get past 'up to no good' company executive Macreedy before they make a mint!

Sisters Tracey and Sharon, living together in the same house, try to cope with life, the enforced absence of their prisoner husbands and the sexual excesses of their neighbour Dorien. Episodes Comprise: 1. Nicked 2. Just Visiting 3. Shift 4. Woman's Trouble 5. Cheat 6. Substitute

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Paul Gregory (George Nader) is a thief - he's the best in the business and always thinks big, but unlike most criminals he isn't driven to crime through a life of adversity and desperation, he does it simply for the thrill.

Thanks to his ruthless ingenuity and cunning persuasion he's also managed to avoid being caught by the law. On the run from Canadian authorities he manages to escape the country and heads for London and with a new identity he hatches a devious plan. Worming his way into the life of a wealthy widow he plans to steal a rare collection of antique coins left to her by her late husband. Could this be Paul Gregory's most ambitious and successful con? Or is he sealing his own fate?

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In an unnamed Eastern European capital, an iron-willed Cardinal (Academy Award winner Alex Guinness) is arrested by state police on charges of treason. Tasked with securing a confession from him by any means necessary is a former comrade-in-arms from the anti-Nazi resistance (Jack Hawkins).

Knowing the Cardinal will never fold under physical torture, the Interrogator instead sets out to destroy him mentally, breaking his spirit rather than his body.

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When he and his research team discover a cure for both typhus and bubonic plague, Professor Sewell (Peter Cushing) is appalled to find their results gagged under the Official Secrets Act.

Conflict is immediate - the research team want their findings to benefit mankind, but officialdom are convinced that, in the wrong hands, it could be used as a weapon of war!

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Channel 4's Time Team is the most popular and longest-running history programme on television. The team have completed more than 130 excavations, spanning the history of the British Isles from the Bronze Age up to modern times...

Now, join Tony Robinson, Mick Aston, Phil Harding, Carenza Lewis and the rest of the team as they uncover the history of Britain through eight programmes featuring selected digs from the series.

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Compelling 1950's drama that tells the story of the contribution made by Police women during a period of great social upheaval through three entwined stories.

Edna Hurran (Eleanor Summerfield) is enjoying an evening stroll with her husband along the River Thames when a young girl falls in, Edna saves the girl but her heroism draws her to the attention of the Police and her story unravels. Young mother Bridget Foster (Peggy Cummins) yearns for some excitement in her life, caught shoplifting she falls under the spell of Ray (Terence Morgan) a villain who seeks to exploit her but the Police have Ray firmly in their sights. Brave WPC Susan (Anne Crawford) risks her life to save a small child who wanders onto a window ledge, investigating the incident brings the young police woman into a world of child neglect.

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Pari is a single mother selling herself for sex in order to care for her young son Elias, who often accompanies her on tricks.

By chance she becomes a judge's kept woman and is given an apartment in a middle-class neighbourhood where she befriends Sara, whose perfect family life is a facade hiding secrets of her own. The lives of the two women become intertwined with Babak an aspiring musician frantically trying to raise money for an illegal operation to "restore" the virginity of the youthful Donya after their one night stand in an underground club. As the stories of sex, drugs and corruption unravel, the unlikely allies push against the restrictions of the society they live in, and discover their lives are more alike than they think. Through rotoscoping animation, 'Tehran Taboo' provides an unsparing glimpse into the margins of modern day Iran.

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When Ernest Tilley's (Richard Attenborough) daughter is killed in a hit-and-run, he vows he'll do what it takes to avenge her death. Armed with a homemade bomb he tracks down the killer to an airport and boards the same flight. Once in the air, he threatens to blow up the plane.

As they desperately try to find the bomb the dramatic story of each of the other passengers unfolds. Emotions run high as they confront the reality of their situation. A husband confesses to cheating on his wife. Romance blossoms between two flight attendants. A divorced couple realise that they're still very much in love and a widow admits that she never loved her wealthy husband. Up in the air their fate now lies in their own hands. Can Ernest, a man who has lost everything, be stopped in time?