Category Archives: General TV related items

Book Matches

This is a small subsection showing many of the promotional Book-matches that appear to have been produced, for the most part by ABC TV in the midlands but a few are from other companies. These were purely promotional items within the business and at Christmas parties for agents and producers you would find a tray of these on the bar or tables at the event. A different selection of them being produced each year.

There are several different styles to the ABC match-books depending on which year they were produced for.

The earliest style features photograph from the series the writing in black next to or below the photograph. Studio logo is on rear cover. This type seems to be from around 1961.

 

 The second style has with text in white over top of photograph, once again studio logo is on rear, these appear to be from 1962

 

The third type the photograph wraps the entire way around the matchbook and details about the show are printed on inside of the match-book. These look to be from around 1964. It is quite possible that the red striped ones and the black striped ones are from different years so this style is both the 1963 and 1964 style but which colour denotes which year has not yet been determined.

With the fourth style, the match-books are narrower closer to being almost square as opposed to the earlier wider oblong match-books. These go back to the photograph being on the front cover with the studio logo on the back, with text written inside. These appear to be from around 1965.

A fifth style very similar to the previous one appears for around 1966. This time the photograph appears framed almost like a TV screen other details remain the same.

 

These are the only styles of ABC Television match-books to have been encountered so far. The collection does also contain a few other TV-related match-books as well which are not from ABC television.

1965 Television Show Book

Annual sized book contains features and photographs of TV shows around at the time.

Including:
Dr Kildare
Bonanza
Burke’s Law
The Beatles
Danger Man
Beverly Hillbillies
The Fugitive
Z Cars
Stingray
No Hiding Place
Ben Casey
Suger Foot
Rawhide
Gunsmoke
The Dakotas
The Saint
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
Gideon’s Way
Emergency Ward 10
Compact
Coronation Street
Redcap
The Human Jungle
77 Sunset Strip
Route 66
The Avengers

TV Express Comic No 376 Jan 13th 1962 Last Issue

TV Express Comic No 376 Dated January 13th 1962.

This the last issue of this title before it merged into TV Comic the following week.

This issue contains:  Col Pinto’s Wartime Notebook a comic strip based on Pinto’s wartime exploits as also featured in BBC TV’s Spycatcher TV series of around the same time. 

A two page Danger Man text story by Henry Lewis.

Alfie and Bill, a strip story featuring the actors from Bootsie and Snudge.

Biggles Air Police news, as well as a full colour comic strip featuring the hero.

No Hiding Place comic strip story.

Full page piece about merging with TV Comic features photograph of Supercar.

Around the World with Alan Wicker full page feature.

Original Price Per issue  4 1/2d

 

Television Stars Book Circa 1967

This Television star book is a veritable who’s who of TV stars of the year containing photographs or features off or on: The Saint, I Spy, Batman, The Man and Girl from U.N.C.L.E., Emergency Ward 10, The Human Jungle, The Munsters, The Power Game, The Avengers, The FBI (This is of interest to 77 Sunset strip fans as it is about Efrem Zibalist Jnr who stared in that), Take your Pick, Double your Money, The Prisoner, Morecambe and Wise (This features a photograph of Sean Connery visiting the lads on set), Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Supercar, Fireball XL5, Stingray, Thunderbirds, Bonanza, Honey West, Dr Finlay’s Casebook, The Baron, The Big Valley, T.H.E. Cat, Peyton place, Man in a suitcase, Public Eye, Lost in Space, The Virginian, Daktari, Get Smart, The Fugitive, No Hiding Place, Redcap.

There are several books or annuals of this type in the collection, but none have quite as an impressive selection of so many of this type of Cult TV show within their pages.

Published by Purnell & Sons ltd, no year is given but given the contents this has to be from around 1967.

David Tomlinson / Richard Vernon Autograph

Autographed photograph from an episode of  “Playhouse” entitled “A Friend Indeed” dating from 1973. Produced by Anglia TV.  

David Tomlinson was best known as Mr Banks in Mary Poppins, he did very little TV work mostly working in Disney movies, he did guest however in an episode of Hawaii Five-0.

 While Richard Vernon was possibly best known as the planetary designer Slartibartfast (designer of fjords) in the BBC radio and TV series The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. He had small roles in both the James Bond movie Goldfinger. The Intelligence Men with Morecambe and wise, and guest starred in The Avengers, The Saint, Department S, William Tell, Emergency Ward 10, No Hiding Place, Hadleigh, Dixon of Dock Green, Maigret, Z cars, U.F.O., The Persuaders, The Adventurer, to name just a few of his many appearences. 

Diana Comic

Long running girls comic. At various times some TV or film related items appeared in this Including for 26 issues(Starting at issue 199) an Avengers comic strip.

Therry La Fronde 2

Comic book based a French TV series that possibly never saw broadcast in the UK. Translated title is Terry the Sling. Set in 1360 France is occupied by the English and Terry fights against English occupation. (I wonder why it wasn’t shown in the UK). It almost seems to be a French version of Robin Hood.

A secondary strip in this comic is “Destination Danger”, the French title for Danger Man. The story contained is “John Drake Contre Les Mafiosi” which was later published in the UK in the book “Top TV series starring Danger Man in War against the Mafia” along with a second story.

This comic published in France in 1964.

BBC related

General items relating to the British Broadcasting Corporation.

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Mad Magazine

Long Running satirical comic / magazine. Published firstly in the USA, then a UK version launched in the sixties.

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Record Albums

Various Records containing themes, either original recording or cover versions, from TV series.

Photoplay Magazine

Long Running Film magazine, occasional features on TV related items.

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Super DC Comic (British)

British comic from the  late 1960’s. Featured reprints of DC comics as features on various TV / film series

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Joe 90 Comic

British comic from the  late 1960’s. From the Gerry Anderson TV show but also included various other TV series as well.

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Lady Penelope Comic

British comic from the mid to late 1960’s. Included mostly Gerry Anderson TV shows but also various other TV series as well.

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Solo Comic

Short lived British comic from the mid 1960’s.

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Bravo German TV Magazine

Long running German TV / Film gossip magazine.

 

Starburst Magazine

Long running UK based magazine devoted to cult TV and film .

TV Comic

Running for 1,697 issues TV Comic was originally published by Beaverbrook from its first issue on the 9th November 1951, until 1960 when publication was taken over by Polystyle Publications who finally ended publication on the 29th June 1984. Declining sales had ended a 33 year run of weekly comics. Unlike many other comic it did not merge into another title and no warning that this was to be the last issue appeared within its pages, it simply did not appear the following week.

Early on this weekly comic featured Muffin the Mule as its cover star and throughout its run it always featured the latest childrens TV shows within its pages. As was common with many comics it also absorbed other less successful titles into its pages, these included TV Land and TV Express in 1962. TV Action in 1973 and the short lived Target in 1978.

During its run the featured many different series including:
Adam Adamant
Animal Magic
The A-Team
The Avengers
Basil Brush
Bootsie and Snudge
Cannon
Catweazle
Charlie’s Angels
Dad’s Army
Doctor Who
The Dukes of Hazzard
Fireball XL5
The Flaxton Boys
Four Feather Falls
Ken Dodd’s Diddymen
Kojak
Muffin the Mule
Orlando
Skippy the Bush Kangaroo
Sooty
Space Patrol
Star Trek
Supercar
Tales of the Gold Monkey
Target
Tarzan

There are some 600 or more issues of TV comic in the collection the earliest being issue 505, as well as many Annuals and Holiday specials. Eventually all of these issues will be collected on to this site.

TV Tornado comic

This children’s comic published in the UK featured many different TV shows of the period. It ran for 88 issues eventually merging into TV Century 21 comic . The first issue of this combined comic was 192. This combined issues can be found in the TV Centuary 21 section. (Continuing for several issues as TV century 21 and TV Tornado comic)

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Countdown / TV Action comic

Early 1970’s children’s comic published in the UK.Produced by the same publishers as TV comic, Countdown was a weekly comic that first appeared with issue 1 on the 20 February 1971. In early issues the pages were numbered in reverse order, with page 1 at the end – a gimmick which was derived from the comic’s title in order to create a “countdown” to the number one every week. This practice ceased at some point prior to it’s relaunch. Another unusual feature of this comic was the one of stories, rather that a continuing strip over several issues, a longer story would be featured, there for each issues contents varied from week to week.

It was to run under the title Countdown for 58 issues, when it was relaunched as TV Action. It finally ended after a total of 132 issues on 25 August 1973.

During its run as “Countdown” it carried strip and text stories from many different TV series including:

Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Doctor Who
Fireball XL5
Joe 90
Lady Penelope
The Persuaders!
The Secret Service
Stingray
Thunderbirds
UFO
Zero-X
Strips featured during its “TV Action” period included:

Alias Smith and Jones
Cannon
Dad’s Army
Doctor Who
Hawaii Five-O
Mission Impossible
The Protectors
Tightrope

Approximately two thirds of this comics run exist in this collection as well as Annuals and all will eventually appear upon this site.

Catalogs

Various toy catalogs etc that contain references to products relating to various TV or film products.

TV Century 21 Comics

Nineteen sixties childrens comic featured mainly Gerry Anderson series, but did include several other popular TV series from the period.

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Radio Times

Long Running British TV listings magazine. Originally only BBC channels were included but it now contains listings for most channels available in the UK.

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Top TV Themes Stereo

Top TV Themes the Tlsley Orchestra, Fontana SFL13139 published in 1967.
This is essentially the same record as the mono issue, with some very slight differences, firstly the picture from Thunderbirds present on the sleeve for the mono version is missing on this stereo release. Also though it contains the same tracks as the mono issue and listing on the sleeve is the same as for the mono issue, the billing has altered slightly on the record The Trouble shooters is now called the mogul theme, while Late Night special is now listed as being from The Eamonn Andrews show instead of being listed as being from Late Night Line Up.
Side 1
The Virginian
The Ratcatchers
By George! It’s the David Frost Theme
‘Til Death us do part
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Saturday Night Beat (On the Braden Beat)
Side 2
Thunderbirds
Dick Van Dyke Theme
The Informer
The Power Game
The Mogul theme (The Troubleshooters)
Late Night Special (The Eamonn Andrews Show)

Swap Shop Single

Novelty record from the stars of Swap Shop. Noel Edmonds, Keith Chegwin and Maggie Philbin together preforming as Brown sauce recorded the song I wanna be a winner . The Single was released on BBC records in 1981 as RESL 101.
The B side featured Hello Hello (The Swap shop Theme)

Look In Comics

Anybody growing up in the UK during the 1970’s or 80’s will be familiar with this junior version of the TV times.

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All Star Television Annual circa 1972

This Annual was published by Panda Publishing around 1972 . Contains all sorts of Television photographs , stories and quizzes relating to the shows on at that time.
Features photographs from Doctor Who and James Bond. As well as stories and features on Follyfoot, Catweazle, Roger Moore (in his latest Role in the Persuaders) and Steptoe and son.

Top Tv Themes LP Embassy

James Wright and his Orchestra Embassy Records WLP6076 Published 1965
Side 1)
Bonanza
High Wire (Danger Man)
Dick Van Dyke theme
Doctor Who
Crane
Carlos Theme (Sentimental Agent)
Gideon’s Way
Side 2)
How Soon ( The Richard Boone show)
The Ballard of Jed Clampett (Beverley Hillbillies)
Our Man at St Marks
Z cars
Dr Kildare
Maigret
Coronation Street