Star Trek Interactive Tribbles

Quite possibly the geekiest toy we've ever featured on this site - Star Trek Interactive Tribbles.

What's a Tribble you ask? Well, if you've ever seen the original 1960s Star trek episode 'The Trouble With Tribbles', you'll know exactly what they are. For the uninitiated, the Tribble is a cute furry creature that squeaks and has the power to calm down the average human. But there's a drawback - they multiply constantly, so your average spaceship will be full of them in days.

These battery-powered replicas don't multiply, but they do squeak and shake like the originals when 'disturbed', with a beneficial effect on your nerves likely too. They come in two sizes (small and large) and various colours, with prices starting at $14.99 (around £9.25). If you want to see them in the original TV show, see over the page for a clip.

Find out more at the Thinkgeek website

Retro TV W/C 10th July 2009

Barry Murphy returns once more trawl the TV and radio guides (so you don't have to) to find anything worth tuning into this week. All listings are for UK terrestrial TV, Freeview and national radio, with the shows running from Friday 10th July to Thursday 16th July 2009.

Highlight of the week 

There really is nothing worth highlighting this week I'm afraid, it's a very poor week for both TV and radio. For fans of broad, unsubtle and crude humour there's always a rare screening of The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (1972) on BBC 2 Sunday 12th July at 12.05am. This cult big-screen version of Private Eye's comic strip, starring Barry Croker and Barry Humphries and featuring Spike Milligan and Peter Cook, contains just about every cliche about the traditional Australian pilgrimage to 'the old country', and every cliche about those rapacious, stuck up, whinging, Tory Brits. On his first visit to the UK, crass Australian stand-up comic & 'yobbo' Barry McKenzie encounters a string of bizarre characters. This was the first Australian film to earn a million dollars and featured in the recent documentary Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!

A Kind of Loving TV series heads to DVD

A Kind of Loving is a top-notch novel and a great 1960s kitchensink drama - but I personally didn't know it was also a TV series. But it was - and A Kind Of Loving Complete Series will be on the shelves via Network in August for the very first time.

It apparently dates back to 1982, but is set in 1957, where miner’s son Vic Brown (Clive Wood) meets Ingrid Rothwell (Joanne Whalley), an attractive young typist, in the West Riding of Yorkshire. They begin an relationship, then marry when Ingrid discovers she is pregnant, and move in with Ingrid’s mother. As the banality of marital life starts to take hold, Vic becomes frustrated - stuck in a marriage and 'a kind of loving' for the rest of his days.

Running for 500 minutes and available over three discs, you can pick up a copy from 10th August 2009 (or pre-order via the link below), priced officially at £29.99, but available from Amazon for £18.

Find out more at the Amazon website

Sex, Drugs & Rock 'n' Chips - Only Fools and Horses goes back to the 1960s

Only Fools and Horses might be long gone, but writer John Sullivan is back with a new version of the show that goes back in time to the 1960s - Sex, Drugs & Rock 'n' Chips.

The BBC today announced the new show, which dates back to 1960s and features Joan Trotter ('Peckham's answer to Brigitte Bardot'), work-shy Reg Trotter, their teenage son Derek (presumably as a mod) and 'art connoisseur' Freddie Rodbal, fresh from a 10-year stretch in prison and ready to ruffle some feathers in the Trotter household. Other familiar faces will include teen versions of Boycie, Trigger, Denzil and Jumbo Mills, no doubt all trying to get a pint in The Nag's Head pub.

Retro TV W/C 3rd July 2009

Barry Murphy returns once more trawl the TV and radio guides (so you don't have to) to find anything worth tuning into this week. All listings are for UK terrestrial TV, Freeview and national radio, with the shows running from Friday 3rd July to Thursday 9th July 2009.

Highlights of the week 

After ten years away from the spotlight, legendary Motown star and R&B innovator Stevie Wonder returned with a two-night residency at London O2 arena last September. Stevie Wonder: Live at Last (Friday 3rd. BBC 2. 11.35pm) includes classic tracks Living for the City, Higher Ground, My Cherie Amour, I Wish, You Are the Sunshine of My Life, Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours) and Superstition. Plus Isn't She Lovely performed with his daughter Aisha Morris.

This week on the radio, blues veteran John Mayall traces the explosion of the blues and R&B in Britain in the early 1960s, with contributions from Bill Wyman, Zoot Money and Eric Burdon in John Mayall's Blues Adventures (Tuesday 7th, BBC Radio 4. 1.30pm).

Friday 3rd July

TV

Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) - ITV 4. 6.00pm - 7.00pm
Jeff discovers a plot to kidnap the heir to a fortune

On the Buses - ITV 3. 6.55pm - 7.25pm
Stan and Jack decide to get fit.

Carry On Laughing - ITV 3. 7.25pm - 8.00pm
Comedy sketches.

The Professionals - ITV 4. 8.00pm - 9.00pm
Bodie and Doyle race to identify an assassin.

Sight and Sound in Concert: Thin Lizzy - BBC 4. 10.00pm - 10.35am
Phil Lynott and co perform Jailbreak, Cold Sweat and The Boys Are Back in Town, from 1983.

More Guitar Heroes at the BBC - BBC 4. 10.35pm - 11.35pm (Repeated 12.30am)
New. Archive performances by celebrated musicians Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townshend, Peter Green and Johnny Winter. Other performers featured include Manitas De Plata, Ry Cooder and Thin Lizzy, while Fleetwood Mac's Albatross and In the City by the Jam are among the classic songs performed.

Film: Magnum Force (1973) - ITV 1. 10.35pm - 12.50am
All-guns-blazing crime thriller starring Clint Eastwood as San Francisco cop "Dirty"Harry Callahan. Prominent local criminals are being killed off in a series of murders where the weapon is always the same: the .357 Magnum. As the investigation gets under way, Callahan and his boss have conflicting ideas about who is responsible.

Flight of the Conchords (8/10) - BBC 4. 11.35pm - 12Midnight
Series two. New Zealand Town. The prime minister creates New Zealand Town between Chinatown and Little Italy, but when the Conchords ask to play at the opening, he insists the event deserves a cooler guest.

Stevie Wonder: Live at Last - BBC 2. 11.35pm - 12.35am
After ten years away from the spotlight, the legendary Motown star and R&B innovator returned with a two-night residency at London O2 arena last September. Classic tracks include Living for the City, Higher Ground, My Cherie Amour, I Wish, You Are the Sunshine of My Life, Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours) and Superstition. Plus Isn't She Lovely performed with his daughter Aisha Morris.

Radio

Colour My World: the Tony Hatch Story (3/3) - BBC Radio 2. 7.00pm - 7.30pm
Radio 2's profile of the man who wrote Downtown concludes with his TV work, including themes for Crossroads (1964), Man Alive (1965), Emmerdale (1972) and Neighbours (1985). Plus a look at his Simon Cowell-like persona on 1970s talent show New Faces.

Saturday 4th July

TV

Film: A Kid for Two Farthings (1955) - Film4. 2.40pm - 4.25pm
An imaginative young boy growing up in London's impoverished East End in the 1950s, absorbs a tale about the magical power of captured unicorns from the kindly tailor Kandinsky and goes in search of the mythic beast.

Film: Cat Ballou (1965) - BBC 2. 3.50pm - 5.25pm
Comedy western starring Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin. Schoolteacher Catherine Ballou returns home to find her father's life under threat from developers who want his ranch land. To protect him, Catherine assembles a motley bunch of outlaws including Kid Shelleen, an ageing gunfighter with a fondness for alcohol.


Radio

Sounds of the 60s - BBC Radio 2. 8.00am - 10.00am
Brian Matthew spins two hours of hits, B -sides and album tracks. 

The Funk and Soul Show - BBC 6 Music. 6.00pm - 9.00pm
3 hours of funk, soul and blues presented by Craig Charles.

Feelin' Love: the Donna Summer Story - BBC Radio 2. 10.00pm - 11.00pm
Producer and Chic co-founder Nile Rodgers celebrates the career of US R&B-pop diva Donna Summer, who ruled the airwaves and dance clubs during her phenomenal mid-to late 70s reign.

Sunday 5th July

TV

The Day of the Triffids (1&2/6) - BBC 4. 7.00pm - 8.00pm
A repeat showing of the BBC's acclaimed 1981 six-part series, starting with the first 2 episodes back-to-back. A hospital patient wakes up to find London in chaos, with most of the population blinded by a meteorite shower.

Film: The Horror of Frankenstein (1970) - ITV 4. 10.00pm - 12.05am
British horror starring Ralph Bates. Cold-blooded young student Victor Frankenstein steps into his father's shoes to continue his horrific experiments in bringing the dead back to life.

Comedy Classics: Rising Damp - ITV 1. 10.45pm - 11.45pm
A tribute to the 1970s sitcom which starred Leonard Rossiter, as the penny-pinching landlord Rigsby whose lodgers included Don Warrington, Richard Beckinsale and Frances de la Tour. Writer Eric Chappell recalls his inspiration for the series and a classic episode Stage Struck follows.

Film: The Jerk (1979) - ITV 4. 1.05am - 2.40am
Comedy starring Steve Martin. Navin Johnson, the white sheep in a poor black family, leaves home to seek his fortune in the big city. Navin's struggle for fame, his invention of the opti-grab device and the earth-shattering discovery of his "special purpose" are just a small part of the Johnson legend.

Monday 6th July

TV

On the Buses - ITV 3. 6.50pm - 7.20pm
The Luxton Bus Company Social Club hold a darts match.

Carry On Laughing - ITV 3. 7.20pm - 7.55pm
Clips from the Carry On films.

Film: All or Nothing (2002) - BBC 1. 11.20pm - 1.30am
Bleak drama directed by Mike Leigh and starring Timothy Spall. During a long weekend on a run-down South London housing estate, a rag tag group of life's survivors struggle to stay afloat in a sea of social and financial despair.

Tuesday 7th July

TV

On the Buses - ITV 3. 6.50pm - 7.20pm
Stan and Jack look forward to their welcome seasonal breaks.

Carry On Laughing - ITV 3. 7.20pm - 7.55pm
Clips from the Carry On films.

The Professionals - ITV 4. 8.00pm - 9.00pm
Bodie and Doyle are assigned protection duties.

National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) - ITV 4. 10.05pm - 12.20am
John Landis' anarchic comedy starring John Belushi. The students of Delta house have a reputation for wild parties and drinking. As the freshmen arrive on campus, the future of the house comes under threat.

Flight of the Conchords (9/10) - BBC 4. 10.30pm - 10.55pm
New. Series two. Wingmen. Bret falls for a girl working at the pet shop, but shyness thwarts his chance of asking her on a date. Determined to lend a hand, Jermaine enlists the aid of a friendly mugger to help make his band-mate look tough in front of his new love interest.

Radio

John Mayall's Blues Adventures - BBC Radio 4. 1.30pm - 2.00pm
Blues veteran John Mayall traces the explosion of the blues and R&B in Britain in the early 1960s. With contributions from Bill Wyman, Zoot Money and Eric Burdon.

All of Me: the Betrayal of Billie Holiday - BBC Radio 2. 10.30pm - 11.30pm
To mark next week's 50th anniversary of her death, Neneh Cherry tells the story of how the jazz-blues legend was betrayed by her manager, resulting in a near-ten-month spell in prison for narcotic offences.

Wednesday 8th July

TV

The Professionals - ITV 4. 6.00pm - 7.00pm
Bodie and Doyle are assigned protection duties.

On the Buses - ITV 3. 6.50pm - 7.25pm
Stan and Jack are chosen to go on a training course.

Carry On Laughing - ITV 3. 7.25pm - 8.00pm
Farcical comedy sketches.

Legends: the Andrews Sisters - BBC 4. 8.00pm - 9.00pm
Queens of the Music Machines. Profile of the group.

Minder - ITV 4. 8.00pm - 9.00pm
Arthur's safe is targeted by an old acquaintance.

Film: Buster (1988) - BBC 1. 11.30pm - 1.10am
Biographical crime drama, based on the life of Great Train robber Buster Edwards, starring Phil Collins. A small time crook gets a chance to move into the big time.

Thursday 9th July

TV

Minder - ITV 4. 6.00pm - 7.00pm
Arthur's safe is targeted by an old acquaintance.

On the Buses - ITV 3. 6.55pm - 7.25pm
Stan and Jack take out a boisterous group of school children.

Carry On Laughing - ITV 3. 7.25pm - 8.00pm
Comedy sketches.

Psychoville (4/7) - BBC 2. 10.00pm - 10.30pm
In an episode based on the classic Hitchcock thriller Rope, David and his mother Maureen are interrupted in their killing spree by the arrival of a visitor and must keep the caller from finding the body in the trunk.

Legends: Josephine Baker - The First Black Superstar - BBC 4. 10.30pm - 11.30pm
Documentary about the iconic black entertainer who was a pioneer in every sense of the word and whose impact on the cultural history of the twentieth century was profound.

Retro TV W/C 26th June 2009

Barry Murphy returns once more trawl the TV and radio guides (so you don't have to) to find anything worth tuning into this week. All listings are for UK terrestrial TV, Freeview and national radio, with the shows running from Friday 26th June to Thursday 2nd July 2009.
 
Highlights of the week 

This week's television and radio is dominated by coverage of this year's Glastonbury festival. Among the highlights are performances from the recently reformed Specials ( BBC 4. Friday 26th, 9pm) and Madness (BBC 4. Sunday 28th, 7pm) both introduced by Mark Radcliffe.
Although a repeat, Soul Britannia (BBC 4, Friday 26th, 10pm) is unmissable. The second part of this excellent 3 part series charting the dynamic impact of black American and Caribbean sounds on British music and society is absolutely essential viewing. This weeks episode explores the time-frame of the early 1970s to the mid 80s, featuring Northern soul, skinheads, Ska and 2-tone. With contributions from Pete Townshend, Paul Weller and Kevin Rowland, among others.

Magpie DVD reviewed

We mentioned this was on its way some weeks back and now we have a review of Magpie on DVD.

For the uninitiated, Magpie was a children's show that ran over the late 60s and throughout the 1970s, generally thought of as a more 'hip' version of rival show Blue Peter, it had cool presenters, a Spencer Davis Group soundtrack and slightly more edgy content than the safer BBC alternative.

Only a fraction of the episodes remain, the best of which have been compiled on this new Network DVD. You can buy it later this month (June 29th), but in the meantime, check out our review over on our Cinedelica site, via the link below.

Magpie DVD review on Cinedelica

Beyond Biba movie premiere at the V&A, London

If you've got any interest in 60s and 70s fashion or indeed, the woman behind one of its most iconic labels, you'll want to catch a new movie that gets its premiere at London's V&A in July - Beyond Biba.

The movie centres on Barbara Hulanicki, looking at both the past and present, from the heady days of Biba, its influence in years since and perhaps most importantly, a look at Barbara herself and how she has kept on going forward, particularly in the world of interior design, rather than simply living off past history.

Made in conjunction with the designer (and as such, with full access), the movie gets its world premiere at the V&A on July 17th at 7pm. Barbara Hulanicki will be interviewed on stage after the film. Tickets are £8 and £6 for concessions. In addition, you can buy signed film posters (signed by both Barbara Hulanicki and director Louis Price) online, limited to just 100 and available for just £10 including postage. Sounds like a bargain to us.

Find out more at the Beyond Biba website

Pop Culture auction at Christie's in London

We're a sucker for an auction and they rarely get much better than the Christie's auctions, including the forthcoming Pop Culture auction, which takes place at the South Kensington sale room on 1st July 2009.

As you might expect, there's everything on offer from early Bill Haley and Who posters through to psychedelic artwork, gold discs, rare records, and endless amount of signed gear and of course, lots of items relating to the biggest names in rock, pop and indeed art.

We've picked out these Beatles Yellow Submarine hangers as just one example. Made by Henderson Hoggard back in 1968, each one is a cardboard cut-out of the cartoon Fab Four, sized around 17 inches across. They probably cost buttons back in the day, but right now you're looking at between £600 and £800 to own them. Check out all the lots from the sale via the link below.

Find out more at the Christies website

Retro TV W/C 29th May 2009

Barry Murphy returns once more trawl the TV and radio guides (so you don't have to) to find anything worth tuning into this week. All listings are for UK terrestrial TV, Freeview and national radio, with the shows running from Friday 29th May to Thursday 4th June 2009.
 
Highlights of the week 

California Dreamin': The Mamas and the Papas, a new documentary charting the formation, instant rise and success of the Californian pop group is shown on BBC 4 this weekend (Friday 29th: 9pm & 1am and Sunday 31st: 10pm & 12.30am). Interviews with the band, coupled with performance and archive footage, show the group in their heyday, and the band give detailed accounts of the writing and recording of their hit songs, as well as their personal responses to (and problems with) instant fame and success.