Patrick George Callaghan

Cadfael 1994-98 ITV Studios You know, this was a series I missed the first time round, guess, I was doing other things. Ellis Peters books were truly brought to life with Sir Derek Jacobi’s portrayal of Brother Cadfael for Independent Television in the UK. Sitting back with a boxed set, each episode just swarms over you, it’s as if you were there back in time, all those years ago, in the backdrop of medieval Shrewsbury. The research by Author Ellis Peters (her Pen Name)  must have been quite meticulous, in having studied in great detail the lifestyle of these Monks, whose Monastery was positioned close to a fortress castle that gave protection to the nearby village folk. The Television screenplay works at an engaging easy pace woven into a strong style of high drama. It’s not always for the squeamish, me for one! as one of Cadfael’s duties as a Monk is to act as potholigist and apothecary...

I’ve just settled into the very first series of “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” I remember these from years ago and being made solely for television screening. I’ve always been a fan of his work, which has often been very forward thrusting and certainly mind catching. These 30 min TV slot fillers are intriguing little stories with Alfred introducing the plot and also summing up at the end. This in itself is a great treat. There is much written about this man, so lets not go down that road, only to say, the guy had directed films successful for Gainsborough in the 30’s and when they threw in the towel, he was left at a loss, thankfully American Studios realised the genius in him and brought him to Hollywood, and where he directed many of his life-long features.

  You know, I’ve just worked myself thru my complete series of ‘Callan’ and realised this is just as hard hitting as when it surfaced on our screens back in the 70s. It was based on an earlier ‘One-Off’ without the trimmings. The single-minded callousness of the characters portrayed, held its togetherness, even today in a very different world, it could almost have been written recently. The charismatic Edward Woodward, a killer with a heart, matched perfectly with the sheer single-mindedness of Anthony Valentine as Toby Myers, and both judged over by William Squire as Hunter. You might say, this would be more appealing to a male audience, but I’m not so sure. Ok, my mother was not so keen on it, but many women, I’ve learnt since, liked the rugged charm of Edward Woodward as ‘Callan’ and the ‘High fee luting’ style of Anthony Valentine in portraying the character of Toby Myers. I remember, myself and ‘HG’ (my dad) and ‘M’ (Marilyn my partner) and h...