Patrick George Callaghan

Tales of Wells Fargo… 1957-1962 NBC It all came back to me over the years, when I sat down to watch a disc of the opening series of ‘Tales of Wells Fargo’ featuring Dale Robertson as the company’s investigator. I must admit, that I had rather forgotten these productions long ago and it was only the reference to Wells Fargo in another western that got me thinking to myself… “Wasn’t there, a western TV series entitled thus. Well, a quick check with Amazon has now provided with a reasonable priced disc of the first series. These 25 min slot fillers are an enjoyable romp, much in the style of ‘Whiplash’, with Dale as Jim Hardy giving justice to the company’s problems by a left handed gun belt or simple logic that is much of the backbone of any respectable and successful western. Dale Robertson’s lay back, easy going style, is quite engaging. An approach, I feel, that was very much of his own real life character. A man that women loved and men admired and...

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...

You know, I recently sat back in front of the screen and watched the few surviving episodes of  Dixon of Dock Green… Some 22 episodes from 1973 to 1976, and I guess, I felt that these had stood up well to that Test ofTime. The series started in 1956 featuring Jack Warner and Peter Byrne, in Ted Childs BBC productions. I found the story lines were still very strong, offering not too differing and absorbing scenarios that have appeared and been applauded in latter years. I guess, these episodes would have been shown early on Saturday evenings, as far as I can recall. My parents and I would sit and watch the opening introduction from a uniformed Sargent Dixon and with his opening invitation of “Good Evening all” and raised salute. These were comfortable family shows, and you knew the villains would get their come-upence at the end. The series was based on an earlier full length Cinema feature entitled “The Blue ...

Whiplash… Outset 1959 Ok, I’m not one for name-dropping, so I’m kinda gonna work this little connection into my latest aquision. My father loved a number of programs put out by ITV. So in those days, and I guess it was a Friday evening, their news would end at 10.30 and for one full half hour, once a week, we would be treated to an Australian set drama featuring America actor Peter Graves, brother of James Arness (Gunsmoke) in the role of Christopher Cobb, who was the first man to run a stagecoach line from Sidney to Camden and on to Gundagai in New South Wales. Now, me and dad loved to watch this series before going to bed, and recently, I discovered a reasonable priced DVD on NTSC to my absolute joy and from Amazon. Now, for the name dropping bit. Frank Ifield, born in this country to Australian parents  had a string of hits in the UK and voiced the theme to whiplash on the outset of his career. In the...