Time flies when you're furloughed and in the middle of yet another lockdown, so it's no surprise that the launch date for issue 3 of the Curious British Telly fanzine is here. Yes, that's right, to prove that the first two were no flash in the pans, we're back with a third issue. And, dare I say it, it may well be the best one yet.
The whole gamut of British television can be found within these 40 pages and there is, quite literally (if you, in a non-literal manner, stretch the definition of literally) something for everyone. I'm over the moon that, a few years after learning about the existence of pirate television stations in the 1980s, I've secured an exclusive interview with one of these pirates. Thomas was one of the founders of NeTWork 21 and, for several months in 1986, served up a brand of arts-based programming which had never been seen before or since. And that's not all. I've also carried out some detailed research on a Regional Oddity in the form of Mag is Mog, a children's programme which was produced entirely in Gaelic and aired only on BBC Scotland.
It's not just myself contributing to the fanzine. I do, of course, have a couple of loyal contributors who have provided some amazing content. Jon Dear has written a fantastic article on the long forgotten Ghosts anthology series from 1995, which includes an exclusive chat with writer Stephen Volk and director Lesley Manning (that's right, the duo who put 1992's infamous Ghostwatch together). And Prof. Neil Martin has delved deep into the Radio Times to highlight the hilarious spoof listings created for Not the Nine O'Clock News.
However, there's much more than just these four articles. The complete contents are:
If you're interested in a copy of issue three (or the previous two issues) then just send email me at curiousbritishtelly@gmail.com and let me know where to email a PayPal invoice. UK only for now.
P.s. Yes, issue three also contains a dot-to-dot puzzle.
P.p.s Dot-to-dot puzzles are surprisingly frustrating to design. But worth it.
P.p.p.s If you're interested in contributing an article then please get in touch with some ideas and writing samples. A free copy awaits anyone who gets their article published.