Recently in Play it Again! Category

WITH its maudlin theme tune, Suicide is Painless, and the reality of death on the doorstep, M*A*S*H seemed unlikely material for a half hour of laughs.

But then the vein of comedy being tapped was on the black side and the fact it veered towards drama in its later seasons meant that the TV series continued for 11 years, nearly four times longer than the war it portrayed.

It was inspired by the feature film which, in turn, had been based on a novel by Richard Hooker, a former military surgeon, about the exploits of doctors in a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital set up during the Korean War.

Alan Alda and Wayne Rogers took on the roles of Hawkeye Pierce and Trapper John McIntyre - played by Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould in Robert Altman's film.

The latter was a satirical comedy and allegory about the Vietnam War, still rumbling on then in spite of increasingly vehement opposition to it in the US.

The film's focus was originally on three surgeons and included a Captain Duke Forrest (Tom Skerritt), although he does not appear in the series.

Hawkeye and Trapper John were notorious rule breakers, prank pullers and flirts who transformed their tent - The Swamp - into a cocktail bar.

Image via Wikipedia

THE theme music is heard thousands of times every day in swimming baths the length and breadth of Britain.

As soon as the wave machine is switched on, there's a burst of Morton Stevens' famous music to warn swimmers of the Hawaiian beach thrills to come.

Image via Wikipedia

Sometimes when you trawl the internet it takes you to strange places and unlocks things in the vaults of your mind that you thought had gone forever.

That happened to me today when I stumbed upon a trailer for Hawk The Slayer - a cult film that was so bizarre and at times awful that it was actually brilliant.

Included in the cast of this 1980 film were Bernard Bresslaw, Jack Palance, Roy Kinnear and Mrs Victor Meldrew.

I loved this film, and finding this clip has inspired me to hunt it down again and relive those memories.

Here's the best bits in three minutes - allegedly.

More suprising to me was that the lead character Hawk was actually played by no other than John Terry - aka Christian Shepard of Lost fame... small world!

Cover of Wheels on Meals

It should never be underestimated just how popular the Jackie Chan films were in the 80's nor indeed how brilliant they were.

This clip from Wheels On Meals is a great example of just how sensational some of his fight scenes were.

Not only great fight scenes but it;s the overall slapstick approach and humour coupled with 70's porn soundtrack that add to the genius.

Well worth checking some of the earlier films out if you have chance, the Police Story films and Drunken Master an obvious place to start.

Without wishing to sound old they just don't make them like they used to!

THIRTY years ago the world was gripped by the shooting of one man.

It wasn't the assassination of a leading political figure but the gunning down of Texas oil tycoon JR Ewing in TV hit Dallas.

The show was only in its third season and had already become a ratings winner with viewers, thanks to the antics of the vicious and conniving JR, played by the brilliant Larry Hagman.

He cheated on his long-suffering wife Sue Ellen, he blackmailed arch-enemy Cliff Barnes, and he constantly lied to his forgiving brother Bobby.

At the end of season three, it seemed karma had finally worked its magic on the oil baron when he was shot by an unknown assassin as he worked late in his darkened office.

The cliffhanger, broadcast in March 1980, sparked a worldwide sensation, with everyone asking: "Who shot JR?"

Was it drunkard Sue-Ellen? Was it the revenge-obsessed Cliff?

IT is the role that turned Boris Karloff into a worldwide superstar.

Mention Frankenstein, and everybody thinks of Karloff's portrayal of the tormented creature in 1931 horror movie classic Frankenstein.