I read recently on a 'lost shows' website how many complete editions of Granada's T.V.'s 'Clapperboard' currently survive. The depressing answer was this - very few.
It was a long-running children's programme about cinema. Screened on Monday afternoons, it began as an earnest look at film genres ( westerns, sci-fi, musicals, comedies etc. ) but as it progressed changed into something more akin to an Open University programme. Very few children would have known exactly who the programmes were about. One was devoted to the film music of Ron Goodwin, another to the work of Ken Adam ( set designer of the Bond films ), others profiled cinematographer Freddie Young, Edward Fox, Jacques Tati, William Goldman, Frank Launder & Sidney Gilliat, Gloria Grahame, and Richard Attenborough. To tie-in with the television debut of 'Space: 1999', Gerry Anderson was put in the spotlight. It is highly unlikely that such an eclectic programme would get on air today.
The presenter, Chris Kelly, was in his thirties, and reviewed films in a laid back, confidant style akin to Barry Norman's, there was no attempt to pander to younger viewers. He was brave enough to put the boot into the film 'Grease' for one thing! You sensed he was having fun doing the show. Credit for its success not only belongs to him but to producer Muriel Young, herself a former presenter.
When 'Clapperboard' was axed in 1982, it left a huge void in children's television, one that is still sadly waiting to be filled.
It was a long-running children's programme about cinema. Screened on Monday afternoons, it began as an earnest look at film genres ( westerns, sci-fi, musicals, comedies etc. ) but as it progressed changed into something more akin to an Open University programme. Very few children would have known exactly who the programmes were about. One was devoted to the film music of Ron Goodwin, another to the work of Ken Adam ( set designer of the Bond films ), others profiled cinematographer Freddie Young, Edward Fox, Jacques Tati, William Goldman, Frank Launder & Sidney Gilliat, Gloria Grahame, and Richard Attenborough. To tie-in with the television debut of 'Space: 1999', Gerry Anderson was put in the spotlight. It is highly unlikely that such an eclectic programme would get on air today.
The presenter, Chris Kelly, was in his thirties, and reviewed films in a laid back, confidant style akin to Barry Norman's, there was no attempt to pander to younger viewers. He was brave enough to put the boot into the film 'Grease' for one thing! You sensed he was having fun doing the show. Credit for its success not only belongs to him but to producer Muriel Young, herself a former presenter.
When 'Clapperboard' was axed in 1982, it left a huge void in children's television, one that is still sadly waiting to be filled.