Because Rentaghost wouldn't work without the late and sadly-missed Michael Staniforth. Simple as that.

>Because Rentaghost wouldn't work without the late and sadly-missed Michael Staniforth. Simple as that.

...I guess I should know this, but which character was this and how long ago did they die ?

Michael Staniforth played Timothy Claypole the Court Jester.As far as I know he sadly was one of the first celebrities to die from an AIDS related illness in the eighties.I believe he came from a musical background and was regular in West End shows.
Any more info anyone?

>Michael Staniforth played Timothy Claypole the Court Jester.As far as I know he sadly was one of the first celebrities to die from an AIDS related illness in the eighties.I believe he came from a musical background and was regular in West End shows.
>Any more info anyone?

..oh, that's sad - I never knew that. Yes, does anyone know anymore?

>Michael Staniforth played Timothy Claypole the Court Jester.As far as I know he sadly was one of the first celebrities to die from an AIDS related illness in the eighties.I believe he came from a musical background and was regular in West End shows.
>Any more info anyone?

He died in 1987, and I was shocked to discover this only a couple of years ago. He was brilliant in Rentaghost - what else did he do?

No one seems to know what else Michael Staniforth did. I've tried to find out for years but have never come across anything. Presumably a lot of theatre. The guy who played Mr Meeker died about five years ago too. What would be the point in reviving it?


'Rentaghost' was great but outstayed it's welcome. Early seasons were better but Bob Block soon wrote to demand and it really showed.

I did suggest a while back an episode guide of 'Rentaghost' with some kind of championing article. One misgiving at SOTCAA was that it may be too kitsch. I don't think this, does anyone else?

I remember it being good to strt with, but getting silly and embarrassing later. Or maybe it was just me getting older. Whatever happened to Bob Block, apart from 'Galloping Galaxies'? Does anyone still have a Rentaghost christmas annual?

Michael Staniforth did indeed die of what were widely belived to be AIDS-related complications in 1987, his illness leading to the hasty cancellation of Rentaghost in (I think) 1985 and its even hastier replacement with the largely substandard "Galloping Galaxies". As far as I know, most of his other work was in the theatre (Shakespeare stuff, The Gingerbread Man, Starlight Express etc), although he was in a weird childrens' BBC thing called "Great Big Groovy Horse" (there's an entry on this at TV Cream). He was obviously a great actor, and on the evidence of the Rentaghost theme, a great musician too.

I've runa couple of "Rentaghost"-related articles in my magazine "Paintbox" - http://www.bluejam20.freeserve.co.uk/ for further details, if anyone's interested...

I have a Original Cast recording of a musical called Two Gentlemen of Verona,which Staniforths in.Its quite groovey actually, evocative of Jesus Christ Superstar .Its early seventies and can be picked up at record fairs quite cheaply.The other show by Bob Block was the prototype Rentaghost,Roberts Robots, which as a nipper I thought it was brilliant and slightly unsettling( as of course any childrens programme from that era is)Any info on Patsy and his mates?

I spent a large percentage of last week trying to stop myself singing the theme song to Rentaghost.

Was it on telly or something?
I'm trying to work out why the tune was in my head in the first place...

Anyone know any more about the rumour that the BBC accidentally junked some early 1980s episodes of Rentaghost?

>Anyone know any more about the rumour that the BBC accidentally junked some early 1980s episodes of Rentaghost?

Absolutely true. Plus loads of 'Jackanory' when they dumped all the original tapes and prints. All they have now are D3 digital recordings, as with most shows they've converted since 1992. The BFI salvaged most seventies stuff from the unwanted stock.

Not really as bad as it seems. Digital Tv repeats were going strong last year. Not sure which ones.

Less than useful - the guy that played Fred Mumford in the original series was Anthony Jackson (Dai Station in Ivor). Also Lynda LaPlante, in her last acting role, played an almost identical character to Nadia Popov in the early 80s in Rentaghost. Or so I've heard. Anne Emery (Ethel Meaker) was Dick Emery's sister. I can tell you who played the pantomime horse but I don't think that you really care.

crap trivia fact: the blokes who did the panto horse on Rentaghost 'played' an alien called The Myrka in Doctor Who. An alien which looked suspiciously like two blokes doing a pantomime horse...

There were certainly some fine comic moments to the mind of a primary schoolboy, many later acted out in the playground. One of my favourite ideas was Meaker (Harold) having a spell cast on Meaker (Ethel) so that she would copy all his movements in order to learn how to drive. Harold sat in the passenger seat miming the steering, gear changing, pedal operation etc and all went well until he ended up out of the car somehow (don't ask me, it was probably something to do with that cocking horse) and was left sitting in the middle of the road, performing the actions whilst Ethel careered off down the road and out of sight, screaming at the top of her voice as per. I enjoyed it anyway.

I found her a little bit scary. Whenever I heard impressionists saying "Harold" when I was younger I always assumed that it was Ethel Meaker they were doing, not Albert Steptoe. A very confused little boy.

Can anyone remember any particularly fine comic moments?

>>Anyone know any more about the rumour that the BBC accidentally junked some early 1980s episodes of Rentaghost?
>
>Absolutely true. Plus loads of 'Jackanory' when they dumped all the original tapes and prints. All they have now are D3 digital recordings, as with most shows they've converted since 1992. The BFI salvaged most seventies stuff from the unwanted stock.
>
>Not really as bad as it seems. Digital Tv repeats were going strong last year. Not sure which ones.


>Do you know which epsiodes (ie from what year exactly) were junked ? I heard it was a few from the very first series..

>Whatever happened to Bob Block, apart from 'Galloping Galaxies'?

Hm... the Cheif Executive of Oxford City Council is called Bob Block. It would be very strange if it were the same person, but equally strange if there were two people in the world with such an odd name...

I loved Rentaghost, didn't know Michael Staniforth was dead though, that's sad. Wasn't Sue Nichols in it too?

Sue Nicholls, I say Sue Nicholls, thank you Miss Jones, etc.

22 minutes late. Dead jester jamming the points at Norwood junction. Joan! Please...

Leonard Rossiter, Michael Staniforth, Alf Roberts - how many more leading men will the Curse of Nicholls strike? Was she in The Odd Couple?

"crap trivia fact: the blokes who did the panto horse on Rentaghost 'played' an alien called The Myrka
in Doctor Who. An alien which looked suspiciously like two blokes doing a pantomime horse... "

Which story was that?

It was The Myrka in "Warriors Of The Deep", one of Peter Davison's final stories, and perhaps more accurately known as "Warriors On The Cheap". Don't bother.

Although it did give rise to the legendary fanzine story about The Myrka's resemblance to The Queen Mother...

They had the nerve to release an audio version of @Warriors On the Cheap' recently. Shocking.

Did you ever hear Paul Cornell's defence for similar men-in-a-skin ending to the ace 'Kinda'? Apparently visions were false anyway, so an unconvincing monster makes sense.

How I laughed.

Yes, well Cornell makes me laugh a lot. Usually unintentionally.

>Yes, well Cornell makes me laugh a lot. Usually unintentionally.

I don't mind him. Hated him in my tender years, but you grow to like him. Do you remember 'Dissent Is Good' in DWB? Patronising or viciously sardonic, depending how you look at it.

He did describe Dr Who fans as "emotional if not political Nazis". For that alone I respect him.

Cornell is king! Dissent is Good is a terrific article, and his NA books for Virgin were the best I've read.

I've always preferred Steve Lyons' stuff, to be honest.

Good bloke Steve. If a little obsessed with breasts.

>Dissent Is Good

It'd be nice to reprint it on SOTCAA in some way. I think they've written the same kind of thing but a lot of readers don't seem to have got the knack of 'dissent' yet.

>Steve Lyons

And ramming The Goodies into 'Countdown'.

Last NA book I bought was 'Iceberg', irritated by meeting the spineless novelists for the range. Except for Cornell.

Anyone remember Mark Gatiss at TARDIS in Durham 1992? Arse.

I've only ever met Cornell and Lyons, and got on with them both, but I have had lengthy ang legendary slanging matches with some other NA authors through the pages of fanzines...

Care to elaborate, TJ? Is this recent or back when Dr Who actually had fanzines that were easily available? Is this letters page or articles.

Basically, I wrote an article or two slating the whole concept of New Adventures for a fanzine. Some New Adventures writers took offence, and expressed their opinions via the letters page. I expressed mine back. Soi they did again. This went on for quite some time, but has thankfully stopped now.

And there are still some fanzines easily available, although personally I would only really recommend Faze: http://www.stanley115.freeserve.co.uk

And maybe "Circus" if it's still going.

'Earthshock' was the best Peter Davison story, obviously. Though the Dalek one, plus 'The Caves Of Androzani' were pretty good. Whatever happened to Eric Saward?

As every single article ever to be written about 1980s Doctor Who has stated, Eric Saward "resigned in high dudgeon" and then slated JNT in a 'stormy' interview with DWB.

wasn't that interview silly. Rewriting history just like Levine did.

I do miss DWB. What I was getting at with the extancy of fanzines were two in particular - did 'Skaro' and 'Time Screen' really go to the wall. I hate to hear the truth but tell me if you know.

Incidentally, I meant 'Conundrum', not 'Countdown'. Twat.

The last Time Screen was in 1995 - the comic strips special. After that, I assume Andrew Pixley moved into the BBC Archives and stayed there, as there was never another issue.

I did hear a rumour once that some distant member of the Time Screen gang relaunched it a couple of years back under a different name, and included articles on non-telefantasy stuff, but I never actually saw this. Anyone else?

As for Skaro, there hasn't been an issue for several years now, and as Ness and co are all now writing professionally, I'm not certain that there will be another...

Thanks for that. I did get your message. I will respond with my long, long, prepared response once I've figured out how my landlord's mailbox works!

Oi! The one thing about these threads is that they always seem to digress so quickly off the original topic into either Sci Fi trivia,new wave bands of early eighties or inane babble.So as I enquired ages ago ,does any bastard remember Bob Blocks Roberts Robots?

>Oi! The one thing about these threads is that they always seem to digress so quickly off the original topic into either Sci Fi trivia,new wave bands of early eighties or inane babble.So as I enquired ages ago ,does any bastard remember Bob Blocks Roberts Robots?

Don't remember it (bit too young - it was early 70s, Thames, so I've been told). Anyway, bloke who played Robert was actor John Clive (who was in A Clockwork Orange about that time). Bob Block did write it - ummm...anyone?

>Oi! The one thing about these threads is that they always seem to digress so quickly off the original topic into either Sci Fi trivia,new wave bands of early eighties or inane babble.

Isn't that the joy of life? It's what happens when the pot of half-remembered thought runs out. At least no one's mentioned The Skids or The Tripods.

>So as I enquired ages ago ,does any bastard remember Bob Blocks Roberts Robots?

No idea. I can tell you 'Galloping Galaxies' transmission dates but nothing else on Bob Block.

More to the point, anyone remember the 'Rentasanta' special? It never seems to get a repeat.

I vaguely recall Rentasanta from when I was extremely young... I think there was a scene where Claypole descended down a chimney Father Christmas style, only to leap straight back up after sitting on some holly...

Not the only prick up the arse that Michael Staniforth had...

>Not the only prick up the arse that Michael Staniforth had...

Mr Jim Davidson, ladies and gentlemen!