John Wyver writes: The eclecticism and breadth of the drama produced pre-war at Alexandra Palace is indicated by the production on Friday 3 March 1939 of The King of Spain's Daughter by Teresa Deevy. This was a play that more
John Wyver writes: Sunday 1 March 1936 saw The Observer splash an exclusive interview with BBC director of television Gerald Cock (above, in his Alexandra Palace office) eight months ahead of the offical opening of the service. The article, bylined more
John Wyver writes: With 88 original OTD posts now on this blog, I thought it might be appropriate to compile this index of the February ones, to complement those for January and for December (and a bit of more
John Wyver writes: Before the war The Times did not employ a regular television critic, but occasional anonymous columns offered acute reflections on the development of the new medium. These included a piece published on Monday 27 February 1939 headed more
John Wyver writes: On Sunday 26 February 1939 Sight and Sound was a studio 'bee' hosted by Sir Kenneth Clark, youthful director of the National Gallery known to friends and peers as ‘K’. Seated in a wide semi-circle with more
John Wyver writes: Today is the 93rd anniversary of the earliest Shakespeare performance on British television that I can identify. In the morning of Thursday 25 February 1932, producer Harold Bradly in the Baird studio in Covent Garden's Long Acre, more
John Wyver writes: The evening schedule of Friday 24 February 1939 featured a half-hour police drama with a twist, since you, the viewer, were expected to solve the crime. The Fletcher Case was the third of the occasional Telecrime series, more
John Wyver writes: Characterised by The Times as ‘an animated scene’, the interior of the Marble Arch Pavilion cinema was packed on the evening of 23 February 1939 with ‘an audience of men and women who were evidently boxing enthusiasts.’ Every more
John Wyver writes: Making a Poster on the evening of Monday 21 February 1938 featured artist Dora Clarke, familiar from other AP broadcasts, taking the audience through the stages of producing what was not exactly a poster, but rather the more
John Wyver writes: Frustration reigned at AP on the afternoon of Saturday 20 February 1937 as it proved impossible to get the vision system working and between the sound-only transmission of records director of television Gerald Cock had to make more