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Canals and boats on TV but not in boaty programmes?

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Random musings on a rainy windy evening -

 

I recently watched an episode of "The Professionals" in which there was a shoot-out across the canal and it reminded me that Gordon Jackson's character was called George Cowley. Which then reminded me that not long ago there was a McDonalds advert which featured a swamp boat emerging from Cowley lock on the GU, and thinking about adverts reminded me that there was (I think) a Churchill Insurance advert featuring Geoff Capes in a small narrowboat somewhere on a canal? ....

 

... all of which led me to wonder how many other incidental appearances have the UK waterways have made in TV programmes excluding the boaty programmes like Waterworld, Locks&Quays and Narrowboat and the thing with the TT racer?

 

... there was the Inspector Morse story about the murder on the Oxford, I think.

 

 

oh and where was the Professionals scene filmed? ... and the Geoff Capes thing?

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Keeping Up Veteran II

Keeping UpDonate to Canal World

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Every day this week there's been a daytime series of a police drama called WPC56, with a repeat of the first series every day last week, based in a Birmingham police station in the 1950s. At least half of the scenes have been filmed in the Black Country Museum and there have been plenty of canalside views including several with boats occasionally on the move and some great engine sounds in the background. It is probably all there on iPlayer.

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Ray T Veteran II

Ray TDonate to Canal World

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Random musings on a rainy windy evening -

 

I recently watched an episode of "The Professionals" in which there was a shoot-out across the canal and it reminded me that Gordon Jackson's character was called George Cowley. Which then reminded me that not long ago there was a McDonalds advert which featured a swamp boat emerging from Cowley lock on the GU, and thinking about adverts reminded me that there was (I think) a Churchill Insurance advert featuring Geoff Capes in a small narrowboat somewhere on a canal? ....

 

... all of which led me to wonder how many other incidental appearances have the UK waterways have made in TV programmes excluding the boaty programmes like Waterworld, Locks&Quays and Narrowboat and the thing with the TT racer?

 

... there was the Inspector Morse story about the murder on the Oxford, I think.

 

 

oh and where was the Professionals scene filmed? ... and the Geoff Capes thing?

 

"The Wench is dead".

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Paul G2 Rising Star

Paul G2

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Canals and even an occasional NB pop up in Midsommer Murders from time to time. One episode was filmed at a fictional "rowing club". There were some beautiful boats in that episode. Season 8, Episode 2 - "Dead in the Water".

 

I Seem to recall a couple of NBs being loaded in one episode of "Foyle's War", but I don't remember which episode.

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Guest

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Coronation street has a canal in its current title sequence (possibly the Rochdale) and there was a short running story involving Ken Barlow and another character who's name escapes me but she lived on a NB.

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RLWP Veteran II

RLWP

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The McDonalds 2003 European football ad campaign featured my favourite chant :

 

'Your floating home is a painted narrowboat'

 

Richard

 

I've tried many times to find the video without success as includes many other gems

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mark99 Veteran II

mark99

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The Bargee Harry h Corbett and Ronnie Barker probably to blame for narrowboats being called barges

 

 

Never seen it however I bought that this year kept it under wraps and subjected the family gathering to it on Xmas day as the main xmas film.

 

In actual fact, we really enjoyed it. Lovely little film.

Edited by mark99
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John Williamson 1955 Rising Star

John Williamson 1955

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Then there was the Cliff Richard movie "Take Me High" filmed round Gasworks basin and the BCN in 1974.

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070194/

 

Unfortunately, the copy I had was on a VHS cassette, which went missing in a house moveand apparently the only DVD version ever released was a freeby with the Daily mail in 2010.

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Keeping Up Veteran II

Keeping UpDonate to Canal World

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Then there was the Cliff Richard movie "Take Me High" filmed round Gasworks basin and the BCN in 1974.

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070194/

 

Unfortunately, the copy I had was on a VHS cassette, which went missing in a house moveand apparently the only DVD version ever released was a freeby with the Daily mail in 2010.

 

His boat had one thing in common with the Tardis, that it was clearly a lot bigger on the inside than the outside. For me the best bit of the film is him commuting to work along the main line on a one-man hovercraft.

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carlt Veteran II

carlt

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The Bargee Harry h Corbett and Ronnie Barker probably to blame for narrowboats being called barges

Or even, perhaps, the fact that they were flat bottomed cargo carrying vessels which pretty much defines a barge.

 

There was an episode of "Ultimate Farce" where terrorists used a narrowboat to avoid roadblocks and make their escape. Fortunately Phil Mitchell was on hand to foil their ghastly plot (Tap tap).

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Phantasm Contributor

Phantasm

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Coronation street has a canal in its current title sequence (possibly the Rochdale) and there was a short running story involving Ken Barlow and another character who's name escapes me but she lived on a NB.

Martha Fraser (Stephanie Beacham)

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Guest

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Then there was the Cliff Richard movie "Take Me High" filmed round Gasworks basin and the BCN in 1974.

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070194/

 

Unfortunately, the copy I had was on a VHS cassette, which went missing in a house moveand apparently the only DVD version ever released was a freeby with the Daily mail in 2010.

 

Still loads of 'em about on ebay for less than a quid or two - the film quality is OK - just off for a "Brumburger" now.......

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