Year of the Sex Olympics

Richard Bignell

The CBC Digital Archive has put online a 43-minute interview with Sydney Newman conducted at TVC. It was broadcast in November 1966, so must have been shot in a few weeks beforehand.

There’s some nice material of Sydney standing in one of the studios around the 41-minute mark and you see quite a few of the camera crew around, so perhaps it might be something you might like to pass around to see if anyone can spot themselves!

No one can work out what production it is though. Judging from the hung set and the costumes seen at the end it seems to be something futuristic.

http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/arts-entertainment/media/media-general/a-1966-interview-with-public-broadcasting-impresario-sydney-newman.html——————

Bernie Newman

Looking through I found a few faces:

Year_Sex_1

Mike Colcutt, fresh from TO25

 

Year_Sex_2

Dave Mutton
 

Year_Sex_3

Soundman Tony
 

Year_Sex_4
Scene crew supervisor Ken – forgotten his surname too.
 

Anyway – it’s obviously TC1, it’s autumn 1966.

David Carter

From Wikipedia:

“…“The Year of the Sex Olympics” is a 1968 television play made by the BBC and first broadcast on BBC2 as part of Theatre 625. It stars Leonard Rossiter, Tony Vogel, Suzanne Neve and Brian Cox. It was directed by Michael Elliott. The writer was Nigel Kneale, best known as the creator of “Quatermass”…”

If 1966 is the year in question, might it have been: “Days to Come” (BBC 1).   Dinsdale Landen and Judi Dench starred in a “Play of the Month” adapted from a story by HG Wells and set in London in 2152.

Chris Eames

Just had a look at the end of the programme, and I think that I caught a glimpse of a sylph-like youth bashing Dave’s cable. I stand to be corrected, but I think that is yours truly! I was on Dave’s crew in April 1966 (It was the date that I was married!)

I certainly remember doing a play with a young, and very attractive, Judi Dench about that time. Can’t be sure about Dinsdale Landen. He was flavour of the month at that time, and I remember doing quite a few shows with him, so it could easily have been him.

I don’t know the Wells story, but I have couple of scenes in the back of my mind, some thing about not being allowed to have children, a kind of eugenics theme.

As far as the production is concerned,  I seem to remember a  futuristic play called “The year of the Sex Olympics” about that time. Not much sex, not much plot, but a title designed to annoy Mary Whitehouse!

Peter Fox

I would have sneaked a few optimistic peeks into the studio on the way back from stores or the restaurant. It was bound to have been a "closed studio" making it a magnet.   I recollect that it was notable at the time for being the first, or at least a very early colour drama, in TC6 with massive Marconi colour cameras, and Rodney Taylor to battle with them.

 

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