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That Unsurpassed 1992 BBC Schedule in full (a bit!)

posted 17 years ago by velvoofell
18 replies | jump to latest

After 'Ghostwatch' had scared your dad and made your mum angry - or was it because Gareth Dickson and I were sitting on the sofa that Saturday night, a couple of thirteen-year-olds clearly pizzed on Baileys - Dr. Walpurgis (an RSC bloke in a mask resembling one of those gargoyles Tom Savini did for a failed Lucio Fulci project - and probably was as the script of the creature was penned by Kim Newman, film buff) curated an evening of horror movies on BBC2.
He said that the evening had been given over to the dark forces (did they know the power Ghostwatch would have?) for one night following a blood pact made by Lord Reith in the 1960s. He promised "Titillating torture", "Lascivious lycanthropy" and showcased, in no particular order:
'The Fog', 'Death Line', 'Torture Garden' and (if memory serves, but we're getting late on into the night now) 'The Howling'. The BBC2 'idents' were "horror-fied" for the evening, one memorable one being the 'two' being chainsawed in half and blood going everywhere.
So, there you go.
Dr. Walpurgis popped up in mid to late nineties 'Friday Night Horror Movie' slots for the BBC called 'Dr Terror's Vault of Horror' - Dr. Walpurgis having undergone the eviscerating name change to Dr. Terror. Kim Newman, again, penned the scripts.

[–] jnrazic 17 years ago

I remember this night very well! After being shaken up by Ghostwatch it was quite comforting to have a actor in a mask introducing some classic horror films. There hasn't been another great Halloween night televison schedule since.

[–] sparkx_11 17 years ago

Best Halloween night for me ever! (Can you believe it's been 15 years) Also on the schedule was 'CREEEPSHOW' which was really scared me at the time (Father's Day & The Crate)

Also a quick note - for the first time ever they have created a CREEPSHOW Special Edition DVD released on the 22nd Oct '07 on UK R2 DVD, just in time for Halloween!

Sparky *´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*¨)
(¸.·´ (¸.·´

[–] zombielord-1 16 years ago

Used to look forward to Halloween TV. Been nothing on since this. In England anyway.

[–] malachai_malachai 16 years ago

was that the night BBC2 put on horror films all night until about 7 in the morning? Why hasn't that happened since? It was brilliant

[–] mattb1975 15 years ago

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=am8GsPvXtaE

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] velvoofell 15 years ago

Yeah - especially in the Ross/Brand climate. However people almost always forget that it was a Screen One presentation, presented by the BBC's TV play strand. It was certainly scheduled in that strand's classic slot of Sunday Night, but did have Steven Volk's "writeen by" credit. Still a bit of cheeky scheduling though!

[–] combatreview 15 years ago

I'm being a pedant here, but I'm not sure your recollection of the schedule is correct. Or I'm thinking of a different one. The Halloween Night schedule that I remember, the first appearance of Dr Walpurgis, included a number of documentaries including clips such as my first sighting of the rather saucy and disturbing first murder from the film 'dust devil'... The film schedule included Creepshow, and Bride of Frankenstein - though I definitely remember Death Line being there, as you say. I don't remember The Fog, though, and I'm pretty sure that wasn't in the hands of the BBC at the time because it was shown on Channel 4 in late 92, around the same time as their repeat run of The Prisoner (I recorded it and watched it one morning during half-term, the same week as the Prisoner episode 'Many Happy Returns')

Either way, every single Halloween gesture by the BBC since 1992 has been quite miserable by comparison. I got quite sick of their theme 'nights' that only lasted for 2 and a half hours, when I remembered 'nights' that really deserved the name, like this one! I seem to remember it went on til about 5 in the morning.

[–] j30bell 15 years ago

>I'm being a pedant here...

You certainly are.

Ghostwatch? Sounds like a crazy right-wing website set up by readers of the Daily Mail to rave about dole claiming, NHS using undead, creeping around in the twilight hours in order to abduct women in diaphanous night attire who are curiously to be found in great numbers clogging up the Holloway Road.

If so, I’m in. If only for the irony value.

[–] j30bell 15 years ago

>I'm pretty sure that wasn't in the hands of the BBC at the time because it was shown on Channel 4 in late 92

Sorry, could you repeat that, I fell asleep?

[–] velvoofell 12 years ago

The links that Dr Walpurgis did - plus the iudents - should have been extras on the new Ghostwatch DVD!

[–] j30bell 15 years ago

>the same time as their repeat run of The Prisoner (I recorded it and watched it one morning during half-term, the same week as the Prisoner episode 'Many Happy Returns')

How fascinating. And such a great way to prepare for ones A-level exams too.

Mind you, I read To Live Forever by Jack Vance the day before my Chemistry practical, so I can't really talk. Much more interesting that diagnostic tests for Ketones and Aldahydes.

[–] combatreview 15 years ago

You utter ponce.

[–] rocking_fraggle 15 years ago

I actually still have a few of the short documentaries on VHS somewhere (how quaint) haven't watched them in a while, but I remember interviews with Tom Savini (talking in detail about his makeup effects work), Clive Barker (Hellraiser III was close to release then I think) as well as Sean Cunnigham, and Wes Craven. I'm pretty sure they ended the night with an uncut showing of Terence Fisher's Curse of the Werewolf.

All in all a really amazing night's entertainment that has certainly never been bettered in UK. Which is a shame, because I seem to remember Halloween television being so much more exciting and inventive when I was a kid.

Ah well...

"Were there monkeys? Some terrifying space monkeys maybe got loose?"

[–] velvoofell 15 years ago

It was incredible - that whole night, such devotion and care to celebrating Hallowe'en and catering to Horror/Monster fans (there's a difference).

[–] VoorheesDalek 14 years ago

I seem to remember them advertising a documentary on Army of Darkness that they never showed. I stayed awake nearly all night cos Ghostwatch scared the crap out of me and I didn't want to sleep. I went to bed at 4am terrified the thing that lived in the crate that was on Creepshow was going to kill me. I swear I could hear an evil monkey outside my window....what a great night. BBC need to do more of them. No Halloween has been the same since.

This is a close up? A CLOSE UP YA JERK, A CLOSE UP!!!

[–] Waiting2BShocked 14 years ago

The schedule was as follows:

10 something pm: Creepshow

12 something am: Curse Of The Werewolf - Restored Version (apparently the non-restored version was shown by accident, rectified by the beeb on a later showing)

2 something am: Bride Of Frankenstein

3 something am: Death Line

5 something am: Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein.

Sorry to shatter any illusions.

The Fog, BTW, was on Channel 4, but in Wales (ie S4C) was shown a couple of weeks later.

[–] velvoofell 14 years ago

I stand utterly corrected - the Dr Walpurgis thing into Dr Terror still intrigues me, though.

You can take a horse to water, but you can't climb a ladder with a bell in both hands.