Steam Video Company, The – Nostalgia Central

1 9 8 4 (UK)
6 x 25 minute episodes

This Thames Television series of six individual comedy tales of the macabre – all starring the same repertory cast – was like a cheap, horror version of Ripping Yarns.

Advertised as “a series of gripping yarns to be savoured with hot crumpets in front of the fire”, the series featured bizarre juxtapositions of plots and characters intermingled with football references.

Each edition opened with spoof trailers voiced by the legendary Bob Danvers-Walker, who had been the voice of Pathé News for years.

The debut episode, ‘The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll’, was a bloodcurdling story of a 19th-century physician whose bizarre attempts to tamper with the dark forces of nature unhinged his very brain – leading to madness, death and a job as a Radio 1 disc jockey.

‘Creature From The Black Forest Gateau’ was set in 1957, and London was in the grip of a horrific alien life form – half human and half car park attendant – which was running riot through the city, devouring maple syrup – and everyone in sight.

Only Superman could save the world, but he was being held back by his agent, who didn’t want him to get typecast.

‘I Was Hitler’s Bookie’ followed the exploits of Allied Intelligence in the seamy nightclubs of Nazi Germany.

Inspector Clone set out to discover the terrible ‘Secret of Plankton Lodge’ – and there were some strange happenings in the study. William Franklyn starred as Sir Deirdre Plankton with Madeline Smith as Amanda.

The story concluded with the appearance of a werewolf – or rather a ‘were-Rolf’, with Phil Cool making a guest appearance as Rolf Harris.

William Franklyn starred as the Queen in ‘Amityville II – Luton Town 3’, while the current affairs television show Nationwide with the Furniture Rearranged (a parody of 60 Minutes), reported on the most haunted house in Britain: 24 Misery Crescent, Luton.

An insatiable lust for wealth and power was to prove Bruno Franklyn’s downfall in ‘The Fall Of The House Of Franklyn’.

Having already gambled away a fortune in a game of hide and seek with Lord Lucan, he realised Dame Fortune had finally deserted him when he put his shirt on a clothes horse, and it went lame.

His nerves in shreds, he was about to end his business career forever by throwing himself into a food processor and liquidating his holdings, when a bizarre solution presented itself from an unexpected quarter.

Series writers Andrew Marshall and David Renwick specialised in offbeat humour, but in the past, it had been different to win a mass audience (as with Whoops Apocalypse). This time, they moved a little nearer to “conventional” comedy, but the anarchy was still there.

William Franklyn
Barry Cryer
Anna Dawson
Bob Todd
Madeline Smith
Jimmy Mulville
Bob Danvers Walker (voice)

Episodes

The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll | Creature From The Black Forest Gateau | I Was Hitler’s Bookie | The Secret Of Plankton Lodge | Amityville II – Luton Town 3 | The Fall Of The House Of Franklyn

Video