In the last episode of the series, Kit goes for his big break: a BBC breakfast DJ slot. We also get to see the infamous outfit that has ensured that this series will never, ever be forgotten.

About

The sixth episode of The Kit Curran Radio Show, ‘The Big Break’, aired on the 14th of May 1984 on ITV. Produced by Thames Television and written by Andy Hamilton, it stars Denis Lawson as ‘Kit Curran’, Clive Merrison as ‘Damien Appleby’, Paul Brooke as ‘Les Toms’ and Brian Wilde as ‘Roland Simpson’. It also features Hilton McRae as ‘Hooper’. Lawson fans may recognise McRae, as he also stars in ‘The Justice Game’ and one episode of ‘New Tricks’ opposite Lawson. He’s also in Return of the Jedi as Arvel Crynyd / Green Leader, aka the pilot who flew their A-Wing into the bridge of a Star Destroyer.

Availability: Out on Region 2 DVD as of 2018. Be aware that the iTunes version is actually Series 2 mislabelled as Series 1. The watch quality of the DVD is better than these screencaps suggest—it’s certainly an improvement over the VHS rips of re-runs that were circling before it was released—but you can tell the footage hasn’t been best preserved.

Continue reading “The Kit Curran Radio Show, Episode Six: The Big Break”

Following the death of the local MP, Newtown is hit by Election Fever. Kit takes every advantage to catapult himself into the national spotlight, and we witness a piece of political satire which could air today and still be relevant.

About

The fifth episode of The Kit Curran Radio Show, ‘Election Fever’, aired on the 7th of May 1984 on ITV. Fittingly for such a politically-minded episode, this was three days after local elections were held in the UK. Produced by Thames Television and written by Andy Hamilton, it stars Denis Lawson as ‘Kit Curran’, Clive Merrison as ‘Damien Appleby’, Paul Brooke as ‘Les Toms’ and Brian Wilde as ‘Roland Simpson’.

Availability: Out on Region 2 DVD as of 2018. Be aware that the iTunes version is actually Series 2 mislabelled as Series 1. The watch quality of the DVD is better than these screencaps suggest—it’s certainly an improvement over the VHS rips of re-runs that were circling before it was released—but you can tell the footage hasn’t been best preserved.

Continue reading “The Kit Curran Radio Show, Episode Five: Election Fever”

This week, Kit’s thinking positive, and wanting to make some changes. A positivity workshop seems like a great idea, but will it lead to unexpected consequences?

About

The fourth episode of The Kit Curran Radio Show, ‘P is for Positive’, aired on the 30th of April 1984 on ITV. Produced by Thames Television and written by Andy Hamilton, it stars Denis Lawson as ‘Kit Curran’, Clive Merrison as ‘Damien Appleby’, Paul Brooke as ‘Les Toms’ and Brian Wilde as ‘Roland Simpson’. Additional guest stars this episode include Debbi Blythe as ‘Sally Beamish’ and Joseph Marcell as ‘Constantine’.

Availability: Out on Region 2 DVD as of 2018. Be aware that the iTunes version is actually Series 2 mislabelled as Series 1. The watch quality of the DVD is better than these screencaps suggest—it’s certainly an improvement over the VHS rips of re-runs that were circling before it was released—but you can tell the footage hasn’t been best preserved.

Continue reading “The Kit Curran Radio Show, Episode Four: P is for Positive”

This week, Radio Newtown faces declining listener figures, and Roland kickstarts some new programming attempts in order to boost them. Some of those ideas are more successful than others. And then Kit weighs in. All in all, no good can come of that.

About

The third episode of The Kit Curran Radio Show, ‘Bread and Circuses’, aired on the 16th of April 1984 on ITV. Produced by Thames Television and written by Andy Hamilton, it stars Denis Lawson as ‘Kit Curran’, Clive Merrison as ‘Damien Appleby’, Paul Brooke as ‘Les Toms’ and Brian Wilde as ‘Roland Simpson’.

Availability: Out on Region 2 DVD as of 2018. Be aware that the iTunes version is actually Series 2 mislabelled as Series 1. The watch quality of the DVD is better than these screencaps suggest—it’s certainly an improvement over the VHS rips of re-runs that were circling before it was released—but you can tell the footage hasn’t been best preserved.

Continue reading “The Kit Curran Radio Show, Episode Three: Bread and Circuses”

This week, Kit faces the fight of his life. His challenge? Convince Roland that he is not in fact a brazen con-man, and he deserves to keep his job. The only problem with that? Roland doesn’t believe a word that comes out his mouth. Things are about to get interesting.

About

The second episode of The Kit Curran Radio Show, ‘The New Broom’, aired on the 9th of April 1984 on ITV. Produced by Thames Television and written by Andy Hamilton, it stars Denis Lawson as ‘Kit Curran’, Clive Merrison as ‘Damien Appleby’, Paul Brooke as ‘Les Toms’ and Brian Wilde as ‘Roland Simpson’. Additional guest stars this episode include Debbi Blythe as ‘Sally Beamish’, Joseph Marcell as ‘Constantine’ and Maev Alexander as ‘Joanne Short’.

Availability: Out on Region 2 DVD as of 2018. Be aware that the iTunes version is actually Series 2 mislabelled as Series 1. The watch quality of the DVD is better than these screencaps suggest—it’s certainly an improvement over the VHS rips of re-runs that were circling before it was released—but you can tell the footage hasn’t been best preserved.

Continue reading “The Kit Curran Radio Show, Episode Two: The New Broom”

Oh, Kit Curran. Kit is the very definition of a problematic fave. He’s endlessly charming, but as the DVD case puts it: he’s a disk-jockey, flyboy, con-man, compulsive fibber, and worse! A little bit like the series itself, honestly. There’s some really delightful comedy, a few great political jabs, and some really quite excellent character work from the entire cast. It is also very of its time. Some of the jokes miss the mark, especially to a modern audience, and the laughter of the studio audience can be a little disconcerting. It’s still pretty watchable—if you can find a copy, which has got much easier recently—and certainly hasn’t aged as badly as some of its contemporaries.

This week, we’re looking at the very first episode, in which we meet all the delightful personalities that make up Radio Newtown, and set the stage for the comedy of errors that will ensue over the series.

About

The first episode of The Kit Curran Radio Show, ‘End of an Era’, aired on the 2nd of April 1984 on ITV. Produced by Thames Television and written by Andy Hamilton, it stars Denis Lawson as ‘Kit Curran’, Clive Merrison as ‘Damien Appleby’, Paul Brooke as ‘Les Toms’ and Brian Wilde as ‘Roland Simpson’.

Availability: Out on Region 2 DVD as of 2018. Be aware that the iTunes version is actually Series 2 mislabelled as Series 1. The watch quality of the DVD is better than these screencaps suggest—it’s certainly an improvement over the VHS rips of re-runs that were circling before it was released—but you can tell the footage hasn’t been best preserved.

Continue reading “The Kit Curran Radio Show, Episode One: End of an Era”