The Likely Lads is a British sitcom created and written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais and produced by Dick Clement. Twenty episodes were broadcast by the BBC, in three series, between 16 December 1964 and 23 July 1966. However, only ten of these episodes have survived.
Quatermass and the Pit is a British television science-fiction serial transmitted live by BBC Television in December 1958 and January 1959. It was the third and last of the BBC's Quatermass serials, although the chief character, Professor Bernard Quatermass, reappeared in a 1979 ITV production called Quatermass. Like its predecessors, Quatermass and the Pit was written by Nigel Kneale.
David Burke is an English actor, known for playing Dr. John Watson in the initial series of Granada Television's 1980s The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, which starred Jeremy Brett in the title role. He also starred as Joseph Stalin in the last two episodes of Reilly, Ace of Spies.
The Morecambe & Wise Show is a comedy sketch show originally broadcast by BBC Television and the third TV series by English comedy double-act Morecambe and Wise. It began airing in 1968 on BBC2, specifically because it was then the only channel broadcasting in colour, following the duo's move to the BBC from ATV, where they had made Two of a Kind since 1961.
"Whistle and I'll Come to You" is a supernatural short television film which aired as an episode of the British documentary series Omnibus. Written and directed by Jonathan Miller, it is based on the ghost story "'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad'" by M. R. James, first published in the collection Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1904), and first aired on BBC1 on 7 May 1968.
A Ghost Story for Christmas is a British supernatural anthology television series created by Lawrence Gordon Clark. Episodes take the form of short television films which air around Christmas, initially running annually on BBC One from 1971–1978, with sporadic revivals between 2005–2013 and regularly since 2018.
"A View from a Hill" is a short film which serves as the ninth episode of the British supernatural anthology television series A Ghost Story for Christmas, and the first episode of its revival following the 1971-78 run. Written by Peter Harness, produced by Pier Wilkie, and directed by Luke Watson, it is based on the ghost story of the same name by M. R. James, first published in the collection A Warning to the Curious and Other Ghost Stories (1925), and first aired on BBC Four on 23 December 2005.
"The Stalls of Barchester" is a short film which serves as the first episode of the British supernatural anthology television series A Ghost Story for Christmas. Written, produced, and directed by the series' creator Lawrence Gordon Clark, it is based on the ghost story "The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral" by M. R. James, first published in the collection More Ghost Stories (1911). It stars Robert Hardy as Archdeacon Haynes of the fictional Barchester Cathedral, whose mysterious death is investigated 50 years later by the scholar Dr. Black, and first aired on BBC1 on 24 December 1971.
"The Signalman" is a short film which serves as the sixth episode of the British supernatural anthology television series A Ghost Story for Christmas. Written by Andrew Davies, produced by Rosemary Hill, and directed by the series' creator, Lawrence Gordon Clark, it is based on the ghost story "The Signal-Man" (1866) by Charles Dickens, and first aired on BBC1 on 22 December 1976, the earliest airdate in the series relative to Christmas.
"Stigma" is a short film which serves as the seventh episode of the British supernatural anthology television series A Ghost Story for Christmas. Written by Clive Exton, produced by Rosemary Hill, and directed by the series' creator, Lawrence Gordon Clark, it first aired on BBC1 on 29 December 1975, the latest airdate in the series relative to Christmas. At 31 minutes 47 seconds, it is the shortest episode in the original run, being 3 seconds shorter than "The Ash Tree" (1975)
"The Ice House" is a short film which serves as the eighth episode of the British supernatural anthology television series A Ghost Story for Christmas, and the final instalment of the original 1971-78 run. Written by John Bowen, who wrote the earlier instalment "The Treasure of Abbot Thomas" (1974), produced by Rosemary Hill, and directed by Derek Lister, it first aired on BBC1 on 25 December 1975, only the second of the films to air on Christmas after "Lost Hearts" (1973).
"Number 13" is a ghost story by British writer M. R. James, included in his first collection Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1904).
"The Dead Room" is a short film which serves as the thirteenth episode of the British supernatural anthology television series A Ghost Story for Christmas. Produced by Isibeal Ballance and written and directed by Mark Gatiss, it is the first instalment of the series to be an original story since "The Ice House" (1978) and first aired on BBC Four on 24 December 2018.
"Whistle and I'll Come to You" is a short film which serves as the eleventh episode of the British supernatural anthology television series A Ghost Story for Christmas. Written by Neil Cross, produced by Claire Armspach, and directed by Andy De Emmony, it is based on the ghost story of the same name by M. R. James, first published in the collection Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1904), and first aired on BBC Two on 24 December 2005. At 52 minutes it is the longest entry in the series' history.
"The Treasure of Abbot Thomas" is a short film which serves as the fourth episode of the British supernatural anthology television series A Ghost Story for Christmas. Written by John Bowen, produced by Rosemary Hill, and directed by the series' creator, Lawrence Gordon Clark, it is based on the ghost story of the same name by M. R. James, first published in the collection Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1904), and first aired on BBC1 on 23 December 1974.
"Lost Hearts" is a short film which serves as the third episode of the British supernatural anthology television series A Ghost Story for Christmas. Written by Robin Chapman, produced by Rosemary Hill, and directed by the series' creator, Lawrence Gordon Clark, it is based on the 1895 ghost story of the same name by M. R. James and first aired on BBC1 on 25 December 1973. It is the first instalment to have been broadcast on Christmas Day itself, and one of only three in the series' history.
"A Warning to the Curious" is a short film which serves as the second episode of the British supernatural anthology television series A Ghost Story for Christmas. Written, produced, and directed by the series' creator, Lawrence Gordon Clark, it is based on the ghost story of the same name by M. R. James, first published in the collection A Warning to the Curious and Other Ghost Stories (1925) and first aired on BBC1 on 24 December 1972. At 50 minutes it is the longest instalment in the series' original run.
"The Ash Tree" is a short film which serves as the fifth episode of the British supernatural anthology television series A Ghost Story for Christmas. Written by David Rudkin, produced by Rosemary Hill, and directed by the series' creator, Lawrence Gordon Clark, it is based on the ghost story "The Ash-tree" by M. R. James, first published in the collection Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1904), and first aired on BBC1 on 23 December 1975.
The author and medievalist M. R. James (1862-1936) wrote over 30 ghost stories, which have been widely adapted for television, radio, and theatre. The first adaptation of one of his stories was of A School Story for the BBC Midlands Regional Programme in 1932, the only one produced in James' lifetime. The only notable film adaptation is Night of the Demon (1957), directed by Jacques Tourneur and based on Casting the Runes, which is considered one of the greatest horror films of all time. The most celebrated adaptations of his works are those produced for British television in the 1960s and 1970s, which have made him, according to critic Jon Dear, “the go-to folk horror writer for television.”
