Freewheelers is a British children's action / adventure television series made by Southern Television between 1968 and 1973. Each story centred around a group of teenagers who aid a British security agent to thwart the plans of a villain and avert an international disaster.
Series overview
edit| Series | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 13 | 4 April 1968 | 27 June 1968 | |
| 2 | 13 | 20 November 1968 | 12 February 1969 | |
| 3 | 13 | 9 July 1969 | 1 October 1969 | |
| 4 | 13 | 29 April 1970 | 22 July 1970 | |
| 5 | 13 | 20 January 1971 | 14 April 1971 | |
| 6 | 13 | 27 September 1971 | 20 December 1971 | |
| 7 | 13 | 4 September 1972 | 27 November 1972 | |
| 8 | 13 | 6 August 1973 | 5 November 1973 | |
Episodes
editEach of the eight series comprised 13 x 30 minute episodes divided into two or three linked stories. All eight series were produced by Chris McMaster.
For extant episodes, the episode title and the names of director and writer are taken from the programme credits[1] (except in the case of Chris McMaster who did not take a director credit). Information for the remaining episodes is from published sources, principally contemporary listings[2] and Time Screen magazine[3] articles[4][5] and episode guides.[6][7] Air dates are from TV listings for the earliest broadcast, some ITV regions may have been later.
Under Status for the best known copy, "TR" indicates broadcast standard telerecording, "VT" indicates broadcast standard videotape, and "VHS" indicates the domestic recording format.
Series 1 (1968)
edit| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Menace!: The Sleepers | Chris McMaster | James Hopes | 4 April 1968 | TR[a] |
| 2 | 2 | Menace!: No Smoke | Chris McMaster | James Hopes | 11 April 1968 | TR[a] |
| 3 | 3 | Menace!: The Camp | Chris McMaster | James Hopes | 18 April 1968 | TR[a] |
| 4 | 4 | Menace!: The Ultimatum | Chris McMaster | James Hopes | 25 April 1968 | TR[a] |
| 5 | 5 | Menace!: Face To Face | Chris McMaster | James Hopes | 2 May 1968 | TR[a][b] |
| 6 | 6 | Recipe for Danger: Too Many Cooks | John Braybon | Barry Busbridge | 9 May 1968 | TR[a] |
| 7 | 7 | Recipe for Danger: One Man's Meat | John Braybon | Barry Busbridge | 16 May 1968 | TR[a] |
| 8 | 8 | Recipe for Danger: Trouble Brewing | John Braybon | Barry Busbridge | 23 May 1968 | TR[a] |
| 9 | 9 | Recipe for Danger: Bring to the Boil | John Braybon | Barry Busbridge | 30 May 1968 | TR[a] |
| 10 | 10 | The Big Freeze: Icarus | Chris McMaster | Trevor Preston | 6 June 1968 | TR[a][b] |
| 11 | 11 | The Big Freeze: Valkyrie | Chris McMaster | Trevor Preston | 13 June 1968 | TR[a][b] |
| 12 | 12 | The Big Freeze: Anvil | Chris McMaster | Trevor Preston | 20 June 1968 | TR[a][b] |
| 13 | 13 | The Big Freeze: Gotterdammerung | Chris McMaster | Trevor Preston | 27 June 1968 | TR[a][b] |
Series 2 (1968–69)
edit| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 1 | The Zander Plot:[i] Breakout | Chris McMaster | Don Douglas & Keith Miles | 20 November 1968 | Lost[c] |
| 15 | 2 | The Zander Plot: Treasure | Chris McMaster | Don Douglas & Keith Miles | 27 November 1968 | Lost[c] |
| 16 | 3 | The Zander Plot: Master Plan | Peter Croft | Don Douglas & Keith Miles | 4 December 1968 | Lost[c] |
| 17 | 4 | The Zander Plot: The Code | Peter Croft | Don Douglas & Keith Miles | 11 December 1968 | Lost[c] |
| 18 | 5 | The Zander Plot: The Lighthouse | Peter Croft | Rick Trader Whitcombe | 18 December 1968 | Lost[c] |
| 19 | 6 | The Zander Plot: The Stones | Peter Croft | Rick Trader Whitcombe | 25 December 1968 | Lost[c] |
| 20 | 7 | The Zander Plot: Time Bomb! | Chris McMaster | Barry Busbridge | 1 January 1969 | Lost[c] |
| 21 | 8 | The Zander Plot: Doomsday! | Chris McMaster | Barry Busbridge | 8 January 1969 | TR[a] |
| 22 | 9 | The Secret Base:[i] The Key | Peter Croft | Rick Trader Whitcombe | 15 January 1969 | Lost[c] |
| 23 | 10 | The Secret Base: Black Knight | Peter Croft | Rick Trader Whitcombe | 22 January 1969 | Lost[c] |
| 24 | 11 | The Secret Base: Vulcan | Chris McMaster | Bryan Cooper | 29 January 1969 | Lost[c] |
| 25 | 12 | The Secret Base: Double Trouble | Chris McMaster | Bryan Cooper | 5 February 1969 | Lost[c] |
| 26 | 13 | The Secret Base: Damocles! | Chris McMaster | Barry Busbridge | 12 February 1969 | Lost[c] |
Series 3 (1969)
edit| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | 1 | "Rammed!" | Peter Croft | Chris McMaster | 9 July 1969 | Lost[c] |
| 28 | 2 | "The Banshee" | Peter Croft | John Cannon | 16 July 1969 | Lost[c] |
| 29 | 3 | "Minded" | Chris McMaster | Barry Busbridge | 23 July 1969 | Lost[c] |
| 30 | 4 | "Trapped" | Chris McMaster | John Cannon | 30 July 1969 | Lost[c] |
| 31 | 5 | "Tanks!" | Peter Croft | Barry Busbridge | 6 August 1969 | Lost[c] |
| 32 | 6 | "Caged!" | Peter Croft | Barry Busbridge | 13 August 1969 | Lost[c] |
| 33 | 7 | "The Tower" | Chris McMaster | John Cannon | 20 August 1969 | Lost[c] |
| 34 | 8 | "Triton" | Chris McMaster | Chris McMaster | 27 August 1969 | Lost[c] |
| 35 | 9 | "Kidnapped" | Chris McMaster | Paul Erickson | 3 September 1969 | Lost[c] |
| 36 | 10 | "The Voyage" | Peter Croft | Paul Erickson | 10 September 1969 | Lost[c] |
| 37 | 11 | "The Island" | Peter Croft | Keith Miles | 17 September 1969 | Lost[c] |
| 38 | 12 | "Blockade" | Peter Croft | Keith Miles | 24 September 1969 | Lost[c] |
| 39 | 13 | "Thunderbolt!" | Chris McMaster | Chris McMaster | 1 October 1969 | Lost[c] |
Series 4 (1970)
edit| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 1 | "Not In Jest" | Chris McMaster | Bryan Cooper | 29 April 1970 | Lost[c] |
| 41 | 2 | "A Thing Like Death" | Chris McMaster | Rick Trader Whitcombe | 6 May 1970 | Lost[c] |
| 42 | 3 | "Package Deal" | Chris McMaster | Bryan Cooper | 13 May 1970 | Lost[c] |
| 43 | 4 | "Spartika" | Chris McMaster | Rick Trader Whitcombe | 20 May 1970 | Lost[c] |
| 44 | 5 | "Merely Players" | Chris McMaster | Rick Trader Whitcombe | 27 May 1970 | Lost[c] |
| 45 | 6 | "Agincourt" | Chris McMaster | Chris McMaster | 3 June 1970 | Lost[c] |
| 46 | 7 | "Microdot" | Peter Croft | Paul Erickson | 10 June 1970 | Lost[c] |
| 47 | 8 | "Kythera!" | Peter Croft | Paul Erickson | 17 June 1970 | Lost[c] |
| 48 | 9 | "The Dictator" | Peter Croft | Paul Erickson | 24 June 1970 | Lost[c] |
| 49 | 10 | "Petrov" | Chris McMaster | Paul Erickson | 1 July 1970 | Lost[c] |
| 50 | 11 | "Decoy" | Chris McMaster | Keith Miles | 8 July 1970 | Lost[c] |
| 51 | 12 | "Firing Squad" | Peter Croft | Keith Miles | 15 July 1970 | Lost[c] |
| 52 | 13 | "Explosion" | Chris McMaster | Keith Miles | 22 July 1970 | Lost[c] |
Series 5 (1971)
edit| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 53 | 1 | "Sniper!" | Peter Croft | Richard Montez | 20 January 1971 | Lost[c] |
| 54 | 2 | "Spin Off" | Peter Croft | Richard Montez | 27 January 1971 | Lost[c] |
| 55 | 3 | "The Mill" | Peter Croft | Richard Montez | 3 February 1971 | Lost[c] |
| 56 | 4 | "Blackmail" | Peter Croft | Richard Montez | 10 February 1971 | Lost[c] |
| 57 | 5 | "Zukov" | Peter Croft | Richard Montez | 17 February 1971 | Lost[c] |
| 58 | 6 | "Russian Roulette" | Peter Croft | Richard Montez | 24 February 1971 | Lost[c] |
| 59 | 7 | "Destruct" | Chris McMaster | Richard Montez | 3 March 1971 | Lost[c] |
| 60 | 8 | "Zyton!" | Chris McMaster | Paul Erickson | 10 March 1971 | Lost[c] |
| 61 | 9 | "Entombed" | Chris McMaster | Paul Erickson | 17 March 1971 | Lost[c] |
| 62 | 10 | "Roll Up" | Chris McMaster | Paul Erickson | 24 March 1971 | Lost[c] |
| 63 | 11 | "Booby Trap" | Chris McMaster | Paul Erickson | 31 March 1971 | Lost[c] |
| 64 | 12 | "Pipeline" | Chris McMaster | Paul Erickson | 7 April 1971 | Lost[c] |
| 65 | 13 | "The Answer" | Chris McMaster | Paul Erickson | 14 April 1971 | Lost[c] |
Series 6 (1971)
edit| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 66 | 1 | "Nero" | Chris McMaster | Paul Erickson | 27 September 1971 | VT[d][e] |
| 67 | 2 | "Operation Seagull" | Chris McMaster | Paul Erickson | 4 October 1971 | VT[d][e] |
| 68 | 3 | "Medusa" | Dave Heather | Paul Erickson | 11 October 1971 | VT[d][e] |
| 69 | 4 | "Mayday" | Dave Heather | Paul Erickson | 18 October 1971 | VT[d][e] |
| 70 | 5 | "Pirates" | Dave Heather | Paul Erickson | 25 October 1971 | VT[d][e] |
| 71 | 6 | "The Threat" | Dave Heather | Paul Erickson | 1 November 1971 | VT[d][e] |
| 72 | 7 | "Doomsday" | Chris McMaster | Paul Erickson | 8 November 1971 | VT[d][e] |
| 73 | 8 | "Black Box" | Chris McMaster | Richard Montez | 15 November 1971 | VT[d][e] |
| 74 | 9 | "Cypher" | Chris McMaster | Richard Montez | 22 November 1971 | VT[d][e] |
| 75 | 10 | "The Parcel" | Chris McMaster | Richard Montez | 29 November 1971 | VT[d][e] |
| 76 | 11 | "The Race" | Chris McMaster | Richard Montez | 6 December 1971 | VT[d][e] |
| 77 | 12 | "Red Herring" | Chris McMaster | Richard Montez | 13 December 1971 | VT[d][e] |
| 78 | 13 | "Pay Off" | Chris McMaster | Richard Montez | 20 December 1971 | VT[d][e] |
Series 7 (1972)
edit| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 79 | 1 | "Traitor!" | Dave Heather | Ralph Wright | 4 September 1972 | VT[d][e] |
| 80 | 2 | "The Race" | Dave Heather | Ralph Wright | 11 September 1972 | VT[d][e] |
| 81 | 3 | "Framed!" | Chris McMaster | Ralph Wright | 18 September 1972 | VT[d][e] |
| 82 | 4 | "Vertigo!" | Chris McMaster | Ralph Wright | 25 September 1972 | VHS[e][iii] |
| 83 | 5 | "The Knot" | Dave Heather | Ralph Wright | 2 October 1972 | VT[d][e] |
| 84 | 6 | "The War Game" | Dave Heather | Ralph Wright | 9 October 1972 | VT[d][e] |
| 85 | 7 | "Helga!" | Chris McMaster | Ralph Wright | 16 October 1972 | VT[d][e] |
| 86 | 8 | "Helga![iv]" | Chris McMaster | Peter Lover | 23 October 1972 | VT[d][e] |
| 87 | 9 | "Midsummer" | Chris McMaster | Peter Lover | 30 October 1972 | VT[d][e] |
| 88 | 10 | "The Mine" | Chris McMaster | Peter Lover | 6 November 1972 | VT[d][e] |
| 89 | 11 | "Tricked!" | Chris McMaster | Peter Lover | 13 November 1972 | VT[d][e] |
| 90 | 12 | "Ares!" | Chris McMaster | Peter Lover | 20 November 1972 | VT[d][e] |
| 91 | 13 | "Archimedes" | Chris McMaster | Peter Lover | 27 November 1972 | VT[d][e] |
Series 8 (1973)
edit| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 92 | 1 | "Contact!" | Chris McMaster | Ralph Wright | 6 August 1973 | VT[d][e] |
| 93 | 2 | "Libra!" | Chris McMaster | Ralph Wright | 13 August 1973 | VHS[e] |
| 94 | 3 | "The Auction" | Bob Leng | Ralph Wright | 20 August 1973 | VHS[e] |
| 95 | 4 | "The Third Man!" | Bob Leng | Ralph Wright | 3 September 1973 | VHS[e] |
| 96 | 5 | "Rapids!" | Chris McMaster | David Stevens | 10 September 1973 | VHS[e] |
| 97 | 6 | "Darkness at Noon" | Chris McMaster | David Stevens | 17 September 1973 | VHS[e] |
| 98 | 7 | "Double-Cross" | Bob Leng | David Stevens | 24 September 1973 | VHS[e] |
| 99 | 8 | "Impasse!" | Bob Leng | David Stevens | 1 October 1973 | VHS[e] |
| 100 | 9 | "The Crypt" | Chris McMaster | David Stevens | 8 October 1973 | VHS[e] |
| 101 | 10 | "Switched!" | Chris McMaster | David Stevens | 15 October 1973 | VT[d][e] |
| 102 | 11 | "Break-Up!" | Chris McMaster | Ralph Wright | 22 October 1973 | VHS[e] |
| 103 | 12 | "The Think Bank" | Chris McMaster | Ralph Wright | 29 October 1973 | VHS[e] |
| 104 | 13 | "The Hoist!" | Chris McMaster | Ralph Wright | 5 November 1973 | VHS[e] |
Archive status
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n A telerecording of the full episode is held at the Wessex Film and Sound Archive (collection AV763)
- ^ a b c d e A copy of the full episode is held in the British Film Institute collections (reference number 786172)
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay Missing episode, no copies of the full episode are known to exist.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa The episode video master held by Renown Pictures Ltd Archived 14 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am A copy of the full episode is held at Wessex Film and Sound Archive (collection AV763).
53 of the 104 episodes exist: 27 as broadcast masters, 14 as telerecordings and 12 in domestic formats (e.g. VHS). The remaining 51 episodes are missing.
The telerecordings include all 13 episodes of Series 1. The only series for which a complete set of video masters is held is Series 6, which was released on DVD in 2009.[ii]
The location film segments for all episodes are at Wessex Film and Sound Archive (collection AV763).
Notes
edit- ^ a b The main story names for series two were listed in the TV Times but did not appear on screen.
- ^ a b Series 6 was released on DVD in 2009 by Simply Home Entertainment
- ^ A restoration of episode 82 was performed by Talking Pictures TV from a domestic recording and the original location films, and first broadcast by them on 24 July 2017.
- ^ Episodes 85 and 86 have the same name due to a production error[4]
References
edit- ^ On screen credits from the episode as broadcast.
- ^ TV Times – Independent Television Publications Limited.
- ^ Time Screen, The Magazine of British Telefantasy – Publisher David Nightingale.
- ^ a b Freewheelers: Calling White Knight by Mark Harris. Time Screen issue 15 (Spring 1990), p4-p8.
- ^ Freewheelers: Doomsday! by Mark Harris. Time Screen issue 19 (Autumn 1992), p10-p14.
- ^ Freewheelers Episode Guide series 1–3 compiled by Andrew Pixley and Mark Harris. Time Screen issue 15 (Spring 1990).
- ^ Freewheelers Episode Guide series 4–8 compiled by Andrew Pixley, David Auger and Mark Harris. Time Screen issue 19 (Autumn 1992).
External links
edit- Freewheelers at IMDb