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PCBH on ITV

I'm interested in trying to establish the pattern of transmission dates for Prisoner in the various ITV regions. There's no particular point to this, other than nostalgia and that I just think it's interesting. I was convinced I'd first seen Prisoner when I was living in Leeds, but the dates prove this cannot be right. I have quite vivid memories of particular storylines (Caroline Simpson, the painter) and I'd like to put dates to when I might have seen them. Maybe other Prisoner fans feel the same?

Thanks to "Vinegar Vera" for sending me the result of his researches into this, which I have used for the first 300 or so episodes, and for demonstrating that it might be possible to use listings data in national newspapers even though particular episodes are not usually identifiable.

Additional sources: during the C5 run, I was checking the Radio Times database for the dates of all showings in the week ahead and so the dates for the end of the runs on Central, Ulster, Westcountry, Meridian are correct. PCBH Digest (which ran from 1996) might sometimes give clues to pinpoint dates, if it's possible to establish which region a particular contributor is from.

Approximate ranges of episode numbers for each region

For further details for a particular region, click on the name in the first column.

Region 1984 -
1986 		1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Yorkshire 1 -
71 		72 -
95		 96 -
134 		135 -
176 		177 -
214 		215 -
254 		255 -
294 		295 -
393 		394 -
490 		491 -
588 		589 -
674 		675 -
692
TVS 1 -
50 		51 -
57 		78 -
108 		109 -
152 		153 -
200 		201 -
246 		247 -
292 		293 -
341 		342 -
390 		391 -
435 		436 -
480 		481 -
530 		531 -
563 		564 -
586
TSW 1 -
13 		14-
26 		27 -
40 		41 -
72 		73 -
118 		119 -
178 		179 -
239 		240 -
336 		337 -
466 		467 -
559 		560 -
692
Central 1 -
108 		109 -
251 		252 -
406 		407 -
557		 558 -
692 		1 -
47 		48 -
94 		95
Thames 1 -
26 		27 -
73 		74 -
119 		120 -
186 		189 -
271 		272 -
357 		358 -
406 		407 -
451 		452 -
499 		500 -
534		 535 -
574 		575 -
598
Scottish 1 -
5 		6 -
63 		64-
148 		149 -
229 		??? ??? ??? -
428 		429 -
510 		511 -
6?? 		6?? -
692
Anglia 1 -
99 		100 -
196 		197 -
290 		291 -
376 		377 -
467 		468 -
562 		563 -
610 		611 -
673 		674 -
692
Granada 1 -
107 		108 -
201 		202 -
284 		285 -
366 		367 -
479 		480 -
561 		562 -
680 		681 -
692
Tyne Tees 1 -
32 		33 -
74 		75 -
116 		117 -
200 		201 -
292		 295 -
393 		394 -
490 		491 -
588 		589 -
674 		675 -
692
Border 1 -
40 		41 -
123 		124 -
208 		209 -
301 		302 -
394 		395 -476
548 -561 		562 -
680 		681 -
692
HTV 1 -
30 		31 -
126 		127 -
224 		225 -
316 		317 -
403 		404 -
500 		501 -
608 		609 -
668 		669 -
692
Grampian 1 -
28 		29 -
121 		122 -
204 		205 -
??? 		?? -
372 		373 -
467 		468 -
592 		593 -
683 		684 -
692
Ulster 1 -
9 		10 -
54 		55 -
114 		1?? -
1?? 		1?? -
239 		240 -
331 		332 -
454 		455 -
563 		554 -
692

The most obvious way to date particular episodes is if you made a note of the dates on the cassette label, or you have the date and timestamp from your VCR at the start of recordings.

However, even if this isn't the case, you might be able to give me information that could help exact dating from other clues on the tape, such as :- previous or following progammes at the end or start of tapes, adverts for programmes later in the week on the same channel (especially new shows or films which can be pinned down to an exact date from listings data), announcers' remarks over credits about extended breaks or programmes on later or on the following day. Sometimes even adverts can provide clues - or items in news bulletins, as Prisoner often followed the late news as the first programme in the nightly schedules.

Or perhaps you might remember seeing a particular episode of Prisoner on a significant date, like a particular birthday? (but beware false memory....)

So drag your old Prisoner tapes out of the loft, pick a few episodes at random and describe any clues you can see. I already have tapes for Granada after () but you might still have clues I don't have. Other regions that would be particularly useful are Scottish as the Guardian's data for this region is sketchy and Thames/London which is often not listed at all.

Here are some ways recordings can be used:

  • Some VCRs could be set to display the date and time information from the internal clock at the start of recordings. Assuming the clock was set correctly, of course, this is the easiest way to establish dates of particular broadcasts. Jason Rigby has managed to date some early episodes he has by displaying the teletext pages during playback. Although the teletext part of the broadcasr signal is not usually recorded on VCRs, you can sometimes get a garbled version of the top line with the page number and date.
  • I'd accept dates from handwritten notes or labels on tapes if you wrote them down at the time.
  • If you were recording to keep the episodes, you probably tried to cut out as much as possible of the adverts and previous and following programmes, but some of the unlikeliest things can be used to check broadcast dates - check after the end of the final episode on tapes particularly. For instance, since Prisoner often followed the late night news, items from the bulletins can often be dated precisely. Continuity announcers before the start or over the final credits may identify the day of the week of a broadcast or the next episode or any longer than usual breaks ("Prisoner returns in ..").
  • Schedule information for following days can uniquely pinpoint dates, especially if they include films, or titled episodes of regular series like "Morse". Just transcribe as much as you can, with the times and I can try to match them up with listings information I've saved already.
  • If you have other listings from magazines or newspapers, they may have brief plot summaries that can pin down particular episodes for the dates given.

    Some episode dates confirmed so far

    (3) on Granada. A rare description in the Guardian listings for 21 Feb 1988 "A sit-in and a riot liven things up in the Australian women's prison". They have to go and spoil it by adding "inhabited entirely by cardboard cutouts".

    (87) on Granada. Guardian TV listings for 03/11/88 has the episode description "Erica is forced to tell Lizzie about the police investigation". (Estimate from Times has (88) for this date)

    (109) on London. Guardian TV listings for 12/10/89 has the description "Caroline receives an obscene letter but is convinced that Michael will not do any harm". The listing for 02/11/89 is "Caroline turns Michael in to the police" which confirms this date as (112).

    (118) on London. Guardian TV listings has the episode description "A fearful Doreen decides to sell her house".

    (171) on London. Guardian TV listings has the episode description "A TV show campaigns for Lizzie's release".

    (180) on London. Guardian TV listings has the episode description "Margo adjusts to the outside world".

    (182) on London. Guardian TV listings has the episode description "The argument between Judy and Bea gets out of control".

    (259) on London. Guardian TV listings for 05/10/91 has the episode description "Meg makes her feelings clear to Ian".

    (287) on London. Thanks to whoever sent me a tape of Joan Ferguson's first two episodes. The news bulletin before (287) has an item about Princess Diana opening an extension to City Airport which dates the episode as 5th March 1992.

    (317) on London. Guardian TV listings for 14/07/92 has the episode description "The inmates prepare for concert auditions". And then adds sarcastically "oh goodie".

    (336) on London. Guardian TV listings for 29/09/92 has the episode description "Hazel is held at Wentworth to be extradiced for armed robbery". The description for 24/09/92 is "Margo suspects that Nola has been inside before, which fits with (335)

    (347) on Granada. The following programme on tape "Tales of Glamour and Excess. Danny Sugarman on his encounters with Jim Morrison, The Doors and Iggy Pop" appears in Guardian TV listings for 30/09/91.

    (354) on Granada. 27/10/91 dated from ???

    (369) on Granada. Dated from onscreen TV listings for following day including "Jack The Ripper" at 9:00 and 10:40, which was listed for 14/01/92.

    (375) on Granada. During a promo spot for the following day's "this morning", Judy Finnegan says "Ken Hom will be with us to celebrate Chinese New Year", which fell on the 4th February in 1992.

    Unusually, the Guardian TV listings for 13/08/92 have brief episode descriptions for some of the regional listings. Thus we have "Reb is caught" for Anglia (437)? and "Mo is the victim of a stupid law" for Granada (431), but nothing for HTV, TSW or TVS.

    (463) on Meridian. Tim Coward sent me a tape of the first three Edna Pearson episodes which are dated 30/07/96, 06/08/96, 13/08/96.

    (534) on Carlton. Message in PCBH Digest 10 dated 06/11/96 from Andrew Humphrey "on Carlton TV (London) on Monday 4th, we had the episode where they use (Pixie's song) over the closing creidts instead of the usual song."

    (564) on Granada. Guardian TV listings for 11/01/94 has episode description "Lou and Lexie are in cahoots and Willie's memory returns". For the 13/01/94 the episode listing is "Daphne becomes the newspaper's editor" (565)

    (568) on Granada. Guardian TV listings for 25/01/94 has episode description "Nora receives advice from Nikki".

    Message from Andrew Williamson in PCBH Digest 10 06/12/96 "I'll continue writing summaries as Scottish air them (last night they aired ep.688 - only 4 to go)"

    (692) on Granada. Announcer over final credits says that a new series of "Married with children" starts next week at 23:10, and this appears instead of Prisoner in the Guardian TV listings for 16 Feb 1995.