This tape opens with Newsroom South East, reporting the worst power failure in the London Underground’s history.
There’s a trailer for Crocodile Shoes II.
Then, an episode of The Thin Blue Line. This episode is Ism Ism Ism.
DI Grim wants to join a secret lodge, as he discusses with DC Boyle (Mark Addy).
Inspector Fowler’s wife, Sgt Dawkins, is rather jealous when the Mayoress visits, because Fowler went to school with her.
The Mayoress has a problem. There’s an ‘illegal asylum seeker’ in town, and he has to be arrested, but there’s also a European Commissioner there to monitor police behaviour. She’s very Brexit.
Fowler has to coach his officers on the Isms.
“Imagine I’m a Martian, newly arrived in his Podule.” Nice to see ‘podule’ once more from Rowan Atkinson.
Naturally, Fowler arrests the wrong man. The man he arrests is actually a French national, and the European Commissioner, played by Colin McFarlane.
We also discover DI Grim’s initiation, featuring a cameo from Melvyn Hayes as the Chief Todger.
BBC Genome: BBC One – 21st November 1996 – 21:30
Recording switches to the end of a Budget Response by Lib Dem spokesman Malcolm Bruce.
There’s a trailer for Hetty Wainthrop Investigates.
Then more from The Thin Blue Line. This episode is called Fly on the Wall. The station is very excited that they are going to be featured in a TV documentary.
It’s the second appearance in as many days for Trevor Peacock, this time as a man handing a gun in to the firearms amnesty.
BBC Genome: BBC One – 28th November 1996 – 21:40
recording switches to the end of Newsroom South East, leading with a sad story about a carol singer killed in a car accident.
There’s weather from John Kettley. A trailer for Question Time. And a trailer for Chef!
Then, more from Gasforth constabulary, and Alternative Culture. Constable Habib’s younger sister is played by Archie Panjabi.
The show gets suddenly serious when Habib finds drugs on her sister during a drugs raid, and tries to conceal them. Fowler has no choice when Grim insists she be charged, but Fowler manages to turn the tables by raiding Grim in an after hours drinking establishment.
BBC Genome: BBC One – 5th December 1996 – 21:30
Recording switches again to the end of Newsroom South East. There’s controversy over the Virgin Megastore’s Christmas promotion.
Weather from Michael Fish follows, and a trailer for Jimmy Nail’s Crocodile Shoes.
Then, another helping of on the nose double entendres from Ben Elton in an episode called Come On You Blues.
The team officiate at a local football match.
The Brexit Mayoress returns, and there’s some very 70s farce.
And yet there’s a fairly modern rant from Sgt Dawkins about leering builders yelling at women.
BBC Genome: BBC One – 12th December 1996 – 21:30
After this, recording continues, with a trailer for Sports Review of the Year.
Then, the tape continues for a while with about half an hour of Crocodile Shoes, written by Jimmy Nail. I never watched this, but the title sequence is annoying me, due to whoever is wearing the eponymous shoes being unable to actually tap his foot. The sole of the shoe never goes down to the floor, just the edge. They look horribly uncomfortable.
After about half an hour, this recording stops, and underneath, there’s a few minutes of Question Time from Belfast. Then the tape ends.
VHiStory 