This tape has a few episodes of Doogie Howser MD starting with Doogie Sings the Blues. Doogie treats an old blues musician, ‘Blind’ Otis Lemon. Raymond (Markus Redmond) is very excited because he’s a legend in the blues world. Doogie isn’t sure it’s really him. I hope he’s not racist.
Doogie finds a tumour, but its removal will probably make Otis deaf. So Raymond and Vinnie sneak him out that night, so he can perform one last time.
The owner of the bar is played by Art Evans, who was in Die Hard 2.
BBC Genome: BBC One – 8th May 1991 – 19:35
The next episode is Academia Nuts. Doogie has to suck up to a rich old woman who donates to the hospital regularly.
Vinnie is not getting good grades at school, and the guidance counsellor isn’t hopeful of his ambitions to go to film school. The counsellor is played by Roy Brocksmith – second time he’s turned up recently.
BBC Genome: BBC One – 22nd May 1991 – 19:35
Next, an episode called Revenge of the Teenage Dead. Vinnie is making a horror movie.
There’s a young boy applying to the medical school, and Doogie is worried that the younger boy is being prevented, by his father, from having anything like a normal boy.
BBC Genome: BBC One – 5th June 1991 – 19:35
After this, recording switches to Channel 4, and some episodes of Just For Laughs from the Montreal Comedy Festival. It’s presented by Muriel Gray and Jimmy Mulville.
Featuring performances from Thea Vidale.
Stephanie Hodge
It’s nice, and sad, to see Kit Hollerbach and Jeremy Hardy there. I still can’t believe Jeremy Hardy is dead.
Larry Miller.
In the next episode, performances from Al & George
George Wallace
Marc Price talks about the future. In particular, he’s not looking forward to picture-phones. “Doesn’t that mean we’ll have obscene picture phone calls.” He got that in one.
The next episode features Will Durst.
Tom Kenny
Richard Jeni
The next episode has performances from Jack Dee
Bill Hicks. I’m still sad that he’s gone.
After this, recording continues with the start of a European Drama called Mission Eureka. From the brief clip here, I’m confident this is why Brexit happened.
This recording stops, and underneath, there’s a short bit of an episode of Press Gang. Wow, remember those red benches? I’m guessing that’s a Network South East station.
The tape ends shortly into this bit of recording.
Adverts:
- trail: Dream On
- trail: Friday on Four
- Citroen ZX
- Bird’s Eye Country Club Cuisine
- SpeakEasy
- Colgate Acti Brush – Gary Olsen
- Kellogg’s Golden Oatmeal Crisp
- Vespre Silhouettes
- McDonalds
- trail: The Dawning
VHiStory 
The unlikeliest appearance of blues on a US sitcom was probably “Family Ties” – but then, Alex P. Keaton hosted a college radio show called “Syncopated Money.”
I used to really enjoy Jeremy Hardy and Kit Hollerbach’s Radio 4 sitcom, it was absolutely ridiculous and always ended with them in an impossible situation (like getting eaten by lions at a safari park) then it would cut to them back at home, safe and sound and congratulating themselves on getting out of it.
Tom Kenny went onto make his fortune as the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants, of course, but I’ll always remember him as one of the team in cult classic sketch comedy Mr Show.
Just for Laughs/Mission Eureka – 24/07/1991.