BY TIM GREAVES
Anyone who enjoyed the family friendly spectral
shenanigans of The Amazing Mr Blunden should
find much to enjoy in mid-70s Brit TV series Nobody's House, out now on DVD in the UK from Network. Written by Michael
Hall and Derrick Sherwin, and lensed by stalwart TV director Michael Ferguson,
it was a self-contained tale spanning 7 episodes – with an open ending for a
second series that never happened. And, as with many such shows, in a slightly pared-down
format it would have made for a very workable movie.
The story revolves around
the Sinclair family – Dad (William Gaunt), Mum (Wendy Gifford) and children (Stuart
Wilde and Mandy Woodward) – who move into Cornerstones, a fixer-upper residence
that a century earlier functioned as a workhouse for orphaned children. One of
them, a nameless young boy (Kevin Moreton) died of the plague and his ghost continues
to haunt the premises. The Sinclair children befriend him and name him Nobody.
The youngsters may be the
focus of the series, but one of the major draws here for viewers of a certain
age will be the eminently watchable William Gaunt, best remembered perhaps as
one of the telepathic trio in ITC’s 60s supernatural-tinged tele-actioner The Champions. Although, in this
writer’s opinion, he never really got the break he deserved, Gaunt continued to
work steadily across the decades, recently showing up in impressive inde
western The Timber. There are also
guest appearances throughout the series – some as less than affable ghosts – from
Flash Gordon’s Brian Blessed, Legend’s Annabelle Lanyon and Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter’s John Cater
(married to lead Wendy Gifford), as well as TV reliables Brian Wilde and Joe
Gladwin.
Although the flavour is
there, Nobody’s House admittedly doesn't
share the emotional heft of the aforementioned Blunden – indeed, it's played more for light comedy – and it
probably won't entice many folks unfamiliar with it. But those who recall it (and
its infectious Anthony Isaac theme music) fondly from the original run between
September and November 1976 won't be able to resist wallowing in the memories
and perhaps even introducing it to the younger members of their own families.
The image and sound
quality on Network’s DVD is about what you'd expect from a mid-70s TV show:
acceptable, nothing more. Technically the only bonus feature is a short (but still
worthwhile) gallery of production photos, but pleasingly several of the
episodes are tail-ended by original previews for the following week’s story,
and all of them open with the nostalgia-tweaking Tyne Tees television ident and
finish with a plug for the tie-in novel penned by series co-scripter Michael
Hall (which this writer recalls as vividly as the TV show itself).
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