Its interesting that some channels are really scraping the bottom of the
barrel, by which I mean running perfectly good series in their day, but have
not weathered time too well, in my opinion.
The first has to be UFO which actually was bad in the first place with too
much over acting and naff ufo effects. Gerry Anderson must have not been
paid enough is all I can say, and as for the naff space suits apparently
made from canvas...

Chips, Cringingly dated American cop drama based mostly on huge
conflagrations at crash sites on freeways, or personal lives that seem 2
dimensional.

Space 1999, I do not think that anything set in a time past will work now
really. The effects in this were pretty naff. I mean jumping lunar rovers
would surely make you puke.

I did however enjoy watching Van Der Valk again with the late Barry Foster.
It did not need AD as like many older series, had a script which almost
narrated the action, so did not feel too lost listening to it.
The Champions was a bit of a laugh, that was one of those ITC things like
the Saint (dated) The persuaders (still unbelievable as it was before), and
Tales of the Unexpected ( some were very good, others, well silly)

I obviously cannot comment about the standard of the actual pictures, but
the sound was very variable. Some of the early ones made on film, like
Avengers etc, seem to have not transferred audio that sounds good. It sounds
like a very bad noise gate is in use or like a non Dolby tape played back
with Dolby on.
Brian

--

This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...
briang1@blueyonder.co.uk
Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!

On Sat, 2 Apr 2022 09:10:14 +0100
"Brian Gaff \(Sofa\)" <briang1@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:

> Its interesting that some channels are really scraping the bottom of
> the barrel, by which I mean running perfectly good series in their
> day, but have not weathered time too well, in my opinion.
> The first has to be UFO which actually was bad in the first place
> with too much over acting and naff ufo effects. Gerry Anderson must
> have not been paid enough is all I can say, and as for the naff
> space suits apparently made from canvas...
>
>

That sounds as though he had Ed Wood (Plan 9 from Outer Space) as an
advisor!
--
Davey.

On 02/04/2022 09:55, Davey wrote:
> On Sat, 2 Apr 2022 09:10:14 +0100
> "Brian Gaff \(Sofa\)" <briang1@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> Its interesting that some channels are really scraping the bottom of
>> the barrel, by which I mean running perfectly good series in their
>> day, but have not weathered time too well, in my opinion.
>> The first has to be UFO which actually was bad in the first place
>> with too much over acting and naff ufo effects. Gerry Anderson must
>> have not been paid enough is all I can say, and as for the naff
>> space suits apparently made from canvas...
>>

> That sounds as though he had Ed Wood (Plan 9 from Outer Space) as an
> advisor!

Love the gas turbine cars with the gull wing doors (which apparently
didn't work).

Apparently they were left over from the film Journey to the Far Side of
the Sun (1969). That film was set in Portugal, hence the LHD cars, and
the (incorrect) assumption that Britain would have changed to driving on
the right by 1980.

--
Max Demian

"Max Demian" <max_demian@bigfoot.com> wrote in message
news:s8GdnYnGEr-7tNX_nZ2dnUU7-ePNnZ2d@brightview.co.uk...
> Apparently they were left over from the film Journey to the Far Side of
> the Sun (1969). That film was set in Portugal, hence the LHD cars, and the
> (incorrect) assumption that Britain would have changed to driving on the
> right by 1980.

Was there a plan in the 1960s for the UK to change over to driving on the
right, using LHD cars? I didn't know that. I think in some ways we should
have changed over, like Sweden did, before there were as many cars which
would be rendered semi-obsolete by the change.

In article <t29b5s$1jt$1@dont-email.me>,
NY <me@privacy.invalid> wrote:
> "Max Demian" <max_demian@bigfoot.com> wrote in message
> news:s8GdnYnGEr-7tNX_nZ2dnUU7-ePNnZ2d@brightview.co.uk...
> > Apparently they were left over from the film Journey to the Far Side of
> > the Sun (1969). That film was set in Portugal, hence the LHD cars, and the
> > (incorrect) assumption that Britain would have changed to driving on the
> > right by 1980.

> Was there a plan in the 1960s for the UK to change over to driving on the
> right, using LHD cars? I didn't know that. I think in some ways we should
> have changed over, like Sweden did, before there were as many cars which
> would be rendered semi-obsolete by the change.

I think there was such a plan. I remember a reader's letter in the Sunday
Expresss saying "It would be much safer if we drove on the right hand side
of the road, The driver would get out of the car straight on to the
pavement."

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle

On 02/04/2022 12:20, charles wrote:

>
> I think there was such a plan. I remember a reader's letter in the Sunday
> Expresss saying "It would be much safer if we drove on the right hand side
> of the road, The driver would get out of the car straight on to the
> pavement."
>

Damn. During Lockdown would have been a good opportunity to change ...

--
Adrian C

On 02/04/2022 12:20, charles wrote:
> I remember a reader's letter in the Sunday
> Expresss saying "It would be much safer if we drove on the right hand side
> of the road, The driver would get out of the car straight on to the
> pavement."

Thick bugger.

Bill

In article <jar1r2Fj0msU1@mid.individual.net>, williamwright
<wrightsaerials@f2s.com> wrote:
> On 02/04/2022 12:20, charles wrote:
> > I remember a reader's letter in the Sunday Expresss saying "It would be
> > much safer if we drove on the right hand side of the road, The driver
> > would get out of the car straight on to the pavement."

> Thick bugger.

> Bill

precisely - and the paper for publishing it.

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle

On 02/04/2022 15:37, charles wrote:
> In article <jar1r2Fj0msU1@mid.individual.net>, williamwright
> <wrightsaerials@f2s.com> wrote:
>> On 02/04/2022 12:20, charles wrote:
>>> I remember a reader's letter in the Sunday Expresss saying "It would be
>>> much safer if we drove on the right hand side of the road, The driver
>>> would get out of the car straight on to the pavement."
>
>> Thick bugger.
>
>> Bill
>
> precisely - and the paper for publishing it.
>

The Sunday Express never was particularly cerebral.

Bill

On 02/04/2022 12:20, charles wrote:
> I think there was such a plan. I remember a reader's letter in the Sunday
> Expresss saying "It would be much safer if we drove on the right hand side
> of the road, The driver would get out of the car straight on to the
> pavement."

I can't remember the title but there is a classic book on road safety.
The author made an equation to estimate the number of accidents in a
country, using population, number of vehicles, miles of roads etc.

It gives a remarkably accurate figure for most countries but a small
number of countries have a lower accident rate than predicted by the
equation. All drive on the left hand side of the road.

On 02/04/2022 18:14, MB wrote:
>
> On 02/04/2022 12:20, charles wrote:
>>
>> I think there was such a plan.  I remember a reader's letter in the
>> Sunday
>> Expresss saying "It would be much safer if we drove on the right hand
>> side
>> of the road, The driver would get out of the car straight on to the
>> pavement."

LOL!

However, it's a pity that we never actually did change, because the vast
majority of the world drive on the right. Scroll down to map here:

https://www.rhinocarhire.com/Drive-Smart-Blog/Drive-Left-or-Right.aspx

> I can't remember the title but there is a classic book on road safety.
> The author made an equation to estimate the number of accidents in a
> country, using population, number of vehicles, miles of roads etc.
>
> It gives a remarkably accurate figure for most countries but a small
> number of countries have a lower accident rate than predicted by the
> equation. All drive on the left hand side of the road.

I'd like to see the original stats, because this sounds like classic
pseudo-science to me.

Here in Scotland in the middle of nowhere you see signs reminding people
that we drive on the left here, because we have so many visitors from
countries that drive on the right. The implication is, for this to be
worth so many signs in odd places, that our driving on the left is a
significant cause of accidents among visitors here, and this is further
borne out by statistics relating to UK drivers abroad:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/513369/FOI_0169-16_Steer_Clear_Press_Release_Final.pdf

"BRITONS DRIVING INTO TROUBLE ABROAD
- With tourists three times more likely to be involved in road accidents
than locals, Foreign Office launches ‘Steer Clear of Trouble on Foreign
Roads’ campaign -

Two thirds of Brits who have driven abroad have run into problems,
Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) research reveals today. With
studies showing that tourists are three times more likely to be involved
in a road accident than local drivers, an FCO survey has shown that when
driving abroad, nearly a third (31%) have driven on the wrong side of
the road and more than one in 10 have driven the wrong way round a
roundabout."

Ditto Eire:

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/right-and-wrong-of-way-1.369893

"Right - and wrong - of way
Sat, Aug 16, 2003, 01:00

The chances of meeting a foreign driver on the wrong side of an Irish
road are anything but remote. Unlike us, 80 per cent of the world drives
on the right, writes Anne Lucey.

Every year tourist drivers from the US and Europe are involved in many
near misses, and some serious road traffic collisions.

Just this week Deirdre O'Brien Vaughan, the Irish traditional musician
from Newmarket-on-Fergus, Co Clare, was awarded more than €278,000 in
damages in the High Court for injuries she received in an August 1999
crash involving a French tourist. Liability had been conceded by the
holidaymaker, whose car had been on the wrong side of the road.

Growing concern about the dangers posed by tourist drivers led Kerry
County Council recently to pass an emergency motion to erect large signs
and road markings to prevent more collisions at a junction on the N22
near Killarney for Kenmare and west Cork. But even while the wheels of
bureaucracy moved to acquire the paint, poles and danger signs, a
serious head-on collision occurred and a number of people were
hospitalised."

So, as I said, I'd like to see some hard stats.

--

Fake news kills!

I may be contacted via the contact address given on my website:
www.macfh.co.uk

On 02/04/2022 12:13, NY wrote:
> "Max Demian"<max_demian@bigfoot.com> wrote in message
> news:s8GdnYnGEr-7tNX_nZ2dnUU7-ePNnZ2d@brightview.co.uk...
>> Apparently they were left over from the film Journey to the Far Side of
>> the Sun (1969). That film was set in Portugal, hence the LHD cars, and the
>> (incorrect) assumption that Britain would have changed to driving on the
>> right by 1980.
>
> Was there a plan in the 1960s for the UK to change over to driving on the
> right, using LHD cars? I didn't know that. I think in some ways we should
> have changed over, like Sweden did, before there were as many cars which
> would be rendered semi-obsolete by the change.
>
This is Britain, don't forget. The change-over would be cars at first
to see how it went, followed by lorries a few weeks afterwards.

:-)

Jim

In message <59d2dec8f0charles@candehope.me.uk>, charles
<charles@candehope.me.uk> writes
>In article <jar1r2Fj0msU1@mid.individual.net>, williamwright
><wrightsaerials@f2s.com> wrote:
>> On 02/04/2022 12:20, charles wrote:
>> > I remember a reader's letter in the Sunday Expresss saying "It would be
>> > much safer if we drove on the right hand side of the road, The driver
>> > would get out of the car straight on to the pavement."
>
>> Thick bugger.
>
>> Bill
>
>precisely - and the paper for publishing it.
>

Perhaps they thought that it might give their readers a laugh.
--
John Hall
"Home is heaven and orgies are vile,
But you *need* an orgy, once in a while."
Ogden Nash (1902-1971)

On 02/04/2022 18:14, MB wrote:
> I can't remember the title but there is a classic book on road safety.
> The author made an equation to estimate the number of accidents in a
> country, using population, number of vehicles, miles of roads etc.
>
> It gives a remarkably accurate figure for most countries but a small
> number of countries have a lower accident rate than predicted by the
> equation. All drive on the left hand side of the road.

That's British influence.

Bill

In article <jarkliFmkqgU3@mid.individual.net>,
williamwright <wrightsaerials@f2s.com> wrote:
> On 02/04/2022 18:14, MB wrote:
> > I can't remember the title but there is a classic book on road safety.
> > The author made an equation to estimate the number of accidents in a
> > country, using population, number of vehicles, miles of roads etc.
> >
> > It gives a remarkably accurate figure for most countries but a small
> > number of countries have a lower accident rate than predicted by the
> > equation. All drive on the left hand side of the road.

> That's British influence.

Did we influence Japan?

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle

In article <t2a5vs$23g$1@dont-email.me>, Indy Jess John
<bathwatchdog@OMITTHISgooglemail.com> wrote:
> On 02/04/2022 12:13, NY wrote:
> > "Max Demian"<max_demian@bigfoot.com> wrote in message
> > news:s8GdnYnGEr-7tNX_nZ2dnUU7-ePNnZ2d@brightview.co.uk...
> >> Apparently they were left over from the film Journey to the Far Side
> >> of the Sun (1969). That film was set in Portugal, hence the LHD cars,
> >> and the (incorrect) assumption that Britain would have changed to
> >> driving on the right by 1980.
> >
> > Was there a plan in the 1960s for the UK to change over to driving on
> > the right, using LHD cars? I didn't know that. I think in some ways we
> > should have changed over, like Sweden did, before there were as many
> > cars which would be rendered semi-obsolete by the change.
> >
> This is Britain, don't forget. The change-over would be cars at first
> to see how it went, followed by lorries a few weeks afterwards.

> :-)

> Jim

And cars with even numbers would change on day 1, with cars with odd
numbers changing the following day.

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle

On 02/04/2022 21:03, charles wrote:
> In article <jarkliFmkqgU3@mid.individual.net>,
> williamwright <wrightsaerials@f2s.com> wrote:
>> On 02/04/2022 18:14, MB wrote:
>>> I can't remember the title but there is a classic book on road safety.
>>> The author made an equation to estimate the number of accidents in a
>>> country, using population, number of vehicles, miles of roads etc.
>>>
>>> It gives a remarkably accurate figure for most countries but a small
>>> number of countries have a lower accident rate than predicted by the
>>> equation. All drive on the left hand side of the road.
>
>> That's British influence.
>
> Did we influence Japan?
>
Good point. No.

Bill

williamwright <wrightsaerials@f2s.com> wrote:
> On 02/04/2022 21:03, charles wrote:
>> In article <jarkliFmkqgU3@mid.individual.net>,
>> williamwright <wrightsaerials@f2s.com> wrote:
>>> On 02/04/2022 18:14, MB wrote:
>>>> I can't remember the title but there is a classic book on road safety.
>>>> The author made an equation to estimate the number of accidents in a
>>>> country, using population, number of vehicles, miles of roads etc.
>>>>
>>>> It gives a remarkably accurate figure for most countries but a small
>>>> number of countries have a lower accident rate than predicted by the
>>>> equation. All drive on the left hand side of the road.
>>
>>> That's British influence.
>>
>> Did we influence Japan?
>>
> Good point. No.
>
> Bill
>

Maybe we did. If you believe this

https://www.tofugu.com/japan/japan-drive-left-side-road/

Three countries approached the Japanese government to help them build a
railway system. These three countries were America, France, and Britain. In
the end, Britain won out. In 1872 the first Japanese railway was up and
running thanks to the British. A massive network of railways spread out
from there, all of which were left-side running. And as we all know, Japan
loves their trains. If American or French railways had been built instead,
Japan would probably be driving on the right side of the road today.

There is also an interesting map showing which countries drive on which
side.

I didn’t know until I visited Prague that in Czechoslovakia they drove on
the left until the Nazis changed things.

On Sat, 2 Apr 2022 19:08:48 +0100, Java Jive <java@evij.com.invalid>
wrote:

>However, it's a pity that we never actually did change, because the vast
>majority of the world drive on the right. Scroll down to map here:
>
>https://www.rhinocarhire.com/Drive-Smart-Blog/Drive-Left-or-Right.aspx

Interesting map. It shows that we're an island, i.e. we have no land
borders where drivers would have to change over. Most British drivers
will never need to drive anywhere else, so how much inconvenience
would it really save, and at what cost?

When Sweden changed, most cars on their roads were already left hand
drive. If we changed, practically all British cars on British roads
would be the wrong way round for several decades.

Would it really be worth all the inevitable carnage to try to change?
How much of the billions it would cost would actually be spent on it
and how much would end up in the pockets of politicians' chums?

Rod.

On Sat, 02 Apr 2022 19:51:40 +0100, Indy Jess John
<bathwatchdog@OMITTHISgooglemail.com> wrote:

>On 02/04/2022 12:13, NY wrote:
>> "Max Demian"<max_demian@bigfoot.com> wrote in message
>> news:s8GdnYnGEr-7tNX_nZ2dnUU7-ePNnZ2d@brightview.co.uk...
>>> Apparently they were left over from the film Journey to the Far Side of
>>> the Sun (1969). That film was set in Portugal, hence the LHD cars, and the
>>> (incorrect) assumption that Britain would have changed to driving on the
>>> right by 1980.
>>
>> Was there a plan in the 1960s for the UK to change over to driving on the
>> right, using LHD cars? I didn't know that. I think in some ways we should
>> have changed over, like Sweden did, before there were as many cars which
>> would be rendered semi-obsolete by the change.
>>
>This is Britain, don't forget. The change-over would be cars at first
>to see how it went, followed by lorries a few weeks afterwards.
>
>:-)
>
>Jim

Electric scooters first please.

Rod.

In article <qcki4hp64uvgok4di7661dbdqs01qm4d4k@4ax.com>, Roderick Stewart
<rjfs@escapetime.myzen.co.uk> wrote:
> On Sat, 02 Apr 2022 19:51:40 +0100, Indy Jess John
> <bathwatchdog@OMITTHISgooglemail.com> wrote:

> >On 02/04/2022 12:13, NY wrote:
> >> "Max Demian"<max_demian@bigfoot.com> wrote in message
> >> news:s8GdnYnGEr-7tNX_nZ2dnUU7-ePNnZ2d@brightview.co.uk...
> >>> Apparently they were left over from the film Journey to the Far Side
> >>> of the Sun (1969). That film was set in Portugal, hence the LHD cars,
> >>> and the (incorrect) assumption that Britain would have changed to
> >>> driving on the right by 1980.
> >>
> >> Was there a plan in the 1960s for the UK to change over to driving on
> >> the right, using LHD cars? I didn't know that. I think in some ways we
> >> should have changed over, like Sweden did, before there were as many
> >> cars which would be rendered semi-obsolete by the change.
> >>
> >This is Britain, don't forget. The change-over would be cars at first
> >to see how it went, followed by lorries a few weeks afterwards.
> >
> >:-)
> >
> >Jim

> Electric scooters first please.

> Rod.

good idea ;-)

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle

On Sun, 3 Apr 2022 01:40:41 +0100
williamwright <wrightsaerials@f2s.com> wrote:

> On 02/04/2022 21:03, charles wrote:
> > In article <jarkliFmkqgU3@mid.individual.net>,
> > williamwright <wrightsaerials@f2s.com> wrote:
> >> On 02/04/2022 18:14, MB wrote:
> >>> I can't remember the title but there is a classic book on road
> >>> safety. The author made an equation to estimate the number of
> >>> accidents in a country, using population, number of vehicles,
> >>> miles of roads etc.
> >>>
> >>> It gives a remarkably accurate figure for most countries but a
> >>> small number of countries have a lower accident rate than
> >>> predicted by the equation. All drive on the left hand side of the
> >>> road.
> >
> >> That's British influence.
> >
> > Did we influence Japan?
> >
> Good point. No.
>
> Bill

In the early nineties, there was a push in the USA, where I was
then living, to force Japan to buy American cars, to try to compensate
for the huge numbers of Japanese cars being imported to the US. I was at
a lunch, at which a senior Ford executive was in attendance, and he was
of the loud opinion that Japan should be forced to accept American
cars. The fact that the US rarely made RHD versions of their products
was dismissed by saying that the Japanese would just have to accept
US-made LHD cars anyway. Luckily, this executive's views were not acted
upon by upper Ford management.
It was a quite chilling experience, to hear somebody in such a senior
position espousing such views.

--
Davey.

On 03/04/2022 08:30, Tweed wrote:
> I didn’t know until I visited Prague that in Czechoslovakia they drove on
> the left until the Nazis changed things.

Didn`t people on the Falklands continue to drive on the left after the
illegal occupation by the Argentinians as an act of defiance?

On 03/04/2022 08:49, Roderick Stewart wrote:

> Would it really be worth all the inevitable carnage to try to change?
> How much of the billions it would cost would actually be spent on it
> and how much would end up in the pockets of politicians' chums?

It's also a bit pointless when we are being told that self-driving cars
aren't that many years away. There won't be any steering wheel once
safety has been confirmed. Then we can change to driving on the right if
it's considered essential.

Mind you, I wonder how long it'll take other road users and pedestrians
to adapt if we do change to DOTR. :-/

--

Jeff

On 03/04/2022 10:03, Jeff Layman wrote:
> It's also a bit pointless when we are being told that self-driving cars
> aren't that many years away.

I think it will be many more years before we see many self-driving cars
around. Might seem OK for Mr Musk on wide American motorways (though his
cars do seem very prone to accidents and fires). The narrow cluttered
road in the UK and many other countries are quite different and often
difficult enough for human drivers.