Crossroads Crossroads: 1964-1988, 2001-2003

[Mel O'Drama]

How exciting , not long now

The QE2 has just docked at O'Dramaville:

Spoiler: And I have the pics to prove it...

I'm impressed with how compact it is considering how many discs are involved. No doubt there's stacking and layering galore going on within those cases, but if it saves a little precious shelf space I can live with that.

The slipcase is very solid, too. My buzz was ever so slightly diminished when I spotted a small dent on the top of the slipcase, but I'm in a forgiving mood today so I've chosen to believe it's there intentionally: an artistic interpretation of the infamous chipboard sets, perhaps.



Now there's the question of when to crack her open and get watching.

My current thinking is that I'll watch Nolly as the lead-in (the same way I watched The Road To Coronation Street before the last time I watched Corrie's Sixties compilation set). Does anyone know how it's going to be airing on ITVX? Will it be an episode per week, or will they drop the whole thing on Thursday?​

 

[Julia's Gun]

Now there's the question of when to crack her open and get watching.

My current thinking is that I'll watch Nolly as the lead-in (the same way I watched The Road To Coronation Street before the last time I watched Corrie's Sixties compilation set). Does anyone know how it's going to be airing on ITVX? Will it be an episode per week, or will they drop the whole thing on Thursday?​

Mine has arrived too! A like it, a nicely put together package on first quick look through, my only slight niggle is that the inserts are very flimsy. You have to pull them out to see what the disc contents are, maybe a separate booklet with a more detailed breakdown would have been better.
I like the photo booklet as well.

Yes, will need to watch Nolly as its on any day now, and I think i'll watch some of the extras first - the interviews and documentaries on the last discs.

How can it be rated 12? This was tea-time viewing back in the day!!

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Mine has arrived too!

Great news!!

I think i'll watch some of the extras first - the interviews and documentaries on the last discs.

I see Network have updated their website to show all the bonus material. It seems absolutely loaded. What a treasure trove!

As I only have a passing familiarity with the series I'll save the bonus material for after I've watched the episodes when I'll probably appreciate-stroke-understand it better (easily typed, but it could be quite some time before I get round to those extras).

How can it be rated 12? This was tea-time viewing back in the day!!

My guess would be it could be to do with attitudes or language that were considered acceptable in the Sixties or Seventies but may cause viewers to write in angry letters today. Or perhaps someone drops an F-bomb in one of the interviews or documentaries.

 

[James from London]

The QE2 has just docked at O'Dramaville:

Mine has arrived too!

Mine too! It's all very exciting and a bit overwhelming.

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

I see Network have updated their website to show all the bonus material. It seems absolutely loaded. What a treasure trove!

That’s a great selection of bonus material that’ll really add to the nostalgic feel of the set.

Not to rain on the Nolly parade but I saw a couple of people on Twitter discussing an issue where disc 14 is apparently a duplicate of disc 17. Not sure if it’s an issue with every set but might be worth checking out, as a couple of people have mentioned it.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Not to rain on the Nolly parade but I saw a couple of people on Twitter discussing an issue where disc 14 is apparently a duplicate of disc 17. Not sure if it’s an issue with every set but might be worth checking out, as a couple of people have mentioned it.

Gosh - I wonder how people spotted this so quickly. Assuming it's around 8 episodes per disc, disc 14 is well over a hundred episodes into the set.



Network are already on the case and are issuing replacements of the disc in question. I've had the following email from them:

If you have already received your recent purchase of Crossroads - The Noele Gordon Collection, and if you have made it all the way to Disc 14 you will have noticed that we made an error during manufacturing. This means that Disc 14 and Disc 17 are duplicated with the same episodes. Turns out, you can have too much of a good thing.

Rest assured, I am on the case and will be manufacturing a replacement disc and sending it out to you free of charge. My plan is to have these arriving with you as soon as possible, and I really appreciate your patience whilst I resolve the issue, and my apologies for the inconvenience caused.


If the Collection is yet to arrive with you, please don’t panic, you will also receive a replacement disc 14 as a separate delivery.

I didn't contact them (mine isn't even unsealed yet) so it seems they're sending replacement discs to everyone who's ordered.

 

[Angela Channing]

Seeing the photos of the DVD set is making it very difficult to resist the temptation to buy it. Although it's pretty good value seeing how many hours of TV it contains, sadly I can't justify spending that much money on DVDs. Maybe in the future I will find a used set on eBay.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Ooh!! Nolly has appeared on ITVX.

I hope to watch it starting tonight and over the weekend.

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

Ooh!! Nolly has appeared on ITVX.

I hope to watch it starting tonight and over the weekend.

Between Nolly, the Real Nolly documentary and her final episodes that are available on ITVX, it’s going to be a Nollyfest in this house this weekend.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Between Nolly, the Real Nolly documentary and her final episodes that are available on ITVX, it’s going to be a Nollyfest in this house this weekend.

That sounds like Nolly heaven. I hadn't realised there were also actual Crossroads episodes available to stream. I'm sure I'll want to check out The Real Nolly after the series.

After that I think it might be time to check in at the motel itself with The Noele Gordon Collection*.


* Or do I wait until a few other Telly Talkers are watching and someone starts a massive watching/rewatching thread à la Sons And Daughters?

 

[Mel O'Drama]

God - even the trailers are getting my adrenaline going...

"Watch me."

"He. Sacked. Me!"​

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

I hadn't realised there were also actual Crossroads episodes available to stream

There’s about ten episodes available I think. I’m not sure if they’re all landmark episodes but I think there’s three from Noele’s 1981 departure - the fire, the aftermath and the QE2.

 

[Angela Channing]

There’s about ten episodes available I think. I’m not sure if they’re all landmark episodes but I think there’s three from Noele’s 1981 departure - the fire, the aftermath and the QE2.

The episodes on ITVX are great and as well as Noele's final episodes they also include some from the storyline which ended in Benny's girlfriend Maureen being killed while going to see Pat Grogan and some from featuring the Alison Cotterill storyline. It's high quality drama and well acted and makes a nonsense of all the Crossroads detractors who criticise it for wobbly sets and even more wobbly performances from the cast.

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

I’m not sure what’s included with the box set but this fan on Twitter has made a guide detailing the approximate transmission dates of all episodes in the set

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1621225860001849344

 

[Mel O'Drama]

this fan on Twitter has made a guide detailing the approximate transmission dates of all episodes in the set

This is absolutely stunning. What a creative genius this fan is. I'm just sorry I'm not on Twitter to thank him.

I've downloaded it and will try to work out a way to print it double-sided A5 on glossy paper (highly ambitious given my short fuse when it comes to printers).

I’m not sure what’s included with the box set

Check out discs 90-95 at the end of that episode guide and he's even included all that. It's a really impressive collection of material.

I'm especially glad to have seen the episode guide as naïve me was expecting the set to begin at Episode One, so it's righted my expectations.

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

I'm especially glad to have seen the episode guide as naïve me was expecting the set to begin at Episode One, so it's righted my expectations.

Yeah, I think it’ll be 1978 before you hit a continuous run of episodes but it’s still great that everything available has been gathered together in one set.

 

[Julia's Gun]

Well I've watched the first episode of Nolly and i've also watched Disc 84 of the new set. Thanks Carrie for uploading that list with all the airing dates, so i've immersed myself in September 1981, shorty before Meg's departure.

Observations so far:
Disc 84
The camp photographer who keeps appearing and photographing girls in the lobby. He speaks so fast and is such a hybrid John Inman/Mr Humprhries creation I keep expecting him to say 'I'm free' each time he appears. He's the closest character so far to Acorn Antiques, and the only really cheesy one so far.

But other than that, I think the show comes across as very polished and smoothly acted so far. No sign from Noele that her departure is imminent, and no wobbly sets. I am smitten with the late David Moran who played Kevin Banks. I recognize his face, so even my six year old self must have been attracted to him back then as he is really appealing to the eye. (My next door neighbour's mum was obsessed with Crossroads, so I remember this show being on whenever I was round, and vividly remember the hotel fire). Anyway, back to David. I looked him up on IMDB but sadly this Crossraods character seemed to me his only big role, other than some guest appearances on other 80s shows. He looks really sexy in some of his scenes, especially when he appears in a sleeveless Kevin Bacon early-80s style black vest. This guy should have become a bigger star in my view.

Nolly - first episode response
The first thing I noticed was they have re-built some pretty exact replicas of the set from the early 80s for this minseries. I loved the scenes in Babs & David Hunter's house - it looks exactly the same as the 1981 set with the brick walls and two big windows, and those couches. There is a whole episode on disc 84 which is just then discussing and plotting with some blonde-haired moustached guy who looks like a Swedish porn-star. I haven't quite worked out who he is yet, but I had consumed 2 glasses of red wine during that episode, so it may need a re-watch. In the miniseries, they make out that the two of them are actively scheming how they will become the main stars of the show once Meg is kiled off...

I like how Helene Bonham-Carter has picked up some of Noele's mannerisms, and I believed her portrayal for the most part, but clearly - as indicated in the disclaimer at the start- some scenes have been completely made up. She never reacted like that when she announced her sacking to the press, the outrage and anger was all behind the scenes so Russell T Davies is taking lots of liberties - maybe he is re- imagining how he feels Noele should have reacted to the media at the time?
I liked the humour introduced throughout the episode though, especially when Jack Barton sacks her and the Tony Adams/Adam Chance character whispers 'am I sacked as well'? He can't hide his joy when Nolly says it's just her that's up for the chop. That was a fun scene. Looking forward to the rest of it now.

How do others feel about this first episode?

 

[Mel O'Drama]

The first thing I noticed was they have re-built some pretty exact replicas of the set from the early 80s for this minseries. I loved the scenes in Babs & David Hunter's house - it looks exactly the same as the 1981 set with the brick walls and two big windows, and those couches.

This is really good to know. The sets looked extremely authentic to me based on foggy memories of how I remember it looking, but I was only ever a casual viewer.

In the miniseries, they make out that the two of them are actively scheming how they will become the main stars of the show once Meg is kiled off...

I was going to ask how accurate this aspect was. Sue Lloyd in particular is coming off as extremely bitchy towards Nolly.

I like how Helene Bonham-Carter has picked up some of Noele's mannerisms, and I believed her portrayal for the most part

Again, as a casual viewer, it feels right to me, but I'm probably fairly easy to please as I have only misty, watercolour memories of how Noele presented herself.

Bizarrely, I keep seeing an awful lot of resemblance to Rowena Wallace, and now I kind of want HBC and RTD to make Rowie: The Miniseries charting the behind-the-scenes dramas of Pat The Rat's exit from Sons and Daughters at the height of her popularity.


I'm impressed with a lot of the casting of actors I recognise. The actress playing Sue Hanson has uncannily similar features.

She never reacted like that when she announced her sacking to the press, the outrage and anger was all behind the scenes so Russell T Davies is taking lots of liberties - maybe he is re- imagining how he feels Noele should have reacted to the media at the time?

That's disappointing. I can understand it makes for nice dramatic scenes, but since we're also seeing her private life, more of a contrast between her personal and professional reactions would also have been very fascinating to watch.

liked the humour introduced throughout the episode

Same here. The moment where she took the phone call and told Poppy "It's for you" made me laugh out loud... probably even more because I could see it coming and enjoyed the cruel anticipation.

And what's with all the lamps in Noele's flat? The first time she went round turning them on I was fascinated. The second time I found myself chuckling.

 

[Julia's Gun]

I was going to ask how accurate this aspect was. Sue Lloyd in particular is coming off as extremely bitchy towards Nolly.


I'm impressed with a lot of the casting of actors I recognise. The actress playing Sue Hanson has uncannily similar features.

I've no idea about how Sue Lloyd felt about Noele in real life. Probably it's just been exaggerated in the miniseries for dramatic effect, but maybe @James from London may know a bit more?

I totally agree about Sue Hanson! I wondered it it was her daughter or grand-daughter playing the role, the likeness is so real. They also made her come across very much Mrs Overall in Acorn Antiques, when she is standing with the tray for Meg just off-set. That bit creased me up as well.

 

[Barbara Fan]

oh My, I watched the 1st episode of Nolly last night and it was brilliant

Helena Bonham Carter is perfect as Noele Gordan and and the rest of the casting is pretty good too - however HBC didnt have blue eyes and the ahirs not quite right

I remember when Noele Gordon was sacked and bought a souvenir magazine about her on the way home from school that was brought out after her sacking

I think it might be "up in the loft"

I cant wait to see more of it and she is surely going to win an award or two for it x