Alan J.W. Bell

Director

November 14, 1937 (85 years)

† October 19, 2023

Battersea, London, England, UK

Biography

Alan James William Bell was a British television producer and director. He was born in Battersea, London. He has produced or directed many BBC series since the early 1970s, most notably Last of the Summer Wine, Ripping Yarns and the TV adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Filmography

7.1

Last of the Summer Wine

Unencumbered by wives, jobs or any other responsibilities, three senior citizens who've never really grown up explore their world in the Yorkshire Dales. They spend their days speculating about their fellow townsfolk and thinking up adventures not usually favored by the elderly. Last of the Summer Wine premiered as an episode of Comedy Playhouse in 1973. The show ran for 295 episodes until 2010. It is the longest running comedy Britain has produced and the longest running sitcom in the world.

8.0

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Don't Panic! The story of Arthur Dent, an average Englishman whose life was spared by his friend, who turned out to be an alien, while the planet Earth is destroyed. His friend tells him about the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a guide with anything you ever needed, and wanted to know. They travel across the galaxy, meeting friendly, and not so friendly characters in order to find the great question (the answer being 42).

7.7

Ripping Yarns

A British television comedy series, written by Michael Palin and Terry Jones of Monty Python fame. Following an initial pilot episode in January 1976, it ran for two subsequent series of five and three episodes in October 1977 and October 1979 respectively. Each episode had a different setting and characters, looking at a different aspect of British culture and parodying pre-World War II literature aimed at schoolboys.

7.0

One Pair of Eyes

A monthly series of highly personal documentary films in which individuals are given a platform to discuss issues close to their heart.

7.8

The Beiderbecke Connection

The Beiderbecke Connection is a four-part British television serial written by Alan Plater and broadcast in 1988. It is the third and final part of The Beiderbecke Trilogy and stars James Bolam and Barbara Flynn as schoolteachers Trevor Chaplin and Jill Swinburne. Now with a baby in tow, Jill and Trevor are asked by Big Al to look after a refugee called "Ivan".

6.0

Wyatt's Watchdogs

After a burglary at his sister's house, retired soldier Major Wyatt sets up a Neighbourhood Watch group. The motley collection of individuals who come together to form the group are quickly divided by personality clashes. This is particularly true where Major Wyatt and smarmy salesman Peter Pitt are concerned.

6.0

The Clairvoyant

After being hit by a car, Arnold Bristow becomes convinced he has psychic abilities.

7.2

The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy

An Earth Man and his alien friend escape an exploding Earth, and set forth on an odd adventure across the universe with a known fugitive.

5.0

Gaskin

Drama based on the case history of a Liverpool boy, Graham Gaskin, who spent most of his youth in care. Graham Gaskin says it is not just his story - 'It's all the other little Gaskins we never hear about... and it ain't history. It's now!'

6.5

Lost for Words

Deric Longden and his wife, Aileen, come to terms with the fact that his mother, Annie, is getting too old to live on her own. Annie suffers her first stroke and a nursing home is the obvious solution, but which one and where?

8.0

Golden Gordon

Barnestoneworth United is the worst football team of 1935, who lose every match. Gordon Ottershaw is, however, their loyal fan, determined to prevent them from being disbanded after their final game. To this end he recruits the players from the renowned winning team of 1922 who turn up to defeat rivals Denley Moor.

9.5

Whinfrey's Last Case

In 1913 the British government, hearing that the Germans are planning World War I, ask top agent Whinfrey to intervene, but instead he decides to go on holiday to Cornish fishing village Torpoint. Here he believes he has stumbled upon a smuggling ring, but in fact they are Germans who are masquerading as locals in an advance invasion party. The British arrive and arrest them, believing that Whinfrey deliberately planned everything - though it is apparent that he did not.

8.0

Getting Sam Home

Three old chums agree to take the ailing Sam on one last trip to see his flousy girl-friend, Lily Bless Her, in the middle of the night.

N/A

The Best of Spike Milligan

Widely regarded as the greatest post-war British comedian, Spike Milligan transitioned from the groundbreaking radio comedy The Goons to television without losing any of his anarchic, surreal humor. His series Q (1968–1980) and There’s A Lot Of It About (1982) shattered comedy conventions with sketch after sketch of absurd brilliance. This compilation features classic moments like The Eurovision Joke Contest, Spike as a singing Viking maiden, and insects auditioning for a David Attenborough documentary. Interwoven with these are unique interstitials featuring Bruce Hammal at Milligan’s home—but in true Spike fashion, the interviews become sketches themselves, complete with his long-suffering comedy butler, Piles. This release is a slightly re-edited, repackaged version of the 1995 BBC VHS Spike Milligan: One Man and His Ideas.

9.5

Peter Cushing: A One Way Ticket to Hollywood

An interview with Legendary Actor Peter Cushing and clips from some of his best films.

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