Beiderbecke Tapes

NOW FINALLY available, #2 in Alan Prater's made-for-TV trilogy. This comical "live together" pair have a fun relaxed relationship; better than most married couples. But mystery is in the making when Trevor (James Bolam) receives an audio tape (from John the Barman but intended for Dave the Wimp), which was to be Bix Beiderbecke music, but in reality is a discussion by men plotting the disposal of nuclear waste in the Yorkshire Dales. Dastardly!

Trevor had moved in with colleague, Jill. Headmaster Wheeler calls it co-inhabiting. Disapprovingly! Jill (Barbara Flynn--you'll love her in "Cranford" and "The Forsythe Saga") sees the just need to get to the truth of the tape. Dangerous! The headmaster blackmails the pair into chaperoning the school's student trip to Holland. Despicable!

Thus the action begins, that ends up mysterious, adventurous, a nuclear espionage thriller, but centered around the humorous activity of the amiable couple which occasionally becomes closer. Amorously!

The trail to Amsterdam, Edinburgh, and Yorkshire seeking the secret of the tape leads the pair into a hive of others more ruthlessly desiring the tape. Sounds scary but there's more laughs than fears.

A list of some of the oddball characters in "The Beiderbecke Tapes":
Trevor Chaplin...not quite grown-up shop teacher who slouches, mutters, and needs a haircut, but is a gentleman to Jill
Jill Swinburne...radical environmentalist and English teacher, gutsy & swanky divorcee, male magnet
Mr. Carter...teaches history and laughs at the other's school misfortunes
Mr. Peterson...dubbed 'man with no name', a breaking & entering government man, and 'the neighborhood CIA-KGB'
Mr. Wheeler...the headmaster that NOBODY likes
Sylvia...Oldest Suffragette in town
Pronk...Dutch innkeeper with a terrified Rottweiler
The Ancient Order of Elks from San Diego...seniors touring Europe for action
The Scotch drinking fighting-Scots bagpipe band
Oh, the crazies list is endless...

The wonderful background music, 1920's Bix Beiderbecke jazz style, was nominated for an award. Bonus material is filmographies of Flynn and Bolam.

Sleuthing, scenery, and comedy in one well written package.

THIS 2ND SET IS SUPERIOR THAN THE 1ST SET AS WE AGAIN FOLLOW THE EXCITING,DRAMATIC AND HUMOROUS ADVENTURES OF THIS PAIR OF "CO-INHABITORS". CAN'T WAIT TO VIEW FINAL SET.

James Bolam has always been a favorite of mine, right back to 'The Likely Lads' in the 1960s. Here he is paired with Barbara Flynn, another excellent actor, as a couple of romantically involved schoolteachers who unwittingly stumble across a tape not meant for their ears.

The main charm of the show is the relationship between the two leads and the clever and funny dialog. Trevor (Bolam) is definitely the junior partner in the relationship, with Jill (Flynn)the smarter of the two. Their banter is witty, the characters are warm and likeable and they are surrounded by good supporting actors, including the splendid Beryl Reid as an aging suffragette.

Why, then, only 3 stars? It's because the story, which in part 1 is intriguing, in part 2 lapses into a disjointed series of poorly thought out and farcical incidents which destroy all credibility the program might have had. It's almost as though Alan Plater, who wrote both the screenplay and the novel it is based on, gave up trying to keep the viewers involved in the outcome of the story in favor of cramming in ever more outlandish scenarios in unlikely locations. By the end my wife and I were shaking our heads over the waste of good characters.

If you like the acting of Bolam and Flynn and want a good laugh, then you'll enjoy part 1 of this story. If you don't care about a cohesive and believable plot, you might also like part 2. Just don't expect a story which makes sense.