Triangle is a BBC Televisionsoap opera broadcast in the early 1980s, set aboard a North Seaferry that sailed from Felixstowe to Gothenburg and Gothenburg to Amsterdam. A third imaginary leg existed between Amsterdam and Felixstowe to justify the programme's title, but this was not operated by the ferry company. The show ran for three series before being cancelled, but is still generally remembered as "some of the most mockable British television ever produced". The scripts involved clichéd relationships and stilted dialogue, making the show the butt of several jokes—particularly on Terry Wogan's morning Radio 2 programme—which caused some embarrassment to the BBC.[2] (BBC Classic sitcom "Are You Being Served?" in Season 8, Episode 1 "Is It Catching?" hinted at the show being nausea-inducing for more reasons than just its setting. Even the anarchic BBC sitcom The Young Ones poked fun at the series, when one character says, "Even Triangle has better furniture than this!")
5 January 1981 (1981-01-05) – 6 July 1983 (1983-07-06)
In 1992, the BBC screened TV Hell, an evening of programming devoted to the worst television had to offer, and the first episode of Triangle was broadcast as part of the line-up.
The ferry used in the first series was the Tor Line's MS Tor Scandinavia. This was replaced in the second and third series by the DFDS vessel Dana Anglia (DFDS having acquired Tor Line by this time), probably because she had a less intensive schedule, and the longer time she spent in port made on-board filming easier.[1]
Interviewed for a TV Hell segment in 1992, the show's producer, Bill Sellars, and the leading actor, Larry Lamb, spoke of several problems with the show's production.
Using a ferry as the setting for a television series had originally looked like a promising idea. The regular cast, playing the crew, could be joined by a constantly changing guest cast playing the passengers as the ship sailed to interesting European locations (a format used in the American series The Love Boat). Advances in portable video cameras and recording equipment meant that the show could be videotaped on board a real ferry with more realism than using studio sets and more cheaply than using the 16mm film that was normal for location television drama at the time.
Unfortunately, the plan was revealed to be flawed almost as soon as location shooting—largely conducted in the North Sea—began. The inclement weather made the exterior scenes appear gloomy and dull, and far from glamorous. In making the first episode, Kate O'Mara had to endure a scene in which she sunbathes topless on a clearly freezing deck.
Another problem involved lighting. The cameras were perfectly comfortable with either natural or artificial lighting conditions, but a mixture of the two always produced unnatural-looking colour. The video cameras of the day did not cope well with contrasting light levels between inside and outside, so interior scenes often had to be shot with the windows or portholes curtained—so that as far as the audience was concerned they might as well have been shot in a studio anyway.
The relatively new "electronic field production" portable video technology (used for location footage in place of the traditional 16mm film) also exhibited serious problems—owing to, amongst other things, the movement of the ship which disrupted the stability of the video recorders.[3] Rough seas also induced seasickness in many of the production crew, making shooting an uncomfortable experience.
Broadcasts
The programme was broadcast every Monday and Wednesday.
Series 1: 5 January – 1 April 1981: 26 episodes.
Series 2: 26 April – 20 July 1982: 26 episodes.
Series 3: 5 April – 6 July 1983: 26 episodes
Cast
Michael Craig, Larry Lamb and Paul Jerricho were the only cast members to appear in all 78 episodes of Triangle. Kate O'Mara left at the beginning of the second series.
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For other Triangle films see Triangle disambiguation Triangle is a BBC Television soap opera broadcast in the early 1980s set aboard a North Sea ferry that sailed from Felixstowe to Gothenburg and Gothenburg to Amsterdam A third imaginary leg existed between Amsterdam and Felixstowe to justify the programme s title but this was not operated by the ferry company The show ran for three series before being cancelled but is still generally remembered as some of the most mockable British television ever produced The scripts involved cliched relationships and stilted dialogue making the show the butt of several jokes particularly on Terry Wogan s morning Radio 2 programme which caused some embarrassment to the BBC 2 BBC Classic sitcom Are You Being Served in Season 8 Episode 1 Is It Catching hinted at the show being nausea inducing for more reasons than just its setting Even the anarchic BBC sitcom The Young Ones poked fun at the series when one character says Even Triangle has better furniture than this TriangleMain title caption for the seriesGenreSoap operaCreated byBill SellarsDirected byMarc MillerJohn BirdAndrew MorganDarrol BlakeTerence Dudley 1 StarringKate O MaraLarry LambMichael CraigPaul JerrichoOpening themeJohnny PearsonComposerJohnny PearsonCountry of originUnited KingdomNo of series3No of episodes78ProductionProducerBill SellarsProduction locationMS Tor ScandinaviaRunning time30 minutesReleaseOriginal networkBBC1Original release5 January 1981 1981 01 05 6 July 1983 1983 07 06 In 1992 the BBC screened TV Hell an evening of programming devoted to the worst television had to offer and the first episode of Triangle was broadcast as part of the line up The ferry used in the first series was the Tor Line s MS Tor Scandinavia This was replaced in the second and third series by the DFDS vessel Dana Anglia DFDS having acquired Tor Line by this time probably because she had a less intensive schedule and the longer time she spent in port made on board filming easier 1 Contents 1 Production limitations 2 Broadcasts 3 Cast 4 References 5 External linksProduction limitations EditInterviewed for a TV Hell segment in 1992 the show s producer Bill Sellars and the leading actor Larry Lamb spoke of several problems with the show s production Using a ferry as the setting for a television series had originally looked like a promising idea The regular cast playing the crew could be joined by a constantly changing guest cast playing the passengers as the ship sailed to interesting European locations a format used in the American series The Love Boat Advances in portable video cameras and recording equipment meant that the show could be videotaped on board a real ferry with more realism than using studio sets and more cheaply than using the 16mm film that was normal for location television drama at the time Unfortunately the plan was revealed to be flawed almost as soon as location shooting largely conducted in the North Sea began The inclement weather made the exterior scenes appear gloomy and dull and far from glamorous In making the first episode Kate O Mara had to endure a scene in which she sunbathes topless on a clearly freezing deck Another problem involved lighting The cameras were perfectly comfortable with either natural or artificial lighting conditions but a mixture of the two always produced unnatural looking colour The video cameras of the day did not cope well with contrasting light levels between inside and outside so interior scenes often had to be shot with the windows or portholes curtained so that as far as the audience was concerned they might as well have been shot in a studio anyway The relatively new electronic field production portable video technology used for location footage in place of the traditional 16mm film also exhibited serious problems owing to amongst other things the movement of the ship which disrupted the stability of the video recorders 3 Rough seas also induced seasickness in many of the production crew making shooting an uncomfortable experience Broadcasts EditThe programme was broadcast every Monday and Wednesday Series 1 5 January 1 April 1981 26 episodes Series 2 26 April 20 July 1982 26 episodes Series 3 5 April 6 July 1983 26 episodesCast EditMichael Craig Larry Lamb and Paul Jerricho were the only cast members to appear in all 78 episodes of Triangle Kate O Mara left at the beginning of the second series Starring Michael Craig Captain John Anderson Larry Lamb Matt Taylor Kate O Mara Katherine Laker Paul Jerricho Charles WoodhouseRecurring cast listed alphabetically Dawn Addams Mrs Landers Tony Anholt Nick Stevens David Arlen Joe Francis Peter Arne Kevin Warrender George Baker David West Helena Breck Sandy McCormick Dennis Burgess George Terson Julia Chambers Barbara Carter Diana Coupland Marion Terson Sandra Dickinson Penny Warrender Scott Fredericks Tom Kelly Joan Greenwood Judith Harper Philip Hatton Tony Grant Penelope Horner Sarah Hallam Elizabeth Larner Jo Bailey Nicolette McKenzie Maya Anderson Wanda Moore Susan Porter Jonathan Newth Roger Powell Cindy O Callaghan Linda Kennedy Jonathan Owen Peter Nuttall Marion Owen Smith Lisa Watkins Sandra Payne Christine Harris Jamie Roberts Bill Ryan Christopher Saul Douglas Evans Jonathan Scott Taylor Ted Anderson Douglas Sheldon Arthur Parker Nigel Stock Wally James 1980s portalReferences Edit a b Detailed list of which director helmed which episode 27 October 2009 Archived from the original on 27 October 2009 Retrieved 17 November 2011 Soaps British TVARK Archived from the original on 19 February 2012 Retrieved 17 November 2011 Triangle at IMDbExternal links EditTriangle at IMDb Triangle at BBC Online Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Triangle 1981 TV series amp oldid 1125454690, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
