Whicker's World
Whicker's World was a British television documentary series that ran from 1958 to 1994, presented by journalist and broadcaster Alan Whicker.
| Whicker's World | |
|---|---|
Title screen (1978—80), featuring Concorde | |
| Genre | Documentary |
| Presented by | Alan Whicker |
| Theme music composer | "West End" by Laurie Johnson (until 1968); "Horizons" by Frank Talley and The New Concert Orchestra (1968-77); Andrew Lloyd Webber (1978–80); "Newsweek" by Graham de Wilde (1984) |
| Production | |
| Production companies | BBC Yorkshire Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC 1 (1958-1968, 1984-1992) ITV (1968-1983, 1992-1994) |
| Release | 1958 – 1994 |
Originally a segment on the BBC's Tonight programme in 1958, Whicker's World became a fully-fledged television series in its own right in the 1960s.[1] The series was first shown by the BBC until 1968, and then by ITV from 1968 to 1983, when it was produced by Yorkshire Television, in which Whicker himself was a shareholder. The series returned to the BBC in 1984, and to ITV again in 1992.
Series history edit
Whicker's World was ostensibly a travel documentary series, though its focus was on interesting or unusual people in different parts of the world (from the perspective of someone living in the United Kingdom in the era before affordable air travel) rather than sightseeing, or the act of travel itself. Whicker preferred to describe himself as a "journalist who travels" rather than a "travel journalist".[2] He was in his late 30s when he was given his first segments on the Tonight programme in 1958, but even at that relatively young age he quickly realised that his appearance and personality—an old-fashioned, stiff-upper-lip Englishman with "the neat moustache, the blazer or, in tropical climes, a Doug Hayward gabardine suit"[3] who was always "politely interested and innocently perplexed"[4]—was an effective way of encouraging interviewees who might otherwise be hostile or suspicious to let their guard down. This extended to a deliberate policy of only ever asking questions in English. As he explained in an interview in 2010:
"It is hard to shoot a man, or even strike him with your rifle butt, when he is smiling at you in a friendly way and talking about something foreign. When they expect you to be humble and timid, a certain pleasant senior-office asperity throws them off-balance. This is even more effective when guards or police or hoodlums don't understand English. [Attempting to understand their language] instantly places you in the subordinate position of supplication, and invites questions. Since adopting this haughty approach, I am pleased to say I have hardly ever been shot."[5]
Though Tonight was a magazine-style current affairs show with multiple presenters, Whicker's reports proved popular with viewers, and were given extra prominence within only a few years. This included multi-episode mini-series which were effectively Whicker's World clip shows: Six Films of Six Places (1961) compiled Whicker's reports for Tonight from Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Singapore, Hawaii, and Mexico; Whicker Down Under (1961) was a four-episode compilation of reports from across Australia; and the two-parters Whicker on Top of the World (1962) and Whicker Down Mexico Way (1963) collated his reports from Alaska and Mexico respectively.[6][7][8][9]
Several standalone episodes were also special editions given over entirely for Whicker's original reporting:
- "Megamillionaire: The Incredible Kingdom of William Randolph Hearst" (4th April 1962)[10]
- "Hotel Concord" (8th August 1962)[11]
- "The Delinquents" (15th August 1962)[12]
- "The Solitary Billionaire: J. Paul Getty" (24th February 1963)[13]
- "The Model Millionairess" (7th May 1963)[14]
- "Alan Whicker Goes to Sweden" (18th May 1963)[15]
- "Deep in the Heart of Texas: Superamerica" (5th August 1963)[16]
- "Deep in the Heart of Texas: Texas Justice" (18th August 1963)[17]
- "A Sort of Paradise" (3rd September 1963)[18]
- "Death in the Morning: The Private World of the Quorn" (17th March 1964)[19]
- "A Little Madness: The Private World of the Pocomaniacs" (3rd November 1964)[20]
- "These Humble Shores: Alan Whicker in Monte Carlo" (21st January 1965)[21]
Whicker's approach to finding and reporting stories of social interest from around the world in these films was carried over when Whicker's World finally span-off from Tonight as a standalone programme in October 1965. For the next 30 years his interviewees would go on to include small-town characters, powerful politicians, iconic celebrities, and even convicted criminals as he reported on stories as far ranging as military dictatorships, British expatriates, the feminist movement of the 1970s, the Tanka people of Hong Kong, the American Gay Rights movement, the building of Disney World in Florida, and the plastic surgery industry. Among his interviewees were actors Peter Sellers, Joan Collins, Britt Ekland, Liza Minnelli, and Christopher Lee, several former Maharajas of India, and various members of the British aristocracy.
Although all episodes of Whicker's World were self-contained, after the show span off from Tonight Whicker continued devoting entire seasons to one particular location, subject, or theme—such as the South Pacific, Europe, India, Hong Kong, Spain, or a voyage on the QE2. In particular, he produced seven whole series devoted to the United States and four about Australia (if including the earlier Tonight clip shows Whicker on Top of the World and Whicker Down Under, and considering the two "Deep in the Heart of Texas" episodes from 1963 as a series).
Not all of these "series within a series" were given their own unique titles—for example, one of the seasons of films about the US, broadcast in 1977, was simply branded as Whicker's World. Those seasons which were given their own unique names included:
| Series | Network | Year | No. episodes | Topic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whicker's New World | ITV | 1969 | 6 | An exploration of "new lifestyles" in the U.S. |
| Whicker In Europe | ITV | 1969-70 | 7 | Interviews with eccentric Europeans |
| Whicker's Walkabout: Seven Scenes From Down Under | ITV | 1970 | 8 | Interviews with eccentric Australians (Note: Despite its name this series actually featured eight episodes due to the inclusion of "Broken Hill - Closed City", a special report from Broken Hill, New South Wales) |
| The World of Whicker | ITV | 1971 | 10 | Films about the Caribbean and Florida |
| Whicker's Orient | ITV | 1972 | 6 | Reports from Thailand, Hong Kong, and Bali |
| Whicker Within a Woman's World | ITV | 1972 | 6 | Interviews with women working in traditionally male occupations |
| Whicker's South Seas | ITV | 1973 | 6 | Travels among the island nations of the South Pacific |
| Whicker's Way Out West | ITV | 1973 | 8 | Further explorations of "new lifestyles", with a focus on the American West |
| Whicker's World: Down Under | ITV | 1976 | 7 | Further interviews with eccentric Australians (Note: Not to be confused with the Whicker Down Under clip show from 1961) |
| Whicker's World: India | ITV | 1978 | 6 | Reports from across India |
| Whicker's World: California | ITV | 1980 | 6 | Despatches from the most populous U.S. state |
| Whicker's World: A Fast Boat to China | BBC | 1984 | 4 | Whicker boards the QE2 for a three-month cruise across the Pacific |
| Whicker's World: Living With Uncle Sam | BBC | 1985 | 10 | Interviews with Britons who have emigrated to the United States |
| Whicker's World: Living With Waltzing Matilda | BBC | 1988 | 10 | Interviews with Britons who have emigrated to Australia, to coincide with the country's bicentennial celebrations |
| Whicker's World: Hong Kong | BBC | 1990 | 8 | Interviews with Hong Kong residents in anticipation of the handover to China |
| Whicker's World: A Taste of Spain | BBC | 1992 | 8 | Reports from across Spain ahead of the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona |
| Around Whicker's World: The Ultimate Package | ITV | 1992 | 4 | Whicker signs up for a package tour holiday across the globe |
Standalone specials outside of these series which are of particular note include Whicker's interviews with Paraguayan dictator Alfredo Stroessner (1970), novelist Harold Robbins (1971), the Sultan of Brunei (and reputedly the richest man in the world at the time of filming) Hassanal Bolkiah (1992), and, in the final episode of the series, opera singer Luciano Pavarotti (1994). Perhaps his most famous film (which "would make his name" according to Simon Calder[5]) was broadcast in 1969, when he became the first Western journalist to secure an extended face-to-face interview with Haitian dictator François "Papa Doc" Duvalier. Whicker claimed to have flown to Haiti, sent a telex to Duvalier saying, "Mr President, I am outside your door," then headed to Duvalier's palace; the dictator was apparently so charmed by Whicker's forthrightness that he even invited the broadcaster to come Christmas shopping with him and his family in Port-au-Prince.[5]
Two specials were filmed on the Orient Express: the first on the Venice-Simplon Orient Express in 1982, and the second on the Eastern and Oriental Express in 1993. Another two-part special, broadcast in 1993, was filmed at the 1992 Miss World competition at Sun City, South Africa, which Whicker participated in as one of the judges. There was also a six-part clip show (The First Million Miles) which featured highlights from the first ten years of Whicker's World on the BBC from 1958 to 1968, broadcast to promote his return to the network from ITV in 1984.[22]
Whicker almost always sourced titles (or subtitles) for his episodes by quoting either his interviewees or his own narration—for example, his report on protests against racial segregation at the 1967 Kentucky Derby was subtitled "My People Are More Important Than a Few Horses Running...", an argument made by Muhammad Ali (then-Cassius Clay) in the episode. Living With Waltzing Matilda was the only series not to follow this convention, with each episode simply called "Part One", "Part Two", etc.
In 1998, Whicker made a six-part radio series, Around Whicker's World, for BBC Radio 2. In 2009, he returned to television with Alan Whicker's Journey Of A Lifetime, a four-part series for the BBC in which he revisited some of the locations and people shown in Whicker's World decades earlier to see how their lives had progressed since his original interviews with them. Included in this was a third visit to American plastic surgeon Dr. Kurt Wagner and his wife Kathy, whom Whicker had already made two programmes about in 1973 and 1980, and had considered among his favourite interviewees.
The original theme music for the programme was "West End", composed by Laurie Johnson. When the series moved over to ITV in the late 1960s a new theme, "Horizons" by Frank Talley and The New Concert Orchestra, was used until 1977, when it was replaced by another new theme composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber. When the series returned to the BBC in 1984, "Newsweek", a piece composed by Graham de Wilde for KPM Musichouse, was used as the theme.[23]
Awards edit
Whicker's World was a huge ratings success in the UK, and one of the longest running series in the history of British television. The series was nominated for a variety of awards throughout its run, including several BAFTA Television Awards:
| Year | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Factual Personality | Alan Whicker | Won[24] |
| 1970 | Factual Documentary | Whicker's New World (including specials "Papa Doc: The Black Sheep" and "The Pugnacious Pacifist") | Nominated[25] |
| 1978 | Film Sound | Don Atkinson (for Whicker's World) | Nominated[26] |
| Film Editor | Stan Hawkes (for Whicker's World episode "Palm Beach, Florida: How Can I Lie About My Age When My Son Needs a Facelift..?") | Nominated[27] | |
| Documentary | Whicker's World episode "Palm Beach, Florida: How Can I Lie About My Age When My Son Needs a Facelift..?" | Nominated[28] | |
| Richard Dimbleby Award | Alan Whicker | Won[29] | |
| 1979 | Documentary | Whicker's World: India episode "He's A Stuck-Up Maharajah - I'm Not Going To Marry Him" | Nominated[30] |
| 1986 | Factual Series | Whicker's World: Living With Uncle Sam | Nominated[31] |
In 1971, the series won the Dumont International Journalism Award at the University of California for the 1969 episode "Papa Doc: The Black Sheep". The episode "Harold Robbins: I'm The World's Best Writer, There's Nothing Else to Say" won the Best Interview Programme Award at the Hollywood Festival of World Television in 1972.[32]
Home media edit
As Whicker's World's earliest episodes—both the short segments on the BBC's Tonight programme from 1958 to 1965 and episodes from its first run as a standalone series from 1965 to 1968—were produced before the BBC instituted a formal archival policy in the 1970s, many are likely lost. However, some surviving segments from the early Tonight era have been shared via social media by the BBC Archives team. This includes the very first "episode", which saw Whicker reporting from Aberdeen Harbour in Hong Kong for Tonight.[33]
The BBC has also released two full episodes from 1967—"The Love Generation: I'm Here to Tell You - It's Happening All Over!" and "Conflict in Kentucky: My People Are More Important Than a Few Horses Running..."—on iPlayer, as well as Whicker's special edition of Tonight from 1963 where he interviewed Jean Paul Getty.[34][35][36] Another full episode from 1968 ("A Handful of Horrors: I Don't Like My Monsters to Have Oedipus Complexes") is available as a bonus feature on the 2020 Blu-ray release of the Doctor Who serial "The Power of the Daleks". Otherwise, the only BBC Whicker series to get an official release on DVD or streaming so far has been Journey Of A Lifetime from 2009.
Episodes of Whicker's World broadcast on ITV have been released on DVD by Network. A seven-disc "Best Of" collection includes a selection of episodes from the very first ITV series in 1968 through to Whicker's interview with the Sultan of Brunei in 1992.[1] From May 2016 onwards, Network also began releasing DVD sets of each successive ITV series with their episodes in chronological broadcast order, including one-off specials; for example, Whicker's interview with Papa Doc is included on the Whicker's New World DVD as it first aired midway through that series' original broadcast. However, in June 2023 Network entered administration, by which time only the first six ITV series—up to and including Whicker's Orient from 1972—had been released.[37]
Merchandising edit
Several books, written by Whicker, were published as tie-ins to the series, including Whicker's New World (1985) and Whicker's World Down Under (1988). Whicker's autobiography, Within Whicker's World, was published in 1982, which chronicled many of the journeys he had made in the series. A second volume, Whicker's World - Take 2, was published in 2002, and a third volume, Journey of a Lifetime, was published in 2009.
The Whicker's World brand also spread into other merchandise tie-ins. In the 1970s, Whitman Publishing released Whicker's World jigsaw puzzles featuring stills from Whicker's travels.[38][39] A board game based on Whicker's World was released in 1989 by Paul Lamond Games.[40][41]
Cultural impact edit
By the late-1960s Whicker's on-screen persona—both his trademark look of moustache, glasses, and a blazer, and his distinctive voice—had become iconic within the UK.[42] An "Alan Whicker Appreciation Society" was founded in the 1970s and reportedly had more than 20,000 members at its height. They dressed and spoke like Whicker (in a style described as "Whickeric"), and even played games of cricket where the word "wicket" was replaced with "Whicker" (for example, in "Whicker keeper").[43][44][45]
The series was spoofed by the British comedian Benny Hill in a sketch on his show called "Knickers World", and it was parodied again in 1972 by Monty Python's Flying Circus with a sketch set on a tropical island called "Whicker Island" where all of the inhabitants were Alan Whicker clones.
In the 1980s, Whicker appeared in several television commercials for Barclaycard that were based on Whicker's World and featured Whicker in various foreign locations.
In 1981, Whicker's World was spoofed by The Evasions, a British funk group whose novelty song "Wikka Wrap" featured songwriter Graham de Wilde impersonating Whicker. The single reached the UK Top 20 in June 1981;[46] the song was later sampled in American rapper Coolio's 1996 song "1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New)".[47] Graham de Wilde also composed the theme tune for the 1980s BBC episodes of Whicker's World.[48]
Legacy edit
Whicker's development of travel journalism as a documentary form in Whicker's World, and his skill at encouraging interviewees to open up on camera, have both been influential on later generations of broadcasters and journalists, including Michael Palin and Michael Parkinson.[49] In particular, his talent for ingratiating himself with "edgy" or "eccentric" subjects by adopting a seemingly-naive persona on location—contrasted with his deadpan narration recorded later during editing—has been cited as an influence on documentarians like Louis Theroux (including by Theroux himself).[50][51]
The Whickers, a foundation and annual award that encourages the making of quality documentary programmes, was established in 2015 with money left in Whicker's will.[52] Overseen by Whicker's partner Valerie Kleeman and run by documentary maker Jane Ray, each year The Whickers awards £100,000 to a new director with the most promising pitch for an authored film or television documentary. There are also separate funding and recognition awards for audio documentaries.[53]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ BFI ScreenOnline - Alan Whicker bio
- ^ "Alan Whicker". The Telegraph. 12 July 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
- ^ "Swingers, acid trippers, gay cops: Alan Whicker's friends reunited". The Independent. 23 March 2009. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
- ^ "Alan Whicker". The Telegraph. 12 July 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
- ^ a b c "A well-travelled man: Veteran broadcaster Alan Whicker reveals his". The Independent. 3 September 2010. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
- ^ "BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 21 March 1959. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
- ^ "BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 13 August 1961. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
- ^ "BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 26 December 1962. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
- ^ "BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 23 December 1963. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
- ^ "BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 4 April 1962. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
- ^ "BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 8 August 1962. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
- ^ "BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 15 August 1962. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
- ^ "BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 24 February 1963. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
- ^ "BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 7 May 1963. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
- ^ "BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 18 May 1963. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
- ^ Floyd-Thomas, Stacey M.; Dyson, Michael Eric (15 February 2022), "Deep in the Heart of Texas", Religion, Race, and COVID-19, NYU Press, pp. 185–214, ISBN 978-1-4798-1019-2, retrieved 9 September 2023
- ^ "BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 18 August 1963. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
- ^ "BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 3 September 1963. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
- ^ "BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 17 March 1964. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
- ^ "BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 3 November 1964. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
- ^ "BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 21 January 1965. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
- ^ "BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 20 June 1984. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
- ^ Graham De Wilde – Classical Fusion
- ^ BAFTA Winners 1964
- ^ "BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
- ^ "BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
- ^ "BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
- ^ "BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
- ^ "BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
- ^ "1979 Television Documentary | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
- ^ "BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
- ^ "The Whickers | Alan Whicker". The Whickers. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
- ^ "BBC Archive". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 9 September 2023.
- ^ Whicker's World - The Love Generation, retrieved 9 September 2023
- ^ Whicker's World - Conflict in Kentucky, retrieved 9 September 2023
- ^ The Solitary Billionaire: J. Paul Getty, retrieved 9 September 2023
- ^ "Whicker's World: The Best of Whicker (DVD)". networkonair.com. Network Distributing. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
- ^ Puzzle History
- ^ Whicker's World jigsaw (Whitman UK) (pic)
- ^ Virgin Media (Whicker's World Board Game)
- ^ Board Game Geek (Whicker's World Board Game)
- ^ "Alan Whicker: He's an icon, the person we'd most like to sit next to". The Independent. 15 December 2003. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
- ^ "Alan Whicker". The Telegraph. 12 July 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
- ^ "BBC Archive". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 12 September 2023.
- ^ "Alan Whicker obituary: Journalist whose reports from around the world". The Independent. 12 July 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
- ^ UK Singles Chart archive (OCC)
- ^ "1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New) by Coolio | WhoSampled". WhoSampled. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
- ^ Graham de Wilde Retrieved 13 July 2013.
- ^ Bryant, Tom; Bletchly, Rachael (12 July 2013). "Alan Whicker dies aged 87: Journey's end for suave broadcaster who travelled around world at least 97 times". mirror. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
- ^ "Louis Theroux webchat – your questions answered on Jimmy Savile, Islam and Scientology". the Guardian. 9 May 2016. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
- ^ "Swingers, acid trippers, gay cops: Alan Whicker's friends reunited". The Independent. 23 March 2009. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
- ^ "Alan Whicker awards to fund documentaries". bbc.co.uk. BBC News. 6 June 2015. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- ^ "About Us". whickerawards.com. The Whickers. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
External links edit
- Whicker's World at IMDb