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Episode Guide

SEASON SEVEN Originally transmitted between 9:20pm and 10:10pm on Monday nights.

Pie In The Sea (Part 1)

TX : 13th September 1971
Director : Roger Jenkins
Script : John Elliot
Cast : Geoffrey Keen (Brian Stead), Ray Barrett (Peter Thornton), Willy Izard (Philip Latham), Brian Oulton (Darlton), Wanda Ventham (Moira Hart), Amelia Read (Amelia Hart), Philippa Gail (Jane Webb), Geoffrey Toone (Sir Charles Bliss), Clinton Greyn (Karl Hansen), Catherine Schell (Kirsten Hansen), John Carson (James Langley) and Anna Matisse (Britte Langley).

Synopsis : The men from Mogul come thundering back. First stop is Scandinavia, with an oil find bringing problems for Mogul and a new man posing a threat to Brian Stead. This is the first half of a two-part story.

Radio Times publicity : September 9, 1971 - John Carson: The Man With A Voice Like "A Falling Ten-Pound Note": Mogul Oil is back this week. And with a new liberal element on the board - James Langley, the Deputy Chairman. The part is played by John Carson who talks here to David Jenkins. The voice is more than familiar; it is an old friend that breathes sensual reassurance and is often welcome in our homes. The face too is, oh you know, Thing, the tone who played Whatnot in that marvelous Gubbins. You know. The name is John Carson. Despite a rich and varied acting career, the name somehow defies recognition. On the telephone to him, it is difficult not to burst out: "But of course, I know, you were Dombey, and you're that soap advertisement voice, and …". "Yes," he says, " the name is not really strong enough. It is probably because I've done an enormous variety of parts on the stage and television. I've been Americans, Australians, Cockneys, even a Sikh; and I've been got up in all kinds of wigs, turbans, beards and dialects". His latest excursion into television is likely, though, to establish his name more firmly. This week, as James Langley, he joins the final series of The Troubleshooters as Deputy Chairman of Mogul Oil. Langley will be a foil to Brian Stead. "Where Stead is chauvinistic and autocratic, Langley is liberal and humane". While Stead schemes and blusters on the peak, Langley will pose a kind of threat of decency. John Carson's voice was once described as having the languid opulence of a falling ten-pound note.

"Actually my feelings are rather similar to the reaction of James Agate, who when he first heard his own voice said he thought it sounded just like boiled lemonade. This from a man who seemed rarely to touch anything less than the best vintage champagne. Vocally I've had a lot of identification, perhaps part of a hang-over from James Mason, whose voice mine is said to resemble. That, of course, is accidental. But because I've had such a variety of parts - some of them pure tat, some of them very good indeed - there has never been much myth-making done about me. A myth-making actor channels his energies into one line of business. In this country at least the tradition is to seek all-round professionalism. Though God forbid that I should ever call myself a good pro, as if turning up to rehearsal on time made a good actor. I would hope I would gain more identification from the public through this series, without too many of the trappings of becoming a public personality. In a way it takes a great deal of courage to stand in front of a camera, and play a character who is not all that different in attitudes from you, for thirteen episodes out of fifteen. You are only really happy doing this if you are a huge extrovert, which not many actors are. There are big differences between Langley and myself. Heavens, if I went to BP for a job they would simply say: `Go away,' never mind make me Deputy Chairman. But there are some similarities". Carson's background has its elements of unorthodoxy. Born in Ceylon forty-four years ago, he was evacuated during the war to Australia where he went to school. He did his National Service in the Army, and then had a number of jobs, including cataloguing second-hand books, turning the pages for the pianist on a Covent Garden company tour of Wales, and being a dock labourer. He took a law degree at Queen's College, Oxford. It then occurred to me that probate and conveyancing were not really for me, so I went to New Zealand," he says. He had had what he can now smilingly call a Damascus Road vision at Covent Garden. "I was standing on the fly-floor, which seemed to be about two hundred feet up, but was in fact forty of fifty feet, and I looked down and saw that, while a scene was being changed, Massine the ballet dancer was just limbering up on stage. It was really one of those magical things. A complete panorama of a stage, of all the activity, and in the middle of it, this perfect discipline. But above all, an indefinable atmosphere. It was absolute magic". In fact this experience lay fallow for several years, until Carson was in New Zealand. He was offered a job in the drama department of the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation. "It went click: I remembered Covent Garden, and saw my way into acting. One had done one or two things in an amateur way, thinking you were the bloody bee's knees, but now it was serious. It was there, working with a great Yorkshire pro, that I learnt the art of entertainment. I learnt that you were an entertainer in whatever you did. You had to make the audience want to know what was going to happen next, whether it was a murder story or Chekhov". After two years of training in acting, script-reading, producing and documentaries, Carson worked his way back to Britain as a ship's fireman's peggy - so called "because it was the only job the peg-legs could do in the old days". Since then he has done many roles. He has, for instance, done two Hammer films; in one he was a zombie-manipulator, and in the other he was obliged, with Peter Sallis and Geoffrey Keen (alias Brian Stead), to "Drink The Blood Of The Vampire". "I remember I was once in an episode of `Robin Hood', and I called my young son and said: `Look, Daddy'. He looked very gravely at it for a minute or two, then said: `Daddy? Horsey!'. That sort of thing keeps things in perspective. But there have also been very satisfying parts. I think one is always looking for good character writing above all. A play can have many kinds of literary value, but one isn't moving inside the part, really working, unless one has a good character writer. For example, Christopher Fry is really marvelous to read, but one sometimes has the impression that one speech could equally have been made by some other character. This was what was so good about acting in a Dickens serial. The character of Dombey - although he is a heap of starch in the book - was like a rock in the middle of that serial, and was very satisfying., Or playing the `A Day In The Death Of Joe Egg', one had a truly exciting character to deal with. One of my really favourite characters was actually the Sikh, who appeared in a children's serial. I got to know one of the attaches at the Indian Embassy, and he would help me tie the turban and so on, and I really felt I was drinking him in. This was shown in New Zealand, and my father, who had lived in Ceylon and all that simply wrote: `Can't fault it'" .

Pie In The Sea (Part 2)

TX : 20th September 1971 Director : Roger Jenkins Script : John Elliot Cast : Geoffrey Keen (Brian Stead), Ray Barrett (Peter Thornton), Willy Izard (Philip Latham), John Carson (James Langley), Brian Oulton (Darlton), Philippa Gail (James Webb), Catherine Schell (Kirsten Hansen), Margaret Ward (Joan Izard), Aimee Delamain (Mrs Izard Senior), Tutte Lemkow (Norwegian Sailor), Bjorn Granvolden (Norwegian Sailor), Roger Telling (Norwegian Sailor), Chris Carbis (Colin Matthews) and Michael Goldie (Jack Foster). Synopsis : The threat to Brian Stead becomes reality as James Langley takes up his post as Deputy Chairman, and Willy Izard reaches the end of the road.

It's Thumbs Down For You Pizarro!

TX : 27th September 1971 Director : Frank Cox Script : John Lucarotti Cast : Ray Barrett (Peter Thornton), Geoffrey Keen (Brain Stead), Willy Izard (Philip Latham), John Carson (James Langley), Michael Barrington (John Morden Cross), Rosalie Westwater (Mrs Angers), Lilita Barros (Maria Santiago), Clifford Rose (Hidalgo O'Brien), Jay Neill (Soldier), Malcolm Johns (Soldier), Marguerite Young (Madame Ricard), Eric Francis (Florencio Escardo) and Mario Zoppellini (Peruvian). Synopsis : Trouble in the Peruvian Andes for Peter Thornton in the shadow of the Spanish Conquistadors brings James Langley his first test as Deputy Chairman.

In The Shade Of The Old Oak Tree

TX : 11th October 1971 Director : Frank Cox Script : Anthony Read Cast : Ray Barrett (Peter Thornton), Geoffrey Keen (Brian Stead), John Carson (James Langley), Janet Pate (Lulu), Anna Matisse (Britte Langley), Beryl Cooke (Miss Jenkins), Alan Dobie (Victor), John Serret (Inspector) and Geoffrey Toone (Sir Charles Bliss). Synopsis : Mogul seem to have struck it rich in the Bay of Biscay. But it means danger for Peter Thornton and James Langley.

The Bent Bonanza

TX : 18th October 1971 Director : Lennie Mayne Script : David Fisher Cast : Ray Barrett (Peter Thornton), Philip Latham (Willy Izard), Geoffrey Keen (Brian Stead), Wendy Allnutt (Paddy Hedgewood), Charles Kinross (Dexter), Pamela Abbott (Miss Bateson), Mark Edwards (Harry Carlisle), Mary Ann Severne (Fran Davies), John Aron (Freddie Paston), Stephen Jack (Lord Torryburn), Frederic Abbott (Gus Williams), Vivienne Lincoln (Lorraine), Jerold Wells (Glendower Jones), Jack Galloway, Simon Legree, Buster Skeggs and Patricia Prior. Synopsis : A computer brings Peter Thornton and Willy Izard in contact with an ambitious girl and an extraordinary man in the outback.

A Touch Of The Nelsons

TX : 25th October 1971 Director : Ben Rea Script : John Lucarotti Cast : Ray Barrett (Peter Thornton), Geoffrey Keen (Brian Stead), John Rolfe (Tanker Officer), Denis Cleary (Tanker Helmsman), Harry Meecher (Helmsman), Gareth Johnson (Midshipman), Basil Henson (Captain), Vincent Ball (Reg Walters), William Lucas (Wings), Frederick Treves (Pilot), Jonathan Newth (Marshall), Beryl Cooke (Miss Jenkins), Melanie Peck (Cathy Doryman), Keith Ashton (Michael Doryman), John Berwyn (Officer Of The Watch), Victor Langley (Yeoman), Lawrence James (Lieutenant-Commander Air) and Frank Duncan (Coltremaine). Synopsis :Drama at sea as Peter Thornton and HMS Ark Royal race to the rescue of a stricken tanker. Author John Lucarotti was a naval pilot during the war and director Ben Rea a coder on HMS Ark Royal on National Service.

The One With The Waggly Tail

TX : 1st November 1971 Director : Lennie Mayne Script : David Fisher Cast : Ray Barrett (Peter Thornton), Geoffrey Keen (Brian Stead), Philip Latham (Willy Izard), John Carson (James Langley), Margaret Ward (Jean Izard), Beryl Cooke (Miss Jenkins), ), Geoff L'Cise (Sanchez), Al Garcia (Guzman), Carlos Douglas (Waiter), Paul Hansard (Schroder), John Bryans (Leclerc), Gino Melvazzi (Salviotti), Jay Neill (Estrada), Pamela Saire (Maid), Margaret Ford (Maria), Barbara Shelley (Lita Perez) and Tony Ellis (Allura). Synopsis : Disaster or triumph? Willy Izard faces the two extremes in the rarefied air of Mexico City as he tackles his toughest ever test, both in business and his private life.

Shangri-La And All That Jazz

TX : 8th November 1971 Director : David Proudfoot Script : David Fisher Cast : Ray Barrett (Peter Thornton), Geoffrey Keen (Brian Stead), John Carson (James Langley), Philippa Gail (Jane Webb), Wolfe Morris (Bonaparte Paroa), Richard Hurndall (Monsieur Delouvrier), Gordon Sterne (Andy Shelton), Cecil Cheng (Barman), Patrick Whyte (Frenchman), Kurt Christian (Marcel), Rex Wei (Gaston), Arnold Diamond (Charles Masson) Jenny Till (Tilly van der Loes) and Max Raman (Jean Paroa). Synopsis : A Polynesian paradise - or is it? Peter Thornton finds even the South Pacific has its share of difficult people.

Monopoly With Real Money

TX : 15th November 1971 Director : Cyril Coke Script : David Fisher Cast : Geoffrey Keen (Brian Stead), Ray Barrett (Peter Thornton), Philip Latham (Willy Izard), John Carson (James Langley), Willy Bowman (First Businessman), John Tinn (Japanese Secretary), Larry Cross (Havlinger), Graham Skidmore (Second Businessman), Gideon Kolb (Third Businessman), Beryl Cooke (Miss Jenkins), Rachel Davies (Ann Dowling), Pamela Abbott (Miss Bateson), Geoffrey Whitehead (McNair), Guy Deghy (Deutschkron), Yvette Rees (Doctor Eve Gorman), Campbell Singer (Brigadier Worthington), Julian Sherrier (Honourable Clive Chester Bassett) and Frank Duncan (Mr Lawrence). Synopsis : Raising money is never simple - but even Willy Izard finds it tough when Brian Stead and James Langley demand several million pounds each, before four o'clock.

Personally I Think He Looks Like Me

TX : 22nd November 1971 Director : Script : John Lucarotti Cast : Ray Barrett (Peter Thornton), Geoffrey Keen (Brian Stead), Philip Latham (Willy Izard), John Carson (James Langley), Julian Fox (Hotel Clerk), John Bennett (Jacques Couteau), Philip Madoc (Ignace Mattzini), Vera Fusek (Genie Mattzini), Peter Whitbread (Henri Derain), Anna Matisse (Britte Langley), Michael Mulcaster (Club Porter), John Parker (Seaman) and Geoffrey Toone (Sir Charles Bliss). Synopsis : Corsica's main export is brains, they say. It is also the birthplace of Napoleon - and Peter Thornton and Willy Izard and James Langley find they are not allowed to forget it.

Pretend It Never Happened

TX : 29th November 1971 Director : Frank Cox Script : John Elliot Cast : Geoffrey Keen (Brian Stead), Ray Barrett (Peter Thornton), Philip Latham (Willy Izard), John Carson (James Langley), Stuart Wherwin (Mogul Man), Peter Jeffrey (Mallin), Margaret Ward (Joan Izard) and Bozena (Hotel Receptionist). Synopsis : Willy Izard intends to spend his South of France holiday nursing his wife back to health and forgetting about Mogul. But escape is not so easy, even on a camping site.

Weekends Are For Taking Off

TX : 6th December 1971
Director : Frank Cox
Script : John Lucarotti
Cast : Geoffrey Keen (Brian Stead), John Carson (James Langley), Anna Matisse (Britte Langley), Maurice Quick (Waiter), Donald Douglas (Tom Hart), Wanda Ventham (Moira Hart), Ingo Mogendorf (Sven), David Landon (Ole), Giles Phibbs (Estate Agent), Emma Read (Emma Hart), Amelia Read (Amelia Hart), Derek Martin (Driver), Edwin Brown (Policeman), Anthony Collin (Mr Weatherow) and Kenneth Keeling (Doctor).

Synopsis : Weekends are for taking off. It's a nice thought. But men like Brian Stead and James Langley can't always separate their private lives from their business.

Tapu

TX : 13th December 1971 Director : Frank Cox Script : Joe Lorigan Cast : Ray Barrett (Peter Thornton), Geoffrey Keen (Brian Stead), John Carson (James Langley), Robin Chadwick (Ron), Beryl Cooke (Miss Jenkins), Lindsay Campbell (Mr Seagram), Tom Bowman (Ben), Stanley Beard (Kaka), J C Shepherd (Rata), Walter Henry (Tahu), Judith Arthy (Kiri) and the Maori Folk Song Ensemble (Maoris). Synopsis : Traditions often die hard. But Peter Thornton meets with more violent opposition when Mogul's New Zealand pipeline crashes with Maori interests.

We And Them

TX : 20th December 1971 Director : Cyril Coke Script : John Elliot Cast : Geoffrey Keen (Brian Stead), Ray Barrett (Peter Thornton), Philip Latham (Willy Izard), John Carson (James Langley), Barry Jackson (Ted Lacock), John Swindells (Arthur Marl), Robert James (Alastair McFee), Arthur White (Geoff Riley), Windsor Davies (Aneurin Griffith), Hilary Tindall (Doctor Neave), Beryl Cooke (Miss Jenkins), Anna Matisse (Britte Langley) and Carol Nimmons (Secretary). Synopsis : Mogul's biggest chemical works brings Brian Stead into unlikely alliance with a communist shop steward in a head-on clash with James Langley.

Whatever Became Of The Year 2000?

TX : 3rd January 1972 Director : Cyril Coke Script : John Elliot Cast : Geoffrey Keen (Brian Stead), Ray Barrett (Peter Thornton), Philip Latham (Willy Izard), John Carson (James Langley), James Villiers (Lord Hawdcombe), Dawn Addams (Lady Diana), Ralph Arliss (Tom), Tania Robinson (Mary) and Robin Stewart (Spence). Synopsis : Is this the end of the road for Brian Stead?

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