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Help solve a Fortean TV mystery.

A

Anonymous

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I have distant memories of a TV series from the mid to late 70s (probably British), which featured an archer who wore a bird's head mask. (Not unlike the Welsh folk hero, Twm Sion Catti).

Can anyone out there cast any light on this ? I've scoured a few of the better cult TV sites but to no avail.
 
Odd Archer (not Jeffery)

It could have been The Black Arrow, based on Robert Louis Stephenson's novel, there was a version in the 70s sometime.
 
I vaguely remember a futuristic kids' show in the late 70s, set in a Britain sometime in the 21st century with a fascist goverment in power. The action was set in Wales, and the heroes were Welsh freedom fighters/terrorists whose leader called himself Twm Catti, after the mythical hero. I don't remember an archer in a bird's mask, but it was perfectly possible - the series made heavy use of Welsh myth in a modern context, with clear comparisons drawn with past English suppression of Welsh culture and language. it would never get made today.

I seem to remember that the actor who played the Welsh leader went on to play the leader of Blakes 7.
 
Unfortunately, the only things that's coming to mind for me is the Avengers episode about the Winged Avenger that had Frank Belamy comic pop art... I don't think he used any arrows, though...

Looking about, what about the Dick Turpin show? Maybe he was a character on it.... here's a link:

http://website.lineone.net/~mduq/
 
Annasdottir said:
I vaguely remember a futuristic kids' show in the late 70s, set in a Britain sometime in the 21st century with a fascist goverment in power. The action was set in Wales, and the heroes were Welsh freedom fighters/terrorists whose leader called himself Twm Catti, after the mythical hero. I don't remember an archer in a bird's mask, but it was perfectly possible - the series made heavy use of Welsh myth in a modern context, with clear comparisons drawn with past English suppression of Welsh culture and language. it would never get made today.

I seem to remember that the actor who played the Welsh leader went on to play the leader of Blakes 7.
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That sounds like the best candidate so far. Unfortunately all I can really remember about the series is the main character precisely because of his weird garb.
 
Mr. R.I.N.G. said:
Unfortunately, the only things that's coming to mind for me is the Avengers episode about the Winged Avenger that had Frank Belamy comic pop art... I don't think he used any arrows, though...

Looking about, what about the Dick Turpin show? Maybe he was a character on it.... here's a link:

http://website.lineone.net/~mduq/
Click to expand...

Cheers but I have a much stronger memory of the Dick Turpin series and this mysterious series I'm trying to find the name of was definitely something in its own right.
 
Dashwood said:
I have distant memories of a TV series from the mid to late 70s (probably British), which featured an archer who wore a bird's head mask. (Not unlike the Welsh folk hero, Twm Sion Catti).

Can anyone out there cast any light on this ? I've scoured a few of the better cult TV sites but to no avail.
Click to expand...

You might find it here, wouldn't hold my breath though.
 
I believe 'Knights Of God' featured Gareth Thomas and told of pseudo-medievalists in the future, battling a fascist regime (god save the queeeen-ah).

But it was late 80s, I reckon. Could always be 'The Owl Service', which had some archery vibe involved. No, wait, I think that was a spear.
 
Dashwood said:
an archer who wore a bird's head mask. (Not unlike the Welsh folk hero, Twm Sion Catti).
Click to expand...

there was a very short lived Twm Sion Catti prog. At about the same time as Aurthur Kinf og the britons.. i do remeber the oddly floppy beak he wore sometimes too...
 
Re: Re: Help solve a Fortean TV mystery.

sidecar_jon said:
there was a very short lived Twm Sion Catti prog. At about the same time as Aurthur Kinf og the britons.. i do remeber the oddly floppy beak he wore sometimes too...
Click to expand...

That must be it - if it was around the late 70s ?
 
Wenna said:
Was it called Hawkmoor?
Click to expand...

I've just done a search on 'Hawkmoor' and while I couldn't find a single still or any decent information about it, I did find some Welsh tourist information sites which say, "used as the location for the TV series, Hawkmoor...Twm Sion Catti etc" and also another site which mentioned that Olivier was in the series !? Amongst other big name thesps.

Thankyou. That must be it. It's just a shame I can't find a single grain of additional info. And a little odd there's so little on the net - if the cast list is to be believed !

Don't suppose you remember much about the series ?
 
Re: Re: Re: Help solve a Fortean TV mystery.

Dashwood said:
That must be it - if it was around the late 70s ?
Click to expand...

i thinkitmust have been there was a whole slew of that sort of stuff at the time, usualy shown at school home time ish...remeber Blackarrow, etc.... i seem to remeber something in it about a torture involveing a box in which someones foot was placed and then wedges driven into it with hammers...ring any bells?
 
Sorry, I just tracked it down on the web. Don't remember it at all.

It seems odd there's so little info about it. Was this around the time the Welsh nationalists were setting fire to holiday cottages? Could it have been cancelled/suppressed because of that?
 
MrHyde said:
I believe 'Knights Of God' featured Gareth Thomas and told of pseudo-medievalists in the future, battling a fascist regime (god save the queeeen-ah).
But it was late 80s, I reckon.
Click to expand...
Yes, that's it. 1987, according to this fan site: http://www.hermit.org/Blakes7/whoswho/other_role/Garethpl.cgi?M=TV (It doesn't say anything about archers in bird's masks, though)
And, yes, it was about the time of the Welsh house-burnings. I remember feeling quite surprised that such a sympathetic portrayal of Welsh 'freedom fighters' had been passed for children. But it wasn't banned - in fact, I don't think there was any fuss about it at all. Maybe the powers that be never watched kids' TV (at the time, I was stuck at home with 3 or 4 kids, so I had no choice!).
 
was 'Knights Of God' the one with Mr Bronson out of grange hill playing a neo-nazi? That was almost as scary as the Jack Straw-alike in the Demon Headmaster :eek!!!!:
 
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