Six or Seven seasons?

[Frankymole]

The Tara episodes were Thames (formed by the amalgamation of ABC/ABPC with A-R, though it wasn't as simple as a merger) but I think they just wanted to get the final Emma episodes to air as soon as they could. Brakes were applied with the Tara ones perhaps so the order wouldn't be too crazy (but it was), they fulfilled the US orders and I suppose the UK launch and publicity had to take a back seat. I am kind of glad Tara's were shown as a continuous run in the UK, even if that meant we had to wait 6 months longer than the Americans to see Emma's departure. Albeit with some gaps by the end as UK showings caught up with production (and the US showings).

[paulh]

From what I've read, the ITA forced ABC and A-R to form a new company in which they both held shares as ABC would have been without a franchise in the 1968 franchise round. With ATV, Granada and the new Yorkshire TV taking the seven day a week franchises in the Midlands and part of the north, it had been assumed ABC would take over ATVs old London weekend franchise, but a new company (LWT) put in a really strong bid. Apparently A-R weren't happy at all at being forced to go into partnership with ABC and both companies kept the copyright on their old archives (they didn't go to Thames), which is presumably why the Tara episodes were branded as ABC productions rather than Thames? Have to admit I find the early years of ITV and all the rivalry between the different companies fascinating!

[Frankymole]

Interesting, isn't it, about the rivalry. One man's "strong bid" is another man's "brown envelope" and when Thames finally lost their franchise to Carlton (Calling All Real Londoners, Turn Off Now) there were allegations of corruption.... still, ancient history now.

[mousemeat]

From what I've read, the ITA forced ABC and A-R to form a new company in which they both held shares as ABC would have been without a franchise in the 1968 franchise round. With ATV, Granada and the new Yorkshire TV taking the seven day a week franchises in the Midlands and part of the north, it had been assumed ABC would take over ATVs old London weekend franchise, but a new company (LWT) put in a really strong bid. Apparently A-R weren't happy at all at being forced to go into partnership with ABC and both companies kept the copyright on their old archives (they didn't go to Thames), which is presumably why the Tara episodes were branded as ABC productions rather than Thames? Have to admit I find the early years of ITV and all the rivalry between the different companies fascinating!

i pretty much concur..from everything I've read over the yrs..and it does sorta reeked of much skullduggery and a tad on the complex side..

[dissolute]

Part of the problem is the completely chaotic scheduling across the different ITV regions as only the Midlands ever saw all the episodes.

Here's just series "5 & 6" (or 5, 6 & 7 - or is that series 8 as well? there's a one week break for Christmas specials as well). I'm not sure a 2 week break before "The Curious Case" ought to count as a series break as it only happened in six regions and didn't happen in London.

And yes, you're right about "The Forget-Me-Knot" really being series 6 and series 5 only having 24 episodes, but it was always broadcast and marketed here in Australia as part of series 5. Accordingly, I list in both my series 5 and series 6 indices.

[Frankymole]

A third country to factor in! But really, broadcasts season are totally separate in each country. A lot of TV shows aren't even shown in the same year, let alone the same season of the year, between UK, US, Canada etc (if Canada is taken into account then The Prisoner, for instance, would be two seasons, even though it was shown as one in the UK albeit with a break of a few weeks over Christmas and New Year 67/68).

[mousemeat]

A third country to factor in! But really, broadcasts season are totally separate in each country. A lot of TV shows aren't even shown in the same year, let alone the same season of the year, between UK, US, Canada etc (if Canada is taken into account then The Prisoner, for instance, would be two seasons, even though it was shown as one in the UK albeit with a break of a few weeks over Christmas and New Year 67/68).

the debate on this thread, has been interesting..no doubt, programming in the States, has been much different than the UK, Australia, New Zealand, even Canada, for that matter...since the time span of both the Avengers, and later on a tad, the Prisoner, has the overall programming schedules, etc gotten any better ?

[mousemeat]

Part of the problem is the completely chaotic scheduling across the different ITV regions as only the Midlands ever saw all the episodes.

Here's just series "5 & 6" (or 5, 6 & 7 - or is that series 8 as well? there's a one week break for Christmas specials as well). I'm not sure a 2 week break before "The Curious Case" ought to count as a series break as it only happened in six regions and didn't happen in London.

And yes, you're right about "The Forget-Me-Knot" really being series 6 and series 5 only having 24 episodes, but it was always broadcast and marketed here in Australia as part of series 5. Accordingly, I list in both my series 5 and series 6 indices.

cripes, that is a solid bit of research work..thank you for posting it..and one can certainly see a pattern, etc and draw your own conclusion...

[Allard]

This is such a difficult question to answer because production order and continuity seems to be the most influential on how episodes turn out.

Yet we associate them by broadcast order (and maybe on what DVD box set).

The seven seasons options breaks the pattern established by that point and feels so unsatisfactory.

Given that the Peel colours were ordered as a block of 26, it was intended and forms one season, even if the lines are somewhat blurred it seems the most logical and convenient solution.

[Frankymole]

I thought the colour Peels were ordered by the USA in two blocks? Hence the changes implemented for the second (losing the "We're Needed" segments, etc). The last 10 Peels (which turned into 8 ) being ordered with the first set of Taras?