46 replies to this topic

[D.M.N.]

Someone on another forum has just pointed this out to me, article written on May 1st: http://www.broadcast...5071184.article

 

Anyone here heard anything at all about this?

 

The writer of ITV thriller Prey has begun work on an ambitious Mad Men-esque BBC1 drama set in the world of Formula 1 in the 1970s.

 

Chris Lunt has been drafted in to script the series, which is being developed by former Kudos Film and Television managing director Simon Crawford Collins’ indie Slim Film + Television and drama co-production specialist Lookout Point.

 

Driven (w/t) has been on the cards for some time, but previous attempts to script the series have been unsuccessful. Lunt has brought fresh confidence to the project, not least because of his passion for motor-racing.

 

The BBC1 series will create fictional characters within the real world of 1970s Formula 1, when the elite racing competition was considered by some to be at its best and most dangerous. Feature film Rush drew on some of this in depicting the rivalry between British playboy driver James Hunt and Austrian World Champion Niki Lauda.

[Ross Stonefeld]

Only way it will work is if they use the bare minimum of driving/racing scenes.

[Afterburner]

I was going to say it would only work if they changed the title.

[BRG]

Oh good, I can't wait.

 

 

 

Edit: That should have read "Oh God, I can't wait"

[Glengavel]

Only way it will work is if they use the bare minimum of driving/racing scenes.

 

Or as a retro 70s style sitcom. All those lovely foreigners to stereotype.

[cpbell]

I wonder which '70s F1 figures TNFers would decide to choose as characters in such a series?  Regazzoni would surely have to be one, but it would be interesting to have a few less OTT characters as well - perhaps a Tom Pryce-esque driver would be interesting; naturally quick, but less extrovert and with a settled private life to contrast the Hunt/Regazzoni womaniser characters and the Lauda-style intense introverts.

[Risil]

Or as a retro 70s style sitcom. All those lovely foreigners to stereotype.

 

Amon All Hours?

 

Brising Damp?

 

Are You Being Servoz-Gavin?

[Vitesse2]

Well, if we're talking 70s TV series the obvious one is Shoestring; subtitled The Story of Connew. (Sorry, Barry!)

[cpbell]

Are You Being Servoz-Gavin?

 

One GP in 1970 - pushing it a bit!

 

It Ain't Half Hunt, Mum?

Edited by cpbell, 19 October 2014 - 17:33.

[Tim Murray]

One GP in 1970 - pushing it a bit!

 

Twelve GP starts, led at Monaco, second at Monza, and the only driver to score a point in a 4WD car. I liked him a lot - he was a great character and I was sorry his career was cut short by the eye injury.

[cpbell]

 

Twelve GP starts, led at Monaco, second at Monza, and the only driver to score a point in a 4WD car. I liked him a lot - he was a great character and I was sorry his career was cut short by the eye injury.

 

Most of which was in the Sixties - the idea was dodgy '70s sitcoms.

[Tim Murray]

Touché! 

(but he did have two starts in 1970)

[cpbell]

Touché! 

(but he did have two starts in 1970)

I stand corrected - my understanding was that he took the grid in Spain but crashed in practice at Monaco.

Edited by cpbell, 19 October 2014 - 18:22.

[LotusElise]

Is Jackie Stewart's part in it still off-limits, after the Cevert-Stewart film scandal?

 

Plenty of dodgy sitcom potential in Emerson Fittipaldi's sideburns alone, I think. And you could have Mario Andretti as some sort of The Fonz character, Lella Lombardi as Kate-known-as-Bob from Blackadder, and Jody Scheckter as the butt of various old-school sitcom jokes, because white Sef Ifricans are the only nationality you can mock without serious censure these days.

[cpbell]

Is Jackie Stewart's part in it still off-limits, after the Cevert-Stewart film scandal?

 

Plenty of dodgy sitcom potential in Emerson Fittipaldi's sideburns alone, I think. And you could have Mario Andretti as some sort of The Fonz character, Lella Lombardi as Kate-known-as-Bob from Blackadder, and Jody Scheckter as the butt of various old-school sitcom jokes, because white Sef Ifricans are the only nationality you can mock without serious censure these days.

 

Given the stereotyping of English people in Hollywood cinema, you could argue that we're also fair game.

[Tim Murray]

I stand corrected - my understanding was that he took the grid in Spain but crashed in Practice at Monaco.

He retired from 9th place in South Africa on lap 58 due to engine failure, finished 5th in Spain then, as you say, failed to qualify at Monaco after crashing at the chicane during practice.

[cpbell]

He retired from 9th place in South Africa on lap 58 due to engine failure, finished 5th in Spain then, as you say, failed to qualify at Monaco after crashing at the chicane during practice.

 

Thanks Tim - my ignorance is corrected.

[2F-001]

Not a sitcom, but we had "The Lotus Eaters"…
and away from F1 we had "The Pallisers".

[LotusElise]

Given the stereotyping of English people in Hollywood cinema, you could argue that we're also fair game.

 

Very true, now you mention it.

 

Thinking about how TV dramas often work, I can see this going in the direction of having all of the main characters, officials and drivers from a fictional team, with the real personalities appearing as guest characters. Either that, or the protagonists being a press or film crew, thus allowing them to travel with the circus.

 

I've sometimes thought that Brooklands and its set would be a good subject for a drama, but the shortcomings of CGI would probably be irritating. There is almost certainly a novel in there.

[Dick Dastardly]

Graham Hill has to be to in there somewhere......maybe as a Terry Thomas type character? 

[LotusElise]

Graham Hill would make an excellent TV character, if the actor and writers got him right. He always looked a bit like a Terry-Thomas character, but his speaking voice and mannerisms were very different, and took me by surprise when I first saw him talking on screen.

I think that if he had lived longer, he would have done quite a lot of television work. He was a natural at it.

[JtP2]

casualty/ eastenders with wheels. another hideous bbc drama comes to your screen as you wonder where the licience fee goes. 

[john aston]

Nothing like getting your complaints in early...And I thought I was getting to be a grumpy old git.Why not wait until you have at least seen it before moaning about it ?   

[TimRTC]

When was the last time a fictional sporting drama was actually enjoyable? Rush proved that you can make a good film out of a true story but I just don't see fictional drivers being of any interest.

 

I'm just hoping that with their "Mad Men" comments, it will be behind-the-scenes drama and not actually focus on races and results themselves.

[john aston]

The point is , regardless of fact there have been some turkeys , it is just miserable whingeing to moan about waste of licence fee(which should all be spent on what exactly- baking and dancing ?) before anyone has even  seen the programme . Moan as much as you like if the quality is indeed poor but give the poor sods a chance eh ?  

[TimRTC]

The point is , regardless of fact there have been some turkeys , it is just miserable whingeing to moan about waste of licence fee(which should all be spent on what exactly- baking and dancing ?) before anyone has even  seen the programme . Moan as much as you like if the quality is indeed poor but give the poor sods a chance eh ?  

 

Wouldn't be much of a discussion forum then would it?

 

The press release hardly screams confidence - pointing out that the project has been stuck in a scripting malaise and that it is just a mix of "Mad Men" and "Rush".

 

Otherwise I'll leave it to see more details when they emerge - I'll just say, why create a fictional story when the reality of that era was so colourful and interesting?

[2F-001]

I don't imagine we are the primary target audience. Any more than we were for 'Rush' (which I still haven't seen, so no comment there).

And there will always be a problem with people who genuinely inhabit the world that a drama attempts to portray: if it's unrealistic in any way we dismiss it (and are embarrassed by it); if it's too realistic, it's probably not wholly favourable and it makes us uncomfortable (and we are embarrassed by it).

A series more in line with Tim RTC's second paragraph (of his first post) would certainly be easier to achieve and (possibly) more intriguing and many of the non-driving characters probably have altogether more colourful stories!

Leave 'em to it and see what turns up; then we can clap/crow/mock/cringe as appropriate.
Unless our life-spirit has already been drained away by a seemingly-endless life of unremitting disappointment... "Nothing is permanent but woe." ( Raymond Briggs )

Edited by 2F-001, 20 October 2014 - 09:37.

[Dick Dastardly]

Dr Helmut Marko raced in the early 70......could have him as an evil, Bond style villain   

[Vitesse2]

I've sometimes thought that Brooklands and its set would be a good subject for a drama, but the shortcomings of CGI would probably be irritating. There is almost certainly a novel in there.

At least two Brooklands-based film projects have been floated (and apparently sunk) in recent years.

[2F-001]

Dr Helmut Marko raced in the early 70......could have him as an evil, Bond style villain

Interesting how Marko's own racing career is so often overlooked; not here, of course, but in the wider world.
But yes, that casting would work!

There is already a set built for a Bond-villain's secret mega-base. It's near Woking.

[TimRTC]

I've sometimes thought that Brooklands and its set would be a good subject for a drama, but the shortcomings of CGI would probably be irritating. There is almost certainly a novel in there.

 

Ah thats no problem. It was an oval. We just film at Rockingham or maybe a Startrax short-track oval, no problem.

 

Or just like Rush, use Brands Hatch for everything.

 

[2F-001]

Who remembers "Diving Ambition"? That was a bit like "Grand Prix" (well, sort of) in that it used genuine racing footage with a regular competitor running in the story character's livery.

Nice little bit of Special Saloon action here (including David Enderby's lovely Karmann Ghia)...

[doc knutsen]

Who remembers "Diving Ambition"? That was a bit like "Grand Prix" (well, sort of) in that it used genuine racing footage with a regular competitor running in the story character's livery.

Nice little bit of Special Saloon action here (including David Enderby's lovely Karmann Ghia)...

 

Thank you, that was very nice!  Hardly one-make racing, was it? Not only the Tiga-based Karmann Ghia (presumably Imp-engined still...or did it have the BDH installed by this time), but also Ginger Marshall in the super little Kitten, mit Imp engine sitting atop a Mini gearbox, and the Bridge Maguire Imp Coupe. The Vauxhall rolled a lot, must have needed frequent new front splitters...

 

Incidentally, David Enderby's previous mount, another Maguire Imp coupe (Although David called it a Chamois Coupe, just to be different) was acquired by Yrs trly and run with some success in Scandinavia for a couple of seasons, before selling it to Harry Simpson in Scotland.  The Imp engine out of the Karmann Ghia was purchased from Clive Brown, David's ace engine man, a couple of years ago, and is run in my FIA Period G2 Historic Imp to this day.

[Vitesse2]

Thank you, that was very nice!  Hardly one-make racing, was it? Not only the Tiga-based Karmann Ghia (presumably Imp-engined still...or did it have the BDH installed by this time), but also Ginger Marshall in the super little Kitten, mit Imp engine sitting atop a Mini gearbox, and the Bridge Maguire Imp Coupe. The Vauxhall rolled a lot, must have needed frequent new front splitters...

 

Incidentally, David Enderby's previous mount, another Maguire Imp coupe (Although David called it a Chamois Coupe, just to be different) was acquired by Yrs trly and run with some success in Scandinavia for a couple of seasons, before selling it to Harry Simpson in Scotland.  The Imp engine out of the Karmann Ghia was purchased from Clive Brown, David's ace engine man, a couple of years ago, and is run in my FIA Period G2 Historic Imp to this day.

At least in the home market, the coupé version of the Imp was sold variously as a Hillman Imp Californian, a Sunbeam Stiletto or a Singer Chamois, depending on the level of trim. The front 'grilles' and badges were generally the only way you could tell 'em apart though - although I have a nagging feeling the Stiletto may have featured two-tone paintwork.

[Tim Murray]

The Singer Chamois wasn't a coupé - it was a more luxuriously-appointed version of the Imp saloon. I owned one for many years and we had great fun together.

[BRG]

The Singer Chamois wasn't a coupé - it was a more luxuriously-appointed version of the Imp saloon. I owned one for many years and we had great fun together.

But there was also a Chamois Coupe.  The Sunbeam had the twin carb engine, not sure if the Singer had this as well?

 

Edit: wow this went OT pretty far and fast!  

Edited by BRG, 20 October 2014 - 18:55.

[Tim Murray]

But there was also a Chamois Coupe. The Sunbeam had the twin carb engine, not sure if the Singer had this as well?

Right you are - I forgot about that one.

I think only the Imp Sport and Sunbeam Stiletto had twin carbs - certainly my Chamois only came with one.

[doc knutsen]

At least in the home market, the coupé version of the Imp was sold variously as a Hillman Imp Californian, a Sunbeam Stiletto or a Singer Chamois, depending on the level of trim. The front 'grilles' and badges were generally the only way you could tell 'em apart though - although I have a nagging feeling the Stiletto may have featured two-tone paintwork.

Well yes, I have a Californian as well as a Chamois (not the Coupe) in storage atm. But the point is, those John Maguire-built Imps had little original parts in them, featuring a multi-tubular space frame and leaf-thin fibreglass bodywork. So the normally distinguishing marks, ie trim and external badges, were not a feature of those cars. Maguire cars featured modified (lightened and strenghtened) Imp suspension arms front and rear, and an Imp steering rack.

Incidentally, the Stiletto featured twin carbs and an oil cooler, as did the Imp Sport, The Stiletto also had quadruple headlamps, as did the later Chamoix.

 

And even incidentallier (well it is getting late) John Maguire did both a space-frame Lotus Esprit as well as the Skoda Coupe, I do not recall whether the Baldwin Mini was a Maguire chassis, I think not, but it was most definitely a multi-tubular job, and it went like stink with the 1300 BDH in residence.

[arttidesco]

Ah thats no problem. It was an oval. We just film at Rockingham or maybe a Startrax short-track oval, no problem.

 

Or just like Rush, use Brands Hatch for everything.

 

 

Has the the former home of the 96th Bombardment Group (H) 8th USAAF been renamed ?

[john aston]

Ah thats no problem. It was an oval. We just film at Rockingham or maybe a Startrax short-track oval, no problem.

 

Or just like Rush, use Brands Hatch for everything.

 

 Apart from all the bits of Rush that were filmed at Cadwell eh ?

[2F-001]

I thought all this talk of Imps might be an invitation for you to tell us about Clans, John...

[john aston]

Well...OPT 440 J still has a special place in my heart and I remember Clan Crusaders  cleaning up in Mod Sports  as well as tarmac rallying  . I could go on...

[john winfield]

Ah, yes, Clan Crusaders.  Every time I went to Croft, Johnny Blades won in the Clan.  I did only go there once mind, August 1973.

[Mallory Dan]

Kenny Allen had a quick Clan too up north, was this the Blades car I wonder?

[BRG]

Let's not forget the Ginetta G15 as well.  Didn't Jonathan Palmer start off in one of those?

[jonpollak]

I didn't get where I am today watching rehashed clips of fuzzy old black and white race coverage.

[melville]

I agree, I have never read a realistic novel on motor racing either. Look at Melvilleauthor.com  If you like it come back to me and I will send you a copy