General Hospital ATV

[Edith Tatum (Miss)]

Hi,

In response to the person that couldn't remember the tune. I remember the theme tune very well and also the opening titles that were choreographed to match the first theme which remained after they had changed to the rockier (but somehow more dated) sounding prime-time theme.

The opening titles (preceeded by a re-take of the last episode's final twenty seconds) used to have still pictures of an amublance and the images would move along to the tune of the original music played by horns to replicate an ambulance siren.  "Da-da-da-du-daaaaaa. Da-da-da-du-daaaaa."  It had a long and a shorter version...as did the end credits.

The daytime episodes were repeated in 1976 at around 3.55 every weekday.  I'd just catch them if I rushed home from school and recorded many of them on my reel-to-reel audio tapes (now long lost)!   One day, the episode was pulled because of Harold Wilson resigning as Prime Minister and live coverage of his press conference replaced the rather crucial episode in the plot-line.

The following day, to catch up, we had a double episode beginning at 3.30. However just before "yesterday's" episode commenced, the announcer stated that owing to "technical difficulties" yesterday's planned colour edition wasn't going to be screened.  Instead we were shown a very sub-standard blury black and white version which even had the ATV non-colour animated intro.  It looked like it had been "filmed" directly from a monitor.

The end credits were cut short to say "ATV Production" (as opposed to "ATV colour production") and after the commercial break we were back to today's scheduled episode in colour again.  It would seem that someone was so eager to wipe the tape, they did so without even realising that the previous day's broadcast hadn't even gone ahead.  All that was left to go to air was probably an export 16mm black and white tele-cine copy.

I can remember almost all the plot lines for General Hospital (the first incarnation), and how the final episode of the 25minute show ended.

It must have been shot "as live" and you would often hear the floor manager "counting-in" the cast toward the end of the opening credits.

Great telly!

Edith Tatum (miss)

[Mike of CAS]

Looks like even the monochrome exports are long lost too. They're not listed in the database.

[DJB]

Hi,

In response to the person that couldn't remember the tune. I remember the theme tune very well and also the opening titles that were choreographed to match the first theme which remained after they had changed to the rockier (but somehow more dated) sounding prime-time theme.

The opening titles (preceeded by a re-take of the last episode's final twenty seconds) used to have still pictures of an amublance and the images would move along to the tune of the original music played by horns to replicate an ambulance siren.  "Da-da-da-du-daaaaaa. Da-da-da-du-daaaaa."  It had a long and a shorter version...as did the end credits.

The daytime episodes were repeated in 1976 at around 3.55 every weekday.  I'd just catch them if I rushed home from school and recorded many of them on my reel-to-reel audio tapes (now long lost)!   One day, the episode was pulled because of Harold Wilson resigning as Prime Minister and live coverage of his press conference replaced the rather crucial episode in the plot-line.

The following day, to catch up, we had a double episode beginning at 3.30. However just before "yesterday's" episode commenced, the announcer stated that owing to "technical difficulties" yesterday's planned colour edition wasn't going to be screened.  Instead we were shown a very sub-standard blury black and white version which even had the ATV non-colour animated intro.  It looked like it had been "filmed" directly from a monitor.

The end credits were cut short to say "ATV Production" (as opposed to "ATV colour production") and after the commercial break we were back to today's scheduled episode in colour again.  It would seem that someone was so eager to wipe the tape, they did so without even realising that the previous day's broadcast hadn't even gone ahead.  All that was left to go to air was probably an export 16mm black and white tele-cine copy.

I can remember almost all the plot lines for General Hospital (the first incarnation), and how the final episode of the 25minute show ended.

It must have been shot "as live" and you would often hear the floor manager "counting-in" the cast toward the end of the opening credits.

Great telly!

Edith Tatum (miss)

Edith,I recall watching those repeats in 1975-6(from the episodes originally screened 1973-5-if I recall correctly)Five days a week at 3.50.I think that the original theme tune has come back to me now.I too remember a lot of the characters(in addition to the ones mentioned previously-Mr.Baxter,Dr.Petra Hunt,Dr.Christian Hamlyn,Dr.Cathy Waddon,porter Arnold Capper,Nurses Hardy and Blake,Staff Nurse Holland,Student Nurse Stevens,Sister Edwards amongst them)and patients.However,I have no recollection of the incident on the day after Harold Wilson's resignation.Nor do I remember how the daytime version ended(apart from an End of Term type scene with Dr.Armstrong and Mr.Parker Brown,although this may have been the end of the whole series).Do Tell, please.
Regarding the wiping of the episodes,it's particularly disappointing that this happened when the repeat run proves that they were all still in existence two years after the original transmission.

[Edith Tatum (Miss)]

Yes, the episode you are referring to was the weekly one, where many of the final  "end of term" scenes were shot outdoors.

The final episode of the "soap" type version had wrapped up all the appropriate plot-lines and everyone was in sat the staff room.  Suddenly there was an announcement of an impending casualty emergency and the whole team sprung into action with Mr Parker-Bowles shouting  "Christiane!  Doctor Christiane Hamlyn!".  They all started to rush off down the corridors as the credits and theme tune played over the top of the action.

The morale of this probably was that nothing ever stops...at The Midland's General Hospital!

The show had already been on for it's first "hourly run" prior to the re-run of the 25 minute soap version, but the repeats of this had made the "new series" of the hourly show which began shortly after the end of the re-run of the "soap version" a must-see event and the first episode was trailered heavily on ITV. The next episode was about a patient that had rabies  (which was as big a media scare to Britain in 1975/6/7 as Swine Flu seems to be today).

I am sure that General Hospital could have kept going as a soap, but ATV seemed to treat all their daytime popular shows with equal disinterest.  Something proved by the lack of remaining episodes left of Crossroads, General Hospital and Emergency Ward 10, and like with Emergency Ward 10 before it, General Hospital went down the misguided route of having one complete story each week, something at the time weekly shows (like Dallas) were moving away from by the end of the 1970s in order to keep their audiences "hooked" each week.

ET (miss)

[DJB]

Thanks for your answer to my query on the ending of the daytime series,Edith.I wonder did the first series of the prime-time version play in all the regions?I remember watching the repeats of the half-hour shows from the Autumn of 1975(October/November)onwards,but know that I didn't see the Prime Time version until June 1976.Until the '90s,I always thought that this was when the Prime Time version began.I'm pretty sure that I would have been aware of it had it been screened in my region at the time.I do remember seeing the "Rabies"episode,however.
With regard to your first posting on this thread,is it really possible that the episodes were being wiped on the day of their repeat screening?That seems incredible.

[Douggie]

Do Network have any plans to release episodes on DVD? They've released two volumes of Emergency Ward 10 on DVD so it would seem odd not to release GH

[DJB]

Douggie,I've not seen it listed on any forthcoming lists yet.I'd love to see it as ,to the best of my knowledge ,not a single episode has been repeated since the series ended in 1979(not even on satellite),just the odd clip on nostalgia programmes.

[Mike of CAS]

It may be a case of course that the tape wasn't wiped, it may have been found to be damaged, some VT looks pretty iffy these days, there are lines and clicks on The LWT VT on Larry Grayson ect. Its not uncommon for 2" tape to damage. Maybe the machine chewed it up...

[Douggie]

Okay Mike and I have decided to launch a new spin-off site from CAS detailing the other ATV soaps such as Emergency Ward 10, Honey Lane [Market At] and General Hospital.

So we would be very grateful for any/all the storyline info/character info/broadcasting info/triva you could provide us with on the soaps!

[Doltrice]

This I saved off a DVD forum, I cannot remember which one. Seems it was delayed and has never been released like a few Network titles that appear for listing and never appear in the end.

[Mike of CAS]

This before EW10 I take it? The sleeve is sorta is similar to the EW10 DVD releases... maybe they decided to try the 60s hospital before going into the 70s.

Although they did Corrie the other way round didn't they... started with the 70s and 80s and then did the 60s.

[DJB]

Doltrice,I'd never come across this before,and I usually keep up with all the Network release news.The cover suggests it was to contain all the surviving episodes from the Daytime series.

[Mike of CAS]

I wonder what sort of 'extras' they have for General Hospital. There may be a few news reports on it moving to prime time from ATV local news? Having said that 16 episode Crossroads discs don't have any extras.

Maybe some paperwork would be nice, did they do an annual... its a show that is so little noted on it, would be good to have more info.

[Mark]

Here's two versions of the theme music.
http://www.yousendit.com/download/Y1RyZGVmYWJxRTFMWEE9PQ

[DJB]

Just looking at the information, 257 episodes are missing or incomplete out of a total of 340.

The original daytime series is as someone says the worst hit. Episodes that survive for daytime are: 1, 2, 4, 28, 32, 180, 231, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240, 258.

When it switched to prime time (series 2-6) it fairs better, in fact only 3 episodes are missing from the later run. These are: 01.12.78 Instinct, 12.01.79 Pass The Parcel and 26.01.79 Killer At Large. And 'Instinct' survives on a U-matic tape.


There is enough for a 12, or if they want to be "completest" a 16 episode release of General Hospital - The Daytime Series. I wouldn't mind seeing them. They could follow it up with at least two DVDs of best of primetime General Hospital.

Mike,checking through the most recent Kaleidoscope Drama Guide(2005)I've spotted some interesting facts on the existing episodes.

The master copies of the first two episodes are held at the National Film and Television Archive.I wonder if this would be problematical for a DVD release as the Crossroads episode (from June '69)which has a similar status has never been released on DVD.There's also an episode from 1976 with a similar status.

Only one episode no.180(originally transmitted 5.7.74)exists in the nearly two year period between 2.2.73(Episode 32)and  9.1.75(Episode 231).This is particularly disappointing as this is the really core of the Daytime series.The one that does exist from this period featurs Jill Gascoigne.I vaguely remember her storyline.As I recall she played a patient who Dr. Bywaters fell in love with who died.Then a matter of weeks later Jill turned up as another patient with an obviously astonishing similarity to the lady who died causing Dr.Bywaters some anguish.The episode that survives seems to be from her second stint on the show(there  was a similar storyline in Crossroads during the same era ).

Some good news,if you're a Joanna Lumley fan.A number of her episodes seem to have survived.She was in some of the episodes that survive from January 1975(231-40).

And now for more bad news.The final series seems be in a bit of a mess.According to the Kal Guide,6 episodes are on a U-Matic videotape copy.And as you say,two episodes are missing including the final ever episode.As ATV had finally got their Archiving act together for the rest of the Prime Time series,it's especially disappointing that it fell down so badly at the end.