Hot Metal

Hot Metal (1986–88) is a British sitcom produced by London Weekend Television about the Newspaper industry.

Hot Metal
GenreComedy
Written byAndrew Marshall
David Renwick
Directed byDavid Askey
Nic Phillips
StarringRobert Hardy
Richard Kane
Geoffrey Palmer
Richard Wilson
Caroline Milmoe
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original language(s)English
No. of series2 + Charity special
No. of episodes12 (list of episodes)
Production
Producer(s)Humphrey Barclay
Production company(s)Humphrey Barclay Productions
London Weekend Television
DistributorITV Studios
Release
Original networkITV
Picture format4:3
Original release16 February 1986 (1986-02-16) –
10 March 1989 (1989-03-10)

In the show, The Daily Crucible, the dullest newspaper in Fleet Street, is suddenly taken over by media magnate Terence "Twiggy" Rathbone (Robert Hardy). Its editor Harry Stringer (Geoffrey Palmer) is 'promoted' to managing editor, and is replaced in his old job by Russell Spam (also played by Hardy). Spam then takes the paper shooting downmarket and turns the Crucible into a sensation seeking scandal rag, very much in the style of the British tabloids of the 1980s. He is helped along by his ace gutter journalist, Greg Kettle (Richard Kane), who intimidates his tabloid victims by claiming to be "a representative of Her Majesty's press" and produces stories such as accusing a vicar of being a werewolf. Throughout the first series, a running plot involved cub reporter Bill Tytla (John Gordon Sinclair) gradually uncovering an actual newsworthy story that went to the very heart of government. (Tytla appears to be named after animator Vladimir "Bill" Tytla.)

Written by David Renwick and Andrew Marshall, it is very much a continuation in style from their previous sitcom Whoops Apocalypse!. It was produced by Humphrey Barclay.

Episode list

In total, twelve episodes were made and broadcast. A Comic Relief special episode was also broadcast.

Series 1
# Title Original air date
1"The Tell-Tale Heart"[1]16 February 1986 (1986-02-16)[1]
2"The Modern Prometheus"[2]23 February 1986 (1986-02-23)[2]
3"Beyond The Infinite"[3]2 March 1986 (1986-03-02)[3]
4"Casting The Runes"[4]9 March 1986 (1986-03-09)[4]
5"The Slaughter of the Innocent"[5]16 March 1986 (1986-03-16)[5]
6"The Respectable Prostitute"[6]23 March 1986 (1986-03-23)[6]

Series 2

In the second series, Harry Stringer had left, vanished in a "mysterious aircraft accident", to be replaced as Managing Editor by former daytime chat show host Richard Lipton (Richard Wilson). The cub reporter investigating the running plot this time was Maggie Troon (Caroline Milmoe).

# Title Original air date
7"Religion of the People"[7]6 March 1988 (1988-03-06)[7]
8"The Joker to the Thief"[8]13 March 1988 (1988-03-13)[8]
9"The Hydra's Head"[9]20 March 1988 (1988-03-20)[9]
10"The Twilight Zone"[10]27 March 1988 (1988-03-27)[10]
11"Crown of Thorns"[11]10 April 1988 (1988-04-10)[11]
12"Unleash the Kraken"[12]17 April 1988 (1988-04-17)[12]

Comic Relief special

In 1989 the show was briefly revived for a 13-minute Comic Relief special "The Satellite Years" (AKA "The Rat Sat on the Cat"), with Hardy and Palmer reviving his role from the first series (though the second series set was used).

# Title Original air date
13"The Satellite Years"[13]
"The Rat Sat on the Cat"		10 March 1989 (1989-03-10)[13]

DVD release

Both series of Hot Metal have been released on DVD. A 2-disc set of the complete series has also been released.

DVDRelease date
The Complete Series 1
7 September 2009
The Complete Series 2
19 April 2010
The Complete Series 1 to 2 Box Set
18 October 2010
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References
  1. "The tell-tale heart". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  2. "The modern promethius". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  3. "Beyond the infinite". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  4. "Casting the runes". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  5. "The slaughter of the innocent". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  6. "The respectable prostitute". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  7. "Religion of the people". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  8. "The joker to the thief". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  9. "The hydra's head". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  10. "The twilight zone". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  11. "Crown of thorns". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  12. "Unleash the kracken". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  13. "The satellite years". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
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