All Quiet On The Television Front

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32352, 18 July 1970, Page 3

All Quiet On The Television Front

It was another quiet night before the screens on Thursday, although “Journey to the Unknown” presented another strange and quite entertaining story. Michael Collan was thoroughly detestable as he tried to exploit the dreams his wife (Zena Walker) had of accidents involving strangers. If the ending was predictable, it was a fanciful tale, ably told. “Ironside” and his team were rather below their best —a very flimsy story ending with apologetic haste. Strange that it should open with a symposium on police relations with the public, for “Gallery,” which followed it, might have been expected to deal with that very subject.

But there was no reference to the startling interviews of Tuesday’s “Gallery” programme. Instead, some comforting remarks from British politicians to amplify recent New Zealand government statements about Britain's negotiations for entry into the Common Market * * # It is to be hoped that “Catchword” gets away with it this evening. To have made so many errors is nearly unforgivable, but we, at any rate, feel considerable sympathy for the “Catchword” team, and the programme production staff. For all its mistakes—some suggest because of them—it is an enjoyable half-hour. A little earlier, there is a brief encounter with Maxwell Smart who is usually very amusing, and three of the top pro-

grammes to follow—“ Fraud Squad,” “Marty” and “The Name of the Game.” * * *

Marty Feldman fans will be delighted to know he appears in a Comedy. Playhouse production early next month, with Warren Mitchell of “Till Death Do Us Part” fame. This is called “Tooth and Claw” and in it these two bizarre characters are multi-millionaires. PANDORA.