Kinvig
| Kinvig | |
|---|---|
 The original DVD cover with Kinvig and Miss Griffin | |
| Genre | Science Fiction |
| Directed by | Brian Simmons |
| Starring |
Tony Haygarth Patsy Rowlands Prunella Gee Colin Jeavons |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 7 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) | London Weekend Television |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ITV |
| Original run | 4 September 1981 – 16 October 1981 |
Kinvig is a sci-fi comedy television series made for British television in 1981.
Synopsis
Des Kinvig (Tony Haygarth) runs an electrical repair shop in the small town of Bingleton. One day his store is visited by Miss Griffin (Prunella Gee), who is from the planet Mercury and in need of Des' help. Kinvig's friend Jim Piper (Colin Jeavons) is a lifelong UFO watcher and is consumed by jealousy when he discovers that Kinvig has actually become involved with aliens. It is left intentionally ambiguous whether Kinvig's encounters with aliens are real or the product of an overactive imagination.
The show was produced by LWT, and only ran for one series of seven episodes. It was written by Nigel Kneale (more famous for Quatermass); directed and produced by Les Chatfield; with original music by Nigel Hess.
Reception
Around the time of original transmission, Kinvig was positively reviewed by The Times, the preview stating that "Cast splendid, direction deft".[1] However, to later TV historians, Kinvig is not considered to be one of Kneale's better productions. The Guinness Book of Classic British TV claims that apart from Jeavons' performance, Kinvig was "a huge disappointment".[2] Peter Nicholls also criticised the program, saying the scripts "lacked the precision required for decent farce". Nicholls also noted that some viewers objected to Kneale's depiction of science-fiction fans as being the same as UFO enthusiasts, and states Kinvig is notable for its "contemptuous treatment" of the leading characters. [3]
Cast
- Tony Haygarth as Des Kinvig
- Patsy Rowlands as Netta Kinvig
- Prunella Gee as Miss Griffin
- Colin Jeavons as Jim Piper
- Danny Schiller as Sagga
- Stephen Bent as Loon
- Alan Bodenham as Bat
- Simon Williams as Buddo
- Patrick Newell as Mr. Horsley
- Betty Hardy as Mrs. Snell
Trivia
At the end credits of all seven episodes, the message 'Vicky Loves Jerry' appears amongst the cryptic hieroglyphic text that morphs into the names of the cast and crew. This can only be viewed in slow motion as the morphing is quick. The significance of this is unknown.
See also
References
- ↑ "Pick of the week's television". The Times. 1981-09-04. p. XII.
- ↑ The Guinness Book of Classic British TV, by Paul Cornell, Martin Day and Keith Topping, Second Edition.Guinness Publishing Ltd., 1996 ( pg. 398).
- ↑ Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, edited by John Clute and Peter Nicholls, Orbit Books, 1993 (pgs. 669,672).
External links
- Kinvig at the Internet Movie Database