Editor’s Note: This post introduces our latest columnist at Anglotopia, David Melton. David is going to write fortnightly all about the best of British telly, past and present. Welcome David!

This is the inaugural post of my fortnightly column for Anglotopia, and I’m thrilled to be writing it. I stumbled upon Jonathan’s excellent blog while researching my upcoming trip to London, and I’m honored that he has given me the opportunity to become a contributor. Jonathan tells me I must first introduce myself, so here we go.

I’ve never really thought much about why I’m such an Anglophile; it has just always been so. Even as a child I was unconsciously an Anglophile, preferring British toys over American ones. My favorites were Matchbox and Corgi. My father was a postman, and on his postal route there was a little toy store of the kind that seems not to exist anymore. For a special treat, he would sometimes bring me home a Matchbox car. Those were the days when Matchbox toys were still made in England, and came in a little cardboard box (thus the name).  I loved the fact that many of the Matchbox vehicles were brands and models that we didn’t have over here (“Land Rover,” “Vauxhall,” “Anglia”), and they were so much better than the rubbish Hot Wheels toys so beloved by my contemporaries. Corgi toys were really special, and I didn’t have too many of them (I do still have my James Bond Aston Martin DB-5, lamentably sans tyre slashers).

In addition to Matchbox and Corgi toys, my dad introduced me to The Beatles and James Bond movies. At some point, I was also introduced to Hammer horror movies, and one of my enduring memories from childhood is of being absolutely terrified by the movie “Quatermass and the Pit” (to the extent I actually hid under the kitchen table). Then, like many of my generation, I was transformed into a science fiction fanatic by the release of “Star Wars,” and my love of science fiction led me to “Doctor Who,” “Space: 1999,” “Blakes 7,” and later “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.”  I was fortunate enough to be a teenager in the 1980s at the height of the New Wave movement, and while my classmates were listening to Journey and Van Halen, I was listening to New Order, Human League, Thomas Dolby, and ABC. A local FM station broadcast the syndicated show “Rock Over London” with Graham Dene, and through it I was introduced to many more British groups, such as The Pet Shop Boys.

By the time I entered the University of Kansas as a freshman, I was a hard-core Anglophile. I majored in English (emphasis on British literature, of course), and there I met the beautiful young woman who would become my wife (we met in a British literature class, and for that reason I will always associate her with “The Canterbury Tales,” which we were studying at the time). After graduation, I was a police officer in a suburb of Kansas City for several years, then returned to the University of Kansas, this time as a law student. Now, 12 years after graduating from law school, I’m an Assistant District Attorney with the Douglas County, Kansas District Attorney’s Office. Still an Anglophile, I have a Union Jack on my office wall, a collection of English police helmets on my shelf, and a model of the TARDIS on my desk. I regret the fact that I’m not allowed to wear a barrister’s wig and gown to court.

It’s always been a dream of mine to travel to England, but I’m ashamed to say I haven’t made it there yet. When people see my office for the first time, they almost always ask if I’ve been to England, and it’s always embarrassing to have to tell them that I have not. They usually say something like “oh,” give me a strange look, then change the subject, and I suppose it really is a bit odd to love a country that one has never been to. Happily, in a few short months that will all change. In March, my daughter and I will be spending a week in London (with, perhaps, a day trip or two out of the city). The plane tickets are purchased, the accommodations are arranged, and I can hardly wait.

Through this column, I hope to introduce Anglophiles (and possibly even some Brits) to British television series that they have never heard of before. Any Anglophile worth the name has heard of “Doctor Who” and “Gavin and Stacey,” but what about “Ace of Wands?” Or “The Sandbaggers?” Or “Q.E.D.?” (I’m cheating a bit with that last one, as it was an Anglo-American production that aired on American television, but I digress). Each post in this column will feature a different undeservedly forgotten or obscure British television series.

One reason the shows I’ll be writing about have  fallen into obscurity has been their unavailability on video. I’m pleased to report, though, that in recent years things have begun to change. An increasing number of older British television series are becoming available to American viewers on DVD, many of them through the excellent Acorn Media Group. Others are now available on DVD in Britain, and can be ordered by Anglophiles from online British retailers like Amazon UK. Yes, British DVDS are Region 2 (American DVDS are Region 1) and in PAL format (American television is in NTSC format), but don’t believe those who tell you that American DVD players can’t play them. Many DVD players now sold in the United States are capable of playing DVDs from anywhere in the world, only requiring that a certain numerical code be entered using the remote control. Many of them are also capable of converting PAL to NTSC. Chances are, you already own such a player. I purchased mine, a Philips, from Target for around $50. A Google search using the make and model of your DVD player plus the phrase “region free code” will lead you to a number of sites that will tell you if your player will work and provide you with the code if it does. DVD players already configured to be “region-free” are available from online retailers, but there really isn’t any reason to pay extra for something you can easily do yourself.

That’s it for the preliminaries. Again, I’m thrilled to be writing for Anglotopia, and I’m really looking forward to introducing you to some old forgotten gems of British television.  My next column will feature a childhood favorite of author Neil Gaiman. See you in a fortnight!

Author Info -  David is an Assistant District Attorney and former police officer living in Lawrence, Kansas, home of the University of Kansas. He wishes he could wear a barrister's wig and gown to court. Read more from this author

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