Compact (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Compact is a British
television
soap opera
shown by the BBC
between 1962 and 1965. The series was created by Hazel Adair and Peter Ling
, who together went on to devise Crossroads.
In comparison to the kitchen sink realism
of Coronation Street
, Compact was a distinctly middle-class serial, set in the more "sophisticated" arena of magazine publishing. An early "avarice" soap, it took the viewer into the business workplace, and aligned the professional lives of the characters with more personal storylines.
The show was scheduled for broadcast on Tuesdays and Thursdays, thus avoiding a clash with ITV's Coronation Street on Mondays and Wednesdays.
When Compact began, the editor was a woman, yet it wasn't long before she was replaced by Ian Harmon (Ronald Allen
), the son of the magazine's editor.
Morris Barry
, a some-time actor and BBC director - he directed several Doctor Who
stories in the 1960s - took over as producer and was given a brief to spice the series up in view of the criticisms it had received from the national press. Although there were protestations about a suicide using a gas fire, and scenes of children smoking drugs, both critics and the public remained indifferent to the show, and the BBC, never comfortable with the concept of soap opera (at the time they considered it to be the realm of independent television), quietly dropped the series.
Ronald Allen
went on to star in ATV soap opera Crossroads from 1969 to 1985. Marcia Ashton
, who played Lily, appeared in Brookside
many years later. Carmen Silvera
played the role of Madame Edith Artois in the British sitcom
'Allo 'Allo from 1982 to 1992. The director David Giles went on to have a highly distinguished television career.
Only a handful of episodes exist in the BBC archive: there are in fact as few as four surviving episodes out of the original run of 373. (See Wiping
)
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
shown by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
between 1962 and 1965. The series was created by Hazel Adair and Peter Ling
Peter Ling
Peter Ling was a British writer in many media, but best known for his work in television, where he was the co-creator of the soap opera Crossroads....
, who together went on to devise Crossroads.
In comparison to the kitchen sink realism
Kitchen sink realism
Kitchen sink realism is a term coined to describe a British cultural movement which developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in theatre, art, novels, film and television plays, whose 'heroes' usually could be described as angry young men...
of Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
, Compact was a distinctly middle-class serial, set in the more "sophisticated" arena of magazine publishing. An early "avarice" soap, it took the viewer into the business workplace, and aligned the professional lives of the characters with more personal storylines.
The show was scheduled for broadcast on Tuesdays and Thursdays, thus avoiding a clash with ITV's Coronation Street on Mondays and Wednesdays.
When Compact began, the editor was a woman, yet it wasn't long before she was replaced by Ian Harmon (Ronald Allen
Ronald Allen
Ronald John Allen was an English character actor who achieved the status of a soap opera star.Allen was born in Reading, Berkshire...
), the son of the magazine's editor.
Morris Barry
Morris Barry
Morris Barry was born in Northampton and was a noticeable figure on the production side of the BBC in the 1960s and 1970s....
, a some-time actor and BBC director - he directed several Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
stories in the 1960s - took over as producer and was given a brief to spice the series up in view of the criticisms it had received from the national press. Although there were protestations about a suicide using a gas fire, and scenes of children smoking drugs, both critics and the public remained indifferent to the show, and the BBC, never comfortable with the concept of soap opera (at the time they considered it to be the realm of independent television), quietly dropped the series.
Ronald Allen
Ronald Allen
Ronald John Allen was an English character actor who achieved the status of a soap opera star.Allen was born in Reading, Berkshire...
went on to star in ATV soap opera Crossroads from 1969 to 1985. Marcia Ashton
Marcia Ashton
Marcia Ashton is an actress best known for her soap opera roles as Lily in Compact and as Jean Crosby in Brookside....
, who played Lily, appeared in Brookside
Brookside
Brookside is a defunct British soap opera set in Liverpool, England. The series began on the launch night of Channel 4 on 2 November 1982, and ran for 21 years until 4 November 2003...
many years later. Carmen Silvera
Carmen Silvera
Carmen Blanche Silvera was a Canadian-born British comic actress of Spanish-Jewish descent who moved to Coventry with her family when she was a child...
played the role of Madame Edith Artois in the British sitcom
British sitcom
A British sitcom tends, as it does in most other countries, to be based on a family, workplace or other institution, where the same group of contrasting characters is brought together in each episode. Unlike American sitcoms, where twenty or more episodes in a season is the norm, British sitcoms...
'Allo 'Allo from 1982 to 1992. The director David Giles went on to have a highly distinguished television career.
Only a handful of episodes exist in the BBC archive: there are in fact as few as four surviving episodes out of the original run of 373. (See Wiping
Wiping
Wiping or junking is a colloquial term for action taken by radio and television production and broadcasting companies, in which old audiotapes, videotapes, and telerecordings , are erased, reused, or destroyed after several uses...
)