From A Bird's Eye View was a 1970 ATV

Associated TeleVision

Associated Television, often referred to as ATV, was a British television company, holder of various licences to broadcast on the ITV network from 24 September 1955 until 00:34 on 1 January 1982...

 and ITC Entertainment

ITC Entertainment

The Incorporated Television Company was a British television company largely involved in production and distribution. It was founded by Lew Grade.-History:...

 co-produced sitcom. In the United States it aired on NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

.

The series followed two International Airlines stewardesses, a scatterbrained Briton and a savvy American, as they flew the London-European routes. The series ran for 16 25-minute colour episodes.

The series was not a big success in either the UK or the US, but ITC re-used the format (and the writers and crew) for the Shirley MacLaine

Shirley MacLaine

Shirley MacLaine is an American film and theater actress, singer, dancer, activist and author, well-known for her beliefs in new age spirituality and reincarnation. She has written a large number of autobiographical works, many dealing with her spiritual beliefs as well as her Hollywood career...

 series Shirley's World

Shirley's World

Shirley's World was a television series aired first by American Broadcasting Company during the U.S. 1971-72 television season. The sitcom was co-produced by the British ATV Network and American producer Sheldon Leonard; it starred Shirley MacLaine as a photojournalist and John Gregson as her...

. That show also flopped, but ran to one more episode than From A Bird's Eye View.

Production notes

Sir Lew Grade

Lew Grade

Lew Grade, Baron Grade , born Lev Winogradsky, was an influential Russian-born English impresario and media mogul.-Early years:...

 wanted to make a comedy film series that would appeal on both sides of the Atlantic starring Millicent Martin

Millicent Martin

Millicent Mary Lillian Martin is an English actress, singer and comedienne.Martin was born in Romford, England. She made her Broadway debut opposite Julie Andrews in The Boy Friend in 1954...

. He sent six comedy sketches of Martin to producer Sheldon Leonard

Sheldon Leonard

Sheldon Leonard was a pioneering American film and television producer, director, writer, and actor.-Biography:...

 and he came up with the premise of From a Bird's Eye View.

Leonard cast Patte Finley from 160 girls he interviewed over a seven month period when he responded to her personality and that at 5'3" she would not dwarf Martin's 5'1".

Martin and Finley both underwent an official training course at the B.E.A.

British European Airways

British European Airways or British European Airways Corporation was a British airline which existed from 1946 until 1974. The airline operated European and North African routes from airports around the United Kingdom...

 training centre in stewardess's duties including meal presentation, bar service, address system and survival drill.

Cast and characters

• Millicent Martin
  Millicent Martin
  Millicent Mary Lillian Martin is an English actress, singer and comedienne.Martin was born in Romford, England. She made her Broadway debut opposite Julie Andrews in The Boy Friend in 1954...
  
   as Millie Grover
• Patte Finley as Maggie Ralston
• Peter Jones
  Peter Jones (actor)
  Peter Jones was an English actor, screenwriter and broadcaster.-Early life and career:Jones was born in Wem, Shropshire and he was educated at the Wem Grammar School and Ellesmere College. He made his first appearance as an actor in Wolverhampton at the age of 16 and then appeared in repertory...
  
   as Clive Beauchamp
• Robert Cawdron as Uncle Bert Quigley
• Noel Hood as Ms. Fosdyke (Mr Beauchamp's secretary)

Episode list

Filmed on location and at Pinewood Studios

Pinewood Studios

Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...

 England.

Airdate and order is for ITV

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

 on the Network

Network

-Mathematics:* Graph * Complex network* Structure* Flow network-Electric, electronic, biological, and biosocial: * Electrical network* Computer network* Biological network* Artificial neural network* Social network...

 DVD

Episode #		Title	Directed by	Written by	Original airdate

DVD

Network DVD

Network DVD

Network DVD is a DVD publishing company that specialises in classic British television. In particular, it has the rights to a number of well-known ITV programmes...

 released the series with an image gallery and promotional PDF file July 2008.

External links

• CTA information
• TV.com
• Comedy Guide - From a Bird's Eye View at bbc.co.uk
  Bbc.co.uk
  BBC Online is the brand name and home for the BBC's UK online service. It is a large network of websites including such high profile sites as BBC News and Sport, the on-demand video and radio services co-branded BBC iPlayer, the pre-school site Cbeebies, and learning services such as Bitesize...