Michael Seely
@mpseely.bsky.social
michaelseely.substack.com Classic BBC TV researcher, biographer of Kit Pedler, Douglas Camfield and Doomwatch.
Although the shop is now closed, the site will not be deleted for a few months. If you missed out on Drama in the Lab (R.3) and Swizzlewick (Taste & Decency), get in touch. Alas, Message from the Stars (A for Andromeda) is almost sold out.
February 1, 2026 at 5:13 PM
Although the shop is now closed, the site will not be deleted for a few months. If you missed out on Drama in the Lab (R.3) and Swizzlewick (Taste & Decency), get in touch. Alas, Message from the Stars (A for Andromeda) is almost sold out.
The shop will remain open until tomorrow night now thanks to a request. Many thanks to those of you who picked up copies this week.
Gentle reminder...
The Saturday Morning Press shop will be closing at the end of the month and the associated email address will also eventually disappear. The Substack will continue - I'm in the middle of The Monsters, another lost BBC serial. A monster may turn up - eventually. shop.saturdaymorningpress.co.uk
January 31, 2026 at 4:37 PM
The shop will remain open until tomorrow night now thanks to a request. Many thanks to those of you who picked up copies this week.
Gentle reminder...
The Saturday Morning Press shop will be closing at the end of the month and the associated email address will also eventually disappear. The Substack will continue - I'm in the middle of The Monsters, another lost BBC serial. A monster may turn up - eventually. shop.saturdaymorningpress.co.uk
January 27, 2026 at 6:01 PM
Gentle reminder...
Reposted by Michael Seely
A shortlived publishing house but some immensely valuable work on the more intriguing corners of lost television drama. They're all worth owning.
The Saturday Morning Press shop will be closing at the end of the month and the associated email address will also eventually disappear. The Substack will continue - I'm in the middle of The Monsters, another lost BBC serial. A monster may turn up - eventually. shop.saturdaymorningpress.co.uk
January 25, 2026 at 6:46 PM
A shortlived publishing house but some immensely valuable work on the more intriguing corners of lost television drama. They're all worth owning.
Reposted by Michael Seely
The Saturday Morning Press shop will be closing at the end of the month and the associated email address will also eventually disappear. The Substack will continue - I'm in the middle of The Monsters, another lost BBC serial. A monster may turn up - eventually. shop.saturdaymorningpress.co.uk
January 25, 2026 at 10:32 AM
The Saturday Morning Press shop will be closing at the end of the month and the associated email address will also eventually disappear. The Substack will continue - I'm in the middle of The Monsters, another lost BBC serial. A monster may turn up - eventually. shop.saturdaymorningpress.co.uk
Reposted by Michael Seely
Get in quick and order these excellent books if you haven't already.
The Saturday Morning Press shop will be closing at the end of the month and the associated email address will also eventually disappear. The Substack will continue - I'm in the middle of The Monsters, another lost BBC serial. A monster may turn up - eventually. shop.saturdaymorningpress.co.uk
January 25, 2026 at 10:43 AM
Get in quick and order these excellent books if you haven't already.
The Saturday Morning Press shop will be closing at the end of the month and the associated email address will also eventually disappear. The Substack will continue - I'm in the middle of The Monsters, another lost BBC serial. A monster may turn up - eventually. shop.saturdaymorningpress.co.uk
January 25, 2026 at 10:32 AM
The Saturday Morning Press shop will be closing at the end of the month and the associated email address will also eventually disappear. The Substack will continue - I'm in the middle of The Monsters, another lost BBC serial. A monster may turn up - eventually. shop.saturdaymorningpress.co.uk
Reposted by Michael Seely
A long, long post on The Doctor Who Dinosaur Book by Terrance Dicks and illustrated by George Underwood (who I spoke to): 0tralala.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
The Doctor Who Dinosaur Book, by Terrance Dicks and George Underwood
0tralala.blogspot.com
January 11, 2026 at 8:57 PM
A long, long post on The Doctor Who Dinosaur Book by Terrance Dicks and illustrated by George Underwood (who I spoke to): 0tralala.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-...
Reposted by Michael Seely
First post of 2026 takes us back to November 1962 and BBC-tv shows Episode 1 of The Monsters, set in and around Lake Kingswater where monsters of different types are gathering, some of whom may have a sympathetic hearing following the recent Cuban missile crisis... Link⬇️
January 3, 2026 at 11:46 AM
First post of 2026 takes us back to November 1962 and BBC-tv shows Episode 1 of The Monsters, set in and around Lake Kingswater where monsters of different types are gathering, some of whom may have a sympathetic hearing following the recent Cuban missile crisis... Link⬇️
First post of 2026 takes us back to November 1962 and BBC-tv shows Episode 1 of The Monsters, set in and around Lake Kingswater where monsters of different types are gathering, some of whom may have a sympathetic hearing following the recent Cuban missile crisis... Link⬇️
January 3, 2026 at 11:46 AM
First post of 2026 takes us back to November 1962 and BBC-tv shows Episode 1 of The Monsters, set in and around Lake Kingswater where monsters of different types are gathering, some of whom may have a sympathetic hearing following the recent Cuban missile crisis... Link⬇️
There are only so many cardigans a man needs in his life.
December 25, 2025 at 10:19 AM
There are only so many cardigans a man needs in his life.
Reposted by Michael Seely
Our special Christmas episode is now available wherever you get your podcasts. A video version of this episode will be out early next week.
December 20, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Our special Christmas episode is now available wherever you get your podcasts. A video version of this episode will be out early next week.
Reposted by Michael Seely
On SubStack, a behind the scenes look at the lost BBC 1962 sci-fi serial The Monsters, directed by Mervyn 'One Shot Per Scene' Pinfield. In the shadow of Quatermass but on the road to Doctor Who. It will be serialised starting soon, but in the meantime, how to annoy writers... Link below.
December 7, 2025 at 9:22 AM
On SubStack, a behind the scenes look at the lost BBC 1962 sci-fi serial The Monsters, directed by Mervyn 'One Shot Per Scene' Pinfield. In the shadow of Quatermass but on the road to Doctor Who. It will be serialised starting soon, but in the meantime, how to annoy writers... Link below.
On SubStack, a behind the scenes look at the lost BBC 1962 sci-fi serial The Monsters, directed by Mervyn 'One Shot Per Scene' Pinfield. In the shadow of Quatermass but on the road to Doctor Who. It will be serialised starting soon, but in the meantime, how to annoy writers... Link below.
December 7, 2025 at 9:22 AM
On SubStack, a behind the scenes look at the lost BBC 1962 sci-fi serial The Monsters, directed by Mervyn 'One Shot Per Scene' Pinfield. In the shadow of Quatermass but on the road to Doctor Who. It will be serialised starting soon, but in the meantime, how to annoy writers... Link below.
Reposted by Michael Seely
Michael has an amazing ability to dig out TV stuff that’s so obscure I often think he’s making it up. I’d barely heard of The Big Pull before reading this, and I’d never heard of The Monsters which he’s also covering. Do check out his work.
Last weekend, my Substack reached the finale of The Big Pull, a lost 1962 Saturday night sci-fi thriller. For six weeks or so I've been retelling the story of Quatermass meets A for Andromeda meets The Day The Earth Caught Fire. Subscribe for more larks in the future!
A day late but never mind, read the conclusion of The Big Pull, a lost BBC science fiction serial from 1962. I winder if they really filmed at Jodrell Bank. And if they did, whatever did they think of the script!
michaelseely.substack.com/p/the-big-pu...
michaelseely.substack.com/p/the-big-pu...
December 6, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Michael has an amazing ability to dig out TV stuff that’s so obscure I often think he’s making it up. I’d barely heard of The Big Pull before reading this, and I’d never heard of The Monsters which he’s also covering. Do check out his work.
Reposted by Michael Seely
My latest substack - third and final part of The Question of Ulster, the BBC's Senate style enquiry on the Troubles in Northern Ireland in 1972 and the reaction from the media. Will the BBC be punished for defying two governments and going ahead? Link below.
November 29, 2025 at 11:34 AM
My latest substack - third and final part of The Question of Ulster, the BBC's Senate style enquiry on the Troubles in Northern Ireland in 1972 and the reaction from the media. Will the BBC be punished for defying two governments and going ahead? Link below.
Reposted by Michael Seely
Calling all local history buffs for #Norwich and #Norfolk Launching a new free Substack called Norfolk Boundaries and Borders, exploring stories both macabre or mundane that take place those wonderful and mysterious invisible boundaries that divide Norfolk into pieces. ⬇️
November 30, 2025 at 11:32 AM
Calling all local history buffs for #Norwich and #Norfolk Launching a new free Substack called Norfolk Boundaries and Borders, exploring stories both macabre or mundane that take place those wonderful and mysterious invisible boundaries that divide Norfolk into pieces. ⬇️
November 30, 2025 at 11:32 AM
Memory lane!
✨ NEW POST! ✨ Even stranger things: The 1983 BBC-2 Sci Fi Film Festival ⭐ David Geldard aka @daveofandrozani.bsky.social on how a seminal season of science fiction showcased the many ways the genre could thrill, horrify and inspire… 👇 wearecult.rocks/even-strange...
Even stranger things: The 1983 BBC-2 Sci Fi Film Festival » We Are Cult
❉ David Geldard on how a seminal season of science fiction showcased the many ways the genre could thrill, horrify and inspire…
wearecult.rocks
November 29, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Memory lane!
My latest substack - third and final part of The Question of Ulster, the BBC's Senate style enquiry on the Troubles in Northern Ireland in 1972 and the reaction from the media. Will the BBC be punished for defying two governments and going ahead? Link below.
November 29, 2025 at 11:34 AM
My latest substack - third and final part of The Question of Ulster, the BBC's Senate style enquiry on the Troubles in Northern Ireland in 1972 and the reaction from the media. Will the BBC be punished for defying two governments and going ahead? Link below.
Reposted by Michael Seely
My latest article: BBC PA Douglas Camfield, frustrated at not being offered a place on the director's course, investigated joining the SAS via the TA. Until fate intervened. You will also discover the third time he worked for Waris Hussein...
michaelseely.substack.com/p/douglas-ca...
michaelseely.substack.com/p/douglas-ca...
Douglas Camfield in Doctor Who and the SAS
In 1964, BBC PA Douglas Camfield was at a crossroads in his life. Will he become a BBC director or will he join the SAS? Or will he do both? With brand new information, the story can finally be told.
michaelseely.substack.com
November 23, 2025 at 9:27 AM
My latest article: BBC PA Douglas Camfield, frustrated at not being offered a place on the director's course, investigated joining the SAS via the TA. Until fate intervened. You will also discover the third time he worked for Waris Hussein...
michaelseely.substack.com/p/douglas-ca...
michaelseely.substack.com/p/douglas-ca...
My latest article: BBC PA Douglas Camfield, frustrated at not being offered a place on the director's course, investigated joining the SAS via the TA. Until fate intervened. You will also discover the third time he worked for Waris Hussein...
michaelseely.substack.com/p/douglas-ca...
michaelseely.substack.com/p/douglas-ca...
Douglas Camfield in Doctor Who and the SAS
In 1964, BBC PA Douglas Camfield was at a crossroads in his life. Will he become a BBC director or will he join the SAS? Or will he do both? With brand new information, the story can finally be told.
michaelseely.substack.com
November 23, 2025 at 9:27 AM
My latest article: BBC PA Douglas Camfield, frustrated at not being offered a place on the director's course, investigated joining the SAS via the TA. Until fate intervened. You will also discover the third time he worked for Waris Hussein...
michaelseely.substack.com/p/douglas-ca...
michaelseely.substack.com/p/douglas-ca...
Reposted by Michael Seely
And here’s another bump for the podcast.
The video version of this episode is now on YouTube but could be taken down any moment (it's currently in a copyright dispute), so get it while it's hot! youtu.be/FFxzLa67PC0
World of Telly Episode 13: A Very Peculiar Practice
YouTube video by World of Telly
youtu.be
October 26, 2025 at 7:47 PM
And here’s another bump for the podcast.
Reposted by Michael Seely
MUST READ! In the latest CST blog about the damaging changes going on at the BBC Written Archives Centre, @marklewisohn.bsky.social delivers his cri de cœur squarely at those who came up with or are signing-off on this policy shift. Please read and share widely.
cstonline.net/defending-th...
cstonline.net/defending-th...
DEFENDING THE WAC: MARK LEWISOHN LOOKS AT WHY RENEWED APPRECIATION IS URGENTLY REQUIRED
I was asked to write an op-ed piece saying why I think the BBC’s Written Archives Centre (WAC) is a unique and brilliant resource, which I can do because it’s both – and why, therefore…
cstonline.net
October 24, 2025 at 11:44 AM
MUST READ! In the latest CST blog about the damaging changes going on at the BBC Written Archives Centre, @marklewisohn.bsky.social delivers his cri de cœur squarely at those who came up with or are signing-off on this policy shift. Please read and share widely.
cstonline.net/defending-th...
cstonline.net/defending-th...
Reposted by Michael Seely
"The BBC has clanged their doors shut on those histories, those stories, those lives and ways of working that are revealed through the joint industry of the historian and the archivist." @helenwheatley.bsky.social on the devastating decision to limit access to BBC archives. tinyurl.com/y4tnyw9a
Defending the WAC: All the things I haven’t (yet) written by Helen Wheatley
People following the last few weeks of the Critical Studies in Television blog will have seen my brilliant colleagues discussing the essential work that they have been able to do thanks to the…
cstonline.net
October 19, 2025 at 6:06 AM
"The BBC has clanged their doors shut on those histories, those stories, those lives and ways of working that are revealed through the joint industry of the historian and the archivist." @helenwheatley.bsky.social on the devastating decision to limit access to BBC archives. tinyurl.com/y4tnyw9a