I cocked up last weeks updates and featured Boy Dominic, which is released tomorrow, and forgot Muck and Brass, which was actually released last Monday. Not to worry as it si always better to be later than never with these things! For some reason I was itching to watch this. I hadn't heard anything about it before, but knew from the press release that it was a drama, and one with Mel Smith, Jim Bowen, Lindsay Duncan and even Paul Shane in, and that made me curious and having recently re-watched I Claudius, it was nice to spot a few of the cast from that turn up as well.

Centred on age-old themes of power politics and the easily corruptible nature of human beings, Muck and Brass tells the rags to riches story of Tom Craig, a rare, serious role for comedian Mel Smith. From small, humble beginnings, Craig reaches a position of such power that he controls most of the plum sites in the fictional Midlands city of Slatterly. The path to success and supremacy is riddled with corruption, inhumanity, self-serving trickery, cold contempt and calculation. Craig operates from the view point of the fragile and greedy nature of humanity, and that it can be bought and sold - everyone has a price. Such cynicism and ruthlessness results in enemies and some in rather powerful positions: John Roman, head of a rival firm; Maurice Taylor, Tory leader of the council, who is adamant that there should be no bribery and corruption until his control.

The hard-edged realism and trenchant humour made this series a huge success with viewers upon its original transmission. From striptease clubs to council chambers, the grittily authentic locations and the surprising casting are both standout elements of this series: comedian Jim Bowen makes his TV drama debut; former British and European Middleweight wrestling champion Johnny Allan plays Craig's industrial rival. Lindsay Duncan's appearance in this superb series also foreshadows her later role in the similarly hard-hitting GBH (which is next on my to-watch list as it is currently being broadcast on Yesterday).

This is a superb series that is well worth grabbing a copy of.

Damn these Sunday tea-time serials. When I was a kid these usually meant I was at my grandparents house, which always seemed dark and uninviting at the time, with little to do apart from be on my best behaviour and not speak unless I was spoken to. The only diversion was the TV and it was either a serial that always seemed to be a bit boring, or a religious show. Saturdays, by comparison, were spent at my other grandparents, where everything was bright and cheerful, and consisted of lots of sweets and cakes, Battlestar Gallactica or The A Team, and staying up late. So you can see that Sunday tea-time serials are not usually on my must watch list and my heart sinks whenever I get one to review.

That said, I usually find that halfway through the first episode I know I am goign to see it through to the end, and this had the added value of Brian Blessed. In 1820, Captain Charles Bulman commands a merchant ship The Bright Star, when it shipwrecked off the North African coast. In the aftermath, Bulman is presumed dead, leaving his beautiful young wife Emma and young son Dominic destitute in London. They lose their Greenwich home and end up in Yorkshire. Things begin to look more settled when they open a guesthouse to make ends meet. They also fall into the care of the kindly - if frequently inebriated - William Woodcock, who served under Captain Bulman previously. Yet against all odds and unbeknownst to his loved ones, Captain Bulman survives the disaster. While his family is working hard in their attempt to settle down into an impoverished life without him, he uses all his might and determination to fight his way back to them, enduring a plethora of physical and mental hardship, danger and obstacles along the way.

Though billed as a children's adventure series, The Boy Dominic appeals to viewers of all ages and features a great cast: Richard Todd (The Dam Buster) as the ill-fated Captain Charles Bulman; the incomparable Brian Blessed as William Woodcock; the beautiful and strong Emma is portrayed by Hildegarde Neil (Blessed's wife) and Dominic himself is played by Murray Dale - the son of Carry On star Jim Dale. Originally the series was broadcast on ITV between the 24th March and 16th June 1974 (London region) with a repeat a year later. After a recent discussion on the Mausoluem Club Forum it is worth mentioning that a few of the episodes don't have the adcaps (the frames before and after the advert break, although the rest do - to some people it seems this means more than the show itself. For those who want useless trivia, the title lettering is in the same font as the Radio Times masthead of the time: Caslon Swash Capitals.

As I watch more and more older TV series I find myself gravitating towards those with a strong writer and a quirk to their set-up. The Travelling Man fits this nicely being created and scripted by Roger Marshall - renowned for his contributions to The Avengers, Public Eye and The Sweeney, to name but a few, and being set around travel on a narrow boat. I can do without the pan-pipe theme tune though!

Ex-detective inspector Alan Lomax has just completed a two-year prison sentence following his wrongful conviction for theft. His wife has left him, and his son, Steve, is missing. Now that he has returned to his beloved narrowboat, "Harmony", Lomax embarks on a long search for his son. He is also determined to search for clues in order to prove his innocence by finding the man who sets out to frame him for the crime. But Lomax is fully aware that his new life will be anything but easy. He is still regarded with suspicion by the police, who have placed him under surveillance; he is pursued not only by members of the criminal underworld but also by a doggedly persistent journalist named Robinson…

I'll admit that I am only a few episodes in so far, but it certainly starts well, and it just beginning to go into the story behind his conviction. Originally broadcast in 1984/5 it can be fun watching out for familiar faces that went on to bigger things in soaps such as Corrie or serials like The Bill.