U.F.O. buff Des Kinvig ( Tony Haygarth ) runs a shabby electrical shop somewhere in London. He is married to the dog-loving Netta ( Patsy Rowlands ), and his best friend is Jim Piper ( Colin Jeavons ), a wild-eyed loon who thinks the Government are covering up the existence of extra-terrestrial beings. One of Des' regular customers is the beautiful but bad tempered Miss Griffin ( Prunella Gee ).
Unable to sleep one night, he takes his dog 'Cuddly' for a walk, and encounters a flying saucer on the common. Aboard are weird-looking aliens along with - surprise, surprise - Miss Griffin, clad in sexy futuristic clothes. The ship has come from Mercury, the interior of which is hollow. The people there are descended from inhabitants of the lost city of Atlantis.
Des helps them fix their ship, and it lifts off. So begins the first in a series of bizarre adventures for the electrician...
'Kinvig' was the creation of Nigel Kneale, renowned as the author of the legendary 'Quatermass' sci-fi serials for the B.B.C. In 1981, he tried his hand at comedy - with somewhat patchy results. The idea for 'Kinvig' was good, but alas he was not too hot at writing funny lines for the characters. The canned laughter did not help matters either.
The series was shown on I.T.V. a few months after the B.B.C.'s 'Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy'. But whereas that programme already had an established fan base, 'Kinvig' was left to sink or swim. It was screened on Friday evenings, directly after a U.S. import called 'Spider-Man' starring Nicholas Hammond. The 'Spider-Man' audience could not get its head around 'Kinvig', while the kind of viewers appreciative of cult comedy would not have been watching at that time. One or two I.T.V. regions yanked the show from peak-time and dumped it in a graveyard slot. It was never repeated, but came out on D.V.D. a while back. I suspect that had Kneale not written it, it would not have seen the light of the day.
The cast are wonderful, particularly Tony Haygarth ( remember him as the ball-scratching 'P.C. Wilmot' from 'Rosie'? ) as 'Kinvig', with dear Patsy Rowlands as 'Netta', and the splendid Colin Jeavons ( hilarious as 'Mr.Shadrach in 'Billy Liar' ) as 'Jim'. Prunella Gee, one of the sexiest ladies ever to grace the television screen, looked fabulous in her revealing sci-fi outfits. Patrick Newell, 'Mother' from 'The Avengers', popped up as 'Mr.Horsley' of the Bingleton Borough Council, whom Kinvig and Jim suspect of being an alien called a Xux. Simon Williams, of 'Upstairs Downstairs', is virtually unrecognizable as 'Buddo'.
It was never made clear whether Kinvig's close encounters with Miss Griffin were real or imaginary, but I do not think it seriously hurt the show.
Kneale's hidden agenda was to poke fun at sci-fi buffs and U.F.O. freaks. He was only partially successful. Watching the show again recently, I found it amusing rather than funny. Nevertheless, its a pity that it did not get a second season. 'Red Dwarf' was not much better in its first year, but improved over time. Michael Grade - no lover of sci-fi as his axing of 'Dr.Who' a few years later proved - was not prepared to give 'Kinvig' a chance.
A quick mention of Nigel Hess' superb music, he also worked on 'End Of Part One' and 'Whoops Apocalypse'.
Unable to sleep one night, he takes his dog 'Cuddly' for a walk, and encounters a flying saucer on the common. Aboard are weird-looking aliens along with - surprise, surprise - Miss Griffin, clad in sexy futuristic clothes. The ship has come from Mercury, the interior of which is hollow. The people there are descended from inhabitants of the lost city of Atlantis.
Des helps them fix their ship, and it lifts off. So begins the first in a series of bizarre adventures for the electrician...
'Kinvig' was the creation of Nigel Kneale, renowned as the author of the legendary 'Quatermass' sci-fi serials for the B.B.C. In 1981, he tried his hand at comedy - with somewhat patchy results. The idea for 'Kinvig' was good, but alas he was not too hot at writing funny lines for the characters. The canned laughter did not help matters either.
The series was shown on I.T.V. a few months after the B.B.C.'s 'Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy'. But whereas that programme already had an established fan base, 'Kinvig' was left to sink or swim. It was screened on Friday evenings, directly after a U.S. import called 'Spider-Man' starring Nicholas Hammond. The 'Spider-Man' audience could not get its head around 'Kinvig', while the kind of viewers appreciative of cult comedy would not have been watching at that time. One or two I.T.V. regions yanked the show from peak-time and dumped it in a graveyard slot. It was never repeated, but came out on D.V.D. a while back. I suspect that had Kneale not written it, it would not have seen the light of the day.
The cast are wonderful, particularly Tony Haygarth ( remember him as the ball-scratching 'P.C. Wilmot' from 'Rosie'? ) as 'Kinvig', with dear Patsy Rowlands as 'Netta', and the splendid Colin Jeavons ( hilarious as 'Mr.Shadrach in 'Billy Liar' ) as 'Jim'. Prunella Gee, one of the sexiest ladies ever to grace the television screen, looked fabulous in her revealing sci-fi outfits. Patrick Newell, 'Mother' from 'The Avengers', popped up as 'Mr.Horsley' of the Bingleton Borough Council, whom Kinvig and Jim suspect of being an alien called a Xux. Simon Williams, of 'Upstairs Downstairs', is virtually unrecognizable as 'Buddo'.
It was never made clear whether Kinvig's close encounters with Miss Griffin were real or imaginary, but I do not think it seriously hurt the show.
Kneale's hidden agenda was to poke fun at sci-fi buffs and U.F.O. freaks. He was only partially successful. Watching the show again recently, I found it amusing rather than funny. Nevertheless, its a pity that it did not get a second season. 'Red Dwarf' was not much better in its first year, but improved over time. Michael Grade - no lover of sci-fi as his axing of 'Dr.Who' a few years later proved - was not prepared to give 'Kinvig' a chance.
A quick mention of Nigel Hess' superb music, he also worked on 'End Of Part One' and 'Whoops Apocalypse'.