1 9 7 9 (UK)
26 x 15 minute episodes
The adventures of World War II veteran turned crime fighter Dick Barton (Tony Vogel) and his sidekicks Snowey (Anthony Heaton) and Jock (James Cosmo).
Fearless, dependable Barton, demobbed after six years in the army, found civilian life a touch too mundane for his liking. So, when he received a call from an old friend, Sir Richard Marley (John Gantrel), asking him to find his missing son and daughter, he willingly dashed once more into the fray.
Accompanied by Snowey and Jock, the trio then stumbled into other inquiries and more than once confronted their evil adversary, Melganik (John G Heller).
The character of Barton originally appeared on radio from 1946, played first by Noel Johnson (who reputedly received 2,000 fan letters a week) and then by Duncan Carse (a former Antarctic explorer) and Gordon Davies.
The radio serial was abruptly ended in 1951 amid rumours that the BBC’s hierarchy thought it a bad influence on the nation’s youth.
Bishops, welfare officers and magistrates all regularly accused the radio serial of encouraging juvenile delinquency.
Unfortunately, this twice-weekly 15-minute serial from Southern Television failed to capture the public’s imagination in the same way as the original radio series.
Dick Barton
Tony Vogel
George Victor “Snowey” White
Anthony Heaton
Jock Anderson
James Cosmo
Sir Richard Marley
John Gantrel
Melganik
John G Heller
