The Long Chase

I watched this when I was 8 and I still think of it all this time later

Why on earth have the bbc not made this available?

I can remember only one scene where I think the two kids were hiding in a cave and the villain started throwing big rocks in order to block the entrance and seal them in . Please tell me I wasn't imagining this scene and who was the baddie throwing the rocks ?

Surely of all our Channels one of them can reshow all the classic kids dramas from the 70's ?

So much tripe on tv let's get the chance to relive our childhood and see these shows once more . Thank you for reading !

As I was so young when it was broadcast, I remember very little about 'The Long Chase'. I recall that there was a teenage boy and girl (Jan Francis) in it. One of the 'crooks' turned out to be a policeman. However, engraved on my mind is the 'Motorcyclist', played by actor Hilary Minster. This nameless, silent, sinister character, dressed in black, rode around in pursuit of the two youngsters. He was not the chief criminal but one of his henchmen. One episode ended with the teenagers trapped underground. The girl managed to look out through a hole in the ground and she saw the motorcyclist striding up and down outside. The last shot of the episode was of his long, black boots!

The Motorcyclist came to a sticky end in one of the last episodes when he fell over the edge of a cliff. I do not remember how the story ended. However, I do recall the rest of my family being such fans of the series that we had to rush back from our holiday in order to be home in time to see it!

I was too young to remember much about this series. I only remember a couple being chased and a white car (a Vauxhall Viva, I think). I do believe this series had an influence on me though and is the reason why I love films involving 'being chased', being 'on the run', like Terminator and Jason Bourne.

Like all the other contributors I watched this series in the 1970s. It was primarily aimed to entertain children and contained all the educational elements at which the BBC excelled at the time. Suspense, a real travelogue of scenery and activity from the Devon coast via the Lake District to Edinburgh and its Tattoo. It also showed three virtual forms of life saving using real examples including the search helicopters.

The acting by the adults maintained the story line but was definitely a trifle all knowing whereas the two young leads mixed adventure with theorising on exactly what was actually going on.

At the time I was surprised that the relationship between the young leads did not become more romantic but perhaps that would have been a lesson too far?

My impression at the end was that there was scope for a sequel involving the same characters but, alas, nothing materialised.

My father (Edward Brooks) played one of the 'baddies' in this one - the gunman, Kessler. Very few lines - it was a 'strong, silent type' part. Kessler spent much of his time looking sinister and peering down gun-sights. Probably one of the best things he was ever in.

A real children's classic of a programme, with enough 'bite' to keep the adults amused, too. The whole thing was filmed on location up and down the UK, from Clovelly to Edinburgh, in all kinds of winds and weathers! The 'landing of the baddies' - shot at night off the South Coast - was filmed in a pelting rainstorm which hardly showed up on camera! A point of interest, cameraman Mick Burke, who worked on this, was a notable climber. Sadly, he lost his life on one of the Everest expeditions some time later. He and my father spent many hours discussing photography together between takes.