Garry Halliday

Garry Halliday
Format	Drama
Starring	Terence Longdon Terence Alexander Elwyn Brook-Jones Bill Kerr Maurice Kaufmann
Country of origin	UK
No. of episodes	50
Production
Running time	25mins
Broadcast
Original channel	BBC Television
Original run	1959 – 1962

Garry Halliday is a British television series for children that ran on the BBC from 1959 to 1962. The show starred Terence Longdon as airman Garry Halliday. The episodes were closely based on the books by Justin Blake.

Plot

Somewhat reminiscent of Biggles, Halliday was a pilot for a commercial airline company, the Halliday Charter Company, and flew to his various adventures in an aircraft with the callsign Golf Alpha Oboe Roger George. He was assisted by co-pilot Bill Dodds, played by Terence Alexander, who was later better known for his role of Charlie in "Bergerac." The Airline's control base station was Lima Foxtrot.

Their arch-enemy was a character known as The Voice, played by Elwyn Brook-Jones, so called because he was never seen, so that at the end of each series he could escape, and reappear in the next. Invisible even to his own gang, The Voice always shone a powerful light in their faces to disguise his identity thereby remaining anonymous.

Production

Based on the books by Justin Blake, one trailer special and two series were produced. Each episode lasted 25 minutes:

• Garry Halliday - 1 episode
• Garry Halliday and the Gun-Runners - 16 episodes
• Garry Halliday and the Secret of Omar Khayyam - 33 episodes

Series three hit various difficulties, as actor Bill Kerr playing co-pilot Eddie Robbins replaced Terence Alexander; while Brook-Jones died half way through filming, and was replaced (without his scenes being refilmed) with a different actor who looked and sounded rather different. Maurice Kaufmann played one of The Voice's henchmen in series three.

Filming was undertaken at Ferryfield Airport in Lydd, Kent, with the offices and planes of real airline Silver City Airways transformed for all three series of the productions.

The programme was transmitted in the Saturday afternoon teatime slot that was subsequently occupied by Doctor Who, which started on BBC in November 1963. It was a popular slot to present shows that might attract a family audience. In early 1963, it was used for another adventure series targeting children, The Chem. Lab. Mystery. After the success of the first series of the futuristic Doctor Who, with its modern sci-fi themed content, there appeared to be no great interest in returning to the more traditional Biggles-style Garry Halliday stories and the show was dropped. Only one episode survives in the BBC Archives.

In popular culture

Garry Halliday makes an appearance in The Black Dossier by Alan Moore, though with his name slightly altered to Gary Haliday, encountering Mina Murray and Alan Quatermain in a newly opened spaceport in Birmingham. His arch enemy The Voice is mentioned in passing reference in a fictional document detailing The League's activities during World War II (When They Sound The Last All Clear).

External links

• Garry Halliday at BFI Film & TV Database
• Garry Halliday at the Internet Movie Database