UK repeats of Thriller on the Bravo channel - 1996

The early to mid 1990s were one of the best periods for archive TV fans as many of their favourites - not just the "big name" shows that had already been repeated on terrestrial TV - were repeated on channels such as UK Gold and Bravo. The latter was a particularly good place to see ITC shows such as the action / adventure shows, Gerry Anderson series - and Thriller. Initially it seemed like all the episodes would be reshown and - unlike the 1980s repeats - the vast majority would be in the original ATV format rather than the later movie versions. For those like me who had only discovered the show in the 1990s on the two video releases (which had only covered four episodes) this was a huge opportunity but it was also an exciting one for 1980s fans eager to see the originals for the first time as well as for the "original" 1970s fans who would after twenty years get to see the show again as they had seen it.

Episode	Bravo date (all broadcasts Saturday afternoons)	Time
A Coffin for the Bride	11/05/1996	3.00-4.20pm
One Deadly Owner	18/05/1996	3.00-4.20pm
An Echo of Theresa	25/05/1996	3.00-4.20pm
Death In Deep Water	01/06/1996	3.00-4.20pm
Possession	08/06/1996	3.00-4.20pm
The Colour of Blood	15/06/1996	3.00-4.20pm
Nurse Will Make It Better	22/06/1996	3.00-4.20pm
Come Out, Come Out Wherever You Are	29/06/1996	3.00-4.20pm
Next Voice You See, The	06/07/1996	3.00-4.20pm
Sleepwalker	13/07/1996	3.00-4.20pm
Night Is the Time for Killing	20/07/1996	3.00-4.20pm
Killer with Two Faces	27/07/1996	3.00-4.20pm
Good Salary - Prospects - Free Coffin	03/08/1996	3.00-4.20pm
Lady Killer	10/08/1996	3.00-4.20pm
The Double Kill	17/08/1996	2.00-3.20pm
Spell of Evil	24/08/1996	2.00-3.20pm
Murder in Mind	31/08/1996	3.00-4.20pm

 

I was a little disappointed that the early repeats were of episodes already released on VHS and therefore I didn't get them recorded. What I didn't realise at the time was that the version of One Deadly Owner Bravo aired was the original ATV one with intact teaser and not the movie version released on VHS. I wasn't in touch with any other Thriller fans  and I just assumed the movie version was the only one available. 

ATV version of "One Deadly Owner" and Bravo's second repeat of Thriller

The first "new" episode for me and other "new" Thriller fans was Death in Deep Water on 1st June. This has always been a huge favourite of mine and it's possible the fact that it was the first "new" one I'd seen may have played a part. It was the last of the original ATV series and it does help to highlight that Bravo - rather like those airing the movie versions in the 1980s - were not following original broadcast order and episodes from across the series were mixed within the run. The running-order appears to have been recommended by ITC although with some episodes held back for proposed late-night screenings. Ian Kerr - one of the most important people in early research on Thriller - acted as an advisor to Bravo,

Not all the episodes aired in ATV format with Possession and Sleepwalker both appearing in ITC movie versions although why this occurred isn't known. Two other episodes - Night Is the Time for Killing and Good Salary - Prospects - Free Coffin - were both screened as colour telerecordings as these were apparently the only ones available. It seems that If It's a Man - Hang Up! and Someone at the Top of the Stairs were not included in the Bravo package although it's unclear why this was so, especially as the latter had just been released on VHS.

Repeats continued into Summer 1996. Although a couple had earlier broadcast slots (putting paid to one of my hoped-for recordings!) they always occurred on Saturday afternoons without changing days or disappearing for weeks or months as happened with the 1990s repeats. However at the end of August 1996 Bravo changed its schedule and Thriller was dropped, never to return. Murder in Mind on 31st August 1996 will almost certainly prove to the last broadcast of Thriller on British TV, While it was disappointing that only seventeen were shown, followers of Thriller still remember these repeats with fondness and they were a key part in maintaining and reviving interest in the show.

The last repeat of Thriller on Bravo and likely to be the last on any British channel