The Long Chase

Like many of the other reviewers, I was totally captivated by this when I first watched it at the age of 9. I remember being very in awe of this young lad who could actually drive a car.

Through adult eyes, it's not quite the masterpiece of memory. Six and a half hours is an awfully long time given that very little happens in most of the episodes, except that we move on gradually from Devon to Edinburgh via the Lake District. One or two glaring coincidences help keep John and Susan on Tom's trail, and for the rest, they just are just able to follow on, even in the days when the M5 didn't stretch as far down as Devon.

Susan is everything we remember - pretty, brilliant, practical, sympathetic, pretty, uncomplaining, a sexy Scottish accent, and most of all, pretty. John is a whiny young man who could give the Pacific Ocean lessons in wetness. It isn't hard to guess which of the two would go on to a stellar career, and which, er, wouldn't.

My strongest memories were of Hilary Minster as the sinister motorcyclist, whose regular appearances were usually the cue for the cliffhanger and the end credits. While the first few episodes have the same structure every time - J & S shake off Hilary, follow Tom and the gang to a new town, only to encounter Hilary again - the programme loses momentum once Hilary is written out. It's not obvious why he is so effective - he has very few lines - but he really was scary at the time.

Occasionally, Outward Bound people would turn up to give us all stern warnings about wearing seat belts or not going canoeing without proper preparation. We could do without them. There is also a lot of library footage of the Edinburgh Tattoo, which serves to remind us why we were so bored with the Tattoo when it used to be live on the television.

The grown-ups tend to repeat themselves as well - Brian Peck teases Glyn Houston, who returns impassive looks into the middle distance, looking like a rubberised Easter Island statue in a loud jacket. Peter Copley is rather wasted on the last couple of episodes. At the end, everyone gives in rather easily.

But it is great fun to remember watching it first time round. It really did stick in the mind, and it gave us Jan Francis, after all.

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.

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!

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.

I was six years old when this was aired. I was captivated by it and it was my "look forward to" moment of the week. Unfortunately, being six I didnt have any control over my parents life schedule and they failed to get me home on time to see the last episode. I've been waiting 48 years to see it! The great news is that this was never video taped! YES! It means the BBC couldn't have wiped it in order to re-use what was then expensive video tape. Due to some of the night time / dark moments of the series it was all filmed on 16mm film. So somewhere - it's sitting there waiting for a new audience. Come on BBC - you have enough platforms now to put this out again, whether on line or on TV.