Get Lost!

This show helped set us on the road to the excellent Beiderbecke Trilogy, and there are signs of the brilliance to come! Get Lost! is rich in quirky dialogue, and hilarious moments - a car chase whilst keeping to the speed limit is one that is simply unforgettable. The mystery throughout is "Where's Jim?" - husband of teacher Judy Threadgold. He's disappeared. But there's no intense drama. The story is beautifully low-key and intelligent. This show was intended to have a sequel after its successful broadcast in the summer of 1981, but the fact that Alun Armstrong, one of the two lead actors, was unavailable, led to a reworking of the idea and the creation of Jill Swinburne and Trevor Chaplin, schoolteachers like Judy and Neville of Get Lost, for the 1985-1988 Beiderbecke Trilogy. Like Judy Threadgold, Jill, played by Barbara Flynn, was a keen environmentalist, but she was a somewhat better humoured, less astringent character. James Bolam, of course, brought his own acting style to the character of Trevor Chaplin. Get Lost! is not Beiderbecke, nor are the events of Get Lost! pertinent to the trilogy, but it's a fascinating precursor and well worth viewing.