2.15 Orde Wingate

This month Martin & Andy tackle a 1976 curio: a 3-part
examination of the Zionist military leader Orde Wingate. Wingate is
played by Barry Foster (Van de Valk, Fall of Eagles) in a drama
scripted by Don Shaw (Survivors), script edited by Louis Marks
(Doctor Who, The Lost Boys), directed by Bill Hays (Wish Me Luck)
and produced by Innes Lloyd (Doctor Who, Talking Heads). The
production is notable for its theatrical feel and questionable
innovations: a 'Blue Peter-style' desert and a 'toilet roll jungle'
in the studio. But it is the subject matter that is more
problematic, as it is hard to work out if the zealous and possibly
insane title character is being lifted up by the drama or
critiqued. This tale of English exceptionalism and religious mania
was a difficult watch, and if that wasn't enough there's also what
the pair have come to term 'The Full Foster' to contend with! It is
worth noting that this episode was recorded some months before the
current Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Next Time: Partners in Crime