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Take the High Road
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Take the High Road | |
|---|---|
 Credits from the first episode 4th February 1980 |
|
| Format | Soap opera |
| Created by | Don Houghton |
| Country of origin |  Scotland |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | SMG Productions |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ITV, Scottish/Grampian |
| Original run | 4 February 1980 – 27 April 2003 |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
Take the High Road was a soap opera produced by SMG Productions (Scottish Television) and set in the fictional village of Glendarroch (exteriors were filmed in the real-life village of Luss on the banks of Loch Lomond). It started in February 1980 as an ITV daytime soap opera, and was dropped by the network in 1993, although various members of the ITV Network (notably Central Television) continued to screen the programme, while others (such as Yorkshire Television and Carlton Television) had no interest in doing so. In 1994, the series' name was changed to just High Road, and from then on it continued to be produced by Scottish Television, for a Scottish audience, until it was cancelled in April 2003.
Take the High Road was introduced as a replacement for Garnock Way, which contained more or less all of the original characters of Take the High Road, and had also spun off from a Scottish Television soap called High Living.
Much of the early scripts were written by Michael Elder who also made guest appearances in the Show. Books by the same name as the show were also produced by him. In the early days of the scripting, the show was fairly credible, however as time went on poor storylines were to follow. It remains however one of Scotland's Exports and perhaps is best remembered abroad.
During the course of its existence, Take the High Road went through a few major changes and face lifts. Perhaps the most noticeable was the renovation of Blair's store: everything was kept behind the Cashier's desk as was Scottish culture in the old days; and shortly after Brian Blair was released from prison it was transformed into a walk-around store.
There were a few themes in Take the High Road, in line with Scottish culture, namely the idea of Elizabeth Cunningham the rich lady Laird who owned the town, and the theme of Protestant religion which was always present. It also entertained the feeling that outsiders were simply not welcome into the small close-knit community, something which may exist in any small village. Modernity was coming, and the way of thinking of the first to final Lairds was completely different.
Towards the end of the show's life, it had tackled many social issues such as lesbianism, suicide and drug abuse, which was new to Scottish Television, although not new to the ITV network.
Perhaps one of the reasons why Take the High Road was eventually cancelled was due to the poor scripting in its final years. For example, the lead character, Mrs Mack, had been transformed from a traditional Presbyterian battleaxe to a party animal who enjoyed going to football matches. Such a character change was simply not believable. In other bids to stop the show going under, Andy Cameron, a well-known older Scottish comedian, was introduced to the show. His introduction, however, did not attract younger viewers but firmly raised the average age of the viewer to at least 60. Another famous Scottish comedian that appeared in the show was Hector Nicol
Take the High Road will be remembered for its changes and, at times, its very stereotyped casting of a Scottish village, rather than its fame as a soap, although its way of bringing together modernity with the old ways of the country really give it credit.
During its run, Take the High Road was always one of the highest-rated television programmes in Scotland, and had an extremely loyal following throughout the rest of the UK. Indeed, when the series was cancelled by the ITV Network, so many protests were received from viewers in England that some ITV regions re-instated the programme.
Micky MacPherson who played lead love interest, Scott Logan, moved on to a successful career in panto, particularly renowned for his dancing performance as the Goose in family favourite "Mother Goose". He has since become a BAFTA award winning film producer, running his own highly successful business, Plum Films, in Edinburgh.
Contents |
Take the High Road was sponsored by Brooke Bond Scottish Blend tea from the beginninng of 1992 until 1994 and was sponsored by Mothers Pride bread from 2000-02.
- Elizabeth Cunningham - Edith MacArthur
- Alan McIntyre - Martin Cochrane
- Kay Grant - Vivien Heilbron
- Max Langemann - Frederick Jaeger
- Dougal Lachlan - Alec Monteath
- Grace Lachlan - Marjorie Thomson
- Amy Lachlan - Julie Ann Fullarton
- Isabel Blair - Eileen McCallum
- Jimmy Blair - Jimmy Chisholm
- Ken Calder - Bill Hendersn
- Maggie Ferguson - Irene Sunters
- Lorna Seton - Joan Alcorn
- Fiona Cunningham - Caroline Ashley
- Isabel Blair - Eileen McCallum
- Sheila Ramsay - Lesley Fitz Simons
- Effie McDonald - Mary Riggans
- Jockie McDonald - Jackie Farrell
- Mairi McIvor - Anne Myatt
- Lachie MacIvor - Alec Heggie
- Morag Kerr - Jeannie Fisher
- Tom Kerr - John Stahl
- Mrs Mack - Gwyneth Guthrie
- Victor Kemp - Iain Andrew
- Nigel Jenkins - Keith Warwick
- Davie Sneddon - Derek Lord
- Niall Cassidy - Barry Lord
- Sally McGann - Catriona Evans
- Sarah McDonald - Shonagh Price
- Baby Sadie McDonald - Courtney Jane McWatt
- PC Tony Piacentini - Alan McHugh
- Chic Cherry - Andy Cameron
- Paul Lafferty - Simon Weir
- Ewan Logan - Gordon Brown
- Mr Spinetti - Terry Wale
- Kitty McIvor - Sarah Gudgeon
- Lynne McNeil - Gillian McNeil
- Surveyor - Ronnie Simon
These books were all written by Michael Elder except from Summers Gloaming which was written by Don Houghton.
- Summers Gloaming (1982)
- Danger in the Glen (1984)
- Mist on the Moorland (1985)
- The Man From France (1986)
- The Last of the Lairds (1987)
- 10 Years of Take the High Road (1990)
|
ITV Region
|
Programme Schedule Pattern
|
||
|
Start Date
|
Days Screened
|
End Date
|
|
| Anglia Television | 1980 | ??? | |
| ATV Midlands & Central Television | 1980 | ||
| Border Television | 1980 Mondays and Fridays 1990 until 1997? |
2001: it Friday Afternoon 2.30pm (about 2 years behide Scottish) |
|
| Channel Television | As Westward | as Westward/TSW then TVS from Jan 1986 then asMeridian from January 1993. | as Meridian |
| Grampian Television | 1980 | Mondays and Fridays 1900 | As Scottish |
| Granada Television | |||
| HTV West & Wales | 1980 | ||
| Scottish Television (STV) | 1980 | Late 1980s - Tuesdays and Thursdays at 18:30, then Tuesdays and Fridays at 18:30. 1990 - mid 1993: Mondays and Fridays at 18:30. |
|
| Southern Television & Television South & Meridian | 1980 | ??? | ??? |
| Thames Television & Carlton Television | 1980 | ||
| Tyne Tees Television | 1980 | As Yorkshire | As Yorkshire |
| Ulster Television | 1980 | Down to weekly Sundays in 2003 at 1230. Scottish, Grampian, Border and Ulster being the only regions left showing the series by this time. | 2003 |
| Westward Television & Television South West & Westcountry | |||
| Yorkshire Television | 1980 | Thursdays and Fridays 1230 later changed to Wed/ Thur 1450. Axed in August 1993
and was final English region along with Tyne Tees to resume the series in 1996 weekly on Fridays at 1450.| End of 1998 after Granada takeover?? |
|
There were 4 versions of the theme tune over the 23 year run. The first version was performed by Silly Wizard and was used until 1982. This version was quite "Scottish folk band" in style and pretty lively.
The "Silly Wizard" theme tune was replaced by an orchestral version in 1982. This orchestral version was used from 1982 until 1986. It featured wind and stringed instruments and had percussion.
The third version was a different orchestral arrangement and was used from 1986 until 1990. This new orchestral version was more violin led than the former, which had made more use of wind instruments, and featured no percussion.
In 1990, the fourth, rock-style version made its debut and continued to be used until the end of the series. This version was electric guitar led (played by session guitarist Duncan Finlay) and featured percussion during the "middle" section. From 1994 when the programme name was shortened to High Road, the length of the closing credits was cut, so the closing theme was faded in just before the mid point. The theme tune was written by Arthur Blake.
Another version was released on record in 1980 and was also performed by Silly Wizard.
Originally the font used on the end credits was white. From 1980 - 82, all the credits would scroll up the screen and were centrally justified. The character name and actor names were on separate lines and the same presentation was used for the production credits. The copyright date was displayed on the Scottish Television end board and was displayed in Arabic numerals.
In 1986/87, a new font was adopted for the closing credits. For the cast list, the character and actor names were displayed on separate lines and were centrally justified. These credits were displayed on separate slides and there were usually about 3 or 4 names on each slide. The character name was shown in a pale blue colour. The actor name would be shown in a darker blue, and the text was noticeable larger and bolder.
For the production credits, the job title would appear at the far left of the screen and the person's name would appear underneath but slightly indented. Like the cast credits, these were all displayed on separate slides. The director credit would usually appear last. The copyright date continued to be shown in Arabic numerals.
In 1990, changes were made to the presentation of the credits although the font remained the same. From 1990-94, the credits were centrally justified, and were all scrolling. The character and actor names would appear on separate lines, and the same procedure was used for the production credits. This also marked the change where the copyright year would be displayed with the last credit rather than the Scottish Television end board. For the majority of 1990 - 94 episodes, the director credit would appear last. From 1990, the copyright date was shown in Roman numerals.
From 1994, the character and actor names would appear on the same line and the procedure was followed for the production credits. The font size was noticeably reduced to allow this. These credits were all scrolling. From 1994, the producer credit would appear last.
From 2000, the end credits followed exactly the same procedure as the 1994 introduced style although the font style was changed and the colour was changed to white.
On very rare occasions, episodes ended with unusual closing credit sequences.
In 1990, Archie Menzies died. For the episode showing his funeral, no credits were actually shown. Instead, a solo piper played the "Take the High Road" tune while the other characters were gathered by his graveside. A board was shown at the end, paying tribute to the actor, Paul Kermack.
In mid 1991, Carol McKay and Tee Jay Wilson got married. At the end of the episode where the wedding ceremony had just started, the characters' singing of "O Father, all creating" was used for about half of the closing credits, before the regular theme tune was faded in.
In a late 1991 episode, Carol and Tee Jay's baby daughter died from cot death. No music was used for the closing credits.
At the end of the episode featuring the village concert in 1992, the credits are played over a scene of the characters gathered on stage singing. The regular theme music is faded in at a very late point.
At the end of a 1999 episode, Runrig's "Loch Lomond" was playing during a party scene - this continued and was used for the closing credits.
In the final episode, Lachie McIvor and Mairi McNeil get married. The credits roll over the guests walking out of the church. Instead of the usual theme music, the credits are accompanied by the wedding piper's playing of "Mairi's Wedding". At the end of the credits, the following caption is displayed:
Since 1980, High Road has been a piece of Scotland in homes across the UK and overseas. Scottish Television would like to thank the cast, the crews and the writers who worked on High Road over the years. HIGH ROAD 1980 - 2003
- Clarke Tait 1980-1981
- Brian Mahoney 1981-1990
- Frank Cox 1991-1993
- John G. Temple 1994-2000
- Mark Grindle 2000-2003
Take the High Road was repeated on Sky Soap, the episodes shown in early 1997 were from 1982 and 1989 episodes were being shown when the channel ended in April 1999. Early "High Road" episodes from about 1994/95 were shown on Sky Scottish in 1997/98.
The very first episode can be viewed online on stv's global website Scotland on TV.
Take the High Road will return to our screens in January 2008 to be shown on Life One.