Having looked at the careers of the cast of Murrain we now turn our attention to the production crew who helped to make the episode. First off we look at the career of director and producer John Cooper (sometimes credited as John K Cooper). This is not a definitive list of his credits but instead gives a flavour of the variety of work he had over forty plus years within the industry.
John Cooper
was born during 1927 in Edale, Derbyshire and attended New Mills Grammar
School. Aged seventeen Cooper joined the BBC working in the sound engineering
department in Glasgow before transferring to Manchester and eventually
Broadcasting House in London. However, his career was put on hold whilst he
completed his National Service with The Royal Air Force. He was demobbed in
1949 and returned to work at the BBC, stationed at Alexandra Palace with the
fledgling television services that had been relaunched after being in stasis
during the war. Cooper gravitated towards the new medium and ended up as a qualified
cameraman.
After serving his time with the BBC Cooper applied to the new independent television broadcasters and by 1955 he was under the employment of ABC as a cameraman. He swiftly made his way up the ranks and became a senior cameraman in 1956 and the following year he was appointed Head of the Camera Department. He became a director in 1958 and worked on a variety of productions including science documentaries, advertising magazines and consumer affairs programmes before he worked on his first drama, Emergency Ward Ten. Cooper would direct around fifty episodes of the twice weekly medical soap opera from 1960 onwards, but also spent three years as the programme’s producer from 1961 until 1963 overseeing over 190 episodes. Following this Cooper would spend a couple of years as a director on some of ATV’s prestige productions starting with four episodes of the second season of the boardroom and business drama The Plane Makers during 1963.
These episodes were followed by three instalments of the Victorian police drama Sergeant Cork and a single episode to the long-running drama anthology series Love Story with ‘I Love, You Love, We Love’ (22nd September 1964). This saw Patrick Macnee play a lothario who suddenly starts to get visits from the mysterious Umberman (Peter Barkworth) who drops in uninvited at the most inconvenient times to offer his advice on Macnee’s present relationship. Following this Cooper was entrusted with launching a new drama anthology series called Knock on Any Door based on a premise that behind every door there is a story. Creator Ted Willis introduced each episode to the public. The first episode, ‘Dream of the Summer Night’ (2nd October 1965), gave early roles to Jane Asher and David Collings. Cooper also oversaw the fourth episode, ‘A Paragraph for Mr Blake’ (23rd October 1965) written by Tom Stoppard.
Knock on Any Door was granted a second season and
Cooper returned the direct the first episode and another two episodes of the
run. The second season began with ‘Sunday in Prospective’ (7th May
1966) and Cooper also directed the episode ‘The Ballad of Queenie Swann’ (28th
May 1966) which told in rhyming verse the story of widowed pub landlady Queenie
(Billie Whitelaw) and her three suitors Tom (Ewan Hooper), Dick (Donald Morley)
and Harry (Denys Graham). The play was written by the veteran Ted Willis who
had previously created Dixon of Dock
Green. Cooper’s final contribution to the anthology series was the episode ‘A
Laugh at the Dark Question’ (11th June 1966) written by Bruce
Stewart who Cooper would later work with on the classic children’s science
fiction series Timeslip.
Cooper attained only a single directing credit during 1967. This was an episode of the drama anthology Half Hour Story titled ‘The 45th Unmarried Mother’ (9th August 1967), an early script by Fay Weldon. Having successfully completed a run as a producer on Emergency Ward Ten a few years previously Cooper was asked by ATV to take on more work in this area. Honey Lane was a soap opera created by Louis Marks which can be seen as something as a fore runner to Eastenders. Broadcast between 1967 and 1969 the soap was set in an East End market place and followed the everyday lives of a group of Cockney market traders – sounds familiar! The programme was something of a first for ATV as it marked the first use of Elstree Studios’ backlot for filming of the market scenes. This is a strange coincidence as the same backlot is now used as the set for Eastenders! The programme was devised by Louis Marks who was also the series editor and contributed early scripts. The exterior market was designed by Tony Waller (another future Beasts crew member). Cooper was drafted in as a relief producer and therefore only dealt with a handful of episodes. These included the first episode of the second season, ‘The Initiation’ (28th December 1967), and two later episodes of the same season; ‘The Matchmakers’ (1st February 1968) and ‘Some of My Best Friends Are…’ (29th February 1968). He would return as a producer for the soap for a single episode later in the run transmitted on 25th March 1969. The episode does not have a title.
His next
directing assignment was a return to the anthology programme Love Story. Cooper directed the
respected actor Andre Morell as Reverend Roderick Ordway in the eighth series
episode ‘Ensign to the Cannon Proud’ (9th April 1969). His next job
for ATV was to serve as the producer on the drama anthology series Happy Ever After which ran for two
seasons during 1969 and 1970. Cooper oversaw the entire first season,
transmitted between November 1969 and January 1970 as well as the second season
transmitted between November and December 1970. The show was the first
production to be made in colour at ATV’s Elstree Studios and Cooper was given
the role due to his technical expertise with cameras.
His next project is the one that Cooper is most renowned for. Timeslip has left an enduring impression on the young viewers who first saw the twenty six episodes of the science fiction series during its initial run between September 1970 and March 1971. Cooper was the producer on the entire run and also directed the first story, ‘The Wrong End of Time’, which was broadcast in six episodes between 28th September 1970 and 2nd November 1970. His next producer credit was for the ‘The Crib’ (26th December 1971), a contribution to the ITV Sunday Night Drama anthology which was directed by Richard Bramall who would later work in the same capacity on the Beasts episode ‘Special Offer’. The play was set in a hospital maternity ward during the Christmas period.
Timeslip star Spencer Banks reunited with
Cooper for the children’s espionage adventure series Tightrope (19th January 1972 to 12th April
1972). Whilst this was transmitting Cooper also had two directing projects for
the offbeat spy series Spyder’s Webb with
the episodes ‘Red Admiral’ (3rd March 1972) and ‘Nobody’s Strawberry
Fool’ (31st March 1972). Cooper’s next assignment was to help bring
a clutch of some of the popular ITV sitcoms to the big screen. The trio of
sitcoms adapted included For the Love of
Ada (1972), Never Mind the Quality:
Feel the Width (1973) and Father Dear
Father (1973) with Cooper, credited as John K Cooper, on board as a second
unit director / assistant director for all three productions.
As a producer for television Cooper launched the ATV police drama Hunter’s Walk. This would also see Cooper’s first professional engagement with the actor David Simeon who he would later cast as the beleaguered veterinarian in ‘Murrain’. Cooper produced and directed the series’ first action packed episode ‘Disturbance’ (4th June 1973) which featured a story involving a police manhunt for a disturbed and potentially dangerous man. Cooper would produce the rest of the first season, which ran for thirteen episodes, finishing transmission on 26th August 1973 as well as being in the director’s chair once more for the fifth episode ‘Vanishing Trick’ (1st July 1973) which was written by Nicholas Palmer who would act as producer on ‘Murrain’ and the entire umbrella series Against The Crowd.
Cooper was also
involved with the Brian Clemens created anthology series Thriller as director on the episode, ‘Possession’ (25th
January 1974). This episode touches on some of the motifs and plot elements
often used in Nigel Kneale’s work with a couple renovating their cottage
discovering the skeleton of the former owner buried on the cellar. A séance
staged to discover how the remains came to be in the cellar uncovers a
disturbing answer. Cooper then returned to Hunter’s
Walk to produce the second batch of thirteen episodes which ran from 22nd
April 1974 until 22nd July 1974. He was also the director for the
third episode ‘Villain’ (6th
May 1974). A return to Thriller was next with Cooper acting as a line
producer on the fourth season from November 1974 to January 1975. Cooper would
also direct the episode ‘Murder on the Midnight Express’ (7th
January 1975). Cooper was then assigned to direct ‘Murrain’ by his old
colleague Nicholas Palmer. Hunter’s Walk
returned for a third and final series during 1976 with another set of thirteen
episodes transmitted from 1st June 1976 to 24th August
1976. Again Cooper would serve as the producer and also occasionally in a dual
producer / director role, this time on the final episode ‘Kicking and Screaming’ (24th August 1976).
Cottage To Let was a six episode drama produced by
Copper who also doubled up as a director / producer on the episode ‘Saving It
For Albie’ (2nd August
1977). The series was anthology series which featured a new set of characters
and circumstances but taking place in the same setting of the eponymous
cottage. Between 1977 and 1978 Cooper produced and directed on both seasons of
the business drama The Foundation.
Also in 1977 Cooper was the producer for the first season of the children’s
drama series The Paper Lads. Sounding Brass was an ATV comedy drama
which featured Brian Glover in the cast with Cooper directing three episodes; ‘H
G and the Whit Marches’ (2nd July 1980), ‘H G and the Hundred Years’ (9th July 1980) and ‘H G
and the Exploding Orange’ (6th August 1980). Cooper also acted as a
producer for the entire series.
On the 1st
January 1982 the ITV network was restructured and ATV, who had faced a constant
stream of criticism for its lack of regional output, lost the franchise.
Another difficulty the company faced was that both its central office and
studio facilities were not based in the Midlands area, but in London. This was a
hangover from when the broadcaster had also provided output for the London area
in previous decades. To try and head off these issues ATV committed to
increasing regional news output as well as outlining plans for a new dedicated
production facility based in the Midlands area. The company would also be
rebranded as ATV Midlands Ltd to reflect the more regional approach. The
Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) noted and welcomed these changes and
granted ATV the contract on the condition that further changes should be
undertaken including the parent company Associated Communications shedding its
49% shareholding in ATV. This would open the door for more local investors to
take a shareholding in the broadcasting company. Another recommendation was
that the central office for the company should be based in the Midlands area.
To demonstrate this change of structure and fresh approach the IBA also
insisted that the company should change its name and so Central Television came
into being. The new station began transmitting on Friday, 1st
January 1982 and Cooper was on board to help ring the changes.
The first
Central presentation[1]
Cooper worked on was the drama Diamonds which starred John Stride as Frank
Coleman who takes over his father’s diamond business after his death. His
business practices soon bring him to conflict with both family and work
colleagues. Cooper produced all thirteen episodes of the programme, as well
directing nine episodes, which ran for a single season between 9th
September 1981 and 2nd December 1981.
In 1983 he was employed by ITV broadcast franchise TVS where he produced and directed the UK segments of the short supernatural story anthology Strange But True, a British / Canadian co-production between TVS and the regional Canadian television company Global Network based in Ontario. Each episode was hosted by Barry Morse and contained two stories with one being filmed and set in North America with the other being produced and set in the UK. The series was scripted by Douglas Watkinson from stories sent in by viewers.
He returned to Central and directed three episodes of the children’s drama series Them and Us including the series opener ‘Neighbours’ (26th September 1985), episode three ‘Firebug’ (10th October 1985) and episode four ‘Caesar’s Snarl’ (17th October 1985). He also produced the entire series. Staying with children’s drama Cooper was then assigned to oversee two episodes (9th and 12th December 1985) of Murphy’s Mob for the fourth season of the popular football themed children’s drama. He returned to the world of adult drama by directing ‘Partners’ (13th December 1986), an episode of the themed anthology production Unnatural Causes which was a series of seven stories concerning death by unnatural means. The production would see Cooper once more reunited with producer Nicholas Palmer who had also written the script for the episode. It was then back to children’s drama the following year as Cooper contributed towards two episodes of Y.E.S. This was a drama centred around an information service, Youth Enquiry Service, which was run by teenagers for teenagers. Cooper’s episodes were ‘Bad Luck Man’ (4th March 1987) and ‘Hook Line and Sinker’ (11th March 1987).
After nearly forty years in the business Cooper’s final piece of direction was after he had retired from Central Television. Worlds Beyond was a half hour supernatural anthology series produced by the independent production company Brent Walker with an eye on both the American and European TV markets. The series was shot in the UK, with American backing, and actually attracted a very high quality mixture of both British and American stars. The stories, culled from the files of the Society for Psychical Research, were also better than usual coming from such veteran writers as Brian Clemens and Tony Williamson. Sadly the series was delegated to a late night TV broadcast in England which became increasingly sporadic as the run progressed. Cooper’s episode, ‘The Eye of Yemanja’, was written by Brian Clemens and featured Tenniel Evans and Julia Deakin in the cast. Cooper passed away in 2017 aged a respectable 90 years old.
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