If you compare it with the one and only promotional photograph known to exist, provided by Steve Williams two entries in this saga ago, then the picture of Nick and Tim looks like it was taken from a photo at the same session, and we now have an idea of how several other characters looked; we appear to have Charlotte/Charon in the top right, Scarface and Ugly beneath her, and Boyle and Snape beneath them and Mr Waverly sandwiched between the Brothers' front door and the windmill. The figure at the door appears to only have four fingers on their left hand, so is presumably Charon rather than McGuffin, and comes from the revised climax (which was set in the office rather than the Tunnel of Love from the book). Over on the bottom right we have someone who appears to be the auctioneer (although he could be Boris Kusenov, as I don't believe we know the identity of the actor who played him), and The Tsar's Feast, although its appearance is a little different to Nick's description of it in the book. Beneath Mr Waverly we have the MI6 agents, one assumes - Ted, Ed, Red, Ned and Zed as they were named in the book, although it's a little surprising the latter three made it onto a poster going by their tiny role in the book. The poster also highlights the cornfield chase scene, which from the last discovery I made we know was the cliffhanger to episode 4, and was described as a highlight by the person who'd actually seen the series.
This is a very nice thing to find, although so much as a single frame of footage from the series continues to elude us - fairly baffling when this indicates a fair amount of work was put into the promotion! (Although this poster also reveals it was a TVS production, which as Steve says, may explain why it's so difficult to track down...)
I know you've established by now that this definitely existed... I absolutely loved it when it was broadcast and have been looking for a copy ever since. I periodically check torrent sites but obviously there's nothing out there. The cornfield chase really sticks out in my mind. I'd love to see the whole thing again to see if it's as good as I remember. It seems odd that something in my living memory has vanished into the ether when all sorts of crap is regularly dug up for DVD and obscure satellite channels.
ReplyDeleteLast week I was alerted to a lead on a VHS copy of the series that might still exist - hopefully I will have another update soon...
DeleteI don't know if I'm even entitled to ask, but I want you to know that I'm also dying to get the copy of the series... Would you by any chance share the copy of it if you get it?
DeleteDepends on where I get it from, should it turn up! If somebody provides me with a copy but requests I don't share it, I'd be happy to respect their wishes (although I would, of course, do an exhaustive review of the series detailing all the differences with the book...) If they're fine with me sharing it then I will.
DeleteAny developments by any chance? Still hoping!
ReplyDeleteNothing new yet, I'm afraid - if there are any further developments there'll be a new post ASAP.
DeleteAw man, if you could get the VHS tapes, I wouldn't seriously know how to thank you :D
DeleteI became so absorbed in the Diamond Brothers series, and I have been preying everywhere for the TV-Series for a good 3 years now. I never saw the TV series, but after watching Just Ask For Diamond, I was so excited to find out they had a TV series!!
I want to see it so bad. And I can't find Colin Dale anywhere. Its like he did the movie and just dipped out of the acting business :(
@Thumb Studios
DeleteTo be fair, he was a child actor, and very few child actors continue acting once they have grown up, either because they aren't interested in acting any more, or because they aren't particularly good, and there's a massive pool of adult actors to chose from, unlike a more limited pool of child actors. In an interview, Horowitz said he wasn't impressed with Dale's acting, so it may have been that.
I've tried finding Dale too. Unfortunately he has such a common name - there are 500 Colin Dales in the UK alone on Linkedin.
Ironically, he would be the best person to contact, as it seems much more likely that a child actor/the child actor's family would have recorded the TV show than a professional actor would have.
I bought the promotional poster in the link, shipped from WA. I did contact the vendor when I bought it to ask if they had any further information/memorabilia, but they didn't, just gave the standard line about large estate clearances.
Horowitz, as I stated, wasn't a massive fan of the series, and doesn't seem keen to release it. Back in 2016, he suggested a release might be "sooner than you think: https://twitter.com/AnthonyHorowitz/status/741505001013547008.
But then just last month, he said he was "relieved" it isn't on DVD: https://twitter.com/RossKFoad/status/1249814845144231936
If this series was produced and owned by TVS, there’s unfortunately a very high chance that the series has had its master tapes destroyed.
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