I loved "Ace Of Wands" when it was on, but was never allowed to see it unless I was at my grandmothers in Brighton (rare) when my parents no longer had control over what was on "the box".Sadly, one of the things that crippled it was the level of complaints. As it dealt with magic and was a children's show, Thames TV was besieged by complaints from British fundamentalist Christians who kept demanding that it was pulled. Briefly, it held the World Record, according to Guinness, as the most complained about TV show in history and newspapers were filled with damning letters about it. However, in this day and age, in this era of Harry Potter, it seems laughable for such a response to such a tame, well meant and well produced show, entirely free from sex and violence. Sadly, this pretty much stopped any large scale merchandising of "Ace Of Wands" by Thames.

Idling around a few weeks ago I searched for Ace of Wands online and found a short video clip. I was prompted to buy a region 0 DVD of the surviving episodes (I live in the US now). But in 1970/71 I was a spotty kid in a London, UK School not having such a good time, so escapism like this show was great. I never really did watch shows about kids, I wanted to see grown up situations, like Dr. Who and Ace of Wands. What I noticed about the show after receiving the DVD was that Ace of Wands is actually still quite watchable - some shows from the early 1970's I certainly can't watch now. I guess they mixed it up for the kid audience, so it was never dull. For some reason, my memory of the show was that it had a lot of atmosphere, but the sets were bad and the acting dire. On re-seeing the shows, that's certainly not the case. All the acting is good, and the sets were perfectly good for what I'm sure was a low budget venture. Michael Mackenzie as Tarot is very good in the lead and in no small way carries the show; at 6'2" he towers over most of the relatively short UK cast, but isn't aloof in the way he plays the role. I'm puzzled why Mackenzie didn't achieve lead status in UK films or other TV shows. No one ever really knows the reason for why one actor become big and others languish. The first two series were wiped, which is a shame because I preferred Judy Loe and Tony Selby. Nowadays, it's not that unusual to see a UK star do children's TV. In the 1970's, it wasn't exactly a mark of accomplishment, and perhaps both actors felt career-wise it wasn't a good idea to hang around. Petra Markham (sister-in-law of Vanessa Redgrave) and Roy Holder are good enough in their roles in the third series though. The stories often used to hinge on telepathy between Tarot and his assistant (Loe or Markham) and some were quite inventive. The show was replaced on ITV by the "Tomorrow People", which can actually be streamed on Amazon (I'm sure this is due to their status of being shown in the US - Ace of Wands wasn't). I'm hoping Thames sold the show to another European countries and that someday the wiped episodes will surface. In the meantime, what's available is a good idea of what the show brought to kids in the early 1970's.

I suppose everyone has one television programme from their childhood which stays with them down the years and evokes instant nostalgia at the slightest remembrance. Well for me "Ace Of Wands" is that show, as, aged about 10 I would rush home after school to watch it before going out to play with friends.Of course, the groovy, spacey, psychedelic theme tune, by later Status Quo side-man Andy Bown was a great hook for starters, but I remember the stories too as being exciting and imaginative, each episode invariably ending Dr Who-style, with a cliffhanger of some type.Michael MacKenzie was Tarot, a magician/conjurer hero long before the days of Jonathon Creek, leading his companions in and out of danger, the peril usually supernatural in some way. I duly bought the boxed DVD of the surviving third series and of course it's not as good as I remember, with iffy special effects, dodgy sets and some unconvincing acting. But you know, nothing can take away the nostalgic glow I get just remembering it again and would dearly love to see the sadly wiped first two series.That, however, is a mystery that even Tarot himself couldn't solve these forty odd years since...

Down the years. I.T.V. attempted to invade 'Dr.Who' territory with varying degrees of success, the most recent being 'Primeval'. Back in 1970, Thames Television came up with this entertaining children's show created by Trevor Preston ( better known now for his work on Euston Film series such as 'Minder', 'The Sweeney' and 'Fox' ). It told of the exploits of 'Tarot', a flamboyant magician played by Michael Mackenzie. Described by his creator as a 'Twentieth Century Robin Hood, with a pinch of Merlin and a dash of Houdini', Tarot was something of an enigma. His talents included sleight of hand, escapology, hypnosis, even telepathy, all of which came in useful in his encounters with some of the country's greatest super-villains. Real-life magician Ali Bongo acted as Consultant on the series. Like Dr.Who, Tarot had assistants - the first was the beautiful Lulli ( Judy Loe, widow of the much-loved comedy actor Richard Beckinsale ). They met when her beach buggy collided with his sports car, and found they had an instant telepathic connection ( similar to 'The Champions' ). Then there was rough diamond Sam ( Tony Selby from 'Get Some In' ), who was Tarot's bodyguard cum stage manager. Appearing from time to time was the eccentric bookshop owner Mr.Sweet ( Donald Layne-Smith ). The other member of the cast was Ozymandias, Tarot's pet owl. The first 3-part adventure - 'One And One And One Are Four' - had a Nobel Prize-winning professor's benign invention - a paralysis-curing device - falling into the hands of the deadly Madame Midnight ( Hildegarde Neil ) who wished to sell it to the highest bidder. 'Mind Robbers' by William Emms concerned Government Ministers succumbing to a mind control plot.The show, with its psychedelic title sequence and Andy Bown theme song, proved a big hit with both adults and children alike. Mackenzie and Loe became the David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson of their day. With 'The Avengers' having ended the year before, 'Ace Of Wands' seemed set to take its place. It certainly seemed more in step with the times. Season 2 opened with Preston's 'Seven Serpants, Sulphur & Salt' which introduced Russell Hunter ( 'Lonely' from 'Callan' ) as sinister magician 'Mr.Stabs'. He proved so popular he reappeared on his own in the children's anthology series 'Shadows' a few years later. But Don Houghton's 'Nightmare Gas' attracted the most interest. The plot revolved around a gas that made people see horrific visions, images that caused them to die of fright. One episode climaxed with Tarot imagining himself being burned at the stake in medieval times. Michael Winder's 'The Eye Of Ra' had Oscar Quitak as 'Ceribraun', a chess-playing computer genius after the titular gem, the light of which could turn people into chalk figurines. Tarot was nearly crushed to death on a giant-sized chessboard by two pieces, only to escape by achieving checkmate over his foe.Though made on video tape and lacking the scope film might have brought, it still managed to thrill. Season 3 brought changes - a new producer ( John Russell replacing Pamela Lonsdale ) and new friends for Tarot - 'Mikki' ( Petra Markham ) and 'Chas' ( Roy Holder ). Otherwise things stayed much as before. 'Mama Doc' had Pat Nye as an obese old woman who injected people with an immobility drug and played with them the way a child might with dolls. The late Brian Wilde was brilliant in 'Peacock Pie' ( written by P.J. Hammond, future creator of 'Sapphire & Steel' ) as a mild-mannered man with the ability to make people see things which were not there. He tormented Chas at the end of one instalment with two different versions of the same woman - Mrs.Macfadyean - both endlessly repeating an offer of a cup of tea! It is hard to see why Thames threw in at the towel at the end of this run, but they did. The final story - 'The Beautiful People' - saw Tarot and his friends seemingly perish ( we never found out for sure ) in an explosion whilst defeating alien beings who have programmed domestic appliances to go berserk.The show surprisingly enjoyed little merchandising - no Annual, no paperback book, no 'Look-In' nor 'T.V. Comic' strip, not even a 'Tarot' magic set! Thames' next venture into sci-fi was to be the long-running 'The Tomorrow People'.'Ace Of Wands' is fondly remembered by those who saw it. Only Season 3 survives intact ( it came out on D.V.D. a few years ago ) which is a great shame. I'm not normally in favour of remakes, but - with the right people behind it - 'Ace Of Wands' could be a hit all over again.