The Book Tower

[FX02]

I can remember this from around the end of the 70s. Tom Baker, a book tower and a creepy atmosphere all led to me believing that any building over two flights was surely the dwelling of the devil!! I was only 10 at the time though.

[izzy noho]

Re: The Book Tower

was the theme tune to this program "im the king of the castle"? I remember a similar program that terrified me, i hated going to see my auntie Lill because she lived in a block of flats.

[Heather74]

Re: The Book Tower

Found on line-
The Book Tower : Yes, of course the book tower. Tom Baker looking moody and reading books. Some actually had parts of them made into live action. A fantastic theme tune written by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Listen to the theme tune here http://www.trembirth.demon.co.uk/sounds/booktow.wav

[The Lurker In The Shadows]

Re: The Book Tower

was the theme tune to this program "im the king of the castle"? I remember a similar program that terrified me, i hated going to see my auntie Lill because she lived in a block of flats.

There was a series in the mid/late 70s called "King of the Castle", where a boy, Roland, is involved in an accident with a lift in a tower block and finds himself in a subterranean world where grotesque characters, based on people he knew in the real world, tormented him.

Fulton McKay played his headmaster, who became a Frankenstein-style mad scientist, the local bully became a Samurai warrior, his step mum was a beautiful witch, etc.

[Derekflint]

Re: The Book Tower

The Book Tower music used to creep me out as a child. You would have thought that they would have tried to be more inviting!

[Premacyblue]

Re: The Book Tower

Found on line-
The Book Tower : Yes, of course the book tower. Tom Baker looking moody and reading books. Some actually had parts of them made into live action. A fantastic theme tune written by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Listen to the theme tune here http://www.trembirth.demon.co.uk/sounds/booktow.wav

This was variation 16 off his Variations album which also had themes used by other programmes including The South Bank show. It was one of my favourite shows and Tom Baker added that spookiness into the show that made it different from Jackanory

[poppicker]

The Book Tower

I loved this series, i have a feeling Tom Baker and Bernard Bresslaw were hosts.

[Retrogames]

Re: The Book Tower

Since i started to collect retro tv in the early 2000s The Book Tower (along wih The Boy Who Won The Pools) has been the only thing I remembered from childhood that I can't track down. A few years back I started to licence old tv progs for limited run dvd release, and The Book Tower was on my wish list, but I hit a brick wall- even with decent contacts I struggled to find out who the rights had transferred too after the old tv companies lost their licences, let alone which archive the programmes resided in. It looks like Tom Baker's finest (children's) hour will not be seen again.

The one that really makes me keen to see the BT again is an episode where the 'filmed book' section was about a pair of glasses in a junk shop that, once put on, allowed the boy to see that the shopkeeper was actually a demon. I worked as a librarian for six years and did quite a bit of work/reading trying to find out what this book was, but have never found it. It's something i'd love to find. There arent many single episode programmes that have stuck in my mind for thirty years or so!

[stud1al]

Re: The Book Tower

I have some eps with Bernard Bresslaw.

[DemonEyeX]

Re: The Book Tower

I remember being freaked out by the intro too,
I was just reading about this in the TV Cream book,
Apparently it was later presented by Neil Innes, Roger McGough & Timmy Mallet !

[agfagaevart]

Re: The Book Tower

Since i started to collect retro tv in the early 2000s The Book Tower (along wih The Boy Who Won The Pools) has been the only thing I remembered from childhood that I can't track down. A few years back I started to licence old tv progs for limited run dvd release, and The Book Tower was on my wish list, but I hit a brick wall- even with decent contacts I struggled to find out who the rights had transferred too after the old tv companies lost their licences, let alone which archive the programmes resided in. It looks like Tom Baker's finest (children's) hour will not be seen again.

The one that really makes me keen to see the BT again is an episode where the 'filmed book' section was about a pair of glasses in a junk shop that, once put on, allowed the boy to see that the shopkeeper was actually a demon. I worked as a librarian for six years and did quite a bit of work/reading trying to find out what this book was, but have never found it. It's something i'd love to find. There arent many single episode programmes that have stuck in my mind for thirty years or so!

Didn't Peter Davidson (another Dr Who), also do a book show for kids?

[agfagaevart]

Re: The Book Tower

was the theme tune to this program "im the king of the castle"? I remember a similar program that terrified me, i hated going to see my auntie Lill because she lived in a block of flats.

The theme was by Andrew Lloyd Webber. King of the Castle was a different series...

[Trickyvee]

Re: The Book Tower

The theme tune rings a bell but never watched it. As I hated Jackanory I probably tarred this with the same brush and switched over. Was it on ITV?

[sky blue]

Re: The Book Tower

I remember the Book tower with it's eerie music loved it, one story sticks in my head was " The silver trumpet " . Only remember Tom Baker though.

[havasack]

Re: The Book Tower

Loved The book tower, even had the theme tune as my ring tone till about a year ago. I can only rememeber Tom Baker presenting.