Penny?

[Dan]

Wasn't there a girl called Penny on T-Bag? Who played her?

[Dan]

Oh sorry, I think it might have been Polly. Delete this thread if you want. I must look like a fool right now.......

[raggedbone]

There was both a Polly and a Penny. Polly, played by Natalie Wood featured in Series 7, 'T.Bag and the Rings of Olympus.' She was replaced in Series 8, 'T.Bag and the Sunstones of Montezuma,' by Penny (Evelyn Sweeney). The names are very similar, deliberately so I suspect, so Georgina Hale could keep describing her enemy as 'Polly/Penny-peewee-piffle-pants!' In fact, at one point during 'Sunstones,' Hale slips up and describes Penny as 'that Polly-peewee-creature!'

RB

[Dan]

Ah yes, it IS Penny I am thinking of then. The name Evelyn Sweeney rings a bell. She's the one that wore pink with blue overalls right? And her dad was on there. (As in the character's dad).

[Dan]

Oh, I might have seen that slip up in a clip somewhere and that's what made me get confused between Polly/Penny. But if it was a slip up then why was it aired and not edited before being broadcasted?

[raggedbone]

Yes, that's Penny - pink sweater and blueish-black dungarees. Her father was Diggory, the absent-minded archaeologist who banishes the sunstones in the first place.

As to the Polly/Penny slip up ... well ... er-herm ... it's only been in the last decade that British TV has upped it's game a little - these days, most drama and comedy is made on film or filmised, is mostly shot on location and has more time spent on production. Back in T.Bag's day, this was not the case. For each episode, there would be a short rehearsal period, followed by just one day in the studio to shoot it. This wasn't just the norm for T.Bag - most half-hour videotaped shows were made in this way, although with the many special effects necessary per episode, this would have put added pressure on those making T.Bag. As I understand it, there was an extra studio day at the end of filming to shoot any footage they hadn't had time to complete (mostly T.Room scenes), but quite often, there probably wasn't time to go back and reshoot (assuming the mistake had been noticed before the sets were struck and the show was edited!) This would have meant going into overtime which was mostly discouraged (especially by Thames Television!), and cetainly T.Bag's budget would never have stretched to it. These little mistakes are littered through every series of T.Bag - boom-mics and cameras bob into view, actors fluff their lines, special effects go wrong - you can even spot a member of the production team in one episode! This sort of thing certainly isn't unique to T.Bag - take a look at any videotaped British TV show made between the sixties and eighties, and you can be sure you'll spot something that shouldn't be there!

[Dan]

Oh okay, well I guess that makes sense then. But if the series was filmed without reshooting then that's pretty well done. Obviously if they made a big stuff-up they'd have to reshoot but yeah, I had no idea.