The All Electric Amusement Arcade

The All Electric Amusement Arcade is a seven-part British children's television serial aired on ITV in 1983. The show is a musical drama, with nearly every episode featuring an original song performed by in-universe band Electric Arc.[2]

The All Electric Amusement Arcade
Genre
Created byGerard Macdonald
Starring
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes7
Production
Executive producerPamela Lonsdale
ProducerSheila Kinany
Running time25 minutes[1]
Production companyThames Television
Release
Original networkITV (CITV)
Original release14 September (1983-09-14) –
26 October 1983 (1983-10-26)

The first episode of the series is available at the BFI Mediatheque at the BFI Southbank.[1]

Premise

Fifteen-year-old Bella Harper dreams of moving to Hollywood and becoming an actress. However, she is stuck in her hometown Graystone Beach with her broken family, so takes it upon herself to earn enough money to get her to her dream. She makes a deal with Mr Thomsett - manager of local dilapidated arcade The All Electric Amusement Arcade; if she can turn around the fortunes of the arcade, she earns 20% of the profits. With the help of local band Electric Arc, she decides to renovate the arcade into an events space for the youth of the town.[3][4]

Cast

Main

Minor

David Jensen also appears as himself.[6]

Episodes
No.Title [6]Directed by [2]Original songOriginal air date
1"Episode 1"Christopher Hodson"Video Puppet"14 September 1983 (1983-09-14) [3]
Local band Electric Arc are left without a venue - so after stumbling upon the dilapidated the All Electric Amusement Arcade, Bella decides to do something about it. Meanwhile, Truancy officer Daffyd Williams turns up at the Harper household for dinner, questioning why Bella has been skipping school. Electric Arc hold their first gig in their new home.
2"Episode 2"Christopher HodsonN/A21 September 1983 (1983-09-21)
Bella successfully makes a deal with the arcade's owner Mr Thomsett to renovate the arcade into a youth hangout spot. Dale turns up at the Arcade looking for the band, after Jake hires him to be their new drummer. After eventually finding Electric Arc, he competes with Jake in a competition to name as many details of songs as possible.[7]
3"Episode 3"John Woods"Takin' it Back"28 September 1983 (1983-09-28)
Bella and the band begin work on refurbishing the Arcade. She orders new arcade games for the venue from merchant Mr McMorrow, who soon delivers them. But everyone finds themselves distracted by the enigmatic Star Base, who turns up at the venue unannounced. She seeks to be the band's drummer, but instead sets her eyes on Jake. The two disappear for hours, much to Bella's chagrin, so in retaliation she hires popular band the Cured Lepurs to perform alongside Electric Arc. Later, Bella's absent mother turns up at her house asking Bella if she wants to move in with her.
4"Episode 4"John Woods"Run and Hide"5 October 1983 (1983-10-05)
Two councillors - Hogan and Warren - turn up to inspect the Arcade. They find themselves unconvinced about the arcade's potential, so Bella invites them back for Electric Arc's gig that night. Only Hogan turns up, but he soon finds himself dancing along with the rest of the audience. Marcus loses his job as an electrician from working on the Arcade too much.
5"Episode 5"Vic HughesN/A12 October 1983 (1983-10-12)
Mrs Thomsett returns to the Arcade enraged about Bella's refurbishment plans so she kicks her and the band out. But soon Bella begins to uncover a conspiracy about Mrs Thomsett's antique furnishings business, so Bella and Deshaun break into the Arcade at night to gather proof in the hopes of making Mrs Thomsett back down. Meanwhile, Deshaun decides to enter a TV fashion show with the dresses she's made.
6"Episode 6"John Woods"Honky Town Rap"19 October 1983 (1983-10-19)
Deshaun becomes one of the three finalists in the TV fashion show - so for her TV appearance, decides to hold her fashion display at the Arcade. The band seize this opportunity to make a video for one of their songs to appear on television. Bella's gran gets a job at the arcade as a caretaker.
7"Episode 7"Vic HughesN/A26 October 1983 (1983-10-26)
Deshaun discovers she came second in the competition. Bella and the band leave their hometown for their first London gig, but Bella plans on staying in London. Bella's mother Susan returns to, and decides to stay at the Harper household.

Tie-in Merchandise

7" Single

A single of one of Electric Arc's songs - "Honky Town Rap" - was released in 1983 by Red Bus Records. The B-side - "Just Another Song" is the theme tune to the show.[8]

Novelisation

A novelisation of the series, by creator Gerard Macdonald, was released in September 1983 to coincide with the show's transmission. It was published by Fontana Lions in a paperback format.[9][6]

References
  1. "Collections Search: The All Electric Amusement Arcade". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  2. McGown, Alistair. "The hill and beyond : children's television drama : an encyclopedia". Internet Archive. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  3. "All Electric Amusement Arcade, The". Nostalgia Central. 8 October 2013. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  4. "All Electric Amusement Arcade, The (ITV, 1983)". Memorable TV. 8 November 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  5. Pedder, Eddie (1988). Who's who on television. London: ITV Books. p. 40. ISBN 0907965490.
  6. MacDonald, Gerard (1984). The All Electric Amusement Arcade. ISBN 9780241111871. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  7. "TVARK Media Player: All Electric Amusement Arcade". TVARK. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  8. "Electric Arc - Honky Town Rap (1983, Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  9. "The All Electric Amusement Arcade". goodreads. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
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