In the Looking Glass

Overview

In the Looking Glass is a surreal television series, broadcast on BBC2 in 1978. It starred John Wells, John Fortune, Carl Davis, and Madeline Smith, was directed by Andrew Gosling and produced by Ian Keill. The same team had previously created 1974's The End of the Pier Show. Wells, Fortune and Davis appear to have been the main writers for both series. In the Looking Glass was notable for its design, overlaying live action and drawn or animated backgrounds, for instance, a hole drilled to the centre of the earth, or the Monopoly board on which a character risks being crushed by rolling dice. The production team went on to develop this approach further in the "live action comic strip" series Jane, for which McCallum won two BAFTA Best Graphics awards.