The Troubleshooters (1965)
The Troubleshooters is a British television series made by the BBC between 1965 and 1972, created by John Elliot. During its run, the series made the transition from black and white to colour transmissions. The series was based around an international oil company – the "Mogul" of the title. The first series was mostly concerned with the internal politics within the Mogul organisation, with episodes revolving around industrial espionage, internal fraud and negligence almost leading to an accident on a North Sea oil rig.
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Episode 1 - A Dirty Old Man And A Rare Bird
Release Date: 1969-01-06Zenith drop a bombshell into the world of Mogul. The repercussions will influence the company for a long time to come.
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Episode 2 - Twenty Years Is No Time At All
Release Date: 1969-01-13Thornton is sent to Singapore on a secret mission.
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Episode 3 - How Much Is One Man Worth?
Release Date: 1969-01-20How much is one man worth? When Ted Kihi is trapped in a Malaysian cave Peter Thornton turns the whole resources of Mogul, and his own skill as an oil man, to the rescue operation.
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Episode 4 - If He Hollers, Let Him Go
Release Date: 1969-01-27The lovely Mrs. Foss, wife of Mogul's founder, turns up in London in the middle of a takeover battle. Inevitably she brings chaos and confusion - particularly to Alec Stewart.
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Episode 5 - A Very Special Relationship
Release Date: 1969-02-03Stead's plans for expansion in Europe as part of his fight against Zenith take a knock when a French multi-millionaire marries a film starlet.
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Episode 6 - There's A Nasty Word - Love
Release Date: 1969-02-10Alec and Roz Stewart find themselves in the uncomfortable world between east and west when they arrive in Japan, where the traditions of a thousand years conflict with life in the twentieth century.
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Episode 7 - You're Not Going to Believe This, But...
Release Date: 1969-02-17Why should the manager of Mogul's Malaysian station insult the local sultan? Why does he not remember things? Why does he turn against Thornton, an old friend, when he tries to help? This is one of Thornton's most puzzling assignments, and even when he solves it he does not believe what he finds.
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Episode 8 - Take-Over Is Two Four-Letter Words
Release Date: 1969-02-24Mogul faces protests and demonstrations when a group of redundant employees occupy a distribution depot. A situation which starts as something small quickly develops into tension and danger.
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Episode 9 - Everybody Is That Kind Of Man
Release Date: 1969-03-03Are Stewart and Stead trying to bribe their way to an important refinery project in Scotland? And what part does Zenith play in the attempts to corrupt a Scots official?
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Episode 10 - So You Think You're One Of Us
Release Date: 1969-03-10Angola spells trouble for Mogul when Thornton becomes a pawn in the struggle between African rebels and the Portuguese authorities.
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Episode 11 - They've More Than Their Assets Frozen
Release Date: 1969-03-17Thornton faces incredible hardship in Alaska. But added to the dangers and difficulties is the knowledge that the whole future of Mogul could depend on his success or failure.
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Episode 12 - There's This Bird, See...
Release Date: 1969-03-24A remote island in the Indian Ocean may seem the perfect drilling location. No population, beautiful weather, not even a foreign government to deal with for it is British owned. But - there's this bird, see.... and birds, feathered of course, spell trouble for Mogul.
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Episode 13 - You Want A Clockwork Nightingale
Release Date: 1969-03-31The executives of Mogul's South African subsidiary think their office boy Zeke is only capable of 'totin' barges and liftin' bales', but Willy Izard has other ideas. Zeke has secret ambitions - and qualifications - which Willy decides to further. He expected to come up against apartheid, but another completely unexpected obstacle crops up which calls for uncharacteristic forcefulness from the normally gentle Izard.
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Episode 14 - Don't Ask, Take
Release Date: 1969-04-14Eccentric individualists cannot be successfully absorbed into big organisations, but Brian Stead decides to take up the challenge. He realises that an inventor has got something that Mogul needs. The big question is: what has Mogul got that the inventor needs?
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Episode 15 - Doctor Liebling, I Presume
Release Date: 1969-04-21Papuan headhunters are not a common danger to Mogul. But they are only one of the hazards Peter Thornton has to face. Why does the Australian District Commissioner try to stop him going to see Dr. Liebling? And what is Dr. Liebling doing there anyway? It takes a terrifying experience to clear up the mystery.
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Episode 16 - You Can't Trust Women
Release Date: 1969-04-28Ghislaine Foss's hand is sought by both Zenith and Mogul. Why? Because besides having a young and glamourous millionairess at the end of it it also contains a fistful of Mogul shares. Vital shares as the Mogul - Zenith battle reaches its climax.
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Episode 17 - Really. She Did, She Really Did
Release Date: 1969-05-05Brian Stead takes the entire board of Mogul International across the Atlantic on the Queen EWlizabeth II. But this is no empty gesture. The moment of decision has arrievd in the merger battle. For the crucial board meeting the directors must be away from outside interference.
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Episode 18 - Some Of The Mud Is Bound To Stick
Release Date: 1969-05-12Is Alec Stewart a spy? The Algerian authorities think so. It is possible. He travels all over the world, is accepted everywhere without question and he moves in the highest circles. But he has never expressed strong political opinions and he certainly doesn't need the money. So why should he spy?
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Episode 19 - Lord, What A Tangled Web
Release Date: 1969-05-19Memories of 1945 come flooding back to Brian Stead when he revisits Berlin, where Mogul are drilling for natural gas. He served there at the end of the war, and an incident twenty-four years old is dragged up in an attempt to discredit him.
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Episode 20 - And One Wise Man Came Out From The East
Release Date: 1969-06-02Thornton questions his loyalty when he is lost in the Australian outback without radio and without salt tablets. Struggling to survive he wonders whether Mogul's demands are too great.
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Episode 21 - Let's All Drop Out Together
Release Date: 1969-06-09Thornton resigns from Mogul. Lying peacefully on a beach in Fiji he resists attempts from Stead and Izard to change his mind. But Stead has a few tricks to pull before he admits defeat.
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Episode 22 - She'll Be Right Mate
Release Date: 1969-06-16Thornton returns to the fold - straight into a row between the New Zealand government and Mogul over the movement of a drilling rig from that country to Indonesia.
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Episode 23 - It's A Very Bad Day For Travelling
Release Date: 1969-06-23An important contract can be won in Ceylon. But Mogul's manager there, Henry Burton, doesn't seem to be trying. Thornton must not only find out why but also take the decisions needed to put things right, including sacking Burton if necessary.
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Episode 24 - This Place Is A Paradise, Mister
Release Date: 1969-06-30Thornton is taken prisoner on a Caribbean island paradise. 'King' George Watt doesn't want a Mogul invasion and he is supported by French anthropologist Dr. Leduc, who is using the islanders in a dangerous sociological experiment. She helps Thornton escape.
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Episode 25 - They Call Me Israel
Release Date: 1969-07-07 -
Episode 26 - Over The Hill
Release Date: 1969-07-14