Doctor Who: Wave of Destruction
by Justin Richards (Big Finish, 2016)
This swinging sixties invasion story starts out in full flippancy mode and just barely injects enough seriousness to keep its regulars from losing all credibility. Tom Baker and Lalla Ward do ultimately walk that fine line, producing a fun if throwaway two-parter.
Squaring the Circle (the Story of Hipgnosis)
dir. Anton Corbijn (2022)
Feature-length documentary unpacking Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell’s design partnership, plus the zeitgeist in which they created their iconic album covers. Suitably artistic (shot mainly in black-and-white, the better to emphasise bursts of colour) but rather perfunctory once it hits the 1980s.
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
dir. Jay Roach (1997)
A supremely silly, at times affectedly stilted spoof turned love letter to the 1960s, propelling flamboyant swinger spy Austin Powers (Mike Myers) into the 1990s and pitting him against both culture shock and his cryogenically frozen/reanimated arch-nemesis Doctor Evil (also Mike Myers!).
Dangerous Remedy
dir. Ken Cameron (ABC, 2012)
A disquieting if murky ‘based on’ historical drama centred around Australian abortion laws and police corruption in the late 1960s. Medical campaigner Dr Bertram Wainer (Jeremy Sims) acts almost as an antihero, evincing bullying manipulation in single-minded pursuit of a just cause.
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
dir. Jay Roach (1999)
Whereas the original Austin Powers film had a mad, flamboyant charm, ‘The Spy Who Shagged Me’ is slow-moving and painfully inane, not unlike a collection of cut scenes. There’s not much here to love, save Seth Green and the Jerry Springer sequence.
Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries, Series 2
(Acorn, 2021)
The episodes have doubled in number since the first series but halved in length, resulting in slighter mysteries and a more light-hearted approach (litmus test: Chief Inspector Sparrow). Celebrates the 1960s but calls out Australian society for its dismissive attitude towards women.
Endeavour, Series 6
by Russell Lewis (ITV, 2019)
A rather despondent series as the 1960s start to give way to the 1970s (hence Morse’s moustache) and the old crew find themselves scattered to the winds. Morse in particular has to start again. Chief Superintendent Bright has the best character moments.
Endeavour, Series 5
by Russell Lewis (ITV, 2018)
Six feature-length episodes, each self-contained but contributing also to a melancholic series arc. (Anton Lesser has some nice moments as Chief Superintendent Bright.) Morse comes across as antsy rather than preternaturally gifted, but the mysteries are well-crafted to capture the late-60s zeitgeist.
Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries
(Seven Network, 2019)
Ms Fisher dances smoothly forward in time to 1960s Melbourne, reworking several aspects of the earlier Miss Fisher series and proving a worthy successor. Geraldine Hakewill (Peregrine Fisher) is mod-culture personified and every bit Essie Davis’s (Phryne’s) equal across four feature-length episodes.
Endeavour, Series 3
by Russell Lewis (ITV, 2016)
The crimes are more measured this series and Morse is less of a socially gasping savant. Though stepping back from the overt prefiguring of John Thaw’s portrayal, Endeavour remains both an enjoyable character drama and a noteworthy time capsule of 1960s Oxford.