Tarot

Real Name: Tarot

Identity/Class: Unknown

Occupation: Stage magician

Affiliations: Lulli (assistant), Sam (sidekick), Sebastian Sweet, Ozymandias, Mikki Diamond, Chas

Enemies: Madame Midnight, Teddy Talk, Señor Zandor, Fat Boy, Falk, Tun-Ju, Mrs Kite, Estabis, Luko, Polandi, Uncle Harry, the Joker, Thalia Smith, Dalbiac, Ceribraun, Mockers, Mr.Dove, Henry T.Peacock, Mama Doc

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Ace of Wands

Base of Operations: Joker III houseboat, moored on the Thames
formerly Tarot's falt, London

First Appearance: Ace of Wands "One and One and One are Four" Part 1 (Thames Television, 29th July 1970)

Powers/Abilities: Able to converse telepathically with his assistant Lulli. Able to utilise a variety of magic tricks in his work.

History: A famous stage magician, Tarot had a sideline in solving mysteries, the more bizarre the better. Though he himself lacked genuine magical abilities, many of his opponents did not, and Tarot was forced to rely on his quick wits and skill at prestidigitation to bring them to justice.

Tarot with LulliTarot was aided by a small group of dedicated friends and helpers. His stage manager, Sam Maxted, was a jack-of-all trades with a slightly murky past and a wide variety of useful skills. Lillian Palmer was Lulli, Tarot's assistant on stage; she had met Tarot when they literally ran into one another. It turned out they inexplicably shared a telepathic link allowing them to communicate across miles, but the initial discovery had disconcerted them enough to cause their car crash. Sebastian Sweet was an antiquarian bookseller who used his wide range of contacts and extensive esoteric knowledge to assist Tarot. Ozymandias, a.k.a. Ozzie, was a Malayan fishing owl, who didn't usually help with the investigations, but was still considered a member of the team.

After Lulli got married and Sam got a new job, they were replaced by Mikki Diamond, a journalist who also shared a telepathic link with Tarot, and Chas, her brother.

Comments: Created by Trevor Preston and Pamela Lonsdale, played by Michael MacKenzie. Sam was played by Tony Selby, Lulli was played by Judy Loe, and Mr Sweet by Donald Layne-Smith.

Ace of Wands ran for three seasons, fourteen stories made up of a varying number of episodes (46 in total).

  1. One And One And One Are Four

  2. The Mind Robbers

  3. Now You See It, Now You Don't

  4. The Smile

  5. Seven Serpents, Sulphur And Salt

  6. Joker

  7. Nightmare Gas

  8. The Eye Of Ra

  9. The Meddlers

  10. The Power Of Atep

  11. Peacock Pie

  12. Mama Doc

  13. Sisters Deadly

  14. The Beautiful People

Sadly only episodes from the third season remain in existence, since Thames Television wiped the master tapes for the first two seasons, rather than buy new tapes to record on.

There is an excellent and detailed website about the show here.

CLARIFICATIONS: Not to be confused with

Any Additions/Corrections? Please let me know.

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