Jet white dove,
Snow black snake,
Time has turned it's face,
From the edge of mystery,
Where running is no race.

Ageless night,
Careless day,
Fate reaches out a hand,
To touch the edge of destiny,
A story with no end.

Tarot cards,
Tarot the diamond man,
Tarot guards,
Wherever he can.
Tarot cards,
Tarot the diamond man,
Tarot guards with mystic hands.

Falcon sun,
Leopard moon,
Minds searching for tomorrow,
Take what you can from yesterday,
The rest beg, steal, or borrow.

Iron roads,
Asphalt sky,
Windows made from water,
Son of secrets - mystery's child,
Ruler of eight quarters.

Velvet roofs,
Tattooed streets,
Patterns made from words,
Laughter echoes in the dark,
Life hovers like a bird.

Tarot cards,
Tarot the diamond man,
Tarot guards,
Wherever he can.
Tarot cards,
Tarot the diamond man,
Tarot guards with mystic hands.

Tarot cards,
Tarot the diamond man,
Tarot guards,
Wherever he can.
Tarot cards,
Tarot the diamond man,
Tarot guards with mystic hands.

by Andrew Bown / Trevor Preston

Tarot is a handsome master magician, illusionist and escape artist whose renowned stage act is enjoyed by audiences across the country. He enjoys solving mysteries and fighting crime, and often becomes involved in all manner of strange and surreal adventures, pitted against an array of weird and eccentric villains whose diabolical plans and powers stretch his intelligence, knowledge and conjuring skills to the limit.

Tarot is aided by his stage assistant Lillian ‘Lulli’ Palmer, with whom he shares a telepathic link; stage manager Sam Maxted, a cockney, slightly-dodgy, reformed-ex-convict; and Ozymandis, his watchful pet owl. He is also friends with Mr. Sebastian Sweet, an antiquarian bookseller who can usually be called upon at his bookshop in Bloomsbury to help with information and advice.

‘Ace of Wands’ was created for Thames Television by writer Trevor Preston and producer Pamela Lonsdale; it was originally titled ‘Tarot’ (although other names were considered, such as Chandos, Dom, Marcos, Omega and Zadig), but was changed to ‘Ace of Wands’ in reference to the meanings of that particular Tarot card, also known as the 'Ace of Batons': creativity, intuition, originality and artistic inspiration, which are all aspects of Tarot's character. As well as having brilliantly-written, innovative and entertaining stories, the series was also noteworthy for that fact that, while some of the magic tricks were achieved with the use of special effects, many were actually performed for real by Michael Mackenzie, under the guidance of the eccentric Magic Circle magician Ali Bongo, who was employed as advisor on the programme.

After Lonsdale handed over to John Russell for season three, the show was reformatted; Judy Loe and Tony Selby decided to leave, and so it was explained that Lulli left to be married, while Sam decided to enter the road haulage business. In their places were introduced brother and sister Chas and Nikki Diamond who befriend Tarot in the first story; as with Lulli, it is discovered that Nikki and Tarot also share a mental link. This season is longer than the previous two, but still features some entertaining and original stories and characters. However, it ended on a cliff-hanger, and viewers were never told if their heroes survived or not…

(As an aside, several years later, villain Mr. Stabs appeared in an episode of the children’s anthology series ‘Shadows’, and the character returned for a final time in ‘Dramarama’, both of which were written by Trevor Preston and produced by Pamela Lonsdale)

Ace of Wands - Season 1
Ace of Wands - Season 2
Ace of Wands - Season 3
Ace of Wands - Misc

Back to the Databanks Main Page -
where you'll find guides to some of the best cult and classic science fiction and telefantasy programmes ever transmitted!

Legal Bit: 'Ace of Wands' is a registered trademark of Thames / Granada Television. The 'Ace of Wands' logo and all images from the television series are copyright Thames / Granada Television unless otherwise stated; music is copyright the original composers and producers; no copyright infringement is intended. All specially created images and text are copyright © Clive Banks; please do not use these without my permission. All rights reserved. No profit is made from this website, and any revenue made from using the banner-links featured goes straight back into the costs of maintaining it, which comes out of my own pocket in the first place. No profit advertising is accepted. This website was created purely to entertain and amuse, and any references to persons living, dead, comatose, in suspended animation, not born yet, or a figment of someone's imagination is purely coincidental. All opinions expressed are my own, so there...

You can buy DVDs of 'Ace of Wands' and other classic shows at:

[Homepage] [About Me] [C.V.] [Gallery] [What's New] [Nothing] [FAQ] [Contact Me]