The new Christmas TV schedules have been publicised this week as promised - at the moment I have been getting most of my information from Digiguide and the fantastic UK Christmas TV website which seem to agree with each other in most areas, and thankfully, not many programmes called TBA are listed, which seemed to be a regular occurance in the early to mid 1990s tabloid newspaper Christmas TV guides, and the old ITC used to uphold adverts for the News of the World and various red-tops especially when one presenter said "it will be the only TV guide you will need this Christmas". Not the case back then. I also subscribe to Total TV Guide, but that will probably come to an end due to financial reasons. I have opened a WordPad page out on my computer and made lists of various programmes which seem to catch my attention. I have made around four lists of different programmes: A) Religious and Educational Programmes; B) Christmas Entertainment Programmes; C) Miscellaneous Programmes; and: D) New Year 2025 Programmes. I still use VCRs because I have always been so used to them! A pack of four E300 tapes ordered online, used on Long Play is awaiting my use when the time comes.
I have always been traditional and go for the religious stuff; I suppose it starts with Songs of Praise the Sunday before Christmas (Aled Jones looking a lot older than his chiorboy days 40 years ago). Carols from Kings does feel sometimes that nothing really much exciting happens during those hour and a quarter on air; and in comparison, the Midnight Mass and the Christmas Morning Service is more livelier. Also, I am trying to catch the Review 2024: We Remember obituary programme which is repeated several times on the BBC News Channel either side of Christmas and pays tribiute to various people (unless they pass away in the final week of December, that is) such as those in British society such as Ray Reardon, John Prescott and Alex Salmond. I have been trying to find out when the Royal Instutition Christmas Lectures are on this year; I have been looking in the usual places on the BBC Four schedule and I can just see Morecambe and Wise and Top of the Pops repeats in those 8.00 pm slots. Chris van Tulleken, someone who was born in the same month as myself and is just a couple of weeks older, will do the honours this year.
I started a thread a few years ago about the different Christmas Day films which have been on after the (then) HM Queen Elizabeth II's Christmas Day message at around 3.10 pm over the years; Mary Poppins turned up here on both BBC 1 and ITV in different years (it will turn up on BBC One on New Year's Day if you are asking - 40 years and one week after its premiere). Going on from that, I have to say that ITV1's Christmas Day schedule is better in the afternoon compared to BBC One; the second Home Alone film from from 1992 is on after HM King Charles III's third Christnas Day message. Having a then 12 year old Macaulay Culkin performing as Kevin McCallister, stranded in New York on-screen just as you are about to polish off the Christmas dinner, might not be everyone's cup of tea, but putting The Weakest Link on BBC One at the same time looks like rather weak (no pun intended) scheduling instead. I will probably stay with ITV1 (and just for fun, I will tune my Sky Digibox manually to the Tyne Tees region) throughout Christmas afternoon from 3.00 pm onwards. I might be Home Alone myself then, but I know that I am not the only person celebrating the Big Day. One great game to play when watching a post-King's Christmas Message film on ITV1, is to write down how many times you hear the phrase: "Sale starts 10 am Boxing Day" in the advert breaks every 25 minutes or so and rewarding yourself a point each time, scoring double points with DFS.
I will catch the Freddie Flintoff version of Bullseye on Christmas Day by virtue of staying on the same channel like lot of households do for most of the day; it is a repeat of what was on the previous Sunday in its more traditional 1980s teatime slot, although ironically, I believe that the Christmas Day repeat will capture more viewers because of that. I hope that it will stick to being closer to the Jim Bowen version from the 1980s rather than the Challenge Dave Spikey version from 2006. I will also try and catch You Bet! as well; again, making comparisons with the old version of the show. I just hope that they will stick to the traditional elements of the show in both cases. Strictly and Doctor Who doesn't seem to cut it for me this year. I will ignore the soaps as I get depressed enough as it is. The original film version of Fame from 1980 is on 5STAR (Sky Digital Channels 128 with 228 for the +1) after midnight, and so it is actually on Boxing Day, and I will probably +1 it due to On Christmas Night be on BBC One at more or less the same time. Probably a bit too late to get changed into early 1980s legwarmers and keep-fit leotards, but any fan of musicals like I am, it is well worth adding to this (as long as you watch for that five minute Entertainment News bit, an hour into it). One of them was a then 17-year-old Laura Dean who gets changed into Lisa Monroe. Go Lisa!!!!
Boxing Day has Matilda the Musical on BBC One (will set the recording machine for that), and Blankety Blank as well unless it clashes with the Christmas Lecutures, while BBC Two in the evening will try to make viewers think that Boxing Day is on a Monday this year (just like you forget what day of the week it is when something unusual like Christmas comes around each year). The "usually on a Monday" threesome of Mastermind, Only Connect (why is the water heiroglyph so unpupular?) and University Challenge all turn up here as they will do so on several evenings. I quite like that gap inbetween Christmas and New Year as it means going out and purchasing the Christmas presents that you never received at reduced prices (even if celebrities have attempted to put this British institution into Room 101), and it is nice to see that Casualty is back on Saturday 29th December, although the Holby that we know and love is not traditional Holby anymore without the the now-retired Charlie Fairhead. I still prefer the U&Drama episodes from just over 20 years ago; Christmas Day and Boxing Day will show on that channel, both parts of a two-part episode which was first transmitted in January 2004, Emotional Rescue, with the first epiosde on +1 due to coinciding with the Christmas Morning Service on BBC One.
The Top of the Pops 2024 review is on BBC Two on Friday 27th December; an indication of a demotion, and the irony is that the BBC Four repeats, usually on Friday evenings feel more publically scheduled - certainly, the Boyzone and Spice Girls-era of 1996 have been seen on BBC Four this year - the year I came of age. On the same evening, one can see the 1983 Christmas spcecial on that channel whih was first seen on the same day and channel as Blankety Blank where Terry Wogan was made his final appearance and Captain Sir Tom Moore made his only appearance as a contestant. The Flying Pickets were at number one with Only You. Moving forwards to 1990 and Mark Goodier and Anthea Turner are on duty to host that year's Christmas pop music special - Saviour's Day by Cliff Richard was that year's Christmas number one.
And at the end of the year: Sophie Ellis-Bextor is to provide the "bread and butter" in the New Year's Eve Fireworks sandwich, although I do have the option of Hogmanay on BBC One Scotland I wanted to. No doubt that on Day One, we will get the traditional New Year's Day Concert from Vienna; the final New Year's Day Message from Justin Welby as Archbishop of Canterbury before he steps down in 2025, with Resolutions as a regional variation in Scotland. And then it's back to Homes Under the Hammer and Bargain Hunt from Thursday 2nd January onwards...
I have always been traditional and go for the religious stuff; I suppose it starts with Songs of Praise the Sunday before Christmas (Aled Jones looking a lot older than his chiorboy days 40 years ago). Carols from Kings does feel sometimes that nothing really much exciting happens during those hour and a quarter on air; and in comparison, the Midnight Mass and the Christmas Morning Service is more livelier. Also, I am trying to catch the Review 2024: We Remember obituary programme which is repeated several times on the BBC News Channel either side of Christmas and pays tribiute to various people (unless they pass away in the final week of December, that is) such as those in British society such as Ray Reardon, John Prescott and Alex Salmond. I have been trying to find out when the Royal Instutition Christmas Lectures are on this year; I have been looking in the usual places on the BBC Four schedule and I can just see Morecambe and Wise and Top of the Pops repeats in those 8.00 pm slots. Chris van Tulleken, someone who was born in the same month as myself and is just a couple of weeks older, will do the honours this year.
I started a thread a few years ago about the different Christmas Day films which have been on after the (then) HM Queen Elizabeth II's Christmas Day message at around 3.10 pm over the years; Mary Poppins turned up here on both BBC 1 and ITV in different years (it will turn up on BBC One on New Year's Day if you are asking - 40 years and one week after its premiere). Going on from that, I have to say that ITV1's Christmas Day schedule is better in the afternoon compared to BBC One; the second Home Alone film from from 1992 is on after HM King Charles III's third Christnas Day message. Having a then 12 year old Macaulay Culkin performing as Kevin McCallister, stranded in New York on-screen just as you are about to polish off the Christmas dinner, might not be everyone's cup of tea, but putting The Weakest Link on BBC One at the same time looks like rather weak (no pun intended) scheduling instead. I will probably stay with ITV1 (and just for fun, I will tune my Sky Digibox manually to the Tyne Tees region) throughout Christmas afternoon from 3.00 pm onwards. I might be Home Alone myself then, but I know that I am not the only person celebrating the Big Day. One great game to play when watching a post-King's Christmas Message film on ITV1, is to write down how many times you hear the phrase: "Sale starts 10 am Boxing Day" in the advert breaks every 25 minutes or so and rewarding yourself a point each time, scoring double points with DFS.
I will catch the Freddie Flintoff version of Bullseye on Christmas Day by virtue of staying on the same channel like lot of households do for most of the day; it is a repeat of what was on the previous Sunday in its more traditional 1980s teatime slot, although ironically, I believe that the Christmas Day repeat will capture more viewers because of that. I hope that it will stick to being closer to the Jim Bowen version from the 1980s rather than the Challenge Dave Spikey version from 2006. I will also try and catch You Bet! as well; again, making comparisons with the old version of the show. I just hope that they will stick to the traditional elements of the show in both cases. Strictly and Doctor Who doesn't seem to cut it for me this year. I will ignore the soaps as I get depressed enough as it is. The original film version of Fame from 1980 is on 5STAR (Sky Digital Channels 128 with 228 for the +1) after midnight, and so it is actually on Boxing Day, and I will probably +1 it due to On Christmas Night be on BBC One at more or less the same time. Probably a bit too late to get changed into early 1980s legwarmers and keep-fit leotards, but any fan of musicals like I am, it is well worth adding to this (as long as you watch for that five minute Entertainment News bit, an hour into it). One of them was a then 17-year-old Laura Dean who gets changed into Lisa Monroe. Go Lisa!!!!
Boxing Day has Matilda the Musical on BBC One (will set the recording machine for that), and Blankety Blank as well unless it clashes with the Christmas Lecutures, while BBC Two in the evening will try to make viewers think that Boxing Day is on a Monday this year (just like you forget what day of the week it is when something unusual like Christmas comes around each year). The "usually on a Monday" threesome of Mastermind, Only Connect (why is the water heiroglyph so unpupular?) and University Challenge all turn up here as they will do so on several evenings. I quite like that gap inbetween Christmas and New Year as it means going out and purchasing the Christmas presents that you never received at reduced prices (even if celebrities have attempted to put this British institution into Room 101), and it is nice to see that Casualty is back on Saturday 29th December, although the Holby that we know and love is not traditional Holby anymore without the the now-retired Charlie Fairhead. I still prefer the U&Drama episodes from just over 20 years ago; Christmas Day and Boxing Day will show on that channel, both parts of a two-part episode which was first transmitted in January 2004, Emotional Rescue, with the first epiosde on +1 due to coinciding with the Christmas Morning Service on BBC One.
The Top of the Pops 2024 review is on BBC Two on Friday 27th December; an indication of a demotion, and the irony is that the BBC Four repeats, usually on Friday evenings feel more publically scheduled - certainly, the Boyzone and Spice Girls-era of 1996 have been seen on BBC Four this year - the year I came of age. On the same evening, one can see the 1983 Christmas spcecial on that channel whih was first seen on the same day and channel as Blankety Blank where Terry Wogan was made his final appearance and Captain Sir Tom Moore made his only appearance as a contestant. The Flying Pickets were at number one with Only You. Moving forwards to 1990 and Mark Goodier and Anthea Turner are on duty to host that year's Christmas pop music special - Saviour's Day by Cliff Richard was that year's Christmas number one.
And at the end of the year: Sophie Ellis-Bextor is to provide the "bread and butter" in the New Year's Eve Fireworks sandwich, although I do have the option of Hogmanay on BBC One Scotland I wanted to. No doubt that on Day One, we will get the traditional New Year's Day Concert from Vienna; the final New Year's Day Message from Justin Welby as Archbishop of Canterbury before he steps down in 2025, with Resolutions as a regional variation in Scotland. And then it's back to Homes Under the Hammer and Bargain Hunt from Thursday 2nd January onwards...
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