Tv programmes that would not be shown today

[Clare]

Re: Tv programmes that would not be shown today

Another show i wonder would it be shown is kick start narrated by peter purves you know the show contestants on motorbikes doing an OBSTACLE course.

I always liked its theme tune!

[agfagaevart]

Re: Tv programmes that would not be shown today

I didn't experience the 1970s myself, but a lot of programmes from that decade were repeated in the 1980s, 1990s and later, and as a result, future generations had found what that decade was like - it's like Pick of the Pops doing a 1970s chart, or someone doing a 1970s themed disco - I studied History at school where we learnt about Victorians and the like, but again, I didn't experience that era myself either! We can make comparisons between new and old as a result of programmes being repeated. Rising Damp for example ended before I was born, but it was repeated on ITV in the 1980s, Channel 4 in the 1990s and satellite TV in the 2000s onwards - I am familiar with that series because of the repeats. TV Heaven in 1992 was a fine example of introducing new generations to programmes from previous generations.

I think that you have proved my point; Watching repeats is not the same as seeing something when it first aired. Because repeats, especially these days, have been edited. As I mentioned in my last post with regard to shows like The Professionals and The Sweeney, because some of their content may be considered inappropriate for a repeat broadcast. Some of the edits in Rising Damp are so badly done and so obvious. Also, the social context of a repeat would be different ie, after episodes of Love Thy Neighbour or In Sickness and in Health were shown during the 1970s, certain people would think it fine to hurl abuse at other people the next day. As you did not live through that era, or experience that abuse you will find it hard to understand this. Music shows and sitcoms in particular do not reflect past eras very well at all. Current affairs shows and documentaries would be more accurate, but not always. When I was a youngster and older people would tell me I didn't understand this or that, I would think "yeah yeah yeah." Until I got to a certain age, and saw programmes which porported to show a certain era as it was (The I Love 1970s and 1980s series, etc.) which made me think, "That is not the way I remember it". And thanks to the good ol' 'net I could double check and make sure my mind wasn't playing tricks on me. Usually it isn't.

I do some DJing on the side, and when people do "seventies nights" they walk around wearing silver skirts and pants etc. Nobody wore that stuff back then. And beware of historians and the way that they present their versions of history. Because some of them have their bias - left or right wing. One in particular I am wary of is Mr Dominic Sandbrook who has made a few documentaries for the BBC. But often he leaves out very important chunks of history; In one of his programmes about the 1970s he looked at strikes. But he did not mention the one at Grunwick which involved asian workers. Of course you cannot show everything that happened in a decade, but that strike was a major news story back in 1977. Nor did he mention how immigration affected the perception of employment being "taken away" by supposedly cheap foreign labour. In fact in his programmes minorities didn't exist. The perception would be that they made no worthwile contribution to this country. Correct me if I am wrong, but I'm guessing that your education on the Victorians did not mention these ones:

I also believe that a lot more white middle class men were in charge of TV programme making and scheduling back then, whereas nowadays we have mixed genders, races, religions, and even disabilities making new programmes. That is a good thing as anyone can make a TV programme these days as long as one has the right support and equipment.

TV has improved but still has a long way to go. And there's nothing wrong with Middle Class White Men, IMO.

If you got to the end of my post you deserve a break! Have some tea and biscuits.

[agfagaevart]

Re: Tv programmes that would not be shown today

Another show i wonder would it be shown is kick start narrated by peter purves you know the show contestants on motorbikes doing an OBSTACLE course.

Would it be allowed now or would it be considered too dangerous by the p.c brigade .

I loved that show! And I couldn't even ride a pushbike back then.

[agfagaevart]

Re: Tv programmes that would not be shown today

I think that one of the reasons that Yarwood's act went down hill by the start of the 1980s was mostly because he couldn't do Thatcher's voice, which was good news to Steve Nallon of course.

Mike Yarwood was an AWFUL impressionist!! I would compare John Culshaw with him today. He just sounds like himself, all the time.

[George 1978]

Re: Tv programmes that would not be shown today

Mike Yarwood was an AWFUL impressionist!! I would compare John Culshaw with him today. He just sounds like himself, all the time.

But when you think about it, Tommy Cooper was an awful magician as well, but wasn't too bad as a comedian - would he have got as many laughs if his tricks succeeded rather than failed? People used to laugh when Yarwood was on because he was awful, so in many respects it didn't really matter - people laugh at entertainers on stage.

[George 1978]

Re: Tv programmes that would not be shown today

I think that you have proved my point; Watching repeats is not the same as seeing something when it first aired. Because repeats, especially these days, have been edited.

Indeed - UK Gold wouldn't have existed if wasn't for showing old episodes of sitcoms and dramas in their schedules. I didn't watch Grange Hill as a teenager until 1993 when CBBC had showed the repeats from first series onwards on Sunday mornings at 10.30 am on BBC 2 - anyone of that age in the mid 1990s would be too young to remember the Tucker and Trisha era, until they watched the repeats, that is.

From what I can see, any nostalgia programmes seem to be too ironic or an exaggerated parody. It's very true that it was before I was born, but even through my own eyes a lot of stuff feels like parody - I often go on UK Press Online and look at old editions of the Daily Express and Daily Mirror from that era mostly to look at the old TV schedules but also to look at the old adverts where one sees a lot more clothing retailers such as C&A showing what was the latest thing to wear back then - now I would go along with a newspaper from that era if I wanted to see what the 1970s was like rather than watch a repeat from that era which may have been edited for the benefit of the modern viewer.

I do wish that we had more "TV Heaven" type programmes where old programmes would be scheduled and introduced by someone who was there at the time without some ironic comments from alternative comedians who were five years old when they were on. The I Love the 1970s series were great, but by the time they reached the 1990s, the era they were covering was too recent to get nostalgic over, and besides, a lot of people pointed out inaccuracies in the programme where they had mentioned something which was actually released the year before and all that.

There is nothing wrong with white middle class men - and there's nothing wrong with equality either.

[Moonraker]

Re: Tv programmes that would not be shown today

But when you think about it, Tommy Cooper was an awful magician as well, but wasn't too bad as a comedian - would he have got as many laughs if his tricks succeeded rather than failed? People used to laugh when Yarwood was on because he was awful, so in many respects it didn't really matter - people laugh at entertainers on stage.

But Mike Yarwood had to display a good impersonation to succeed. Tommy Cooper had to fumble the magic trick to succeed.
Actually, Coope's tricks didn't really go wrong, it is just the manner in which he performed the trick.

[George 1978]

Re: Tv programmes that would not be shown today

But Mike Yarwood had to display a good impersonation to succeed. Tommy Cooper had to fumble the magic trick to succeed.
Actually, Coope's tricks didn't really go wrong, it is just the manner in which he performed the trick.

It is difficult to some people to assume whether they went wrong deliberately or accidently - Les Dawson was hardly Liberace when he played the piano, was he?

A lot entertainers get their niche because they are so bad because sometimes bad is good.

[Mulletino]

Re: Tv programmes that would not be shown today

I always liked its theme tune!

I loved that show, we used to try and copy it on our BMXs, a few years later a mate got a trials bike so we could do it properly in another mate's garden.

There was a C64 budget title from Mastertronic called "Kikstart" a very very good budget game where you had to ride a motorbike over obstacles, it even had 2 player split screen.
The sequel "Kikstart2" had a course designer and also played the TV Show theme as you played.

[agfagaevart]

Re: Tv programmes that would not be shown today

It is difficult to some people to assume whether they went wrong deliberately or accidently - Les Dawson was hardly Liberace when he played the piano, was he?

A lot entertainers get their niche because they are so bad because sometimes bad is good.

Actually, Les Dawson was a fantastic pianist. The bad playing was all part of his act. Just like Tommy Cooper getting the magic tricks wrong; He did it on purpose after realising one day when he did a trick wrong that the audience loved it. Victor Borge is another one, pretending to be drunk and playing piano out of tune. It was all an act.

[agfagaevart]

Re: Tv programmes that would not be shown today

I do wish that we had more "TV Heaven" type programmes where old programmes would be scheduled and introduced by someone who was there at the time without some ironic comments from alternative comedians who were five years old when they were on. The I Love the 1970s series were great, but by the time they reached the 1990s, the era they were covering was too recent to get nostalgic over, and besides, a lot of people pointed out inaccuracies in the programme where they had mentioned something which was actually released the year before and all that.

I don't like those shows anymore, for the reasons that you mentioned. Recently, Channel Five broadcast a Top 20 (or summink) Chocolate adverts. And it was a tad disappointing really. Because it was full of non-entities talking waffle and BS about things they were obviously far too young to recall. I think Roland Rivron may have been the oldest person on it. Better to just watch an nice 30 minutes selection of ads on YOU TUBE without any post - moronic comments. I recommend NEIL MILES' and BELFAST JACK'S channels. Yep!

[staffslad]

Re: Tv programmes that would not be shown today

I dislike shows looking back at earlier decades for similar reasons that have been mentioned earlier by others. The 70s seems to be a particular favourite for bashing. Mocking fashions and social attitudes seems to be almost compulsary for such programmes. There's an attitude of smug superiority from commentators who often were not even around in the 70s that infuriates me and ensures I switch to another channel, or more usually switch off completely. It seems to not occur to them that in 40 years time there will probably be programmes looking back at the TV, fashions and attitudes of the 2010s with commentators who will find them just as ridiculous--our obsession with celebrities, reality TV and social media for instance.

On Mike Yarwood, remember that near the end of his shows he would sing a song using the voices of singers like Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr etc then would say "And this is me" and sing the last part of the song in his own voice.

[George 1978]

Re: Tv programmes that would not be shown today

I don't like those shows anymore, for the reasons that you mentioned. Recently, Channel Five broadcast a Top 20 (or summink) Chocolate adverts. And it was a tad disappointing really. Because it was full of non-entities talking waffle and BS about things they were obviously far too young to recall. I think Roland Rivron may have been the oldest person on it. Better to just watch an nice 30 minutes selection of ads on YOU TUBE without any post - moronic comments. I recommend NEIL MILES' and BELFAST JACK'S channels. Yep!

I don't like the "ironic" nostalgia programmes anymore like you just said, but when they were done by someone who knew what they were talking about, they were a lot better. It'll Be Alright on the Night was a lot better when Denis Norden presented it rather than Griff Rhys Jones, or dare I say it, David Walliams! A lot of the good presenters are no longer with us which I suppose is one reason why that sort of genre has gone down hill in the past decade or so.

I have always thought that Les Dawson could play the piano then he should have done so properly - he did some straight acting as well, and a good performer can survive with applause in lieu of laughter.

[George 1978]

Re: Tv programmes that would not be shown today

I dislike shows looking back at earlier decades for similar reasons that have been mentioned earlier by others. The 70s seems to be a particular favourite for bashing. Mocking fashions and social attitudes seems to be almost compulsary for such programmes. There's an attitude of smug superiority from commentators who often were not even around in the 70s that infuriates me and ensures I switch to another channel, or more usually switch off completely. It seems to not occur to them that in 40 years time there will probably be programmes looking back at the TV, fashions and attitudes of the 2010s with commentators who will find them just as ridiculous--our obsession with celebrities, reality TV and social media for instance.

Again, we like to mock the past as it is alien to us now without wanting to realise that once upon a time, what happened back then was quite normal. As early as 1986, the 1970s were parodied by comedians - Smith and Jones parodied Open University presenters that were still being seen on Sunday morning BBC 2 back then. BBC 2 is repeating some of the TV That Made Me on weekday afternoons - with ironic 1970s logo and all that. I think that the I Love the 1970s series has something to do with the start of this. If you want a "straight" perspective of the past, go to your nearest library and look at the microfilm editions of old newspapers - it is a lot better in the long run. Even looking at the Radio Times Genome is a lot better than getting something ironic.

It's amazing how things had changed in a short space of time where one could mock something five years previously in the early 1980s. Tucker on Grange Hill was still wearing flared trousers in series 3 (1980) - fast forward two series and Zammo and Jonah were commenting on Roland's trousers, saying that "he's wearing flares". When they were repeated on Sunday morning BBC 2 circa 1994 I assume that a lot of youngsters watching them for the first time as they were too young to remember the first TX would obviously find them both dated.

[Richard1978]

Re: Tv programmes that would not be shown today

The 1970s seemed to be mocked a lot in the 1980s, almost as soon as the 70s ended.

Ironically 1970s music & fashions were popular in the 1990s, so many things that would have laughed at a few years earlier were suddenly in fashion.