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Most them are obviously repeats of course, but it is fascinating to look back and think of various well-known TV programmes that were shown again in what could be implausible slots - here are some examples:
The BBC sitcom Porridge was repeated for around a year circa 1998-1999 at around 11.00 am on Sunday morning BBC 1. It was quite a welcoming thing to see when watching the portable in the bedroom on Sunday morning where I would also watch the BBC 2 repeats of Grange Hill at 10.30 am. It does feel strange even back then to have a prison based sitcom in a slot where you would most likely to see a vicar waffle on about God traditionally. And how long has Dad's Army been repeated on Saturday evenings on BBC 2? - they were seen back in the 1990s on Saturday evenings at around 5.30 pm just after Grandstand as a warm up for the evening's programmes, along with a lot of other Perry and Croft sitcoms.
Central would repeat Bullseye at around midnight on Thursday nights (aka Friday mornings) circa 1988-1989, probably targeting the "back from the pub" crowd who would like a game of darts - no doubt that I was in bed because school was in the morning. Interesting considering that it was a totally different slot and a different type of programme scheduling and viewers to traditional Sunday teatimes at 5.00 pm when Bullseye would usually be seen. When the Christmas tape version of Bullseye was seen on TV Offal, one almost got a bit of de ja vu as a result, and it made me wonder whether the repeats were a more risqué version because of his timeslot.
In around 1988, The Krypton Factor was briefly repeated at midday on a weekday, and they used to show the finals from previous series - 1982 and 1984 were two of them. It felt strange seeing something like that during the day - this was before This Morning started up of course. I am certain that other series were repeated like that - Rising Damp was repeated opposite EastEnders in some regions, and I thought that the series was made in around 1981 when of course it was made back in 1975.
Sitcom repeats like Never The Twain and In Loving Memory was shown at around 3.45 pm before children's TV programmes came on ITV at 4.15 pm - the slot later became a 3.30 pm slot and was known for Australian soaps such as The Young Doctors and Sons and Daughters. Rather bizarrely, in January 1992 Central had shown a Dr Seuss cartoon programme in that slot, giving an illusion that Children's ITV had started half an hour earlier in the Midlands - I know that I arrived home from school and was confused to see a cartoon on ITV rather than The Young Doctors, and thought I arrived home a bit later than I actually did. In 1990 Central also shown Only When I Laugh in an afternoon slot when other regions were showing films
I did notice that listed in 1970s TV schedules, some of the regions like Grampian used to show their schools programmes like Living and Growing after News at Ten - a slot where no one would be at school (and not even Night School either). It did make me think of when BBC Radio 3 used to transmit schools programmes at 2.00 am in the morning in the early to mid 1990s which made me how can schools make use for it when radio cassette recorders don't have timers on like VCRs have - one would have to stay up late or get up early in order to record it, which would be impossible if one worked in a school. Nevertheless, I suppose that it eventually led to things like the Learning Zone on BBC 2 now long afterwards. I used to chill out listening to BBC Radio 3 before they officially went 24 hours and listened to (and recorded) the schools programmes - I didn't like school at all so I couldn't care less if I couldn't get up for it to be honest.
Regional scheduling on ITV comes into it as well - I know that Scottish Television's schedules were eccentric compared to other ITV regions, putting Emmerdale on at 5.10 pm so that Take the High Road could be seen at 7.00 pm, and weekday shows got seen on Saturday afternoon and all that. From the regional variations panel in the daily newspapers, Border used to show A Country Practice at 5.10 pm, but swapped it around with Supermarket Sweep so that Sweep was in that slot and ACP was on at 9.25 am, giving a strange perspective to Cumbrians and Manx viewers when Dale said "good morning, shoppers" at teatime. This had become more apparent back in the 1970s - according to an October 1972 TV schedule, on Sunday evenings ATV used to show a film half an hour longer than most regions, and so the LWT comedy series which starred Stanley Baxter was shown on Sunday, but after News at Ten the following evening. However, I did notice a repeat of Bless This House at 5.20 pm on Mondays around that time that regions who weren't taking the brand new Emmerdale Farm (due to still showing schools programmes in the afternoons) in that slot had shown then.
A lot of regions used to show Prisoner: Cell Block H at the same time around an hour after News at Ten finishes, and straddling across midnight into the next day. However, one region would be as far ahead as showing the Rita Connors and Kath Maxwell episodes, while another would still be showing episodes with Karen Travers and Lynn Warner in them! The same with a lot of non-British soap operas.
News at Ten being shown ten minutes later due to an overrunning football match or a Party Political Broadcast doesn't really count. Christmas Day schedules are a good place to spot this breed of eccentricity - in the 2010s, if Christmas Day falls on a Saturday, there will be an episode of Coronation Street on. Ironically, if Christmas Day fell on a Wednesday in the 1970s, there wouldn't be an episode - nowadays, we would have an extra episode in lieu of that! And neither does TV-am doing hard news at 6.00 am in the morning when it first started in February 1983 doesn't count as being eccentric either.
Does anyone have any other memories of eccentric TV scheduling? - what is indeed wrong with watching a sitcom or a sketch show at 10.00 am in the morning? - wasn't this the main reason why UK Gold and those satellite and cable channels actually started up in the first place?
The BBC sitcom Porridge was repeated for around a year circa 1998-1999 at around 11.00 am on Sunday morning BBC 1. It was quite a welcoming thing to see when watching the portable in the bedroom on Sunday morning where I would also watch the BBC 2 repeats of Grange Hill at 10.30 am. It does feel strange even back then to have a prison based sitcom in a slot where you would most likely to see a vicar waffle on about God traditionally. And how long has Dad's Army been repeated on Saturday evenings on BBC 2? - they were seen back in the 1990s on Saturday evenings at around 5.30 pm just after Grandstand as a warm up for the evening's programmes, along with a lot of other Perry and Croft sitcoms.
Central would repeat Bullseye at around midnight on Thursday nights (aka Friday mornings) circa 1988-1989, probably targeting the "back from the pub" crowd who would like a game of darts - no doubt that I was in bed because school was in the morning. Interesting considering that it was a totally different slot and a different type of programme scheduling and viewers to traditional Sunday teatimes at 5.00 pm when Bullseye would usually be seen. When the Christmas tape version of Bullseye was seen on TV Offal, one almost got a bit of de ja vu as a result, and it made me wonder whether the repeats were a more risqué version because of his timeslot.
In around 1988, The Krypton Factor was briefly repeated at midday on a weekday, and they used to show the finals from previous series - 1982 and 1984 were two of them. It felt strange seeing something like that during the day - this was before This Morning started up of course. I am certain that other series were repeated like that - Rising Damp was repeated opposite EastEnders in some regions, and I thought that the series was made in around 1981 when of course it was made back in 1975.
Sitcom repeats like Never The Twain and In Loving Memory was shown at around 3.45 pm before children's TV programmes came on ITV at 4.15 pm - the slot later became a 3.30 pm slot and was known for Australian soaps such as The Young Doctors and Sons and Daughters. Rather bizarrely, in January 1992 Central had shown a Dr Seuss cartoon programme in that slot, giving an illusion that Children's ITV had started half an hour earlier in the Midlands - I know that I arrived home from school and was confused to see a cartoon on ITV rather than The Young Doctors, and thought I arrived home a bit later than I actually did. In 1990 Central also shown Only When I Laugh in an afternoon slot when other regions were showing films
I did notice that listed in 1970s TV schedules, some of the regions like Grampian used to show their schools programmes like Living and Growing after News at Ten - a slot where no one would be at school (and not even Night School either). It did make me think of when BBC Radio 3 used to transmit schools programmes at 2.00 am in the morning in the early to mid 1990s which made me how can schools make use for it when radio cassette recorders don't have timers on like VCRs have - one would have to stay up late or get up early in order to record it, which would be impossible if one worked in a school. Nevertheless, I suppose that it eventually led to things like the Learning Zone on BBC 2 now long afterwards. I used to chill out listening to BBC Radio 3 before they officially went 24 hours and listened to (and recorded) the schools programmes - I didn't like school at all so I couldn't care less if I couldn't get up for it to be honest.
Regional scheduling on ITV comes into it as well - I know that Scottish Television's schedules were eccentric compared to other ITV regions, putting Emmerdale on at 5.10 pm so that Take the High Road could be seen at 7.00 pm, and weekday shows got seen on Saturday afternoon and all that. From the regional variations panel in the daily newspapers, Border used to show A Country Practice at 5.10 pm, but swapped it around with Supermarket Sweep so that Sweep was in that slot and ACP was on at 9.25 am, giving a strange perspective to Cumbrians and Manx viewers when Dale said "good morning, shoppers" at teatime. This had become more apparent back in the 1970s - according to an October 1972 TV schedule, on Sunday evenings ATV used to show a film half an hour longer than most regions, and so the LWT comedy series which starred Stanley Baxter was shown on Sunday, but after News at Ten the following evening. However, I did notice a repeat of Bless This House at 5.20 pm on Mondays around that time that regions who weren't taking the brand new Emmerdale Farm (due to still showing schools programmes in the afternoons) in that slot had shown then.
A lot of regions used to show Prisoner: Cell Block H at the same time around an hour after News at Ten finishes, and straddling across midnight into the next day. However, one region would be as far ahead as showing the Rita Connors and Kath Maxwell episodes, while another would still be showing episodes with Karen Travers and Lynn Warner in them! The same with a lot of non-British soap operas.
News at Ten being shown ten minutes later due to an overrunning football match or a Party Political Broadcast doesn't really count. Christmas Day schedules are a good place to spot this breed of eccentricity - in the 2010s, if Christmas Day falls on a Saturday, there will be an episode of Coronation Street on. Ironically, if Christmas Day fell on a Wednesday in the 1970s, there wouldn't be an episode - nowadays, we would have an extra episode in lieu of that! And neither does TV-am doing hard news at 6.00 am in the morning when it first started in February 1983 doesn't count as being eccentric either.
Does anyone have any other memories of eccentric TV scheduling? - what is indeed wrong with watching a sitcom or a sketch show at 10.00 am in the morning? - wasn't this the main reason why UK Gold and those satellite and cable channels actually started up in the first place?
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