Channel 4

Must admit didn't even notice the black bars - certainly becoming increasingly common with drama now, but first time probably for an entertainment show. It's the late 90s all over again!

As for the show itself - for a first edition not a bad effort. After holding the Big Narstie Show together Mo Gilligan deserved his own show and good to see something like this on air over the summer.

2:1

Some films recently, like Jurassic World and some TV dramas are filmed in 2.00:1.

I wonder why some of them bother when the resulting black bars are only a few millimetres wide. Somebody tried to explain to me that it affects the entire look of the film and how it's shot, but I wasn't convinced.

Slightly esoteric question, I know, but anyone remember when Countdown moved to 2.10pm? The excellent Countdown Page website had a page dedicated to broadcast times for each series, but sadly hasn’t been updated since 2011.

17 October 2016

Thanks. Looking through the pages on that wiki, it appears the regular times since 2011 have been:


2011–2012: 3.10pm
2012–2016: 2.40pm
2016–present: 2.10pm

Countdown's moved to 2:10pm?

You can still watch it at 3.10 on Channel 4 +1, of course.


It was historically on at 4.30 back in the days of the 30 minute format. When they extended it to 45 minutes in 2001, it now started at 4.15, then was moved to 3.15 to much uproar in 2003, and has been moved around the schedules ever since.

In the days of a 30 minute format the final IIRC of each series was 45 minutes long.

I was going to say I thought it got kicked out of its traditional 4:30pm slot by Deal or No Deal but it moved (as above) in 2003 to 3:15 and Deal didn't come along until 2005.

So before Deal or No Deal came along and sat in the 4:15pm slot and after Countdown was moved back to 3:15pm, what did Channel 4 put in the 4pm slot? Can't have been 15:1 because that ended around time Countdown was moved to 3:15 IIRC. Was it something Channel 4-ish like, I dunno, water painting or something? Wasn't Come Dine With Me, that didn't start until 2005.

Well, there was Watercolour Challenge with Hannah Gordon, but that ended shortly after Countdown changed to the 45 minute format.

Luckily there was a thread on this very forum about the 2003 schedule change, and helpfully Square Eyes posted the schedule that shows A Place in the Sun was on at 4pm. Notice Fifteen to One hadn't ended yet, but was about to.

https://www.tvforum.co.uk/forums/post114078#post-114078

It was the likes of Come Dine with Me, possibly Coach Trip, a renovation series called Room for Improvement and I think a kind of travel series called Home from Home. Most got axed when Deal came along and I don't think it was until Richard and Judy ended Come Dine with Me and Coach Trip were revived.

I don't think much rates for C4 in the afternoons now - they lost their afternoon niche by childrens shows ending on BBC1 and ITV.