BR
Didn't realise Dave Spikey did a series. Seem to remember these ITV 9.25am gameshows quite well - the likes of Keynotes, Crosswits, Lucky Ladders, Give us a Clue etc. - which is quite odd really as surely I should have been at school - and I'm sure back in those day ITV still actually ran kids shows in the holidays.
EDIT: So Andrew O'Conner did it back in 1988 - didn't realise my memory reached back that far!
I see Challenge are repeating the 1997 series of Chain Letters with Dave Spikey. It features the rare Tyne Tees endboard from the C3NE era, which was only used on networked shows, and has only the name Tyne Tees on it, with no symbol of any kind.
Didn't realise Dave Spikey did a series. Seem to remember these ITV 9.25am gameshows quite well - the likes of Keynotes, Crosswits, Lucky Ladders, Give us a Clue etc. - which is quite odd really as surely I should have been at school - and I'm sure back in those day ITV still actually ran kids shows in the holidays.
EDIT: So Andrew O'Conner did it back in 1988 - didn't realise my memory reached back that far!
WP
I can't believe Tyne Tees were still knocking out such a shoddy looking programme as late as 1997!
The set is terrible. It's far too big for starters, a massive sign that rotates but serves no purpose whilst the main screen is tiny and often out of shot, contestant podiums which look far too big with screens which distractingly pop up and then lower pointlessly and horrible metallic things everywhere.
The graphics are poor too, even by 1997 standards. Anti-aliasing text wasn't a far-off dream then, yet the text on the aforementioned tellys can be picked out pixel-by-pixel!
Why are all their contestants wearing their outdoor coats too? Looks awkward as hell.
The set is terrible. It's far too big for starters, a massive sign that rotates but serves no purpose whilst the main screen is tiny and often out of shot, contestant podiums which look far too big with screens which distractingly pop up and then lower pointlessly and horrible metallic things everywhere.
The graphics are poor too, even by 1997 standards. Anti-aliasing text wasn't a far-off dream then, yet the text on the aforementioned tellys can be picked out pixel-by-pixel!
Why are all their contestants wearing their outdoor coats too? Looks awkward as hell.
BU
If you look carefully there are shadowy "3"s in the backdrop though.
It does look incredibly shoddy - the theme tune by 1997 must have sounded like something from a different world. The audience in Spikey's intros are almost silent (did they bother with a warm up? "David" looked really annoyed when they weren't reacting in one episode), today they'd just dub some applause on and not bother getting an audience in.
Looking at Wikipedia there was a huge gap in Chain Letters broadcast dates - nothing betrween 1990 and 1995 - anyone know why it came back from the dead after so long? Explains why it looks so dated!
I see Challenge are repeating the 1997 series of Chain Letters with Dave Spikey. It features the rare Tyne Tees endboard from the C3NE era, which was only used on networked shows, and has only the name Tyne Tees on it, with no symbol of any kind.
If you look carefully there are shadowy "3"s in the backdrop though.
It does look incredibly shoddy - the theme tune by 1997 must have sounded like something from a different world. The audience in Spikey's intros are almost silent (did they bother with a warm up? "David" looked really annoyed when they weren't reacting in one episode), today they'd just dub some applause on and not bother getting an audience in.
Looking at Wikipedia there was a huge gap in Chain Letters broadcast dates - nothing betrween 1990 and 1995 - anyone know why it came back from the dead after so long? Explains why it looks so dated!
SC
Series 2 and 3 actually went out in prime time - Thursday nights opposite EastEnders, I seem to recall. Progranmmes like Runway and Connections also got an evening slot for a while around 1988-89.
I remember Crosswits being shown on TTT at 6.30pm in the early 90s - or possibly it was a bit later, after Blockbusters finished.
I remember Crosswits being shown on TTT at 6.30pm in the early 90s - or possibly it was a bit later, after Blockbusters finished.
JT
The series on Krypton Factor currently eing shown on Challenge was truly awful and certainly killed it off. Race through 5 rounds then that awful Super round which is not at all viewer friendly
NW
Can't provide a cap, but it has the same background Yorkshire had for theirs between 96 and 97 with all of the 3's in the background, with the word TYNE TEES in a thin gold colour appearing above the Tyne Tees Production for ITV tag.
There was a local version on TTTV that had the gold 3 in the middle of the screen with the tag of 'A Tyne Tees Production for Channel 3 North East'
Getting rid of 'Channel 3' was probably the best thing Granada did.
Does anyone have a screen cap of the C3NE era Tyne Tees production cap at all please? I'm curious to see what that looks like, didn't even know it existed.
Can't provide a cap, but it has the same background Yorkshire had for theirs between 96 and 97 with all of the 3's in the background, with the word TYNE TEES in a thin gold colour appearing above the Tyne Tees Production for ITV tag.
There was a local version on TTTV that had the gold 3 in the middle of the screen with the tag of 'A Tyne Tees Production for Channel 3 North East'
Getting rid of 'Channel 3' was probably the best thing Granada did.
JO
From fuzzy memory, it's basically this only with a slight 3D slant applied to the text:
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w191/2007TopGearDog/tynetees98board.png
And yes the font spacing was that wide (if not wider). There's a recording on Youtube somewhere, I'm sure.
That's the one (original version of above mock up).
Does anyone have a screen cap of the C3NE era Tyne Tees production cap at all please? I'm curious to see what that looks like, didn't even know it existed.
From fuzzy memory, it's basically this only with a slight 3D slant applied to the text:
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w191/2007TopGearDog/tynetees98board.png
And yes the font spacing was that wide (if not wider). There's a recording on Youtube somewhere, I'm sure.
There was a local version on TTTV that had the gold 3 in the middle of the screen with the tag of 'A Tyne Tees Production for Channel 3 North East'
That's the one (original version of above mock up).
SC
From fuzzy memory, it's basically this only with a slight 3D slant applied to the text:
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w191/2007TopGearDog/tynetees98board.png
And yes the font spacing was that wide (if not wider). There's a recording on Youtube somewhere, I'm sure.
Yes, here it is - thanks for pointing that out. Caption grabbed from this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCUwNoI7Et0
EDIT: Just realised rob beat me to it!
Does anyone have a screen cap of the C3NE era Tyne Tees production cap at all please? I'm curious to see what that looks like, didn't even know it existed.
From fuzzy memory, it's basically this only with a slight 3D slant applied to the text:
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w191/2007TopGearDog/tynetees98board.png
And yes the font spacing was that wide (if not wider). There's a recording on Youtube somewhere, I'm sure.
Yes, here it is - thanks for pointing that out. Caption grabbed from this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCUwNoI7Et0
EDIT: Just realised rob beat me to it!
Last edited by Si-Co on 10 July 2011 5:48pm - 2 times in total