Christmas Peaktime Schedules Released ALREADY?

I thought the new Dr Who was supposed to start this Christmas, surely that would be peaktime? Or have I missed something

Scuse my ignorance, but what happened at Easter that was blasphemous?

I'm sorry, but personally, I think that Xmas Day wouldn't be the same without Coronation Street, though I would be able to pass on eastenders. In corrie, aren't Ashley and Claire getting married on Christmas day? Kind of like Alfie and Kat, only this time, nobody actually cares.

You mean to say somebody actually cared about Kat and Alfie? The papers loved it and the scriptwriters seemed to love it but imo the introduction of Kat and Alfie has been the downfall of EE. They did have a honeymoon period but from what I saw their relationship was too good to be true and was doomed. Whereas Ashley and Claire is a totally different affair as their relationship hasnt been shoved down anyones throats and has happily plodded on with only a few storylines about their first time and some trust story. Otherwise its a totally different kettle of fish.

You cant beat a soap wedding, regardless with soap or channel and I wonder how they are going to top the Karen and Steve wedding earleir in the year?

I'm not a soap watcher - that often - myself, though it would be strange if they weren't included.
But then again, if that is the schedule I think ITV are missing out on the fact that it's a Saturday Night this year, so why don't they do a pre recorded Saturday Night Takeaway special (it could be recorded a couple of days before so that the audience were all from the previous weeks phone in), and a Parkinson. How about another game, either Bognor or Bust, or bring back Russian Roulette for a celebrity special.

9:25am Ministry of Mayhem (May have Extension like SM:tv live Xmas Day 1999)
12:30pm Church Service
13:45 News
14:00 CD:UK Christmas Special
15:00 The Queen
15:10 James Bond - a newer one
16:50 News
17:00 You've Been Framed
17:30 Creature Comforts at Christmas
18:00 Emmerdale
18:45 Coronation Street
19:30 Saturday Night Takeaway
20:30 Who Wants to be a Millionnaire
21:00 Russian Roulette
21:30 Parkinson
22:45 News
23:00 Late Film/Comedy Stand Up (from DVD release)

I like that schedule a lot!

Possibly a gameshow as you say - either Russian Roulette or Bognor or Bust and possibly a Harry Hill Christmas Burp???

Also I would like to see a 15 minute festive edition of 2D-tv!

I'm sure I read somewhere it was now March 2005, but the 'current' issue of Doctor Who Magazine just says TBC 2005.

Mind you monthly mags are normally behind anyway!

(I still can't get over that BBC Wales are behind it ! Any sheep involved ? )

Anyone ever been to a Christmas Day wedding?

As for soaps on Christmas Day - I personally think now soaps are generally on five times a week their should be times when the are taken out of the schedule, such as Bank Holidays and Christmas, and also when sporting events mean they move around the schedules. And everyone ends up taping them anyway.

I never understand why C4 film episodes of Hollyoaks to run over the Christmas fortnight and usually end up showing them in 2 hour blocks instead. Have a cliff hanger and a couple of Christmas specials (like Brookie used to do) would be best.

Christmas TV nowadays is so poor. I'm sure shows like Millionaire, The Weakest Link and Stars in their Eyes will have celebrity specials - which worked ten years ago but now aren't that special considering their on every month or so.

The BBC just fill with cheap (or expensive) film imports, some of which are very good, but most of which are just part of the deal for showing the good ones.

You can guarantee BBC1 will have 2 episodes of EastEnders on Christmas Day (this year Kat leaves Alfie!). Why not ditch them entirely in favour of a primetime showing of Harry Potter?

New Dr. Who will be early 2005 - I remember somewhere they were planning for Xmas / January but had to put it back. I've always had January in my head for some reason.

Religious Twaddle btw - nothing against it, it's just my personal opinion - expressing my identity as an aetheist. If people want to believe that a virgin gave birth to a man who, after doing nothing for 30 years suddenly starts performing magic tricks then comes back from the dead, they're perfectly entitled to. Christmas nowadays has moved away from religion and spiritualism to a time of familial celebration and bonding - and of course crap telly.

BTW Christmas was originally a pagan festival. The Christians usurped December 25th for their own purposes. So blame them for the fact that the Aussies have Xmas in summer and we have it in Winter.

As I've said before, popularity doesn't make something the most suitable thing to show on Christmas Day, and this is especially true of soaps as we all know. Look at how Corrie and Emmerdale marked Easter!

Why not save the biggest films and show two or three of them on Christmas afternoon/evening instead? Or a live performance of a West End musical? You seem to forget the Christmas Day audience is often a captive one; nothing to do and nowhere to go so how do the broadcasters respond? Filling the schedules up with the same programme that's on every other day! Any wonder people dread the big day...

What makes things worse is the fact that Christmas soap blockbusters were a BBC invention, surprisingly (well, guess who was running BBC1 at the time?)


High profile adultery in both Emmerdale and Corrie, shamelessly timed for Good Friday and Easter Monday respectively. I'm not religious myself but I can see why the clergy might have been upset.

I was thinking of a Christmas TV Burp, but I wasn't sure for Christmas Eve or Boxing Day, though if it's on Friday Nights again this series, then they could have the one for the previous week on friday, and I'd like to see a TV Burp 2004 where he gets an hour and picks out the best TV moments of 2004 to go out on New Years Eve.

Why have 15 minutes when they could do half an hour. I think this would be nice for Christmas Eve along with a Christmas Frank Skinner Show or episode of Baddiel & Skinner.

Christmas Eve
5pm News; regional news
5:30pm The Nativity (a repeat of the programme where actors played children preparing for a Nativity)
6:30pm Emmerdale
7pm Coronation Street
7:30pm - Christmas Movie, something nice and romantic, something like Serendipity with a bit of snow
9:30pm - The Frank Skinner Show
10:30 - 2DTV Christmas
11:00 - Harry Hill's TV Burp
11:30 - Midnight Mass
1am - FILM: Nightmare Before Christmas

A very backward attitude there... soaps put bums on seats! It's good business sense to do it.