Christmas TV 2007

I agree, there is no place at all during any of the Christmas fortnight for programmes such as Bargain Hunt or To Buy or Not to Buy. These programmes though seem to be appearing more often during holiday periods over the last couple of years which is a disgrace.
The whole point to holiday schedules, particularly Christmas schedules, is they are supposed to offer something different from the normal day-by-day schedules, as almost everyone is off work and all kids are off school, so the terrerstrial channels will show something aiming towards them both audiences.
Instead of showing tripe like To Buy or Not to Buy on Christmas Eve why don't the BBC show a couple of festive films instead which is something different and they would be showing something far more appropriate instead of DIY/auction shows. Or why don't the BBC put CBBC on BBC1 and show films on BBC2 like they used to a few years ago.

Last year I argued that BBC1 could have repeated a Two Ronnies or Morecambe and Wise festive special on New Year's Day morning; it would certainly have been a more gentle way of being eased into the day while nursing that hangover! Unfortunately, they chose the "business as normal" route and, worse, the ratings vindicated their decision.

There is even less chance of comedy classics on New Year's Day this time round because the aforementioned specials have just been released on DVD, and that being the case the BBC are hardly going to want to affect sales.

Well, there should be no place for the likes of To Buy or Not to Buy any day in an ideal world!


Completely agree regarding Christmas though - but wouldn't want to see endless repeats of The Two Ronnies and Morecambe and Wise either - or the usual comedy fillers.


Opting for new repeats (of something which isn't repeated often and hasn't been at all for some time) is a better way to fill the schedules, while something like rerunning the entire Wallace and Gromit collection is more acceptable too.

It's the films of course though that can fill most of the schedule - and if they're not opting for original content, I hope for once both the BBC and ITV opt to use their 9pm slot wisely over the period to run films uninterrupted by the news while they are able too.

I agree, I hate daytime TV shows such as Bargain Hunt and such like but I fear the BBC will put them on regardless. They have such a strange schedule when it comes to holidays, you can go from something like Cash in the Attic to Keeping Up Appearances or Allo Allo repeats...why not scrap Cash in the Attic. I agree, there's no place for them at Christmas. The "just another work day" feel is depressing.

The best compromise for Christmas Eve is put Animal Park on after Breakfast then follow that with a kids film like Toy Story into Allo Allo then News. Films to cover most of the scheduling.

I've always enjoyed watching this for many years.

However it was slightly spoilt the other year when I found out they

It should be a time for totally different scheduling, the mock Christmas Eve schedule is what I sort of remember with films and childrens specials before the main schedule.

As for New Years Day, they shouldn't return to normal programming, but last year, didn't they go back to normal idents on New Years Day? A horrible plan for whoever came up with it, especially when you still had the second Christmas vicar of dibley, and various other Christmas specials.

This might work for Christmas Eve (it's on a Monday this year don't forget);

6am - News
9am - CBBC
11am - Kids film
12.30pm - News
1pm - Keeping Up Appearances Christmas Special repeat
1.30pm - Film
3.30pm - CBBC
5pm - Film
6.30pm - News
7pm - My Family Christmas Special
7.30pm - EastEnders
8pm - FIlm
10pm - News
10.30pm - Jonathan Ross Christmas Eve Special?

Though it's important to get some new stuff on screens over Christmas, I do think using the period between Christmas and New Year to repeat some of the years biggest dramas would be appreciated as so often the one-off and two-part dramas are never repeated after their original screening - well, not on the channel that screened them anyway.

Not a spoiler really, that explains how they get so many acts to turn up on New Years Eve.

You seem to have missed out the vicar of Dibley and only fools and horses

Nooooooooooo

Every single OFAH tape the BBC owns should be incinerated.

Errr..she's being sarcastic?

Regardless of what you think of OFAH I don't think they should burn every tape! I for one miss the odd repeat on BBC1.