IS
Funnily enough, that's what STV are doing... and nobody seems to like it!
What's funny is that I'm looking at a typical ITV1 London, imagining that I control a Liverpool-based affiliate station and that this is my network supply. I'd be dropping almost everything and probably begrudge giving any money to the network schedule. There's just so much crap. I'd sooner throw a few local shows on in the afternoon or early evening slots (a talk show for Jimmy Corkhill anyone?) and stick an old film on or a classic series than some of that stuff.
Funnily enough, that's what STV are doing... and nobody seems to like it!
MK
Funnily enough, that's what STV are doing... and nobody seems to like it!
I exaggerated slightly. STV are not showing some of the few decent shows ITV actual has. There's a lot of crap that wouldn't be missed though, quite frankly, if it was replaced with something decent.
What's funny is that I'm looking at a typical ITV1 London, imagining that I control a Liverpool-based affiliate station and that this is my network supply. I'd be dropping almost everything and probably begrudge giving any money to the network schedule. There's just so much crap. I'd sooner throw a few local shows on in the afternoon or early evening slots (a talk show for Jimmy Corkhill anyone?) and stick an old film on or a classic series than some of that stuff.
Funnily enough, that's what STV are doing... and nobody seems to like it!
I exaggerated slightly. STV are not showing some of the few decent shows ITV actual has. There's a lot of crap that wouldn't be missed though, quite frankly, if it was replaced with something decent.
GH
I live in the HTV West area and loved Prisoner. Someone I worked with around 1994 / 95 had moved down from the Central region so was telling me how good it was going to get with the introduction of characters like Rita Connors. But she also warned it was coming to an end soon!
I then went away to uni in the Meridian region and couldnt believe how far they were behind. My mum used to tape the HTV editions of Prisoner and post them down to me. Think it was shown Tuesday and Thursday at 11.40pm at that time.
Gutted when it ended in 1996. HTV even did special trailers announcing it was coming to an end which I should still have on VHS
Regarding Prisoner, HTV finished in April 1996 which was around the average time for regions to complete. Central were miles ahead of everyone else finishing in Dec 1991.
I live in the HTV West area and loved Prisoner. Someone I worked with around 1994 / 95 had moved down from the Central region so was telling me how good it was going to get with the introduction of characters like Rita Connors. But she also warned it was coming to an end soon!
I then went away to uni in the Meridian region and couldnt believe how far they were behind. My mum used to tape the HTV editions of Prisoner and post them down to me. Think it was shown Tuesday and Thursday at 11.40pm at that time.
Gutted when it ended in 1996. HTV even did special trailers announcing it was coming to an end which I should still have on VHS
CW
What's especially noteworthy about Meridian still being 100 episodes form the end when they cancelled it in 1999 is that their airing was actually the longest-lived out of any ITV region (and quite possibly ever in the world)! TVS (Meridian's predecessor) started the series way back in 1985. With the exception of YTV (who started in late 1984 but finished in early 1997) every other region started considerably later, over 1987/88.
In total the epic 14 year run on TVS/Meridian only got through 7 years worth of episodes when the series was originally shown in Australia.
Westcountry made a quick note after episode 690 that there were only two left to go, then the links into 691 and 692 made reference to these being the penultimate and final episodes respectively, but otherwise they did nothing to mark the passing of this staple of late nights. They also made cuts to episode 692 in order to bring it back down to the running time of a normal episode (the final one was about 7 minutes longer)
cwathen
Founding member
Quote:
I then went away to uni in the Meridian region and couldnt believe how far they were behind. My mum used to tape the HTV editions of Prisoner and post them down to me. Think it was shown Tuesday and Thursday at 11.40pm at that time.
What's especially noteworthy about Meridian still being 100 episodes form the end when they cancelled it in 1999 is that their airing was actually the longest-lived out of any ITV region (and quite possibly ever in the world)! TVS (Meridian's predecessor) started the series way back in 1985. With the exception of YTV (who started in late 1984 but finished in early 1997) every other region started considerably later, over 1987/88.
In total the epic 14 year run on TVS/Meridian only got through 7 years worth of episodes when the series was originally shown in Australia.
Quote:
Gutted when it ended in 1996. HTV even did special trailers announcing it was coming to an end which I should still have on VHS
Westcountry made a quick note after episode 690 that there were only two left to go, then the links into 691 and 692 made reference to these being the penultimate and final episodes respectively, but otherwise they did nothing to mark the passing of this staple of late nights. They also made cuts to episode 692 in order to bring it back down to the running time of a normal episode (the final one was about 7 minutes longer)
:-(
A former member
The same goes for Sons and daughter I sure Scottish television has the longest run: 12 years, and the only way there were able to finish it was at night. Can anyone beat that?
this is what I doing understand,
Was US programmes this badly treated?
this is what I doing understand,
Was US programmes this badly treated?
RB
My memory is that the "Magic Circle" - the companies that were originally called the "network companies" by the ITA - by and large set the prime-time schedule. For the seventies and eighties, these companies were Thames, London Weekend, ATV/Central, Granada and Yorkshire. Eventually, the Big Five system was replaced by the ITV Network Centre.
Daytime was largely different region to region, except for ITN and horse racing if there was any.
Post-News at Ten was also up to the region.
I received signals from three ITV companies - Granada, Border and HTV Wales - and they were at different stages with Hill Street Blues, the Sullivans, Crossroads, Emmerdale Farm (then a daytime show), Married With Children etc. (This could be confusing if you had forgotten which ITV station you'd been watching.) Granada tended to close down later than Border and had more on. It really was worthwhile having more than one aerial.
TVS disliked the cartel. It complained bitterly to the IBA since its turnover overtook YTV and Granada during the 1980s, yet it didn't have the access to the prime-time schedule that the Big Five did. Indeed, it ran The Real World, a Tomorrow's World copy with Michael Rodd in primetime much to the annoyance of the Big Five who'd expected one of their shows to be on then. (In fact, this programme was networked at the start of its run. Everyone got 3D glasses in the TV Times to coincide with its most famous show.)
However, there was still some variation in prime time. I seem to remember different episodes of Quincy being shown at 9pm on different ITV stations. These days, it's very unusual for ITV to show foreign programmes during prime time so that issue doesn't really arise. I guess that the Big Five weren't too worried which edition of an American programme viewers got to see.
Daytime was largely different region to region, except for ITN and horse racing if there was any.
Post-News at Ten was also up to the region.
I received signals from three ITV companies - Granada, Border and HTV Wales - and they were at different stages with Hill Street Blues, the Sullivans, Crossroads, Emmerdale Farm (then a daytime show), Married With Children etc. (This could be confusing if you had forgotten which ITV station you'd been watching.) Granada tended to close down later than Border and had more on. It really was worthwhile having more than one aerial.
TVS disliked the cartel. It complained bitterly to the IBA since its turnover overtook YTV and Granada during the 1980s, yet it didn't have the access to the prime-time schedule that the Big Five did. Indeed, it ran The Real World, a Tomorrow's World copy with Michael Rodd in primetime much to the annoyance of the Big Five who'd expected one of their shows to be on then. (In fact, this programme was networked at the start of its run. Everyone got 3D glasses in the TV Times to coincide with its most famous show.)
However, there was still some variation in prime time. I seem to remember different episodes of Quincy being shown at 9pm on different ITV stations. These days, it's very unusual for ITV to show foreign programmes during prime time so that issue doesn't really arise. I guess that the Big Five weren't too worried which edition of an American programme viewers got to see.
Last edited by RB on 9 November 2009 5:56pm
JE
Jez
Founding member
Meridan only showed it once a week on a Tuesday hence being so far behind. Ditto Carlton from 1993 after Thames took over. Westcountry seemed to like Prisoner and increased the screenings when they took over.
I think HTV might hold the record for the longest screening of A Country Practice - not sure when it started but it possibly might have been around 1983 when all the other regions started and was in the standard 1 hour per week slot on a Wed and then a Friday then moved to half hour episodes in 1991 on Wed-Fri at 3.25pm taking the slot from Sons and Daughters. It then ended up going 5 days a week for a short time, but was moved out of its 3.20pm slot in January 1993 as HTV moved The Sullivans back there and we ended up having ACP back to 1 hour blocks again on a Friday. It was during this time that Central narrowed the gap on us - I used to visit Central land quite a bit in school hols and loved seeing the older eps of ACP! It ended up in a 5.10pm slot anything between 3-5 times a week from 1994 depending on how many local programmes HTV showed. They then dropped it down to 2 half hour episodes a week to show more programmes about Wales about 1996 and left it play out in the 5.10pm slot until the final episode on Friday 5th March 1999, the same date as the original News at Ten ended and there was a complete change of scheduling the following Monday with Home and Away going in ACP's old slot. Even Central had overtaken us by the end and completed the run about 6 months earlier so id say HTV took about 16 years whilst most regions took 13/14 years. Central were very fast taking less than 10 years.
So HTV were the slowest overall but probabaly gave it a better slot for the later episodes as more people watched at 5.10pm than 1pm.
HTV were probabaly one of the last to finish The Sullivans as well - we used to have it 2 days a week without fail on a Monday & Tuesday from as long as I can remember until Mid 1993. I think Westcountry were still showing The Sullivans into 1994 tho so HTV werent the very last to complete. The Sullivans got shown on 3 different ITV franchises in the South West!
I think HTV might hold the record for the longest screening of A Country Practice - not sure when it started but it possibly might have been around 1983 when all the other regions started and was in the standard 1 hour per week slot on a Wed and then a Friday then moved to half hour episodes in 1991 on Wed-Fri at 3.25pm taking the slot from Sons and Daughters. It then ended up going 5 days a week for a short time, but was moved out of its 3.20pm slot in January 1993 as HTV moved The Sullivans back there and we ended up having ACP back to 1 hour blocks again on a Friday. It was during this time that Central narrowed the gap on us - I used to visit Central land quite a bit in school hols and loved seeing the older eps of ACP! It ended up in a 5.10pm slot anything between 3-5 times a week from 1994 depending on how many local programmes HTV showed. They then dropped it down to 2 half hour episodes a week to show more programmes about Wales about 1996 and left it play out in the 5.10pm slot until the final episode on Friday 5th March 1999, the same date as the original News at Ten ended and there was a complete change of scheduling the following Monday with Home and Away going in ACP's old slot. Even Central had overtaken us by the end and completed the run about 6 months earlier so id say HTV took about 16 years whilst most regions took 13/14 years. Central were very fast taking less than 10 years.
So HTV were the slowest overall but probabaly gave it a better slot for the later episodes as more people watched at 5.10pm than 1pm.
HTV were probabaly one of the last to finish The Sullivans as well - we used to have it 2 days a week without fail on a Monday & Tuesday from as long as I can remember until Mid 1993. I think Westcountry were still showing The Sullivans into 1994 tho so HTV werent the very last to complete. The Sullivans got shown on 3 different ITV franchises in the South West!
:-(
A former member
nope, it Scottish tv that owns that right, I still wonder what on earth there also broadcast, as there never got the young doctors and dumped ACP half way. STV and OZ ( apart form prisoner, viewers did complain about the lack of epsoides@ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJQyl6aKBa4 ) did not go well together.
:-(
A former member
I doubt Scottish would have shown ACP for 16 years tho like HTV did - STV also didn't complete, HTV were the last to show it out of those that completed.
you are right about ACP, what I was talking about was The Sullivans
JE
you are right about ACP, what I was talking about was The Sullivans
Oh right, how long did STV show it for?
HTV were slow with the Sullivans, think it was cos it was twice a week and Thames and others showed it 3 times.
Jez
Founding member
I doubt Scottish would have shown ACP for 16 years tho like HTV did - STV also didn't complete, HTV were the last to show it out of those that completed.
you are right about ACP, what I was talking about was The Sullivans
Oh right, how long did STV show it for?
HTV were slow with the Sullivans, think it was cos it was twice a week and Thames and others showed it 3 times.