Networked ITV - 1990s and before...

UTV's set-up at Havelock House is three studios: Studio 1, which is now used for UTV Live and The Seven Thirty Show (and before then, for LE shows like Kelly and School Around the Corner); Studio 2, opened in 1964 which is now rarely used and advertised on UTV's site for external hire (until 2006, this was the UTV Live studio) and Studio 3, the continuity studio which replaced an older setup in 2002 and is used for IVC links and short news bulletins.

The bulk of UTV's scarce network output was editions of the "shared" series: Get Fresh and Ghost Train, Highway, Morning Worship, which used the station's OB facilities. The last time (and what could be the only time?) a networked series came from the Havelock House studios was UTV's version of "Password" in 1987/1988. UTV still has full OB facilities which are used by the company and leased to other broadcasters as well - from coverage of political events to Gaelic football matches on both sides of the Irish border.

The Mr and Mrs episodes made by Tyne Tees would appear to still exist -- TTTV were fairly good at keeping network shows in the archive, even if most of the regional stuff went in the bin up until the early 1980s. Tyne Tees have shown clips complete with early 1970s TTTV logo on a couple of occasions.

What is the status of Border's network programming? Border always seemed to manage to get more network commissions than the other small regionals (many more than TSW/Westward for example who were quite a bit larger).

On the subject of "Password", I recall that their endcap for this programme was "Ulster Television Outside Broadcast": Was this an error, was the programme recorded in a theatre somewhere or was this UTV's slightly odd way of signifying a network commission? I also recall that they managed to get a (static) frontcap on quite a few episodes of this programme. I rather enjoyed it, it was a decent show -- UTV should have carried on.

I was too young at the time to recall what the endcap on "Password" said; but if "Password" was credited as an Outside Broadcast, it possibly may not have been filmed at Havelock House after all, which may suggest the studios weren't equipped for series with a studio audience (the earliest series definitely produced in Havelock House which had seating for a studio audience I recall was "Kelly", made in a very cramped set in Studio 2 before moving into the more spacious Studio 1 around 1992/1993) - or, indeed, if the Havelock House studios at the time were adequately equipped for network production.

I'm aware UTV made use of a space in the King's Hall (known as "The Thru'penny Bit" due to its shape) in Belfast for some programmes filmed in front of an audience, such as the Miss Northern Ireland finals in the 1980s; as well as the Grand Opera House in Belfast, where their 21st anniversary show in 1980 was produced from (the first using their new OB truck) as well as various series of music concerts in the 1980s and 1990s.

In terms of Ulster Television frontcaps, some episodes of "Password" did go out with the "telly on a stick" or "lollipop" at the start, as seen here at 2.28. Another example of the "telly on a stick" in use on a networked series is here at 5.07. There's also a clip on another website with the "lollipop" going into a UTV networked series, as well as another example of an Outside Broadcast endcap used at the end of an episode of "Morning Worship".

The uploader's original YouTube channel featured the closing "Sing Out" link with an "Ulster Television Outside Broadcast" at the end (which is correct as the series was filmed at the Ulster Hall in Belfast); followed by a fade to a promo slide for a "Sing Out" album, voiced by Michael Henderson and seeming to be part of the broacast-copy VT, rather than cutting/fading to black to a scanner-originated slide with a UTV duty announcer voiceover - which could be futher evidence itself that UTV didn't play its networked programmes out to the network, nor had adequate facilities to do so. I can't recall now if this clip, which the uploader has not readded to YouTube, had a cue dot transmitted at the end, and I personally can never remember seeing a cue dot on any UTV programme down the years - live or pre-recorded.

And regarding Border's networked output in the mid 1980s; a few series of "BMX Beat" were recorded in the studio car park (and at least one series was filmed indoors at the Sands Centre in Carlisle), "Bliss" was filmed both in the car park and in a shed at the Harrowby complex; and I believe the same shed space was used to film many of Border's networked children's programmes.

I do remember that Crush A Grape, the son-of-Crackerjack with Stu Francis, had an endcap of "A Border Television Outside Broadcast", because it was clearly done from a theatre in Carlisle rather than the studio.

I wouldn't necessarily draw that conclusion. Tyne Tees did have the appropriate facilities, and they were used quite regularly, but I do not recall an occasion where TTTV did a promo live to network. Neither did they tend to do such things locally either -- the tape played out would have a pre-recorded segment at the end of the show, typically with some flash/dodgy (*delete as applicable) visual effect to bring the promo on-screen. No way in the world was continuity equipped to put out Quantel-type effects of that nature.

I believe (but don't quote me on this) that the playout to network was clean-only, and they had no means to cut live continuity into the network feed, or at least if they did it was never used. (There was also the reason that Tyne Tees's continuity was clunky enough for the local area, and perhaps they didn't want all that thumping, creaking and background noise to go out across the land!!).

Perhaps Ulster was the same.

I have to ask Why didn't the other 10 smaller companies say NO to the big five and demand more slots for there work, ( I do remember Michael grade LWT controller said, you should see some of the crap being suggested by the smaller companies)

what I mean is there clump together to make slots peak slots free for there own work and everyone takes a turn filling it over the year

Isn't that pretty much what Gimme 5 and Highway were?

Yes, as opposed to the wonderful quality being put out by LWT....

I could accept Granada and Thames being a little snooty about programmes by STV or HTV, and maybe (at a push) YTV or Central, but LWT? As Nick Hancock once said, "when I saw the LWT logo as a kid, that meant 'the next programme is going to be crap, go out and watch football'".

Survival, Taggart and The Tube, or Game For A Laugh, Brian Conley and Poirot. Hmmm. I'll get back to you on that one.

Remember half of the programmes that made it to the weekend were thanks to TVS, so there could be partly to blame

Here another fine STV drama: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_DGFA-BDFs&list=SL

which never did I believe get network

That's My Dog, Mr and Mrs or Sounds Like Music or Blind Date, London's Burning or The South Bank Show.... anyone can cherry-pick bad and good programmes (and what was wrong with Poirot?)

This is probably the wrong thread for such a conversation but LWT did do some fantastically popular shows in it's heyday. Low brow at times but not always.

Oi - lay off Mr & Mrs! It may have come from the smallest mainland ITV contractor, but it was both that and Look Who's Talking (plus their contributions to Highway and later foray into children's programmes) which Border TV is best remembered for. Border may not have been perfect but they certainly knew how to produce network programming. Mind you, I think their studios could only hold a 60-strong seated audience - a far cry from LWT's Studio One, with its 600-strong seated auditorium.

And at least Border TV didn't come up with That's My Dog....