SI
Yeah true. But Grampian managed to produce studio shows (with audiences) at Queen's Cross that I doubt few of the former ITV regional centres could (or does) produce today sadly. For example the long running "Art Sutter Show", "Top Club", "Scotland the What?" New Year specials, "Pick a Number" and for the network "The Time the Place" and "The Electric Theatre Show" (though this one was audience-less I think).
I think the only genre they didn't try might be drama (unless anyone can think of one), they certainly did kids programmes, studio comedy, quiz shows.
Grampian was a small station, but amazing what they did do. Sadly it shows you how far the ITV network of stations has diminished that this looks so impressive and wide today. Truly regional television with occasional chances at the network even.
Grampian's studios at Queens Cross were demolished c 2003. There are now flats on the site.
Grampian had two proper studios - one for North Tonight and Crossfire, the other for just about everything else. (Obviously there was the continuity studio as well.)
I can't think of any attempt by Grampian or Border to do drama. Grampian's strengths were always in factual programmes and education although their local entertainment was very popular. It was hard enough for middle ranking companies like STV and Anglia to get programmes networked far less Grampian and Border. The smaller companies really did have to develop niches to get material screened nationally.
Grampian had two proper studios - one for North Tonight and Crossfire, the other for just about everything else. (Obviously there was the continuity studio as well.)
I can't think of any attempt by Grampian or Border to do drama. Grampian's strengths were always in factual programmes and education although their local entertainment was very popular. It was hard enough for middle ranking companies like STV and Anglia to get programmes networked far less Grampian and Border. The smaller companies really did have to develop niches to get material screened nationally.
Yeah true. But Grampian managed to produce studio shows (with audiences) at Queen's Cross that I doubt few of the former ITV regional centres could (or does) produce today sadly. For example the long running "Art Sutter Show", "Top Club", "Scotland the What?" New Year specials, "Pick a Number" and for the network "The Time the Place" and "The Electric Theatre Show" (though this one was audience-less I think).
I think the only genre they didn't try might be drama (unless anyone can think of one), they certainly did kids programmes, studio comedy, quiz shows.
Grampian was a small station, but amazing what they did do. Sadly it shows you how far the ITV network of stations has diminished that this looks so impressive and wide today. Truly regional television with occasional chances at the network even.
SW
One of the IBA Yearbooks from the mid-eighties says that UTV didn't have the facilities or staff to run a full-time drama department but they'd just employed a drama consultant who was charged with identifying scripts that could work, and so they made a couple of one-offs, mostly for Channel Four, as outside broadcasts. I think the last thing they made for the network was a programme about Irish dancing which was shown in about 2001, and had been on the shelf for a year or so before that.
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.
One of the IBA Yearbooks from the mid-eighties says that UTV didn't have the facilities or staff to run a full-time drama department but they'd just employed a drama consultant who was charged with identifying scripts that could work, and so they made a couple of one-offs, mostly for Channel Four, as outside broadcasts. I think the last thing they made for the network was a programme about Irish dancing which was shown in about 2001, and had been on the shelf for a year or so before that.
:-(
A former member
Yeah true. But Grampian managed to produce studio shows (with audiences) at Queen's Cross that I doubt few of the former ITV regional centres could (or does) produce today sadly. For example the long running "Art Sutter Show", "Top Club", "Scotland the What?" New Year specials, "Pick a Number" and for the network "The Time the Place" and "The Electric Theatre Show" (though this one was audience-less I think).
I think the only genre they didn't try might be drama (unless anyone can think of one), they certainly did kids programmes, studio comedy, quiz shows.
Grampian was a small station, but amazing what they did do. Sadly it shows you how far the ITV network of stations has diminished that this looks so impressive and wide today. Truly regional television with occasional chances at the network even.
Take a good look at this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grampian_Television there a lot of programmes listed.... im also sure that STV broadcast a far share of programmes made by GTV and vice versa...
GE
How did it work with films and programmes made abroad? Was one ITV region responsible for their purchase or did individual contractors buy them then sell them to each ITV company?
If say Yorkshire Television purchased films from America, would the studio send Yorkshire 14 copy's on tape then Yorkshire would send them to each contractor or would they be sent a master copy and Yorkshire would copy the films 13 times and send the tapes to each region?
Would small regions (Border, Grampian, Channel) be sent films to show when they liked or did they take playout from one of the bigger ITV regions? If say Grampian and HTV were showing the same film at the same time but no other ITV region were showing it would both Grampian and HTV play the film out themselves or would they get the film played out from one of the big 5?
Am I right in thinking that Thames / LWT would play out any films that were shown networked?
If say Yorkshire Television purchased films from America, would the studio send Yorkshire 14 copy's on tape then Yorkshire would send them to each contractor or would they be sent a master copy and Yorkshire would copy the films 13 times and send the tapes to each region?
Would small regions (Border, Grampian, Channel) be sent films to show when they liked or did they take playout from one of the bigger ITV regions? If say Grampian and HTV were showing the same film at the same time but no other ITV region were showing it would both Grampian and HTV play the film out themselves or would they get the film played out from one of the big 5?
Am I right in thinking that Thames / LWT would play out any films that were shown networked?
MA
Would small regions (Border, Grampian, Channel) be sent films to show when they liked or did they take playout from one of the bigger ITV regions? If say Grampian and HTV were showing the same film at the same time but no other ITV region were showing it would both Grampian and HTV play the film out themselves or would they get the film played out from one of the big 5?
Am I right in thinking that Thames / LWT would play out any films that were shown networked?
All the ITV companies had enough telecine capacity to play out a film by themeslves, I think it was an IBA COP requirement ?
Networked movies were not necessarily played out by Thames or LWT. ATV, YTV and Granada took turns as well, I certainly recall hearing their duty CAs making announcements over the end credits, or very often, the '. . . you can see the conclusion of <title> after the ITN News at Ten. . .' bit.
Would small regions (Border, Grampian, Channel) be sent films to show when they liked or did they take playout from one of the bigger ITV regions? If say Grampian and HTV were showing the same film at the same time but no other ITV region were showing it would both Grampian and HTV play the film out themselves or would they get the film played out from one of the big 5?
Am I right in thinking that Thames / LWT would play out any films that were shown networked?
All the ITV companies had enough telecine capacity to play out a film by themeslves, I think it was an IBA COP requirement ?
Networked movies were not necessarily played out by Thames or LWT. ATV, YTV and Granada took turns as well, I certainly recall hearing their duty CAs making announcements over the end credits, or very often, the '. . . you can see the conclusion of <title> after the ITN News at Ten. . .' bit.
JJ
jjne
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)
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.
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.
You've lost the argument straight away when you quote Blind Date as one of the "good" shows.
I'm struggling to think of much that LWT did that was both popular and of high quality. And when you talk of Mr and Mrs, was that the successful Border show of the 70s or the unmitigated disaster of an LWT remake in 1999?
In any case, at least I made some effort to compare similar programmes. Yes, "That's My Dog" and "Sounds Like Music" were truly horrible pieces of car-crash TV, but they were cheap daytime fodder -- and LWT made enough of that as well. I often wondered about TSW -- were they really a fantastic regional company or were they just a bad one with a good presentation department? Unlike most of the programmes made by small companies, TSW's network output wasn't so much rubbish, but badly-made rubbish, and that is less forgivable when you're making pre-recorded material for the network.
SP
Didn't Channel only have 16mm telecine rather than 35mm? During the 1979 strike they were supplied with some material from other ITV companies, but their lack of 35mm facility left them with a limited choice
All the ITV companies had enough telecine capacity to play out a film by themeslves, I think it was an IBA COP requirement ?
Didn't Channel only have 16mm telecine rather than 35mm? During the 1979 strike they were supplied with some material from other ITV companies, but their lack of 35mm facility left them with a limited choice
SC
Would small regions (Border, Grampian, Channel) be sent films to show when they liked or did they take playout from one of the bigger ITV regions? If say Grampian and HTV were showing the same film at the same time but no other ITV region were showing it would both Grampian and HTV play the film out themselves or would they get the film played out from one of the big 5?
Am I right in thinking that Thames / LWT would play out any films that were shown networked?
All the ITV companies had enough telecine capacity to play out a film by themeslves, I think it was an IBA COP requirement ?
Networked movies were not necessarily played out by Thames or LWT. ATV, YTV and Granada took turns as well, I certainly recall hearing their duty CAs making announcements over the end credits, or very often, the '. . . you can see the conclusion of <title> after the ITN News at Ten. . .' bit.
I would say in the case above, either HTV or Grampian would play out the film, probably not both. I believe Channel TV were the only station not to have the facility to play out their own films on telecine.
Would small regions (Border, Grampian, Channel) be sent films to show when they liked or did they take playout from one of the bigger ITV regions? If say Grampian and HTV were showing the same film at the same time but no other ITV region were showing it would both Grampian and HTV play the film out themselves or would they get the film played out from one of the big 5?
Am I right in thinking that Thames / LWT would play out any films that were shown networked?
All the ITV companies had enough telecine capacity to play out a film by themeslves, I think it was an IBA COP requirement ?
Networked movies were not necessarily played out by Thames or LWT. ATV, YTV and Granada took turns as well, I certainly recall hearing their duty CAs making announcements over the end credits, or very often, the '. . . you can see the conclusion of <title> after the ITN News at Ten. . .' bit.
I would say in the case above, either HTV or Grampian would play out the film, probably not both. I believe Channel TV were the only station not to have the facility to play out their own films on telecine.
JJ
jjne
I'm not so sure.
Grampian would have been unlikely to have had the facilities to package a film live and send it to HTV. HTV might have, but I strongly suspect that they'd have been played out independently.
Whenever I saw Tyne Tees play out films independently (and a lot of US TV for that matter that was shot on 35mm), it would *always* be done live from telecine. I never recall them once using a pre-packaged tape for such material.
Can't see other smaller companies being much different. They had their own 35mm reels for films, that's a certainty.
Grampian would have been unlikely to have had the facilities to package a film live and send it to HTV. HTV might have, but I strongly suspect that they'd have been played out independently.
Whenever I saw Tyne Tees play out films independently (and a lot of US TV for that matter that was shot on 35mm), it would *always* be done live from telecine. I never recall them once using a pre-packaged tape for such material.
Can't see other smaller companies being much different. They had their own 35mm reels for films, that's a certainty.
