R.I.P Easter Television

From having a look at the schedules for Easter TV on The Radio Times website, I have discovered the grim reality of commercialism. Not since the mid 1990's has there been a major movie premiered over Easter, nor have there been particularly different schedules. Good Friday morning and Easter Monday morning, BBC1 are offering Car Booty repeats and Bargain Hunt. ITV are turfing out the same old movies as they showed at Christmas and on Easter afternoon The Borrowers is on again on BBC1 with ITV showing the only apt movie of the weekend "Jesus Christ Superstar" followed by Out of Africa.

Why can't TV companies make a bigger effort at Easter nowadays.? I work in retail and our shop is forced to close by law on Easter Sunday. If the weather is grim then people will want to watch something good on TV. But what do we get? Nowt!!! On Easter Monday, "Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves" and "Princess Diaries" are on but have both been shown before. I remember the days when the schedules at Easter were more special and more important than they are now. It would be nice to go back to those simpler, more gratifying days of life before the 24/7 culture took hold of us all! (Yes, I am now rapidly becoming an old git!)

Yeh it's bloody ridiculous, you can't go out and there's nothing decent to watch. Maybe if they did a programme like Crucifixtion:Live or something, it would be both topical and amusing.

Jonathan have you suggested this idea to Channel's Four or Five? Here's some treatment ideas for you..

Five - Crucifixion Live with Vanessa Feltz. Vanessa hosts the show from an ultra modern killing arena surrounded by plasma screens. She even gives us a tour of the cross that'll be used and some examples of crucifixion's gone wrong and, if we're lucky, someone can put her up on the cross to try it out.

Four - Crucifxion Live - Right or Wrong?....A real-life Islamic terrorist who Channel Four claims is actually just a sweet little boy from the mean streets of Oldham is captured and crucified live on air but at what cost? And will he be our next Jesus in 100 years? Channel Four will return then with a dispatches special. 'Crucifixion Live' TV's darkest day.

Jonathan have you suggested this idea to Channel's Four or Five? Here's some treatment ideas for you..

Five - Crucifixion Live with Vanessa Feltz. Vanessa hosts the show from an ultra modern killing arena surrounded by plasma screens. She even gives us a tour of the cross that'll be used and some examples of crucifixion's gone wrong and, if we're lucky, someone can put her up on the cross to try it out.

Four - Crucifxion Live - Right or Wrong?....A real-life Islamic terrorist who Channel Four claims is actually just a sweet little boy from the mean streets of Oldham is captured and crucified live on air but at what cost? And will he be our next Jesus in 100 years? Channel Four will return then with a dispatches special. 'Crucifixion Live' TV's darkest day.

No need to double post

No need to double post

You will find that Bank Holidays are no longer special events in the TV world. In fact it seems to be a time to put on repeats and the odd new programme they regard as a flop.

Well, the Good Friday schedule is virtually the same as every other Friday.


There are a few gems though - C4 have a follow up to Merlin at noon, while BBC3 are staging a flashmob style crucifixion in the Manchester Passion (annoyingly being shown on BBC2 a couple of hours later - ever since the majority of people got digital TV it seems programmes on digital spin-off channels get shown on the terrestrial channels within days rather than months!)

Very, very good indeed. Vanessa can randomly select ''celebrities'' from an underground cell where they wait. Kaplinsky, Palmer-Tompkinson, Loos and Jonathan Ross' brother... the reality TV junkies.

Still some stuff from BBC3 not on shown on 1/2 yet. Titty Bang Bang, Ideal, snuff box

not there any good tho, actully do the newer 'BBC3' episodes of 2 pints ever get shown on bbc2 now?

Maybe ITV could try this and do an eight week series leading up to Easter on every Saturday night up to easter saturday. Called "Celebrity God-Idol" it would festure ten celebrities who each week have to perform various kinds of miracles. In the live vote in at 9pm, the viewers decide who to vote off and the loser is crucified live on air. The last programme would see the runner up crucified and the winner would be hailed as the new Messiah. A follow up series called "Messiah Live" would follow the winner around for a year to catch up on what miracles they have carried out and what effect they've had on peoples lives.

maybe the follow up series could be hosted by Ant and Dec to give it a little more "edge".

Now there's an interesting idea!