That Was the Week we Watched

A programme that may interest many here, BBC2 is taking a look at TV nostalgia by picking weeks in the TV schedule and looking at what we watched.

The six programmes begin on Boxing Day at 10.20pm and continue on consequtive nights until New Years Day.

The programmes cover:
Boxing Day: November 1973
Sat: April 1970 - Apollo 13 Crisis
Sun: Nov 1982 - Launch of C4
Mon: June 1967 - Frost Report/Forsyth Saga
Tue: Oct 1986
New Years Day: April 1977


Also, did anyone else watch How to Watch Television on C4 last Friday. As part of The Art Show, C4 screened a 30 minute spoof PIF which was very good, covering things from choosing what to watch and buying your television.

My favourite bit was the guide to Aspect ratios.
A widescreen TV with a 4:3 picture zoomed into fill the screen could have the following caption on the screen:

BREAKING NEWS: World Peace Declared


but zooming out to get the whole picture reveals:

BREAKING NEWS: World Peace Declared
"Totally Imposible

I have a horrible feeling these programmes are going to be in 16:9 with all the archive stuff cropped.

Jenny,

Does that really give you a "horrible feeling"?

Perhaps it was something you ate instead. Maybe too many mince pies. It's a common complaint at this time of year.

Yours helpfully,
Mark.

Great to see that some programme maker is finally aknowledging the proper way for 4:3 material to be shown. Let's hope more programme makers take thier advice.

Crop-o-rama. Sometimes I wish I worked in television, where apparently you are actually *encouraged* to be really bad at your job, and you still get paid.

Once upon a time I did want to work in television, but that was in the days when programmes were the most important thing, not branding. When programmes were shown from beginning to end and the channel promotion only appeared between them. In short, when broadcasters still had respect for people who make programmes, and respect for their audiences.

But who would want to work in television now, when programmes, and viewers, are treated with such contempt? Not me. So I wound up working in educational supplies instead. Not all that exciting but I could do it and at least I was doing something to help children. I have nothing against children. Innocence goes a long way with me.

Anyway, I did that job for six years, but I've quit now, and the reason is that I came to realise that I wasn't doing any good. I always thought that at least I was doing my bit to help kids grow into decent, intelligent adults. But all I was doing was propping up a system that churns out another three-quarters of a million plebs every year. It may be incomprehensible to people without principles, but I find it abhorrent and intolerable that I'm helping - in even the smallest way - to turn out more people like Dan and marksi. I don't want that on my conscience, and that's why I left.

(added 30 May)

I've just seen marksi's cretinous gloating in the BBC One ECPs thread. It sickens me that he exists. It sickens me that he is employed to do absolutely the wrong thing. And by Wrong I mean the opposite of Right. Not something a little bit off, but something 180 degrees away from what should be happening. I have always been an advocate of public service broadcasting, but while the BBC employs worthless ****-for-brains tossers like marksi, even I can't justify retaining the licence fee. I can't even justify allowing the BBC to have television broadcast frequencies. If they have so little regard for programming, and so little regard for their audiences, that they will pay c**** like him to deliberately sabotage their output, then they shouldn't be in the television business.

That C4 programme was shown in 16:9 on analogue

Quite a good show - although alot of people here can't stand cropping, it seems to be standard in these nostalgia cases, and to be honest, the programme is put together so well, it doesn't really matter.

I am watching it right now and it isn't bad, not my scene the whole 1970 thing, but I'll be watching it tomorrow for the Channel 4 thing.

Just seen some old Nationwide clips then in B/W which isn't bad at all, frankly I don't care about cropping.

It does when viewed on a 4:3 telly from analogue, and the titles to Nationwide read "NATIONWI[". I don't think cropping would be so bad, if only they wouldn't bloody zoom in or squash it as well. And anyway, they are only doing it to please a SMALL MINORITY of STUPID widescreen viewers who refuse to watch anything in B+W or with black strips down the side of their screens. "I bought a widescreen telly so I could watch stuff in widescreen, not as a square in the middle". F*** THEM!

Well done to C5 for the way they present the classic comedy at xmas, with IVC from Ronnie C and full front idents and end caps (even if Freemantle have replaced some of them with new ones).

The TTTWWW shows (the ones I stayed up for anyway) were class, and How To Watch was hilarious (but then, it came from the mighty Charlie Brooker who brought us Unnovations and TV Go Home...)