Televisions Golden Age?
From time to time we see a television programme where talking heads appear and tell us how great television was in the 1970's compared to 'modern' times. Below is the TV listings for BBC1 for the afternoon and evening of Saturday 23 October 1976, it's from the Radio Times which incidentally cost the princely sum of 11p. Underneath each programme is the corresponding programme from this weeks BBC1 output.

12.30 Grandstand introduced by Frank Bough
1.:00 Grandstand
5.05 The Tom and Jerry Show
4:40 Final Score
5.15 News
5:25 - 5:45 News
5.30 The Basil Brush Show introduced by Roy North, with special guests David Essex and Guys 'n' Dolls
5:45 - 6:45 Edinburgh Military Tattoo
6.00 Doctor Who starring Tom Baker in The Hand of Fear

6.25 Bruce Forsyth and the Generation Game featuring Anthea Redfern
6:45 How Do you Solve A Problem Like Maria?
7.25 The Duchess of Duke Street with Gemma Jones
7:50 The National Lottery
8.15 The Two Ronnies Special guest Barbara Dickson
8:35-9.25 Casualty
9.00 Starsky and Hutch
9:25 How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? Update
10.10 News
9:55 News
10.20 Match of the Day introduced by Jimmy Hill
10.15 Match of the Day introduced by Gary Lineker
11.20 Parkinson
11:35 Film: New Jack City
12.20am-12.22 Weather (followed by closedown)
1:15 am BBC News 24

Back in '76 after Grandstand we have the Basil Brush show, scheduled to appease those children whose day had been ruined by being dragged around the shops by Mum whilst Dad went to (or played) football.
Then around teatime the family viewing kicks in, gently at first with Dr.Who and then into fully family mode with Bruce, Anthea and families who were only too happy to be laughed at by upwards of 10 million viewers. The Generation Game's peak audience was actually achieved under Larry Grayson (ooer missus) in 1978 when it reached 18 million, that was however due in part to ITV being closed down for sometime due to a strike which gave the BBC, with a total of two stations younger readers, a 100% monoply of the television airwaves.

It shows how memory can play tricks on you, how the passing of time can colour those TV viewing glasses a little rose. There is very little difference in programming between Bruce's Generation Game and the 'reality' show that is searching for the lead singer in a new production of the Sound of Music - the difference is in appeal, the former was watched by all age groups I don't know anybody who watches the latter. When Generation Game wasn't on it was replaced by Wonder Woman (that attracted 16 million viewers at one point) and then Noel Edmonds various creations.
Dr.Who was played by Tom Baker in 1976 and it's only due to the recent completion of the latest series that it doesn't appear in the 2006 schedules. By one of life's stranger coincidences the 1976 episode was the last one in a story called The Hands of Fear and it was the episode that featured Elisabeth Sladen's departure from the series after three years in the role of Sarah Jane Smith. The last series of Dr.Who of course finished with Billie Piper deaprting after three years in the role of Rose Tyler and Liz Sladen appeared as a guess in one episode - spooky or what?
Funny to think that Dr.Who disappeared completely during the Michael Grade years when he said it had passed it's sell by date. Grade joined BBC Television in 1984 as controller for BBC 1 becoming Director of Programmes in 1986. He said that Dr.Who had run its course, the truth was that the BBC couldn't afford both Dr.Who and EastEnders being produced at the same time.

Also, as a piece of gossip, Michael Grade fired Colin Baker who was playing Dr.Who as soon as he had taken over the reins at the BBC. Grade said that Baker's acting was awful, it later transpired that Grade was going out with Lisa Goddard, Baker's ex-wife. (She's been around a bit hasn't she old Lisa? - married to Colin Baker, Alvin Stardust and the bloke who directed Tarka the Otter - and she went out with MG)







Lisa G - a keen cyclist apparently.



Elyes Gabel as Guppy Sandhu in Casualty and Gemma Jones as Louisa Trotter in The Duchess of Duke Street are interchangeable, both coming from the long line of BBC Saturday night dramas that has included Jonathan Creek, Holby City, All Creatures Great and Small etc.

What is obvious from the above schedules is that the BBC has swapped 45 minutes of pre-watershed family viewing (The Two Ronnies in this case but we could be talking about Mike Yarwood, Les Dawson or Dick Emery) from a prime time quiz show that is actually a forty five minute advert for Camelot's Lottery draw - like they really need the money!

So was 1976 better than 2006? I'd say yes in terms of the variety available.
From a personal viewing habits perspective I only watched Saturday night television occassionally during the late seventies, I was 16 in 1976 and had other important matters in hand. Now I'm a family man we don't watch BBC at all on Saturdays, I tend to watch football live on Sky and the highlights on MOTD2 or Football First.

I'd like to do a comparison with ITV but I'm struggling with finding a Saturday night schedule from the seventies, last nights viewing on Channel 3 included 'people' shows from 6:45 until 10:55 - 1976 must have been better surely?