In the past couple of weeks I have decided to spread my wings somewhat by trying to write for the local Portsmouth News, by doing a piece for their Saturday TV Nostalgia column. It may not be an in-depth piece, that it is not the style of the column at all, but its a start a I suppose... Here it is..
In today's world of multiple sports channels, its hard to forget there was a time when two shows dominated Saturday afternoons, the BBC had Grandstand whilst ITV's version was World of Sport. Though the two could not have been more different at all, if Grandstand was like a luxury sofa, then World of Sport was like a beanbag.
It was presented by Dickie Davies for all of its life, a man who looked like a cross between a badger and a used car salesman whilst all the time helming a mixed bag of sports from the sublime to the ridiculous titled including the World Clown Diving Championship. Which was basically men in fuzzy rainbow coloured wigs diving into a paddling pool for entertainment.
On Christmas Eve 1977, Eric Morecambe brought his brand of comedy to help Dickie Davies present the programme. Even leading to Morecambe commenting on Davies' trademark moustache whilst Dickie was introducing the next with the line "The last time I saw anything like that they kill a whole herd of buffalo to make it!" With Davies trying to keep a straight face throughout this chaos happening around him!
In the end with ITV wanting to head in a new direction with its sports coverage, World of Sport was axed in 1985. But for a programme which was going to be called 'Wide World of Sports' originally, it did pretty good by covering events more close to home.
So this is Christmas and what have we done? Another year older and fatter in the tum...
Here we are at the final bit of Christmas, as some of you might have realised there haven't been twelve of them, such as vol-le-vents left over from Christmas Day. You might think I have an idea of what to write about, well I don't. So this is a bit about bits, not necessary about Christmas more a strange experience about how exactly YouTube just changed the experience of viewing. The amount of uploads from VHS and Beta is amazing, where as any shared experiences of any event which may have happened. So hence there are a load of uploads of the Southern Ashtar Command experience and other incidents which may be remembered by people.
Let's take for example, 1981 for example, 30 years ago...
"She was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar..."
The year of the Don't You Want Me Baby, a royal wedding and riots with Manchester City in a Cup Final. Who said that 2011 was any different, but with the time of year came the listings magazines of the Radio and TV Times. Such it was so special, our family had a special folder to put them in. Its never found wanting as much, but even the junior cousin of the TV Times, Look-In made the effort to show itself to be in a festive party mood around this time of year. Though it seems with 1981 everything changed, from flares in New Romantics and with the introduction of the lime green and blue BBC1 globe in September, it was a shuddering halt to the 70's and on into the 80's with technology at the fore front.
Its not so much an innocent age had gone, but had changed with the times...
"Its for you-hooo!"
At that point when the GPO as was were still running telephones and delivering the post on time, there was something to be said about the way that they were promoted. Buzby was on the telephones side and Postman Pat on the Mail side, they were as big as anyone can imagine now. Its not like that we didn't trust them, but they were a key part of how these things were sold to us as consumers. Their lives of their own made themselves popular, the strategy and the mindset of companies was different, of being friendly and on our side. But thanks to JR and Dallas, we discovered that meaness was a way to go. Through no fault of our own, we had been sucked into the business of business, yet now from think about dramas about business, we watch as real business is being portrayed by people trying to get to a point and hope situation.
We look at YouTube and see so many different videos of the number of opinions and also thoughts as well, inbetween them there is the recording from Beta and VHS, things which might have been lost for ever but now in cyberspace, sure there are people who try and recreate stuff, badly... Though if it wasn't for that, we would have something to look at to be able to look at old adverts, junctions and bits of programmes. We have become the keepers of the archives, we create our own pasts and future.
So Merry Christmas from me, I'll be back in the New Year with more nonsense to waffle about. But until then, have yourselves a Happy Christmas and don't forget to leave the purple quality street alone...
So here we are, the first of my 12 bits leading up to Christmas. Taking the festive season and making it drink so much Egg Nog and Absinthe, that come Boxing Day it'll be wondering about a recipe for scrambled eggs...
Starting off with...
1. Pantomines...
"He's behind you!" The regular call heard at theatres up and down the country over December and Early January, usually when someone's drink is split... Either that the refrain of children excited by sweets and also a character searching for someone. The panto has developed over the years from the early Harlequinade to today's sophisticated lights and music shows, in modern times the attraction is the stars who are in the panto itself. Taking its lead from Music Hall, the great entertainers have always appeared. From Pop stars to comedians and sports stars, they have each done their turns. Each story in turn has been adapted for the major star to show off their talent, for instance Rolf Harris would do his Jake the Peg act in the middle of Cinderella. Which bears no relationship to the plot itself, but it gave the chance to for others to shine.
The dame is a key role in any pantomine, acting as a foil for the comical turn such as Buttons but also entertaining the audience in themself. The role has been filled with performers with the magnitude of Chris Harris famous in the South for his time presenting 'Hey Look That's Me!' but also the quality of Les Dawson, Dawson is the master of the dame. His style, the demeanour and also the way he sells the role to the audience.... A true pro...
In myself, my experiences of panto are sort of mixed really from the Kings Theatre in Portsmouth seeing the great stars performing and getting up on stage with Brian Cant to tell an awful joke. But in meeting the great man was enough, but in that same performance... Major embarassment... When Lorraine Chase was playing Aladdin and was at a crucial scene when she finds the lamp originally, guess who shouted at the top of his voice as the lone voice "Rub the Lamp!" Which she replied "Thanks..." I could have nearly died, thinking back on it... Not the best move at all... Thinking over all the stars I saw in panto, it encouraged my love of Light Entertainment...
"Its Bobby Davro... Who?"
This gem comes from 2009 when Bobby Davro, and Mickey Rooney starred in panto in Milton Keynes... Milton Keynes isn't funny in itself, but it comes from the tradition of the stars being put into the panto who maybe don't fit as such... When Frank Bruno went into panto, it was because he was famous for his boxing but with the trend for reality stars now it seems that panto has changed into a vehicle for people who may have been on the television soon enough. The nature of this has been shown in the previous year when Britt Ekland came out of the jungle and to the Kings Theatre, it might be good publicity for the show itself. But with the currency of this, it leads to more people coming to the theatre and also something as such with their effect.
So what else is there? Maybe a bit of festive time ads, involving panto... This from 1987 with Children's ITV , in which it feels right to be involved with panto time...
In these times of the credit crunch everyone is feeling the pinch, especially the television industry. So it comes down to what ideas are cost effective and usually the solution lies in mass producible programmes such as Deal or No Deal and Countdown leading to monster runs of each basically spanning the whole year.
The phenomenal success of Pointless shows that a stranded show in the schedule puts the channel into a position where they can control what they want to do. In the re-runs of early Pointless on Challenge, the seed is sewed as far the game is so addictive and being able to play along at home, which any quiz is giving its back teeth for.
ITV have experimented somewhat more then the BBC by re-introducing The Price Is Right with Joe Pasquale some time ago. But everyone knows about Golden Balls and Weakest Links of this world, though if it gets worse what shows will be brought back?
Here we ponder at the lesser lights which could fill up a wet Wednesday afternoon against Dickinson’s Real Deal...
Takeover Bid (BBC 1)
The Brucie lead vehicle of the late 80’s and early 90’s when he came back to the BBC, encouraging players to steal prizes off their opponents. Quite right for these times when it seems like every other company is taking over everyone else, so why not have that business-like jolly uncle turned entertainment host Gerry Robinson takes over the role of quizmaster plus with the added bonus of Adam ‘Shaw’s Shares’ Shaw as the glamorous assistant. “Your prizes value may go up or down owing to market conditions….”
Talkabout (ITV 1)
Verbally adept game show once introduced by future Peep Show executive producer Andrew O’Connor is brought up by Simon Cowell’s Syco TV in which the self appointed entertainment guru ditches the game and makes up the rules as he goes along. Contestants are punished if they don’t talk about The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent or any show presented by Ant’n’Dec, the show is given a trillion week monster run by ITV as they see the potential to use a phone vote to get rid of the contestants one by one…
Lucky Ladders (ITV 1)
Presented by the woman from the accident claim line adverts. As contestants come on and claim for such things as a loose fitting pen lid to a violent sneezing fit because the waitress in a Little Chef dropped the pepper. If their claim is suitable enough they are given thousands which they have to pay back eventually at double the rate of inflation…
"Gordon Bennett! No it's actually Lennie in fact..."
The Travel Quiz (BBC 1)
Contestants are giving the chance to win pictures of all the destinations that they cannot travel, all to due to the rising costs of air fuel. Due to copyright restriction, only pictures of British seaside resorts maybe used thanks to a dusty box of photos left over from Holiday ’78 found in a cupboard at the back of BBC canteen behind tins of semolina and prunes. (Andi “Ow, that’s rather hot isn’t it?” Peters not included…)
That’s My Dog (ITV 1)
Ironic twist gameshow, where half the staff of Heat Magazine are charged with
trying to control certain nightclub *ahem* beauties and keep them from getting
too merry before filming whilst Derek Hobson tries to reflect where his career has
gone and why they have turned the South-West’s number one produced gameshow
into a scene from Footballer’s Wives…
If that the case of being funny, by suggesting them its a serious business that people will tell you in the number of quiz shows have been piloted for BBC and ITV, with The Weakest Link leaving us soon, it brings into focus that when a format finishes, the next idea has to be ready to go....
So when they've started I'll finish and hopefully it'll be a starter for ten...
So you've been wondering where the midweek blog was then? Oh, you haven't... Well, so... No, that's not the way to make friends or enemies. But I spent five days in Dorset on holiday, in October I hear you say. Well, that's how I roll. So apart from two lovely days it was cold and the 3G signal was more holey then a fishing net combined with a perforated teabag, meaning Twitter reading and doing anything vaguely internetty was out of the question.
With this opportunity, its time to go and annoy the blue, red, green and what other colour you can have coats, without infringing the copywrite of who owns it nowadays. So with no money following about, many people are taking the plunge and rediscovering the holiday camp after many years again now where they would take a break in the sun to remind everyone of how a holiday can be, might be and also experiencing through the lens and on the screen in Boggenstrovia's guide to knowing your holiday camps...
Everything you're wanting is at Pontin's!
Name: Pontins
Colour of Coat: Blue
Ah good ol' Fred himself, this was the choice for Jack and Stan in Holiday on the Buses. With camps throughout the land of course with at its height 30 in total with the first of them opening in 1946 which was an ex-US Army Base. So much was also made about Fred's idea to take the idea to Spain with 'Son of Pontins - Pontinental' the same shit food, only with sand in it as Victor Lewis-Smith put it in Ads Infinitum. An idea ahead of its time in which Benidorm would have just looked at and said that's what we want. The company was sold in Coral in 1978 for £56 million, a bookmakers buying a Holiday camp group? Hmm, I wonder where they got the idea for that from? Think that's weird? Coral's got taken over by Bass Breweries in 1980, so from betting to booze, maybe not the most obvious bedfellows but another world I suppose!
Trevor Hemmings led a management buy-out in 1987 but the booze was back as it was sold to Scottish and Newcastle in 1989. Newky Brown is now available in the bar! The naughties was a time where things were lean for Pontins going through administration and coming out the other side without loss of jobs or parks.
Bobby 'Nankers' Davro leads the names of famous bluecoats via Shane Ritchie, so like other camps the grounding for the these names was one of jollity entertaining people who are mostly there for a good time or either that a good booze up. Its reflective now that Pontins is trying to look towards to Disney for its ideas, taking that influence for its revamp of its parks, but having gone there in the past they may have to think again about a crocodile mascot or the surreal situation where they also had an in-camp television station which showed one story read by an old man which went through the night and was on the next morning much to my family's amazement. Who said that ITV had the monopoly on 24-hour television.
Hi-de-Hi set the benchmark for comedy in the 1980's with another smash for Jimmy Perry and the late David Croft, by using Perry's experiences of being a Redcoat for Butlins at Pwllheli they manage to create a holiday which people could recognise themselves, the frustrated turns, the bright and breezy staff and also the entertainments manager who seemed to be out of place in what he was dealing with. Though the 80's was the right time for the show to be broadcast in with the nostalgia in the 50's coming back into fashion and people seeing there own holiday experience at the camps. In terms of what it set out to do, the target was hit with the sense of the changing nature of what Britain was going through at that time with the last episode suggesting that major changes were needed with modernisation to be able to compete in the 1960's.
Want to bet there's a better holiday? Well, there is! How about this effort from Ladbrokes Holidays to tempt you to go to one of their camps, by using the stars of "Who Do You Do?" This effort
The atmosphere of camps changed over the years where people would look down on them for being cheap and cheerful, where as a knowing wink is appropriate to what it maybe seen as. It might not be the Ritz, but as with everything you pay your money and take your choice as such. Most people make do with this attitude or as it would have pleased Billy Butlin to see them take this attitude with the words "That's the spirit!" ringing in the ears of the campers or is that just Gladys Pugh's glockenspiel?
What makes a show real? Realism or a mixture of stories with something to say? Now Shameless has reached 100 shows, it has changed drama and made a debate about how it should be. Some people may see it as chavs and naer-do-wells upto no good while other may see it as the best drama in a long time. In terms of kitchen sink drama it has pushed the boundaries to the edge, learning that the basis for its drama should be what people see everyday. Of course people don't always live on a council estate, they may live in the country or in a town, but they can recognise characters they know in a show.
But these types of dramas have always tried to hold a mirror upto the nation at various time and said "Have a good look at yourself and see what you see.." Now people may not like what they see, other may see themselves and others may start to see what they are becoming. Through films such as Kes and also Saturday Night and Sunday Morning which reflected a realism which people were crying out for in the 1960's and 1970's came through a spirit, almost akin to their own properties. As we look at the 80's for example with Alan Bleasdale's Boys from the Blackstuff, showing the situation with employment as people got laid off from jobs and had to fight to survive in the atmosphere which had been created at that time. The mantra of Yosser Hughes being 'Gissa Job' was never so true at those times.
Fast forwarding to today, Shameless fills the gap where once costume drama would have filled and the characters are as compelling as any in Dallas. For Frank Gallacher, has become an idol to some but also a clarion call to others. Through the riots recently, people were screaming about this, that and everything. It is convient to show people reclaiming their cities when they think its appropriate, but for the small person it doesn't hold much truck to them. I wouldn't say that it could be claimed that I was a chav myself but in Shameless its the need for something which exists in our minds only. The need for putting everyone in the same box, there are good and bad people out there, never I could say that in judgement I could pick everyone on either side. I might be right, I might be wrong... It might be Shameless to say, that Shameless has pushed the boundaries again...
Like many people I am often to found shouting at the television, where as they maybe not agree with what's on there. Its more then likely I'm shouting out to the answer to a question, well most of the time...
But the game or quiz show is something I've always loved, my earliest memories are of Ted Rodgers and Dusty Bin on Saturday night at my Nan and Grandad's watching 3-2-1. The show always seemed like light years away from my own life, as it proudly boasted at the start of the edition 'It's a Quiz, It's a Game, It's Fortune and Fame!' Really, I don't know apart from the contestants who guessed Chopin and Beethoven for a question about Handel if any got the fame they wanted from it... Judging by their answers maybe infamy then anything else.
Ted Rogers cartoon not included...
Though the spirit of these shows have changed, from winning a Hi-Fi we got all the way through to Robert Kilroy-Silk asking people to shaft each other. Having said that, that sounds very creepy!
My love for questions for winning what was seemingly tat, came through the old Friday 7pm quiz spot from BBC1 and ITV. Friday represented the start of the weekend and the start of light entertainment galore. Easy on the eye the titles may have not been, but the pure content was almost like a warm lounge fire in Autumn and Winter time. In particular the one show which makes think of those times is 'Play Your Cards Right', following Brucie's move to ITV in 1978, Michael Grade looked to find Bruce a format which would work for him. So over to America and one was found, but not seemingly the one that Brucie wanted to do. His idea was to ask Bob Monkhouse to a swap deal for Family Feud, what was going to turn into Family Fortunes. Grade had bought Card Sharks to be able to make a British version of that, with some format tweaking came forth was 'Play Your Cards Right'.
"Mirror, mirror on the wall... Who's the Bruciest of them all?"
The thrill of 'Higher and Lower!' was something get excited about, the audience were encouraged to get involved in the game. This hadn't been seen by viewers before, the excitement would there in your living room on a weekly basis. On a turn of a card, a car could be won or lost. Some people might say that's random chance, but the build up to that moment was almost as thrilling as the game itself. In those few moments it was evident that Bruce Forsyth is a gameshow god, the pace, the control, the thrill of it all...
As Bob Monkhouse once in an interview, that the pause between the question and correct is the key thing of being a great gameshow host. Tension can be ramped up, the anticipation of the answer, never knowing if it will be wrong or right. We are willingly able to look on at these hosts and look at what they are doing, but not everyone can make a good gameshow host. Charm and charisma are two key factors, likeablity of the host another. This works so well with Terry Wogan, hearing his charm at work also being able to walk and talk at the same time like he did on the radio.
Hmm. I'm sure there a message in there, but I just can't work it out!
A gameshow can be key to a good schedule, but it can hold a place in people hearts for ever, all for the turn of a card...
Some people may question where about the quest and thirst for knowledge comes from, what makes up someone who wants to learn more and more. I will admit I've never been the most intelligent of beings, but I've always had a thirst for learning new things. After leaving school as a 16 yr old with no GCSE's this made me want to know more about the media and the industry surrounding it. Fine, I could read TV listings from a young age but I wanted to know about the companies behind the programmes and the people who made them.
Like many things nowadays, anything like this is seen in the newspapers as quirky and odd. These stories come with a 'Good for a Laugh' image, but I don't never see this as that. Since I have been tweeting I have learned more and more from various people and their knowledge of such things, where as I would have looked at a book and read now I can discuss with people about all angles of an industry set up to inform, educated and entertain us.
Learning such information on my own seems like a little triumph for myself, knowing that I can know something that it might not be 100% right, but just the knowledge of knowing that particular fact. Then again some of the most influential people in the media and entertainment sphere have search for that knowing all their lives. By example Jeremy Beadle was supplying information to shows, Bob Monkhouse built up a huge collection of videos of shows and other items as well. We all want to be able to say 'Here's something that you don't know...' Maybe such not as pub trivia but being able to impart knowledge to other people each and every day. I read mostly reference books and autobiographies of people and have done all through my life, knowing what people have been through to get where they are today. A good true life story is as good as a fictional one, where as you could say that you couldn't make it up at all.
By using this knowledge I can impart thing onto other people and help them in whatever I do, even by doing this and passing on little bits of knowledge to the likes of Iain Lee and Danny Baker, if they used them that was upto to them. But knowing I can provide a little bit of trivia and knowledge with what I do, it makes an audience sit up and listen. I'm not saying that I'm no memory champion as such, but when you are given a hand of cards to be able to sit in front of a television set, it'll be used to do so.
I was never going to be a world champion being able to kick a ball around, but knowing that Mickey Dolenz
directed Metal Mickey, that's one thing I will take with me....
With Jeremy Hunt saying about local television this week, that spaces on the Freeview multiplex will be give to microcosmic local television channels, similar to the old RSL licences. There is a case in point to look back at another experience I had...
In my time I had auditioned for the now defunct TV12 on the Isle of Wight, to not much success to be said. Now I had been working for the local hospital radio for a couple of years when an opportunity came about to appear in a local training video as one of many disabled people who had found opportunities through volunteering. To me this seemed a bit almost wet, but it was appearing in front of the camera so I took it.
This lead me into Portsmouth Television, the seemingly hotbed of local television... To tell you the truth, it was a news room and another room with a chromakey screen. But I had to look around ], so at the end of my recording I said is it OK to take peep at where the action is? They said yes, apart from the average presenters who have gone to other media organisations or just out of the industry...
But there was one person who looked set for the top even then, in the corner there was a women with long eyelashes concentrating hard who didn't even acknowledge when I said hello to all the people in the newsroom.
"Moody so and so..." I thought... But after getting some autographs of the presenters including Sarah Dinenage, Fred's daughter. It was time to go home, I kept watching the service to see if it would improve but this young lady kept appearing nightly reading the news...
I never thought much would come of her...
Then one day I switched ITV on and there she was...
Eyelashes not included...
Oh, I thought as I put my head in my hands... It was ITV News' Andrea Benfield...
Star spotting, not a great talent of mine... But it has come about that 65 licences are to be given out and it seems like the local news on this 'Channel Six' will be sponsored... But eventually as has been proven by other RSL's, that they will need to break even pretty soon after launch otherwise advertising revenue will not be big enough to maintain the service even with huge financial backing. In Manchester even with the full backing of Guardian Group, that Channel 'M' closed down eventually, but now is putting a bid in for the same region...
Maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks, but getting them to remember it can be a pain...
Now who is Boggenstrovia? Some might know me as Rob, others as Mr Chicken...
But I am one and the same, so I will using this to write thoughts, show stuff and also give opinions.
So what about me?
Some might call me a simpleton from Portsmouth, others may call me other things but I know what I am and that is a twit... No, hang on that's not right!
But I just love television, from the days when I used to draw the Westward logo with crayons to being able to recite the TV page from the Daily Mirror even giving advice on what to watch that night. I was brought up on Light Entertainment and those programme hold a lot for me...
Though I like sport, please don't run away! I can see you edging there!
Like I was saying thought, I like sport I won't blog all the time about it... Only if its relevant to the blog etc...
But by using this blog I will be able to show you something from my past as well, wondering how a young boy from Portsmouth grew up into a misanthrope and maybe still growing up as well...
