3 ms·

I grew up in Australia. At this time (many years ago) TV was basically a mix of ABC (ie the Australian version of PBS) and British TV (mostly BBC but also some

by cletus 4y ago

I grew up in Australia. At this time (many years ago) TV was basically a mix of ABC (ie the Australian version of PBS) and British TV (mostly BBC but also some ITV and Channel 4). I cannot adequately describe just how good TV was from this era, particularly children's TV. Prime example: Dr Who. This was the era of Tom Baker as the Doctor. Honestly, it was amazing. But there were other shows that were just plain goofy like The Goodies and Monkey. On the sci-fi front you had Blake's Seven, which was way ahead of its time in moral complexity. To this day, Avon is an amazing character. We saw very little American TV. Sesame Street was a notable exception. At the time this even dealth with complex issues (eg the actor who played Mr Cooper died IRL and his death was on the show). As I got older you got into shows like Grange Hill, which actually dealt with issues like a kid dying of a heroin overdose. In my teens I got into more adult shows like Yes Minister (which, to this day, is amazing). We had in-depth news program that was of exceedingly high quality (ie Four Corners and the 7:30 Report) that included such gems as [1] (referring to the Kirki [2]). But what happened in the 1980s to the BBC in particular was that children's TV got really dumbed down. Dr Who was viewed as "too scary". So all this innovation basically disappeared under the guise of the road to hell is paved with good intentions. It wasn't really until the 2000s that TV recovered from this and even now I believe even now that children's TV is simply awful. None of it seems to be intellectually engaging at all and certainly not "adventurous". [1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m5qxZm_JqM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m5qxZm_JqM [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirki_(tanker) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirki_(tanker)

Throwawayaerlei 4y ago
"Dr Who. This was the era of Tom Baker as the Doctor. Honestly, it was amazing. But there were other shows that were just plain goofy like The Goodies and Monkey. On the sci-fi front you had Blake's Seven, which was way ahead of its time in moral complexity. To this day, Avon is an amazing character." Avon is indeed amazing. And it's no accident Terry Nation, the creator of Blake's Seven, was the author of what made Dr. Who a smash hit with his script for the second serial titled "The Daleks." Just squeezing into the "1970s" in 1970 was ITC/ITV's UFO which was also great SF, I watched it a few years after in weekly syndication in the US. Didn't get a chance to watch the previously mentioned BBC shows until the 1980s.
yesenadam 4y ago
We must be about the same age. I adored Tom Baker Doctor Who, Goodies, Monkey, Blake's 7. Also loved: Kenny Everett Video Show, The Curiosity Show. A friend who lived in Newcastle went to the corner store to buy rubber bands while watching The Curiosity Show. The bewildered shopkeeper asked why so many kids were coming to buy rubber bands at that moment. What a heart-warming story, I never knew if anyone else watched it. Recently rewatched Blake's 7, the SO loved it. I mentioned that to a friend in Bulgaria, she said "What?? Blake's 7?? We used to play Blake's 7 in the street when I was a kid. Guess who I was? Gan haha" "We saw very little American TV." Weird, I watched an awful lot of terrible US series that I'm too ashamed to list. With ads! Moonlighting was about the only really good one.
- cletus 4y ago
  Oh I'd forgotten about Kenny Everett. What a trip. My early years I spent in a rural year where we only had one channel: the state broadcaster. That's why we saw American TV rarely. By the teen years it was different: we got a second channel! With ads. Actually we had some of that when visiting family in a large city (with 3 then 4 channels!). The A-Team, Different Strokes, Cheers, the Dukes of Hazzard, Family Ties, LA Law (which was dope), The Wonder Years, the list goes on.
  - smackeyacky 4y ago
    There is plenty of Kenny Everett on Youtube. It's not as funny as I remember but it's worth revisiting if you skip the music (which makes the original show about 10 minutes long in total).

by cletus 4y ago

Throwawayaerlei 4y ago

"Dr Who. This was the era of Tom Baker as the Doctor. Honestly, it was amazing. But there were other shows that were just plain goofy like The Goodies and Monkey. On the sci-fi front you had Blake's Seven, which was way ahead of its time in moral complexity. To this day, Avon is an amazing character." Avon is indeed amazing. And it's no accident Terry Nation, the creator of Blake's Seven, was the author of what made Dr. Who a smash hit with his script for the second serial titled "The Daleks." Just squeezing into the "1970s" in 1970 was ITC/ITV's UFO which was also great SF, I watched it a few years after in weekly syndication in the US. Didn't get a chance to watch the previously mentioned BBC shows until the 1980s.

yesenadam 4y ago

We must be about the same age. I adored Tom Baker Doctor Who, Goodies, Monkey, Blake's 7. Also loved: Kenny Everett Video Show, The Curiosity Show. A friend who lived in Newcastle went to the corner store to buy rubber bands while watching The Curiosity Show. The bewildered shopkeeper asked why so many kids were coming to buy rubber bands at that moment. What a heart-warming story, I never knew if anyone else watched it. Recently rewatched Blake's 7, the SO loved it. I mentioned that to a friend in Bulgaria, she said "What?? Blake's 7?? We used to play Blake's 7 in the street when I was a kid. Guess who I was? Gan haha" "We saw very little American TV." Weird, I watched an awful lot of terrible US series that I'm too ashamed to list. With ads! Moonlighting was about the only really good one.

cletus 4y ago
Oh I'd forgotten about Kenny Everett. What a trip. My early years I spent in a rural year where we only had one channel: the state broadcaster. That's why we saw American TV rarely. By the teen years it was different: we got a second channel! With ads. Actually we had some of that when visiting family in a large city (with 3 then 4 channels!). The A-Team, Different Strokes, Cheers, the Dukes of Hazzard, Family Ties, LA Law (which was dope), The Wonder Years, the list goes on.
- smackeyacky 4y ago
  There is plenty of Kenny Everett on Youtube. It's not as funny as I remember but it's worth revisiting if you skip the music (which makes the original show about 10 minutes long in total).