Phillip
Friday 25th July 2008 2:07pm
Manchester
15 posts
UKTV Gold are one of my bug bears. It used to be a great channel, full of classic TV programmes that you wouldn't find anywhere else, and some that have never been repeated or even released elsewhere.
Here's a schedule from 1994:
7.00 - The Sullivans
7.30 - Neighbours
8.00 - Sons & Daughters
8.30 - Eastenders
9.00 - The Bill
9.30 - Flesh & Blood
10.30 - Juliet Bravo
11.35 - The Sullivans
12.00 - Sons & Daughters
12.30 - Neighbours
13.00 - Eastenders
13.30 - The Bill
14.00 - George & Mildred
14.30 - Rings On Their Fingers
15.00 - Knots Landing
16.00 - Dynasty
17.00 - Every Second Counts
17.35 - Top Of The Pops - The 70's
17.55 - Terry & June
18.30 - Eastenders
19.00 - The Two Ronnies
20.00 - Life Without George
20.30 - Rings On Their Fingers
21.00 - Tenko
22.00 - The Bill
22.30 - Top Of The Pops - shows from 1986
23.40 - Doctor Who
00.10 - Rockcliffes Babies
01.15 - Scotch 'n' Wry
And here's 2007:
06.00 - Doctor Who Omnibus (Pertwee episode in bad quality)
09.00 - Baywatch (American, on DVD)
10.00 - Baywatch (American, on DVD)
11.00 - The A-Team (American, on DVD)
12.00 - The A-Team (American, on DVD)
13.00 - Doctor Who (just released on DVD, repeated loads on BBC3)
14.00 - Doctor Who (just released on DVD, repeated loads on BBC3)
15.00 - Doctor At Sea (film, available on DVD)
16.45 - Carry on Henry (film, very available on DVD)
18.25 - Murder She Wrote (American)
19.40 - Porridge (also repeated on UKTV or BBC2, on DVD)
20.20 - Open All Hours (repeated too often, on DVD)
21.00 - Little Britain (been shown a million times on BBC1/2/3 & on DVD)
22.20 - The Catherine Tate Show (just come out on DVD!)
23.40 - Little Britain (same bloody episode again!)
02.15 - The Catherine Tate Show (same!)
It's just not interesting anymore. There's countless programmes they could repeat, some that we'll probably never see get a proper DVD release. But we have to put up with the same old garbage and *countless* repeats of Only Fools And Horses, Blackadder & Fawlty Towers... as for programmes like Catherine Tate and Little Britain, they should stay on BBC3 where they belong. It's just not what it was.
There's obviously an audience for archive television, so it's such a shame we don't get what we want. I guess DVD has helped, or perhaps hindered, the possibilities of such a channel, but there are programmes that will never see a DVD release - archive TOTP for instance - simply because the rights issues would make it impossible.