Sez Les 1972: The sketch show’s camp stereotype made regular appearances in silly outfits. ibid.
In 70s light entertainment, camp was king or queen. ibid.
The Black and White Minstrel Show 1958 to 1978. ibid.
The Goodies’ South African ‘nig-nogs’ sketch. ibid.
Curry and Chips 1969 London Weekend Television. ‘Woman shot rather than raped’ sketch ... axed after six episodes. ibid.
Love thy Neighbour: Sambos, spades … ibid.
1977: Mind Your Language. ibid.
1980s Britain was a crazy place to grow up in ... More TV than ever before. It Was Alright in the 1980s, Channel 4 2014
Mr TSW 1980s ... Good Morning Britain 1984: Faith Brown & Rustie Lee ... Blue Peter presenter wearing corsets ... You & Me 1985 & death of Squiggle the guinea pig ... The Little & Large Show (Indian racist scene) ... The Two Ronnies (Indian racist scene) ... OTT 1982 (alternative comedy v Bernard Manning) ... Ludovic Kennedy’s racist outburst about television for minorities ... Bachanal 1984 ... Horizon: Are You Racist? ... Crackerjack 1984 & Visage ... Network TV (Yoof TV) … ibid.
Cost of a VCR in 1981 – equivalent to US $3,500 today. The 80s: The Decade That Made Us, National Geographic 2013
Cable TV was in its infancy. ibid.
Cool Britannia … After Dark: incoherent drunk Oliver Reed ... Mrs Norton of Falmouth complains of excessive coverage of Nelson Mandela’s release ... The Word: licking dandruff ... the ‘new lad’ culture had arrived ... Fantasy Football League ... TFI Friday ... The Girlie Show ... Wanker of the Week: Peter Andre ... Man o Man Saturday Night – which unlucky lad would get dumped ... Naked Elvis 1999 late Friday ... Davina McCall and the poo show ... Strip Masterbrain ... Live TV inc Topless Darts at the Ballet ... The Good Sex Guide ... ITV’s Sex Now ... Brookside and lesbian kiss ... Des O’Connor Tonight 1990 ... Harry Enfield’s racism ... Mrs Merton ... It Was Alright in the 1990s, Channel 4 2015
Food: ‘The Thing about the sausage rolls – they’re getting smaller. In terms of the size and all that there, you know.’ Sinn Fein prisoner, televised interview cited ibid.
World’s worst rap duet: The 8-15 from Manchester – Saturday morning kids’ show, a regular feature called Rapattack – ‘a group from Cheltenham who go by the name of The Untouchables’. ibid.
‘Think of all the fun you could have, instead of spending money on a dumb pack of fags.’ ibid. The Untouchables’ rap attack
His list of achievements is staggering ... As a television presenter Clark made the greatest impact. Sir Kenneth Clark: Portrait of a Civilised Man: A Culture Show Special, BBC 2014
Civilisation: it was the most ambitious series ever made, and hailed by many as a masterpiece. ibid.
Aged just 30 he was appointed the youngest ever director of the National Gallery. ibid.
What was new was a third channel. Melvyn Bragg on Class and Culture II, BBC 2012
The momentous impact that television had on the lives of just about every one of us. Melvyn Bragg on the Box, BBC 2017
Staying in has become the new going out … Nothing like has happened before. ibid.
‘When something happens now we all share in it.’ ibid. David Olusoga
‘The greatest of all inventions.’ ibid.
The first great audience-grabbing broadcast on British television was the coronation of the young Queen, Elizabeth II. ibid.
Television is a medium of entertainment which permits millions of people to listen to the same joke at the same time, and yet remain lonesome. T S Eliot
Barbara: Turn the tele off.
Jim: Eh? There’s no need for that. The Royle Family s1e4: Dad’s Birthday, BBC 1998
She’s gone too far this time – bang! She just switched the tele off. The Royle Family s2e5: Barbara Finally Has Enough, Jim to Dave
Sky! Sky TV! You’ve got me Sky TV! 200 channels! The Royle Family at Christmas, Jim
Oh, Jim. We don’t want Sky. We don’t watch tele enough to get the value. The Royle Family s3e1, Barbara to Jim
TV is fast becoming a battleground for global tech and communications mega-corporations. Will Hutton, Selling Off Britain
Electronic Television: Marconi-EMI 1937. The Genius of Invention IV: Visual Image, BBC 2013
[John Logie] Baird created his first prototype using a combination of recycled parts and four key inventions from other people. ibid.
Seeing by Wireless – Inventor of apparatus wishes to hear from someone who will assist (not financially) in making working model – Write Box S686, The Times EC4. ibid.
The TV business is uglier than most things. It is normally perceived as some kind of cruel and shallow money trench through the heart of the journalism industry, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs, for no good reason. Hunter S Thompson
Ever since the dawn of commercial television Saturday night has been the battleground between ITV and BBC1. Michael Grade, The Fight for Saturday Night, BBC 2014
At times it was dirty, at times it was personal: this is the fight for Saturday Night. ibid.
The ’70s saw the BBC dominant; in The Two Ronnies they created the most successful Saturday night double act of all time. ibid.
1980: A new decade had dawned ... On a cold Saturday night in February the eyes of Britain were focused on a small cabaret club in Stoke on Trent. Timeshift: Bullseyes and Beer: When Darts Hit Britain, BBC 2014
It was television that for two decades launched darts into our living rooms. ibid.
A traditional working class pub game had become a national obsession. ibid.
I confess I’m something of a game-show addict. Bradley Walsh, Come on Down! The Game Show Story I, ITV 2015
ITV fought back: 3-2-1 ... Neck and neck with The Generation Game in the ratings war. ibid.
Mr & Mrs ... Winner Takes All ... Blankety Blank ... The Price is Right ... Celebrity Squares ... The Krypton Factor ... Catchphrase ... Family Fortunes ... ibid.
The quiz – in a typical week on British television you’ll find around twenty different quizzes. Bradley Walsh, Come on Down! The Game Show Story II
Mastermind ... Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? ... University Challenge ... Take Your Pick ... Krypton Factor ... Criss-Cross Quiz ... Granada’s 21 (axed in 1958) ... [USA version of 21 Producers ensured Van Doren kept winning] ... Sale of the Century ... Blockbusters ... Pointless ... Ask the Family ... Weakest Link ... Countdown ... 15 to 1 ... Wheel of Fortune. ibid.
A maximum prize limit of £1,000 was imposed ... In the mid-’90s the prize restrictions were finally dropped. ibid.
‘Would you like to own a mink coat, Elizabeth? Come on, say.’ ibid. Nicholas Parsons, Sale of the Century
‘I’ve started; now I’ve finished.’ ibid. Mastermind’s Magnus Magnusson’s farewell
For some the rewards can be great. But not everyone can win big. What’s it like when appearing on a game show doesn’t turn out quite like you planned? Bradley Walsh, Come on Down! The Game Show Story III *****
The game show has come a long way since 1938 ... the Spelling Bee. ibid.
The Generation Game ... Family Fortunes ... Deal or No Deal ... What’s My Line ... Take Your Pick ... Double Your Money ... Bullseye ... Perfection ... Pointless ... Mastermind ... The Krypton Factor … ibid.
Whether it’s the set or those clever gadgets ... Gadgets and gimmicks. Bradley Walsh, Come on Down! The Game Show Story IV
Women were simply there to add a bit of glamour. ibid.