S19 Contemporary TV

S19 saw consistently high ratings in the two weekday slots, with 5 episodes achieving 10m+. These days, 10m would be pretty much top of the TV charts, but S19's peak position was #26 for the first part of TimeFlight. So what was the nation watching on the 3 channels in January 1982? And what were you watching, whether on this list or not? The book I have lists a Top 10 for both BBC and ITV and as you can see all of the ITV Top 10 are higher than anything on the BBC!

1) Jim'll Fix It - 13.4m
2) Last of the Summer Wine - 13.3m
3) Top of the Pops - 12.5m
4) Terry and June - 12.4m
5) Goodbye Mr Kent - 12.3m
6) Dallas - 12.3m
7) Shoestring - 12.3m
8) A Shot in the Dark - 11.9m
9) The Les Dawson Show - 11.7m
10) Holiday - 11.3m

1) Coronation Street - 17.1m
2) This Is Your Life - 16.9m
3) Coronation Street - 16.8m
4) Family Fortunes - 15.1m
5) Wish You Were Here - 14.9m
6) Shine On Harvey Moon - 14.5m
7) The Fall Guy - 14.3m
8) Hart To Hart - 14.3m
9) Crossroads - 13.9m
10) 3-2-1 - 13.9m

I'd forgotten how popular This Is Your Life was!

Also, I find it interesting how much more popular Wish You Were Here was than the BBC's Holiday equivalent. Not to mention how many people watched them anyway!

I recognise most of those programmes, and I think back in the day we watched most too - except Goodbye Mr Kent. What's that Jonno?

It's a lost one on me, Andrew - never heard of it! My TV Comedy book tells me it was a one series, 7 episode sitcom which aired on Thursdays at 8.30pm. It starred Richard Briers and Hannah Gordon - she was a divorcee who took him in as a lodger.

Of course, amazing to think that the year began with Swap Shop, concluding its run, and replaced by Saturday Superstore which started in the autumn. I loved watching those, and another big fave was Grange Hill - an excellent season which introduced iconic characters Zammo and Roland, and had Gripper Stebson at the peak of his bullying, notably of poor Roland.

That's one of my favourite seasons of Grange Hill. Really good strong stuff that year. For a show that was synonymous with Tucker and his lot, they got by just fine with a few cameos from the original team.

Oh! I didn't recognise the name, but I do recognise your description of Goodbye Mr Kent, Jonno. Although the memory cheats, my memory is that it was really well-trailed, quite hyped up (I guess because Richard Briers and Hannah Gordon were a quality cast) but was quite a big flop. I think Richard Briers' character was... not rude, or unlikeable exactly, but very oblivious to other people, something like that. I do remember watching it and thinking he'd be good playing a new Doctor in a similar vein!

And yes, good old Grange Hill - classic times indeed!

One of the great things about the DVD extras is that they more often than not feature clips and continuity for that evenings TV.
I was watching the Kinda disc last night and clicked on the continuity extras and found that airing opposite Who on BBC2 is a music magazine show called Riverside. The show often featured New Wave artists, in the early 80s a lot of synth bands were featured. The Kinda continuity mentions Bauhaus, an early 80s synth band who never really made a big impression on the charts other than with Bowie's Ziggy Stardust. Oddly enough though while looking around for more details on this show I've just found a video of their first TV appearence, the Riverside performance mentioned on the Kinda continuities from February 1982.
I see that evenings TV also consists of A Question of Sport and comedy Terry and June, also The Rockford Files on Monday's. I think mention of that will trigger a few memories for my fellow posters.

I think refering to 'Terry and June' as 'Comedy' is a bit strong. Interesting about Riverside, I should imagine that it's completely lost to us now!

Here's the BBC and ITV Top Tens for February 82 :

1) Last of the Summer Wine - 14.1m
2) Jim'll Fix It - 13.6m
3) Dallas - 12.6m
4) Shoestring - 12.3m
5) Terry and June - 11.8m
6) The Black Windmill - 11.6m
7) Holiday - 11.5m
8) News And Sport - 11.5m
9) Top of the Pops - 11.4m
10) The Les Dawson Show - 11.1m

1) This Is Your Life - 17.5m
2) Coronation Street - 17.3m
3) Coronation Street - 16.3m
4) Family Fortunes - 14.9m
5) Shine On Harvey Moon - 14.7m
6) Hart To Hart - 14.6m
7) Wish You Were Here - 14.5m
8) The Fall Guy - 14.5m
9) The Gentle Touch - 14.4m
10) 3-2-1 - 14.3m


The Black Windmill anyone? Was that a film?

Last of the Summer Wine - more popular than Dallas!! Crikey!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jonno Simmons

The Black Windmill anyone? Was that a film?

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There is a film called the Black Windmill, a thriller with Michael Caine in it - not too bad either.

1) Last of the Summer Wine - Never watched it as a kid.
2) Jim'll Fix It - We always watched it.
3) Dallas - NEVER!!!!
4) Shoestring - Don't recall ever seeing it.
5) Terry and June - Another weekly favourite.
6) The Black Windmill - Not seen it.
7) Holiday - No fear! What's the point of watching someone else enjoying a holiday that we can't afford to go on?
8) News And Sport - Not my age. :lol
9) Top of the Pops - Always on even if I wasn't paying it attention.
10) The Les Dawson Show - Another weekly fav.

1) This Is Your Life - Watched it on & off.
2) Coronation Street - NO!
3) Coronation Street - Still NO! :p
4) Family Fortunes - Another weekly fav. Can't remember if this clashed with anything else.
5) Shine On Harvey Moon - Nope.
6) Hart To Hart - Always used to be on, Jonathan & Jennifer Hart with Max & Freeway the dog. :lol
7) Wish You Were Here - See Holiday.
8) The Fall Guy - Lots.. :)
9) The Gentle Touch - My Mum loved this.
10) 3-2-1 - Always watched, never understood the clues. :lol

I'm very much in tune with your responses there, Tim, bar TOTP which was a big favourite of mine throughout the 80s. To round things off for this season, here's the Top 10s for March 82 :

1) Jim'll Fix It - 14.0m
2) Top of the Pops - 13.3m
3) Kenny Everett TV Show - 12.7m
4) Shoestring - 12.7m
5) Dallas - 12.7m
6) The Dukes of Hazzard - 12.0m
7) The McKenzie Break - 11.9m
8) Nanny - 11.3m
9) A Question of Sport - 10.8m
10) The Les Dawson Show - 10.7m

1) This Is Your Life - 17.3m
2) Coronation Street - 17.1m
3) Coronation Street - 17.0m
4) Hart To Hart - 15.0m
5) Family Fortunes - 14.7m
6) 3-2-1 - 14.4m
7) Nature Watch - 14.2m
8) Magnum Force - 14.2m
9) Crossroads - 13.9m
10) Minder - 13.9m