PSTV

[MacNimon]

Fantasy tv scedule time!

Just suppose that we here at PS wanted to set up our own tv channel, reflecting on the tv of our youth when there were only 4 channels. In our fantasy world, money would be no object, rights issues not a problem and there were no missing episodes of any series. We could, in effect, broadcast whatever we wished.

How would you fill the schedules? Let's use 1990 as a rough cut-off date for series/films for inclusion as this was around the time Satellite tv began to become popular, with Sky starting up in late 1989 and BSB following in early 1990. For convenience let's round running times up/down to the nearest half (or quarter) hour.

So basically, anything you watched on tv be it tv series/serial, film, music...whatever...which was aired prior to 1990 could be shown.

What would you select, and where would you schedule it? Let's see if we can fill a full weeks tv schedule!

[MacNimon]

I'll kick things off with Satrurday tea-time viewing...reflecting the options available at various times during the 70s...

Saturday

16.30 Buck Rogers In The 25th Century
17.30 Doctor Who (1970s)
18.00 Star Trek OST

Regarding DW, I think I'd have 3 seperate runs of the series at different times during the week...seperate runs for the 60s, 70s and 80s.

[Nyder]

We'll have to have Basil Brush before Buck Rogers! Or what Cheggers Plays Pop?

[Dino]

And I'd like early morning repeats of the old serials "Daredevils Of The Red Circle" and "Flash Gordon Goes To Mars". And even "Rocket Man". Digitally remastered obviously!

[MacNimon]

Agreed on both points!

I'd stick the Flash Gordon, etc stuff early morning, then some of those old school holiday serials from the 70s followed by Saturday morning cartoons etc. then Swap Shop, or Tiswas? 60's Doctor Who around here, as well.

[MacNimon]

Saturday

Mornings

07.30 Flash Gordon/ King Of The Rocket Men etc
08.00 Robinson Crusoe
08.30 The Flashing Blade
09.00 Valley Of The Dinosaurs, etc
09.30 Tarzan (1970s animated) etc
10.00 Doctor Who (1960s)
10.30 Tiswas

Late afternoon/evening

16.00 Basil Brush
16.30 Buck Rogers In The 25th Century
17.30 Doctor Who (1970s)
18.00 Star Trek OST
19.00 The Generation Game

You'd have to squeeze in The Generation Game, wouldn't you? And finish Saturday night off with a late-night Horror Double Bill.

[Nyder]

We'll have The Rons after Gen Game, news with Kenneth Kendall, weather with Jack Scott, Starsky & Hutch, then Parky with special guests Diana Dors, Kenneth Williams and Peter Ustinov

[MacNimon]

That sounds pretty much like an excellent Saturday nights viewing, doesn't it?! Too bad there's no space to fit in Saturday Night At The Movies, Eric 'n' Ernie or The Duchess Of Duke Street...amd of course Dallas would also be deserving of a Saturday night slot

And of course, any short gaps could be filled with a multitude of Tom And Jerry or Looney Tunes cartoons, as they were back in the day.

Let's see, how would things look with Nyder's suggestions...?

16.00 Basil Brush
16.30 Buck Rogers In The 25th Century
17.30 Doctor Who (1970s)
18.00 Star Trek OST
19.00 The Generation Game
20.00 The Two Ronnies
21.00 News & Weather
21.10 Starsky & Hutch
22.00 Parkinson
23.00-close Horror Double Bill (as in the 70s, one B&W film followed by a more recent colour one)

That only leaves mid-afternoon and possibly extending the early morning to complete Saturdays viewing. Afternoon possibly a mix of 60s/early 70s ITC along with some US fun such as Knight Rider, A-Team or Dukes Of Hazard?

[Andrew Curnow]

weather with Jack Scott, Starsky & Hutch

Did it really use to take 3 people to do the weather forecast in the 1970s? I don't remember that!

[SiHart]

When's Worzel Gummidge on?

[MacNimon]

Whenever you want it!

[Rob McCow]

I guess the Sci-Fi Channel might have run something like this a few times. Starting from the basis of the BBC2 Cult Evenings and assuming no ad breaks:

17:10 Doctor Who Double Bill
18:00 Star Trek: The Next Generation
18:45 Babylon 5
19:30 The X-Files
20:15 Farscape
21:00 Game of Thrones (never seen it but I'd probably like it).
21:50 Sapphire & Steel

[SiHart]

I'd swap The X-Files for Blake's 7 myself.

[Jon Masters]

When's Worzel Gummidge on?

I'd say Worzel would be more of a Sunday show (about tea-time), as would be things like All Creatures Grunt and Smell, and some classic drama series like Tenko or Secret Army.

Saturday afternoon has to be World of Sport - a good dose of Saint & Greavsie, followed by wrestling, the odd horse race and then some sport that never normally gets TV coverage.

[Rob McCow]

and then some sport that never normally gets TV coverage.

Fnar!

[Nyder]

We need 5 minutes of Paddington squeezed in somewhere ;-)

[SiHart]

We need a classic drama slot every night at 9pm I reckon.

[Dino]

We should also repeat current affairs shows, but have the politicians (if they are still alive) superimposed in a box in the corner to laugh or put their head in their hands like the celebrity victims of Ant and Dec, or even Noel's Gotchas.
Or maybe not!

[MacNimon]

Saturday

07.30 Flash Gordon/ King Of The Rocket Men etc
08.00 Robinson Crusoe
08.30 The Flashing Blade
09.00 Valley Of The Dinosaurs, etc
09.30 Tarzan (1970s animated) etc
10.00 Doctor Who (1960s)
10.30 Tiswas
12.00 Saint & Greavsie
12,30 World Of Sport/Wrestling
16.00 Basil Brush
16.30 Buck Rogers In The 25th Century
17.30 Doctor Who (1970s)
18.00 Star Trek OST
19.00 The Generation Game
20.00 The Two Ronnies
21.00 News & Weather
21.10 Starsky & Hutch
22.00 Parkinson
23.00-close Horror Double Bill (as in the 70s, one B&W film followed by a more recent colour one)

I think I'd have Blakes 7 around 7.15/7.30-ish on a Monday, similar to its original timeslot. Sapphire & Steel and 80s Doctor Who were also broadcast early evenings midweek so...

Classic comedies could fill the gap around 8.30 before the drama slot at 9.00

Monday

19.00 Doctor Who
19.30 Blakes 7

Tuesday

19.00 Sapphire & Steel
19.30 The Avengers

Wednesday

19.00 Doctor Who
19.30 Star Trek TNG

Thursday

19.00 Sapphire & Steel
19.30 Top Of The Pops

[Dirk Gently]

That Flashing Blade, is it the episodes from the TV series Number 73? When they used over dubbed dialogue to make it funny. That was almost as good as a cartoon.

[MacNimon]

That's the one...I loved it when I was 6 or 7, knew it off by heart by the time I was 10 and hated it by the time I was 12!

[SiHart]

My classic drama strand features:

Monday 9pm Secret Army
Tuesday 9pm Upstairs, Downstairs
Weds 9pm: Callan
Thursday 9pm: The Sweeney
Friday 9pm: Robin of Sherwood
Sunday 9m: Tenko

[MacNimon]

Here's how things would look with Si's suggestions...and I've added some comedies in as well. There's loads more to choose from, though! And if Dallas couldn't be squeezed into Saturday, then Friday night is the next best thing...and an easy-watching US series such as Knight Rider/A-Team etc would go down well with a few beers...

5.00 or 6.00pm might be a good timeslot for those old ITC classics such as The Saint, Department S, Danger Man etc...easy tea-time viewing


Sunday

21.00 Tenko


Monday

19.00 Doctor Who (1980s)
19.30 Blakes 7
20.30 Dads Army
21.00 Secret Army


Tuesday

19.00 Sapphire & Steel
19.30 The Avengers
20.30 Man About The House
21.00 Upstairs, Downstairs


Wednesday

19.00 Doctor Who (1980s)
19.30 Star Trek TNG
20.30 Blackadder
21.00 Callan


Thursday

19.00 Sapphire & Steel
19.30 Top Of The Pops
20.00 Till Death Us Do Part
20.30 Steptoe & Son
21.00 The Sweeney


Friday

19.00 Dick Turpin (Richard O'Sullivan)
19.30 Knight Rider
20.30 Cheers
21.00 Robin Of Sherwood
22.00 Dallas