Channel 4

[rebeccajansen]

I've been doing a lot of learning about the early years of Channel 4, reading two books so far, but it's disappointing how some of the programs are either not available to be seen or just in poor quality uploads from home video tape. Is there really no market for some of the Channel 4 programs and series on proper DVD? I have the Nightingales DVD of that complete series so that's the bench mark for what one would want, while for Brookside and The Tube there are only 'best of' compilations. We got some programs over here, one made by Thames which even had Prunella Scales in it, and I would like to see as many of them again in decent quality, as well as things we never saw here (Canada).

Do the early Channel 4 programs, roughly the first dozen years are my interest, ever get modern repeats in the UK anywhere? If so are they  identified as having first aired there or even still show the production company or ITV region responsible?

Also: any personal memories or reactions to those first dozen or so years of Channel 4? Did you get your set tuned professionally for it ever or do-it-yourself? How effective was Pob's Program for the illusion of it taking place within your actual set? Any memories of between program continuity? Thoughts on how well they served the minority audiences they were supposedly there for? Did they ever do adverts promoting the shows in the early days? Thanks for anything you can share.

Also... if this is more appropriate to another area of the forum please feel welcome to move.

[Richard Marple]

I can certainly remember the original blocks logo with it's "dor dor det dor" jingle.

One of the early popular programming was their American Football coverage, which was very popular with my brother. The logo even gained a helmet! The theme at one time was Bonnie Tyler's "Holding out for a hero".

[petercheck]

This was one of the very few Channel 4 programmes that I watched regularly:

missingepisodes.proboards.com/thread/12440/unforgettable-episode-guide

[richardwoods]

It was really good to see The Munsters again when C4 started, from memory it was a highlight for me on the opening night. The Comic Strip Presents... was very funny at times. The Max Boyce meets the Dallas Cowboys was entertaining and acted as a promo for C4’s NFL Coverage. Personal highlight was Gastank of course. Were The White Room & Rocksteady C4 programs does anyone remember? They were patchy but mainly good IIRC, trying for the OGWT punters.

[richardwoods]

They were quite happy to show black & white series at tea time which was excellent.

[garygraham]

They were supportive of the gay community until the mid-90s. I should think in the case of some independent production companies it won't be clear who owns rights or where the paperwork is. Not to mention master tapes.

[petercheck]

Dec 22, 2021 10:38:45 GMT richardwoods said:

Were The White Room & Rocksteady C4 programs does anyone remember? 

Yes:

www.tvpopdiaries.co.uk/whiteroom.html

www.tvpopdiaries.co.uk/rockstady.html

I liked The White Room, as (like The Tube in the 80s) they weren't afraid to include the occasional "oldies" act such as Little Richard, Ray Davies, The Troggs and Iggy Pop. 

[markjhaley]

I remember Bewitched being shown very early on. Also they showed Lost In Space and Land Of The Giants. Probably The Time Tunnel as well but can't be sure of that.

[Kev Hunter]

Cult classic "The Prisoner" was shown on C4 from 1983, it was the first time I'd seen the complete series - and in colour - since I'd watched some episodes back in the 1960s.

[rebeccajansen]

I suppose airing B&W was considered a 'minority interest' at that time as I've read of people complaining about them on other channels, especially BBC viewers having paid for a colour license. We did get to see many of the Comic Strip Presents and Spitting Image shows in Canada though perhaps not all. I'm a bit allergic (the diplomatic way to say it) to those Spitting Puppets (too far from Sooty and Stingray for me) and also those dance shows like Unforgettable (Proby positively gives me hives). Also American 'Football' (they'd deport me if I didn't follow ice hockey somewhat though).

From reading about the reason for Channel 4 it seems what got Jeremy Isaacs the top job was not wanting it to be an ITV2, and yet so much of the original schedule was starring ITV level commercial shows, and often made by the ITV regions (plus they had ITN news)... Countdown game show, Brookside soap, members of The Young Ones and Paul Hogan for comedy, The Tube current music. I would've expected regular focus to be on say the Carribean or East-Indian communities having something consistent (yet accessible to all) but can't find much evidence of that, perhaps some importing of material from Jamaican and Pakistani television might've been arranged. I don't want to read too much in to these not being mentioned as proof they didn't exist. Perhaps they ran Chinese language feature films with English subtitles?

I also might have expected shows accessible to the deaf and blind might have featured ala Vision On or Jackanory (Pob's might've been popular with the deaf?). More community involvement than had been seen before... instead it frankly strikes me as some of the usual executive class types commissioning like for an ITV2 which for all the trouble gone to, and the financial problems dealing with adverts for a low viewership channel seems a shame a lot was U.S. sports and re-runs. Not that I'm knocking people who enjoyed those shows. Brookside in particular seems another soap only with swearing to me. But if these shows were all majority white people (of which I am one as well)... why wasn't there more attempt to find more Waris Husseins for example?

A Channel 4 series I remember fondly was Paula Milne's S.W.A.L.K. (the one that had Prunella Scales as the romance comic advice lady); I was the right age for it and England was much better at producing non-showbizzy shows for the young. There was a tie-in paperback (of course) and really it was something that could've been on Thames and gotten it's mainstream audience there. I did read of some programs for and by the gay community, so full marks to Isaacs and 4 on that! I guess there's a possibility that too much focus on minorities on the channel might tend to ghettoize, but from this distance and looking back it doesn't seem there was much risk of that when they didn't really serve the ethnic minorities or handicapped viewers much from what I can tally.

My ideal for a Channel 4 would've been a something of 'world' channel. Serving the minority remit with local communities involvement opportunity and bringing international programs and information, but also welcoming to all viewers within that (widening ones cooking repertoire, perhaps yoga or tai-chi instruction). As they only tended to get at best 10% of viewers, and almost always with these could've been in ITV shows, they were more of a neither here nor there... as much an ITV2 with some BBC2 arts and docs tossed in. Perhaps it was just too early to have known how to actually launch such an alternative channel.

I'm a bit like someone hearing about Doctor Who and first seeing The Horns Of Nimon, or worse, and feeling let down. I wonder if people who had gone to the effort to tune in this channel felt anything similar, whereas many seemed mostly just impressed that is was in spots 'as good as' ITV or BBC2. Isaacs really stuck to the hour of news at the same time when it was clearly not working, it seems odd if he didn't live up to his claims for serving minorities regadless of commerce or ratings as well.

[Richard Marple]

I remember one documentary series about China called something like In The Land Of The Dragon.

While I didn't watch it at the time, they dubbed the Brazilian telenovela Dancin' Days, I've seen a clip with some very RP voices dubbed on & set design which would have been at home in Reading as much as Rio!

[Stephen Byers]

Channel 4 Radio was a short-lived channel. There's fragments of it on Archive.org

We've rescued only 6 programmes from various off-air recordings. These are 6 episodes of the Kipper Family's Country Code. They are here:


archive.org/details/The_Kipper_Family-Country_Code

===

[Stephen Byers]

Archive.org has captured

web.archive.org/web/*/channel4radio.com

web.archive.org/web/*/channel4.com

Content may be there.

====

[garygraham]

Dec 22, 2021 19:36:35 GMT rebeccajansen said:

I suppose airing B&W was considered a 'minority interest' at that time as I've read of people complaining about them on other channels, especially BBC viewers having paid for a colour license. We did get to see many of the Comic Strip Presents and Spitting Image shows in Canada though perhaps not all. I'm a bit allergic (the diplomatic way to say it) to those Spitting Puppets (too far from Sooty and Stingray for me) and also those dance shows like Unforgettable (Proby positively gives me hives). Also American 'Football' (they'd deport me if I didn't follow ice hockey somewhat though).

From reading about the reason for Channel 4 it seems what got Jeremy Isaacs the top job was not wanting it to be an ITV2, and yet so much of the original schedule was starring ITV level commercial shows, and often made by the ITV regions (plus they had ITN news)... Countdown game show, Brookside soap, members of The Young Ones and Paul Hogan for comedy, The Tube current music. I would've expected regular focus to be on say the Carribean or East-Indian communities having something consistent (yet accessible to all) but can't find much evidence of that, perhaps some importing of material from Jamaican and Pakistani television might've been arranged. I don't want to read too much in to these not being mentioned as proof they didn't exist. Perhaps they ran Chinese language feature films with English subtitles?

I also might have expected shows accessible to the deaf and blind might have featured ala Vision On or Jackanory (Pob's might've been popular with the deaf?). More community involvement than had been seen before... instead it frankly strikes me as some of the usual executive class types commissioning like for an ITV2 which for all the trouble gone to, and the financial problems dealing with adverts for a low viewership channel seems a shame a lot was U.S. sports and re-runs. Not that I'm knocking people who enjoyed those shows. Brookside in particular seems another soap only with swearing to me. But if these shows were all majority white people (of which I am one as well)... why wasn't there more attempt to find more Waris Husseins for example?

A Channel 4 series I remember fondly was Paula Milne's S.W.A.L.K. (the one that had Prunella Scales as the romance comic advice lady); I was the right age for it and England was much better at producing non-showbizzy shows for the young. There was a tie-in paperback (of course) and really it was something that could've been on Thames and gotten it's mainstream audience there. I did read of some programs for and by the gay community, so full marks to Isaacs and 4 on that! I guess there's a possibility that too much focus on minorities on the channel might tend to ghettoize, but from this distance and looking back it doesn't seem there was much risk of that when they didn't really serve the ethnic minorities or handicapped viewers much from what I can tally.

My ideal for a Channel 4 would've been a something of 'world' channel. Serving the minority remit with local communities involvement opportunity and bringing international programs and information, but also welcoming to all viewers within that (widening ones cooking repertoire, perhaps yoga or tai-chi instruction). As they only tended to get at best 10% of viewers, and almost always with these could've been in ITV shows, they were more of a neither here nor there... as much an ITV2 with some BBC2 arts and docs tossed in. Perhaps it was just too early to have known how to actually launch such an alternative channel.

I'm a bit like someone hearing about Doctor Who and first seeing The Horns Of Nimon, or worse, and feeling let down. I wonder if people who had gone to the effort to tune in this channel felt anything similar, whereas many seemed mostly just impressed that is was in spots 'as good as' ITV or BBC2. Isaacs really stuck to the hour of news at the same time when it was clearly not working, it seems odd if he didn't live up to his claims for serving minorities regadless of commerce or ratings as well.

With only four TV channels it was never going to be possible to have one that had mainly minority-interest content. TV is expensive to make now but was much more so in those days. The best you were going to get was an hour a week. The ITV companies had to be able to sell advertising around whatever Channel 4 showed. 

Interesting point about Vision On. I've never been able to understand why that style of programme didn't continue. It catered to all and made us aware of sign language. 

The Comic Strip wasn't like anything on ITV. The nearest thing was The Young Ones on BBC and which they had struggled to make there. It was obvious they were given lots of space to experiment on Channel 4. Often it wasn't very good. It could be said they never again reached the heights of the episode on the opening night of Channel 4. 

The Tube covered music that was never shown anywhere else. There was the youth programme Network 7 on Sunday lunchtimes, Brothers - a gay US sitcom. In the late 80s there was Desmonds set in a Black-owned barber shop in Peckham, the live discussion After Dark and Out On Tuesday. 

Even with programmes that seemed a bit traditional in format there was sometimes an experimental twist. Brookside was shot inside real houses because camera technology had recently advanced to the point where was possible. At the beginning of the 90s there was Manhattan Cable and the Canadian TV newsroom drama E.N.G. Films were shown that would never receive a screening on any other channel: The London That Nobody Knows, Nighthawks, Dona Herlinda and Her Son.  

The early 90s was the beginning of the end. After Tales of the City in 1993 there was apparently a reluctance to commission another series of it. There was a noticeable change with more trashy, exploitative programmes such as The Word and by the end of the 90s I felt that some of Channel 4's content bordered on being homophobic. For example I remember one comedy show thought that an old TV ad for a slimming product called "Ayds" was very funny. 

I assume there had been a big change in staff by that time. 

[Richard Marple]

It was probably Victor Lewis-Smith's TV Offal which poked fun at Ayds, as the show normally took no prisoners!