March 25th
1982: TV Eye indulges in one of television's periodical speculative reports about the future of multichannel television, and the possibilities of Prestel while they're at it. Dennis Tuohy buys a camera.
1995: in an example of "careful what you wish for" Right To Reply viewers are upset about Jo Brand "trivialising" Question Time. Elsewhere the lack of sci-fi rears its head, as it often did in the 90s, and Garry Bushell complains about Comic Relief, as he often did in the 90s.
1996: Kevin Keegan's blow-up live on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football a few weeks later is much more remembered but Ron Atkinson attempting to walk out of a live post-match interview with a flourish is much more impactful, literally so when he realises his thrown headphones hit one of the production crew.
2000: Eels, which is a weird booking for prime time Saturday night BBC1 to begin with, treat Lulu-fronted, Chris Evans backed failure National Lottery Red Alert with the respect it deserves.
March 26th
1978: we're in awards season right now, but whither the Erics? Even an Eric would serve them well, you may recall. See one, feel one, touch one. The Swap Shop Star Awards come from a hastily redressed show set to an apparent celebrity audience despite the obvious canned nature of the applause everyone received. Famous people actually turn up to give (including Rolf Harris and Dave Lee Travis) and to a lesser extent receive their gongs, though not enough to stop Keith Chegwin singing a lounge version of Buddy Holly's Everyday.
1980: once Sportsnight is done with the greyhounds, about five minutes in, Parkinson welcomes two men with very different approaches to higher plains of invention, an erudite and nostalgic Clive James on the publication of Unreliable Memoirs and, making time to show off part of his wild and crazy live routine, Steve Martin promoting The Jerk.
1983: Peter Davison, Janet Fielding and Mark Strickson appear on Saturday Superstore, Davison extemporising around the competition prizes. Where do you get a stick of Radiophonic Workshop rock from?
1985: Barry Norman does some post-Oscars ceremony glad handing for Film ‘85. Please notice what he says at 0:15, despite claiming he never did.
March 27th
1982: the final Swap Shop, seen off by a cast including David Bellamy, Penelope Keith, BA Robertson, Richard Stilgoe, Delia Smith, Barry Took and a misbehaving goat - and yes, the swap caller named Warren Barton has been confirmed as the future England defender. Ironically ending on the same day as its hosts’ former opposition, OTT falls on its sole series sword in just the undignified fashion it came in, allowing itself a party to close with The Beat, if you take Stand Down Margaret as a party song.
1985: Nigel Rees on Good Morning Britain feels about right in a wry neo-Brandreth way to promote an upcoming book about nicknames and be in conversation with his father. The actual Gyles turns up later for a droll-off in which it is suggested they look alike too.
1992: Spinal Tap perform live, once they can get a new drummer sorted out, on Tonight With Jonathan Ross. Meanwhile Simon Day, who would be collaborating with Ross within a year on Saturday Zoo, joins Wogan as Tommy Cockles, who he first brought to TV the previous year in Paramount City. Frankly Tel is struggling enough with actual person David Tomlinson.
1993: shame we can't bring you Hulk Hogan brutalising Rowland Rivron from Saturday Zoo, but what we lose in mild peril we gain in a Carrie Fisher chat show appearance, discussing attending the porn awards, new motherhood and ordering pizza.
March 28th
1977: Breakfast television arrived in Britain, Good Morning Calendar running in the Yorkshire region for nine weeks, fronted by the future iron horse of Central Bob Warman from the tiniest of studios recording his own vox pops and taking a live traffic call from Harold Wilson, seemingly.
1981: Tarrant, Henry, Gorman and Carolgees say goodbye to Tiswas, which meant one last Bucket Of Water Supporters Club. "There's something to look forward to" Chris wrongly promises about OTT. Should he even have been advertising the kind of programming he was planning at that time of day?
March 29th
1986: The Dangerous Brothers were banned from Saturday Live, leaving Fry and Laurie ample time to show off their flower arranging dance.
1991: Sky Runners, a TVS format which wasn't just a Treasure Hunt ripoff at all as they had TWO helicopters SO THERE, got no further than an on-air pilot (sic)
March 30th
1997: if your video recorder got retuned in time, Channel 5 started. Spice Girls aside the first people seen on the channel were Tim Vine and Julia Bradbury, well before their careers began cresting. Not only does this video feature the launch show in full and in one piece it also has from that first night’s programming the inaugural episode of Family Affairs, the first Kirsty Young brief news update, the debut Jack Docherty Show with Roger Moore and the Spice Girls, The Comedy Store Presents with Dylan Moran, and a hint of the sport magazine show Turnstyle previewing a Scotland international. Also, misfiring all-star spoof Hospital!, which is a very strange gambit for your opening hours.
March 31st
1977: Tomorrow's World's Michael Rodd investigates a company reselling broken bottles as an object of desire. The two people involved in selling the product look strangely familiar.
1983: Top Of The Pops was the day before Good Friday, as the woman in the bunny outfit demonstrates, and accordingly New Order laid an egg.
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