Chapter 8
- What do you consider to be the most distinctive characteristics of British television since the 1970s? Which period or genre of programmes do you find the most interesting and why?
- What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of television funded by a TV licence? If you live outside the UK, would you like to see such a system in your country?
- Do you consider the television in Britain, or another country with which you are familiar, to favour one party or another politically? How is this favouritism expressed?
- The main kind of audiences for programmes can often be identified from the kind of products shown for sale during the advertising breaks. Taking the example of Britain or another country you are familiar with, what do you notice about adverts shown during the soap operas/game shows/sport/documentary programmes/other genres on television and radio?
- If you live outside the UK, think about the representation of regional and ethnic identities in your country’s television dramas and soap operas. Is their depiction realistic, is it stereotyped, or does it depend on the type of programme? Does it matter how they are represented?
- In what ways does television affect your life?
- Take an example of a soap opera or crime series with which you are familiar. Describe its main characteristics and say what you like or dislike about it. Write a review of a recent episode for the television section of a ‘quality’ newspaper.
- ‘The introduction of digital television genuinely represents more choice for viewers.’ To what extent is this statement true? What evidence and arguments suggest choice is an illusion rather than real?
- Carry out research to compare and contrast the structure and content of television and radio in Britain with that of another country with which you are familiar. Consider aspects such as private and public ownership, any censorship or bias in the news, the most popular genres of programmes, children’s TV and advertising.
- Make a video of your own TV news bulletin. Divide into groups, with each one preparing a separate news story: international, national and local; crime, arts, sport, and so on. Choose a newsreader/‘anchor’ person from the class, and different ‘reporters’ to read stories to camera and carry out interviews, as with the news on television. The stories can be fictitious or real. Don’t forget the weather forecast at the end! Your teacher should take the role of director/producer/news editor and, if possible, make copies of the video to hand out to students afterwards.
Books
Alvarado, M. and Stewart, J. (1985) Made for Television: Euston Films Limited, London: British Film Institute Publishing.
Bignell, J. (2014) British Television Drama, London: Palgrave
Briggs, A. (1995) History of Broadcasting in the UK, 1922–75, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Cain, J. (1992) The BBC: Seventy Years of Broadcasting, London: BBC Publications.
Catterall, P. (ed.) (1999) The Making of Channel 4 (British Politics & Society), London: Frank Cass Publishers.
Chapman, J. (2002) Saints and Avengers: British Adventure Series of the 1960s, London: I.B. Tauris.
Cooke, L. (2015) British Television Drama London: Palgrave.
Cornell, P. and Day, M. (1996) The Guinness Book of Classic British Television, Enfield: Guinness Publishing.
Crisell, A. (2002) An Introductory History of British Broadcasting, London: Routledge.
Curran, J. and Seaton, J. (2015) Power Without Responsibility: The Press, Broadcasting and the Internet in Britain, London: Routledge.
Daniels, T. (ed.) (1989) The Colour Black: Black Images in British Television, London: British Film Institute Publishing.
Harbord, J. and Wright, J. (1995) Forty Years of British Television, London: Boxtree.
Hunt, L. (1998) British Low Culture: From Safari Suits to Sexploitation, London: Routledge
Lury, K. (2001) British Youth Television: Cynicism and Enchantment, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Miller, T. (2003) Spyscreen: Espionage on Film and TV from the 1930s to the 1960s, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Osborne, J. (2010) Radio Head: Up and Down the Dial of British Radio, London: Pocket Books
Seaton, J. (2015) Pinkoes and Traitors: The BBC and the Nation 1974–1987, London: Profile Books
Selby, K. and Cowdray, R. (1995) How to Study Television, Basingstoke: Macmillan.
Sheridan, S. and Vegas, J. (2005) Keeping the British End Up: Four Decades of Saucy Cinema, London: Reynolds & Hearn.
Skues, K. (2014) Pirate Radio; an Illustrated History, Stroud: Amberley Publishing.
Taylor, R. (1994) The Guinness Book of Sitcoms, Enfield: Guinness Publishing.
Tibballs, G. (1991) The Golden Age of Children’s Television, London: Titan.
Vahimagi, T. (1994) British Television: An Illustrated Guide, London: British Film Institute Publishing.
Wright, P. and Cook, J.R. (ed.) (2005) British Science Fiction Television: A Hitchhiker’s Guide, Cleveland: I.B. Tauris.
Journals
Information on television and radio programmes can be found in all the national daily newspapers, which also carry reviews and comment on programmes shown earlier. The quality Sunday newspapers also carry reviews of the previous week’s terrestrial television programmes. In addition, several other magazines such as Time Out also carry weekly listings. The Radio Times (BBC Magazines, 1923–) originated at a time when the BBC only transmitted radio programmes, but it now carries reviews and detailed listings of programmes on all channels. Similarly, TV Times (Independent Television Publications, 1955–) originally covered only commercial television programmes, but now covers BBC programmes too. All are available online.
Until its demise in 1991, The Listener (Listener Publications Limited, 1929–91) carried reviews of radio programmes, while Television – The Journal of the Royal Television Society (Royal Television Society, 1927–) deals with more specialised matters in broadcasting.
More academic sources can be found in the Journal of British Cinema and Television which was established in 2004 and appears four times each year. Its articles carry information on a variety of issues of popular and academic interest. This is not to be confused with the Journal of Popular British Cinema and Television, which as its name suggests, is more concerned with popular genres. The International Journal of Television, the Journal of Popular Television, the Journal of Television and New Media, the Journal for Film and Television Studies, and the Journal of Critical Studies in Television are also important sources of information and can be consulted online. The Radio Journal, the Journal of Radio and Audio Media address academic issues of radiophonic importance.
Viewing
Many television series from the 1960s onwards are broadcast on the satellite channel Gold, and can also be found on other channels. Classic dramas and other series are also available in digital formats from specialised retailers, for example Amazon.
Documentary showing broadcasting as it once was (1946)
Documentary about BBC World Service (1982)
Early extracts from the radio comedy The Goon Show (1951–60)
Documentary – pirate radio In Britain today (2010)
Documentary – Radio Caroline pirate radio station of the 1960s (2010)
First episode of Coronation Street (1960)
First episode of The Prisoner (1968)
Doctor Who extract (2013)
Panorama documentary series on food banks in Britain (2014)
UK adverts 1970–2013
Comedy in the 2000s – Laughing at the Noughties
Smack the Pony comedy sketches exploring the female psyche (1999–2003) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPGZMtHexfs&list=PL3A983321A7C63970&index=35
The Office – award-winning comedy about office life (2002)
Twenty Twelve – spoof documentary about the team behind the 2012 Olympic Games
Rev – extracts from a comedy series about an inner-city vicar