TV Cream

Cream over Britain

Advent Calendar: December 12th

1981: Some of the bits between the programmes on BBC2. “It’s really sodding cold” is the news lead, including a rare namecheck for the members of the Pools Panel, Nicolas Owen covers a gas explosion in central Newcastle, and presumably it’s the last day of news term as Michael Buerk’s brought his favourite toy in with him.

1982: An extensive continuity-heavy nosegay through Sunday, including a producer coda to the whole series of The Computer Programme (the reason for the Micro Live owl), the end of Match Of The Day in its brief spell on Sunday afternoons, a trail for Sports Review 1982 and the 6pm news keeping a keen eye on Greenham Common.

1987: Paul McCartney was on Going Live! to promote Once Upon A Long Ago, but the show seems much more keen to have him talk about 1984’s We All Stand Together (and if you call it anything else you’re not welcome here) Wonder what happened to both the full length Rupert film (Rupert And The Frog Song is 13 minutes long) and the track he claims he was going to make with George Martin the following week – his only other deliberate kids’ song, Tropic Island Hum, was recorded in 1995 and released in 2004. Eventually Macca remembers what he’s there to do, but not before introducing us to ten year old James McCartney. That ending is incredibly rushed, and why isn’t Paul doing the Press Conference? Was Tom Jones or Esther Rantzen really that more worthy?

1991: After the preview of the Christmas season’s big childrens’ film the Broom Cupboard is previewed with some off-camera amusement. The comedic bemusement at Andi Peters’ choice of top is well earned.

1993: Hold Garry Bushell’s nose, someone, it’s Julian Clary at the British Comedy Awards. Note a) how the wave of reaction is such that the audience doesn’t notice the actual punchline at all and b) people are still laughing at it more than forty seconds later well after the conversation, such that it is, has moved on. What the show and Jonathan Ross really needed after that is a calming influence so everyone can move on. What it actually gets is Michael Barrymore.

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