I’ve been busy on the Curious British Telly Substack this week. Normally, I don’t mess about with cross-promoting across my various platforms, but a couple of these pieces have turned out exactly as I hoped for. Here’s a quick guide to them. And please click through if you fancy a proper read:
1. We Need to Talk About the Decline of British TV
Television was once patient, calm and, most importantly, better. Or was it? Nostalgia can easily cloud our judgement, and this is never more evident than under YouTube clips of Little & Large. But the truth is that British TV isn't in decline. It's just a world away from what we grew up with.
2. What Modern British TV Is Missing
Yes, British television is now very different. The quality, however, remains. Nonetheless, there are certain elements that I miss. Each loss chips away at intimacy and delight. It's unlikely that they'll ever come back, but it's important we remember them and what they added to the viewing experience.
3. When Television Said Goodnight — And Meant It
Once, British television had a bedtime. Screens faded to black, announcers quietly sent us off to bed and programmes had breathing space to settle in your mind. Then we shifted to 24 hour broadcasting. The ritual of the closedown is no more, but we have much more convenience and choice. So, are we better off? Or did we need that full stop to the day?
All of those pieces made very interesting reading. Admittedly, I am one of those people who shakes a fist at the TV screen and says that television isn't what it used to be but you have made a solid argument here that TV hasn't really changed - it has just got more polished. You are correct to point out that both TV in the past and TV today has it's fair share of unmissable shows and utter dross but, because I constantly wear the proverbial retro-tinted glasses I only see old TV as excellent and current TV as terrible! You have made a solid case for current TV while still admiring the TV we all grew up with. I still miss the structure of old TV however - a closedown where we were told that it was time for bed, a teletext system that gave us unbiased information at our fingertips and in-vision continuity announcers that gave us a friendly face that was never condescending or annoying.
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