There's no need to rummage in the dirt on all fours to dig up the past. Instead, you can exhume dusty old videotapes from the comfort of your sofa. It's one of my favourite past times, but the constraints of time and life have meant it's been on the backburner for a while - hence this is the first Archive Tape Digging article in some time. Fortunately, I recently found time to go through some ancient Betamax tapes, so let's take a look at what I discovered.
08/11/1983 - BBC1 - Continuity and Playschool (Partial)
Given my age, videotapes are the perfect way for me to reconnect with my earliest days. Children's programmes, in particular, offer a wonderful blast of nostalgia, alongside a creeping realisation that my youth is fading into the distant past. Sadly, I haven't had much luck digging up children's television in the past. But I recently found something. It's very small, but it's something.
Following on from an airing of the Bette Davis film Deception, this clip starts with a couple of slides promoting upcoming films before it takes a glance at the impending children's schedule. This schedule is the epitome of nostalgia with almost everything resonating strongly.
In most BBC regions, the regional news would have slotted in next. But this particular clip was captured in the BBC London area and they opted out. Instead, we get several minutes of jaunty library music until Play School begins. This episode has Elizabeth Watts and Brian Jameson on presenting duties, but sadly only the opening four minutes were captured.
04/11/1982 - Channel 4 - Paul Coia Closedown
A darling little find here in the form of a Channel 4 closedown. These are always interesting to view, but this particular specimen comes from the channel's third day on the air. Therefore, we get to see Paul Coia in the spanking new in-vision continuity studio (which looks suspiciously like a cupboard with ambition).
Alongside this, we get a lovely 'exploded' Channel 4 logo with an extended version of its theme tune and a slide promoting the very first episode of The Tube. If you're a fan of testcards - no judgement here - then hang on to the very end for the IBA one.
24/07/1982 - BBC2 - Cricket: Benson and Hedges Cup Final Highlights (Partial)
Sports footage has been rather elusive for me over the years. I've found a few little snippets, but these tend to come just before a film starts or when a recording overruns. And that's exactly what we have here. Before a late night showing of Psycho on BBC2, we get the closing moments of the cricket highlights from the 1982 Benson and Hedges Cup Final. I'm not averse to the game, so I may be biased, but there's something undeniably relaxing about watching ancient games of cricket. And the facial hair on offer is superb.
And that's it for now. As ever, if you have any old videotapes collecting dust, please get in touch as you never know what might be lurking on them.
P.s. There's now a paid-subscription option on the Curious British Telly Substack, so please take a look at this by clicking here.
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