Shows that people forget or get lost in time

Sticking with Soaps, does anyone else recall Granada's "Families"? It was a daytime soap half set in Australia, half in Cheshire with families who have links between the two. It ran in the early 90s before Children's ITV (in most regions) and I think was actually all shot at Granada Quay Street. Apparently Jude Law was in it ...

Might as well add Albion Market and Springhill to that discussion then.

And on a completely different tangent anyone remember Show Me the Money, a live C4 daytime quiz based on the stock market.

Yes, ITV's big plan was to drop Home and Away and replace it with two British soaps, I think they were a bit embarrassed about how successful Home and Away was for an import - they treated it quite badly, despite its popularity. I remember in 1999 they dropped the lunchtime showing for a week for snooker and they audience for the teatime showing absolutely skyrocketed, clearly everyone who watched at lunchtime switched to teatime, and I remember William Phillips referred to it as "a display of true audience loyalty".

So when it ended on ITV in 2000 they tried to run the audience down by dropping the lunchtime showing completely in most regions and also cutting it to four days a week, and also having that clause in the contract that meant any other channel would have to wait a year to show it again. But then they completely messed up by not having the new soaps ready for months, they should have ended Home and Away one week and had at least one new soap ready to go on the Monday, but in the end there was such a delay everyone got out of the habit of watching ITV at that time. Night and Day didn't even start until Home and Away was back.



Yes, though the interesting thing is that though Granada made it, they showed it in a different format to everyone else - they dropped the daytime episodes quite early on and only showed it in an omnibus on Thursdays at 10.40. It got quite a loyal audience there - my gran used to come up on Thursdays and we used to have to get her home in time for it - while everyone else still showed it during the day. I think it was networked everywhere but Granada. I remember the last episode was an extended one which involved moving the 3.20 news bulletin on the network, so Granada had to improvise a schedule with cartoons to fill the gap cos they weren't showing it in that slot. I don't know why they did it like that.

Bob Block is well remembered for Rentaghost, but I also loved his follow-up, although I don't think it's as well remembered. Galloping Galaxies features the wonderful vocal tones of Kenneth Williams.

Mark Curry presented this series looking at classic black and white comedies. The series was part of the BBC children's diet of the time - I found it a total yawn-fest when I was younger but would probably appreciate it more now.

There was also Windmill with Chris Serle that was shown as a kids' programme but I didn't really appreciate it at the time. Probably more memorable for the time it fell off air during Simon Potter's first morning and he discovered that he really didn't have enough material to fill during the breakdown...

Anyone remember Squadron? Series about an elite RAF unit; aired 8.10 on Tuesdays on BBC1 late in 1982. Ended on a cliffhanger about whether the MoD would let them continue - the implication was 'yes', but one series is all that was aired.

And I was going to suggest Thames' Feet First - a 1979 comedy by Esmonde and Larbey about a footballer plucked from obscurity to play for a big club. But apparently, it *is* remembered somewhere, as it was issued on DVD a year or two back. Similar to the slightly better remembered Seconds Out, BBC1's boxing sitcom. Today's big money/social media saturated soccer could make a decent background for an update.

Yes, she absolutely loved a single by the hotly tipped Thrashing Doves, and while it didn't kill them off they never recovered.

In fact, whenever a politician claims to like a particular pop artist now it's referred to as The Curse Of The Thrashing Doves.

When I went on holiday with my parents to Whitley Bay in 1992, the Saturday we arrived, and got settled into the guest house, I flicked through the telly, as you do, and on Tyne Tees, in the teatime slot, was a comedy series called "What ya looking at". I remember the opening titles vaguely, but not much else of it. I guess that's how good it was!

A regional show from Tyne Tees, usually in the Friday night post News at Ten slot, and hosted by Eamonn Holmes, was DIY tv. Not about Do it yourself projects at home, but a Friday night lifestyle type series, if I can call it that. Here's a trailer from 1992 for one edition.

I don't recall this show on citv called Chris Cross. It looks like another Co-Production type series like Spatz was in it's first series:

"We are the Champions", presented by the late Ron Pickering, was a popular show in the 1980s on BBC1. I think after his death, it became more one off specials. Gary Lineker I recall presented one edition.

I have a clear memory of a show called Chris Cross but no idea what it was about. I think like a lot of CITV programmes the memory is of the promo before switching over to something better on the other side. During the Steve Hyde era the promos were sometimes more memorable than the programmes themselves.