Christmas TV 2020

Did anyone spot an ancient repeat of Angus Deayton's Before The Were Famous last night on BBC2? I think I was a bit too young when this show was first on as I was completely unaware that this was a studio-based show with an audience and an on location pre-titles sketch that added nothing to the show - two things you'd never get on an equivalent version of the show today. They constantly had the audience laughing over clips that weren't funny, seemingly to justify having the audience there.

I wonder what made them pick this particular show to air, as my friend said it really did feel like BBC2 have just completely run out of things to show!

I noticed that even though there was clips used from earlier and later editions of "Before They Were Famous", they used the credits from the 1999 edition. I thought that considering it was a "Best of", new credits might have been made.

2004/05 was the first year we had the fireworks broadcast live on the Beeb, which we've had ever since. As mentioned, though we had them for the Millennium, we didn't have them after that for a few years. In 2000/01, there was a special lottery show with live reports from across the UK, and in London it was Bradley Walsh with about a dozen people and pretty much nothing happening.

Now the fireworks are so established everyone forgets that before that there were all kinds of things at midnight. Clive James was the longest running fixture for seven years but before and after that there would be all kinds of things, sometimes a simulcast of BBC Scotland, Wogan, 'stEnders (in 1987/88 ), all sorts of stuff.

The worst ever show was this in 2001/02 - https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/bbcone/london/2001-12-31#at-23.15 An atmosphere-free, blatantly pre-recorded affair with a host of BBC standby guests and Vic and Bob, who I dearly love, doing the thing they always do on these shows, coming on with no material and dying on their arse. At five to midnight we had Vinnie Jones plugging his latest film, it was such a boring show.



Well, I would take issue with them adding nothing to the show, because Before They Were Famous was a brilliant show in its day (the first one in 1997 pulled in one of the biggest audiences of the year and literally everyone was talking about it), and just as important as the clips was Angus, beautifully delivering a script written by himself and Danny Baker, which like Denis Norden on Alright on the Night illustrated that it wasn't just flinging a load of clips together.

Were the London fireworks such a secret that no-one told BBC Scotland? We were treated to some very mediocre fireworks from the Wallace Monument in Stirling on BBC One Scotland (the same show simulcast on the BBC Scotland Channel), with these fireworks also appearing on the Gaelic programme BBC Alba were doing.





No room for the London display in Scotland it would seem, you've got to watch it on YouTube to make way for the usual kilts and bagpipes sh!te on the night itself. Then BBC One Scotland repeats a 14-year old episode of Still Game before showing viewers the new Graham Norton New Year's Eve show at 1:05am. Urgh.

Thankfully the Hootenanny on Two was a good alternative to the sentimental Hogmanay stuff.

Was the London light show not shown on the BBC News Channel? The Beeb normally love any excuse for a simulcast

Scotland always do their own thing. They would rightly get slated if they just showed the London display, which I assume was on BBC News anyway.

Ah, fair enough. Maybe it was on the News Channel - I didn't think to look. I'm aware Scotland always 'do their own thing' but with a dedicated Scotland channel now maybe they could put all the Deacon Blue, whisky and black bun nonsense on there instead and let us see the world-class display on one of their main channels.

It all comes down the outdated cultural attitude that "no-one does New Year like Scotland" etc. STV were at it too with their "Pride of Scotland" celebration.

That is where BBC Scotland is somewhat of a nonsense as the flagship stuff is expected to be on BBC1 Scotland anyway, and it seems BBC Scotland can't be used for content displaced on BBC1 Scotland at the same time.

What defines a main channel these days? I find it difficult to come up with any criteria that doesn't include the BBC News Channel in that

I think it was 2002/03 when just one firework went off near Big Ben at midnight, or at least that’s how it looked on the live ITN broadcast that new year.

On the PP years ago I uploaded the 2001/2 ITN new year news in low quality, featuring a quick look at BBC1 too and some footage of a firework-less Trafalgar Square and news of Europe joining the Euro. It’s file 13086.

I live in London but I would never go to the NYE fireworks in normal times, seems like too much hassle and it's way too cold.

Always seems silly that the BBC ditch their Christmas idents straight after midnight on New Year’s Eve when they’re still showing Christmas promos/programmes. They’ve just aired the “Magic Moments This Christmas” promo for Amazing Grace airing tomorrow night despite the fact they’ve ditched the Christmas idents and we’re also moving onto the new Radio Times tomorrow.