Christmas TV 2020

To be fair, do you think channels are avoiding special events cos they think there isn't an audience for them, or more because it's hard to commission them and hard to predict what will land with an audience?

I'm sure every channel would love 11 million on Christmas Day, and if all they had to do was commission something special they would. No "unknown" brand is going to be a smash hit on Christmas Day, so it's very likely that anything special reaching those heights will be something that already exists either rebooted or revived after a period away - or a Christmas Special of something on at other times in the year.

Well, indeed - Gavin and Stacey got 11 million last year, but it was Gavin and Stacey, a sitcom that hadn't been on for ten years, was hugely popular with audiences of all ages, is still relevant a decade on, and pretty much all the cast are still alive. The only way you can replicate that is commission another episode of Gavin and Stacey.

I mean, what else can they do? You may as well say, well, it's obvious, just commission a new episode of Fawlty Towers or Blackadder.

As you say, you want shows that pretty much the entire population knows and likes. Well, that's Strictly and Call The Midwife, they are two of the biggest shows on the Beeb, Strictly got thirteen million viewers last week. Ergo, they go on Christmas Day, like Morecambe and Wise and Mike Yarwood did in the seventies. What are the other options?

And of course, it was never going to be a year when we were going to get big events given six months ago the chances of making anything new for Christmas at all seemed pretty remote.

Clarkson managed to pull off a hybrid between TV Burp and Screenwipe wrapped up in a Tarrant on TV wrapping. It'd be nice to see that come back, even potentially make a series out of it.

It probably made far more advertising revenue in its slot than it would on Christmas Day, which is notoriously dreadful for advertising.

Apart from two ITV news bulletins we didn’t watch any of the main UK PSB channels. Found a few things on Netflix but nothing on the main channels for us.

When they did get a new episode of Blackadder (the short film made for the Millennium Dome), they showed it at Easter in 2002 (though it was postponed due to a certain royal death). I don't know how well it did ratings wise, as it had already premiered on Sky One in 2000.

It's all about shoring up the schedule across the year to have specials that can deliver at Christmas. In terms of Christmas, the trouble with the BBC prioritising Drama is although it is great for their reputation and means they still compete with Netflix etc. that they generally don't lend themselves to Christmas specials in the way comedy and entertainment does.

I think most classic comedies which were ripe for revivals have now been done - though I'm sure Gavin and Stacey will probably return in 2022. I also think there is probably too much weight on the "Christmas" and not enough on the "Special" - when they produce a Christmas Special every year for a decade it is no surprising it feels a bit less special with every year that passes.

Personally although I've barely watched the BBC this Christmas I do think all things considered they've actually put together a better schedule over the period than last year, whilst ITV's schedule has actually been refreshingly ITV this year, which almost gives it a retro feel - and has been what I've mainly watched at night on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Andrew Sachs is dead and Prunella Scales has dementia so Fawlty Towers won’t come back now. Blackadder is the only classic sitcom with all principal players still alive that could conceivably return, but Back and Forth already did that and showed why they probably shouldn’t, especially now. Leave it as it is.

Miranda is the only one left for reviving really, but that points to another problem. The BBC claim that they’re giving new comedy writers and actors a chance, but there really hasn’t been a truly classic show for a long time, and then they simply commission Mrs Brown’s Boys “specials” to 2026. They need the Jon Plowmans of the world to create something decent in order for us to have a really great Christmas special any more, and with their budgets restricted as it is (sketch shows have also suffered), not to mention the pandemic, it won’t happen anytime soon sadly.

MBB is the sitcom they'd rather not commission, but it ticks so many boxes at targeting alienated audiences (some of which are likely to be older anti-licence fee payers or hate the BBC in general) that after the surprise recommission for 5 years of 10pm Christmas specials, it's likely Brendan can name his price and carry on as it fills that part of the schedule post 10pm nicely.

Ah yes, i forgot that they changed the name lol




I thought that too and with a bit of work it could be turned into a series like TV Burp was.

Brendan and the BBC are being sued by Gary Hollywood who played Dino for years in the show, it is all about money, as Gary feels he was very underpaid.

Rory Cowan who played Mrs Brown's son Rory for years also quit the show because he was unhappy at the pay and working conditions on the show, both television and stage versions.

Yes, because Call the Midwife and Strictly is all about the young folk. Mrs Browns Boys has now had a special every year since 2011, twice each Christmas since 2012 and airing on Christmas Day since 2013. Ridiculous to guarantee them that slot for another 6 years - but wouldn't be ridiculous to force them back to doing a series or two instead. Indeed when you look back at the classics you'd often either get a series or a special, and doing it that way meant both a one-off or a new series actually felt somewhat special.