After a long day chasing villains across London...

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

So jojosimco posted a list of her favourite tv shows of 1977, and after flicking through to see what I'd been watching too, I inevitably started to think about how useful it was to know what the lads might have found on tv when they staggered onto the couch of a night, or were stuck at home with various broken ankles, or sprained wrists, or... you know, measles or whatever. *g* And then I started wondering...

Of the shows on offer, what would they watch, and why did I think that... Would Bodie watch Warship or would he secretly love Chorlton and the Wheelies? Would they laugh and mock The Sweeney, or argue about who was who in Starsky and Hutch? Did either of them fancy Felicity Kendall? What did they think of Angela Rippon? Legs and Co? Bergerac?

So I went to see what I could find, and came up with just a few sites to spend a Friday afternoon at work on that could be used by people resarching the Pros-era for stories etc:

BBC Telly Bits - examples of a days viewing and/or listening in different months and years.

BFI's television pages - searchable by decade, and with vid clips

TV Cream - Deadly site, do not attempt to enter while at work/without several hours to spare. Takes nothing seriously. Offers to dalek-up your computer. Yes, Pros is listed *g*

ITV.com - including the "Best of the 70s"

London Weekend Television website - programmes, clips... *g*

So - Silly Friday Question the first - what shows would the lad watch, and why do you think so? And do feel free to expand into whatever realms of follow-up slash-y fantasy you might care to... *g*

Comments

[smirra.livejournal.com]

Very good idea for an information on the lads background.

I think it would be good to have these background information posts collected and avalable for writers, probably at the hatstander or the ca or something? It would be nice to have a data base for live in the 70's/80's in London.

I remember there was one for sweets in that time in discoveredinalj for example. But I'm not sure if something like that for these informations allready exists.

In Germany in the 70's/early 80's there was a lot of English TV series and I enjoyed them all.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Yes... Hatstand already has a section along those lines - maybe I could see if they'd be interested in putting a link to the posts like these... If not, then we could always post them somewhere ourselves and link from here... Good idea!

[londonronnie.livejournal.com]

Oooh, I'm going to have such a lovely nostalgic time working through those links!

Haven't got any diaries to fall back on so I'll have to give a bit of thought to the "What would the lads be watching?" question...

But in response to your "Would Bodie watch Warship?" I can't get rid of this picture of Doyle sheepishly admitting to Bodie that he did quite fancy that dark-haired bloke who played Leading Seaman Steele in one of the episodes...

*g*

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

this picture of Doyle sheepishly admitting to Bodie that he did quite fancy that dark-haired bloke who played Leading Seaman Steele in one of the episodes...

Ohmigawd, what a gorgeous thought... picture... ongoing consideration... Not that I've even seen Warship, but... Oh, just... speechless with the imagination... *g*

[callistosh65.livejournal.com]

I'll ponder Bodie and Doyle later, but for now I'm having a *major* OHMYGOD fest over here.. That TV Cream site? You're right, a glorious, time-sucking place - Space Hoppers, the sodastream, Belle and Sebastian, The Singing Ringing Tree - it is all rushing back to me.. Can't stop.. off to reminisce some more.

Cheers!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Heeee! Sodastream! Can't see either of the lads with one of them mind, although I bet Bodie'd be dead happy playing with one if someone else had one... *g*

[londonronnie.livejournal.com]

Heeee! Sodastream

erm...I've still got one...

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Erm... I always wanted one... *g*

[solosundance.livejournal.com]

Belle and Sebastian! Gah! I used to stomp about in our garage trying to mimic the hobnailed boots sound that was dubbed over every step that Sebastian (and his grandad?) used to take. Isn't it great being a kid *g*

[callistosh65.livejournal.com]

Isn't it great being a kid *g* My brother and I memorised the French theme song and drove my Mum batty. I can still hear bits of it in my head as we speak..

And I just remembered, "Get busy with the fizzy, So-o-dastream!"

Ye Gads, what is Pros doing to me??

[izzie7.livejournal.com]

Grandstand! They'd watch Grandstand, with that little telex-thingie chuntering away at the bottom with the incoming football results, & endless hours on a Saturday afternoon of horse racing interspersed with motor racing and football & rugby.

OK, I've got to go & look at some of those sites now. But I just have to say "Play of the Week"? Does anyone think either of them would sit and watch that?

[callistosh65.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'll agree with Izzie here and say Grandstand. When they could. ( I had Bodie watch it in a fic once, but I laid him up with busted ribs to do it, as I didn't think they'd necessarily have regular Saturday afternoons off:)) So Match of The Day with Jimmy Hill is another one, time permitting. Saturday evenings at ten pm, I think it went out. The football results, etc of the day, and the edited highlights of a match.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Yeah... definitely Grandstand... Though I always remember Bodie being dead bored-looking in Servant of Two Masters when Doyle was trying to get him to argue about the best all-rounder... *g* Wonder if they'd watch the gee-gees, I remember dying of the boredom whenever the horseracing came on...

I bet Doyle'd try watching Play of the Week if he was impressing a girlfriend (cover for his steamy affair with Bodie, of course...) - but the girlfriend would let slip to Bodie that he'd fallen asleep through it, and of course Bodie'd never let him live it down in front of her, though you wouldn't catch him dead with it on himself... *g*

[solosundance.livejournal.com]

oh my good god, I think I remember that Radio Times cover from May 1977 ... the one in BBC Telly Bits. And I totally ignored your warning on TV Cream and have indeed spent the last hour faffing about on it *g*

So, to the lads.

Not appointment-to-view telly watchers methinks. Too many Soviet shysters with tiny eyes -- hee -- to deal with. But an eye for Grandstand and the wrestling on ITV when they get a chance.

Bodie, he *does* watch Warship, just like he watched Colditz, and loves to complain about the inaccuracies in the portrayal of military life and characters. He likes Dad's Army too. And Captain Scarlet, but not Thunderbirds (no, this is not me, this is him!). He's not into drama but he will go for comedy -- Monty Python I reckon, because he does silly voices himself. And sadly, he laughs like a drain at the sexist, racist, homophobic Bernard Manning on The Wheeltappers' and Shunters' Social Club ....(who thought of that? Who? And why?)

Doyle, though ... well, he's into Corrie if he ever gets the chance (of course they only had it once a week then, and no repeats!). Just because his Mum always watches it. And a spot of Play for Today. All the good quality BBC drahmah. And if either of them is a Panorama watcher, it would be Doyle ... injustices to get hot under the collar about. And I'm afraid that Benny Hill does make him titter.

Course they very rarely agree on what to watch, but I have this vision of them, late at night (well, ten o'clock ...) sitting down to Kojak together. Because it's gritty. Because it's exotic and American. Because Theo reminds them faintly of George?? Heh. And there's a few guns in there and funny lines. But obviously they hate Starsky and Hutch ... because it's for girls.

[londonronnie.livejournal.com]

And sadly, he laughs like a drain at the sexist, racist, homophobic Bernard Manning on The Wheeltappers' and Shunters' Social Club

Heh, heh...funny you should say that because when this topic first came up I immediately thought "Bet Bodie would watch the Wheeltappers and Shunters..." Not just the late, lamented(?) Bernard of course, but all those other marvellously talented artistes (*cough, cough*). Mind you, I'm saying that but a couple of years ago when it was repeated on Men and Motors I never missed it...

Bodie, he *does* watch Warship, just like he watched Colditz, and loves to complain about the inaccuracies in the portrayal of military life and characters.

I once watched an ep of Warship in the tv room of HMS Drake in Plymouth and everyone in there was nearly wetting themselves laughing. Having said that I wasn't best pleased when I realised many years later that I'd been there just about the same time that Lew had been filming his Warship ep there!

[solosundance.livejournal.com]

I once watched an ep of Warship in the tv room of HMS Drake in Plymouth and everyone in there was nearly wetting themselves laughing. Having said that I wasn't best pleased when I realised many years later that I'd been there just about the same time that Lew had been filming his Warship ep there!

Yeah, well from what I've seen, medics always rubbish hospital shows, cops always rubbish cop shows and so on *g* And when I pronounced that Bodie would watch Warship I didn't know he'd been in it ... did he get to wear a uniform?

[londonronnie.livejournal.com]

And when I pronounced that Bodie would watch Warship I didn't know he'd been in it ... did he get to wear a uniform?

Did he get to wear a uniform? Oh yes, he most certainly did...but unfortunately I don't have a screencap to hand to show you just how well he filled it...

All I can say is "Hello Sailor..."

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

(http://photobucket.com)

Okay, it's not great, but the best I can get... and it is Lew... maybe I should have a Lew on Warship screencapping fest tomorrow... *g*

[solosundance.livejournal.com]

uuuuuuh ... sailor hat ...... *dribble*

[faramir-boromir.livejournal.com]

Great ideas! I'll be perusing this later.