I was thinking in general about TV programmes earlier and how they’ve changed over the years and then I’ve just decided to directly compare the same week -
Monday - Friday only
for BBC1 TV programming
for EXACTLY the same week - (in this case it was week commencing the first Monday in September) - for both
2025 and 1982 between the whole 3 hours from 7pm - 10pm
in 2025 what I found was - the first hour until 8pm is taken up every day by One Show and Eastenders (apart from no EE on Friday),
then for the whole 5 days there was only 1 drama in that 3 hour period and one sitcom. Just FYI, both the drama and sitcom in this case were British. Apart from that, there was reality stuff of a domestic practical nature on EVERY night - Sewing Bee and Masterchef - BORING!!!!!!!!!!!!
There was also Scam Interceptors and one reality dating type show.
Anyway, in 1982 - the picture was very different - far more sitcoms (British, overwhelmingly), British made dramas and entertainment programmes - Top of the Pops, It’s a Knockout, a Wildlife on One programme, and there was one American sitcom shown - Taxi. That’s the thing - we never have American sitcoms or dramas on prime time BBC1/ITV like we used to, do we? Also in 1982 was Points of View which I loved. Also ‘World’s Strongest Man’ - you’d never get that now, would you ?
The one constant in 1982 and 2025 is Panorama - 8pm - Mondays.
AIBU to think that in 2025 BBC1 has gone much more boring, and bland in the prime time slot? As if schedulers/TV execs can’t be arsed to bring more variety?
it seems that churning out One Show, Eastenders and these reality shows based on practical everyday stuff - cooking and sewing has taken the place of a much more varied, entertainment type program that may have required more effort to make
Anyone agree?
I want to go back to 1982 !