To think prime time TV is now worse than 1982?

[AirOff]

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 !

🤣🤣

I love Not Going Out !

Sure. Many older people.

I don’t doubt your hearing is normal for your age. So is mine. And it’s considerably worse than it was 40 years ago.

Yes! So true.
If someone can explain why the art of a well positioned steady quality camera has been replaced by giving, what appears to be a mobile phone, to a nutter spinning around I'd be interested to know.

vox has a great video on why a lot of stuff sounds worse now

I used to work in New Malden where you could see The Good Life being filmed. When I retired my neighbours' young sons used to come home to me after grandparents were ill. They got me watching all sorts of things- Outnumbered being one of them.

Yes - if you don't lerve celebrities (whatever they are...) then you're stuffed.

Celebrity this, celebrity that, travelogues are always 'Joanna Lumley's Croatia','Susan Calman's Outer Mongolia', Simon Reeves's Bolivia' etc etc. I hate this! I just want an invisible narrator on these things, not to be looking at what these people are wearing or listening to them emoting etc etc. Ugh.

I cannot bear 'celebrities' when they are usually just the people the silly world of TV has elevated far beyond their abilities.

This thread reappearing gives the opportunity to mention what now passes for prime time Christmas TV, it’s dreadful, itv appears to be nothing more than supposedly Christmas episodes of the drivel it puts out day after day, quiz shows, emmerdale, Corrie, more quiz shows, I understand that,with the streaming services now available it’s pointless putting a “ big” film on, but good grief, make some effort

They should definitely make effort. Not everyone has streaming services paid for. I don’t pay for any due to cost.
I much prefer scheduled tv.