British TV Comedies You Can't Remember - Vol. 1

Having not covered enough curiously forgotten comedies in the last year, I've decided to start up a regular series of articles that will take bitesize looks at little known British TV comedies. After all, we clearly get the point that Only Fools and Horses, Blackadder, The Office and Red Dwarf are fantastic, in fact it's almost impossible to avoid them unless you haven't turned on a television set in the last 30 years. Naturally, I'm more than happy to sit through endless repeats of these genius creations, but I'm equally as interested in their comedy peers who failed to make the grade. And it's these shows which will be making up the bulk of British TV Comedies You Can't Remember.

The Forgotten World of British Children's TV - Vol. 5

You may have thought my odyssey through the murky world of British children's TV would be taking a break for the weekend, but there's no better time to sit back and reminisce about those shows you can barely remember. Or, depending on your age, you probably haven't even heard of. However, every day's a school day and all that jazz, so let's take a look at the latest batch of shows that I think are worthy of peering through the mists of time at.

The Forgotten World of British Children's TV - Vol. 4

It doesn't seem long since the last edition of The Forgotten World of Britsh Children's TV and *glances at calendar* it's only actually been 48 hours. However, you've had to wait long enough to remember these old, forgotten shows, so I'm not going to slow up just yet. Right, let's get started.

The Forgotten World of British Children's TV - Vol. 3

You may be forgiven for thinking that all those half-remembered children's TV shows from your youth were destined to stay that way, but help is at hand. Delving deep into the archives and surveying as many old editions of the Radio Times and TV Times, I'm attempting to unearth these mostly forgotten shows to reignite your synapses and restore your memories. And, without further ado, it's time for the third serving of The Forgotten World of British Children's TV.

The Boys of '66: England's Last Glory

Today's blog is a guest piece by Jonathan Hayward

The Boys of '66: England’s Last Glory, made and broadcast by the now defunct ITV company TVS in 1986 was written and presented by Michael Parkinson. It was, as its title suggests, about England’s solitary World Cup triumph on native soil in 1966, but it doesn’t just tell the story of the victory. It also tells how all 11 winning players were doing 20 years on from the nation’s greatest sporting moment.

The Forgotten World of British Children's TV - Vol. 2

Due to having rather more time on my hands this weekend than I expected, I've decided to bring forwards the latest edition of The Forgotten World of British Children's TV. This particular installment features anthropomorphic cushions, tie-wearing crocodiles and Bill Oddie chewing bubblegum. And, as I'm sure you'll agree, they're all incredibly British, y'know, the good British, not that pandemonium fuelled Brexit take on Britishness that seems to be clogging up the headlines. So, let's forget the customs union (whatever that is) and slide back into simpler times...

DVD Review: Our Day Out

Drawing on Willy Russell's time as both a teacher and a pupil, his 1977 BBC2 classic Our Day Out is a multilayered narrative that takes in the chaos of youthful exuberance, the limitations of the education system and the design for life that is doled out to the socially disadvantaged. Seeing as Our Day Out has recently been released on DVD by Simply Media it's time to take a closer look at what's bubbling beneath the surface of this TV play.

The Forgotten World of British Children's TV - Vol. 1

Following on from a couple articles I wrote about lesser known British children's TV (see them here and here), I've decided to do a few more regular articles on the subject. Whilst they won't be as huge as the previous articles, they will be marginally more bite-sized and, most importantly, they will be getting more and more obscure.

So, the general remit for inclusion in The Forgotten World of British Children's TV is that they don't appear in all those 'GREATEST CHILDREN'S PROGRAMMES EVER' type polls and that the mere mention of them in the staff room causes your colleagues to scratch their heads and quickly change the conversation towards all those urban myths about Captain Pugwash.

I suppose it may sound a little bit like an act of snobbery, but at the heart of these articles is a love of the curious, the forgotten and the unlucky. Not every TV show can become a hit, but it's a shame when they become forgotten. Hopefully, these articles will give these obscure shows a little more time in the limelight to shine. So, here comes the first batch...