Can you remember around the time Eastenders began that Neighbours launched as well, the main thing i remember about that is to begin with Neighbours was broadcast at lunchtime, only after a few months so many teenagers were bunking off from school to watch Neighbours the TV Network (can’t remember if it was BBC or ITV) was forced to start replaying each episode at 6pm to get the kids back in school
We emigrated to Australia in 88 and it was one of my favourite stories to share with Australians when we first got here, that’s probably why it’s stuck in my head all these years
Jumpscare (a nice one) seeing my name there, thank you for sharing! When I was at school I used to watch River City (Glasgow soap) with my mum. At one point we went on one of those BBC set tours, none of the actors or crew were there but walking about the sets was like being in Disneyland lol
You’re welcome, Ruby! I was thinking about your piece again, watching The Traitors final last night.
That Albert Square set was extraordinary. Of course, I’d never seen anything like it. Years later on holiday in Florida I visited Universal Studios and you got some of the same feeling on the behind the scenes tour.
Ah, the memories. Crawfords was an Australian production company that brought to life many of the much-loved TV shows throughout the 80s & 90s (many of them favourites of mine), but it was the music show "Countdown" that aired at 6pm on Saturday and Sunday nights on the ABC that was mandatory family viewing. I remember many a Sunday night tea of soup and sandwiches watching the legendary Molly Meldrum interview the guests, with live performances and video clips.
Thanks for sharing your own memories of appointment television! Countdown sounds similar to some of the weekend “variety” shows on UK TV when I was growing up. Suitable for all the family!
My current must-see appointment television is The Traitors US, Season 3. Two of my kids, one daughter-in-law, and I have a text thread solely for the purpose of discussing. Once this season ends, we'll get the new season of the UK version--I can't wait for that!
Catching up with The Traitors US now, Leanne! Much more noticeable with the cast of previous winners of other reality shows how "team of one" they all are. Very different dynamic! Entertaining, though.
They won't let us have the new season of The Traitors UK until The Traitors US is over, but I've watched the previous seasons of ALL The Traitors--US, UK, Australia, New Zealand--and yes, it is so interesting how different the dynamics are between them.
Thanks for reading, Leanne. I haven’t started Season 3 of The Traitors Us yet, but will definitely get on to it! (I find a need a bit of a gap between the UK and US versions, to “reset”!) That’s a good idea to have a dedicated thread for family discussion if they’re not watching alongside.
"Dallas" was my first obsession, when I was 5-years-old. This was in Johannesburg, when we had only a few hours of TV at night, 1980. Children would talk about the show in the playground and I was very upset that my parents wouldn't let me watch it (my mom was convinced they were pretending they'd seen the show.) After many tantrums, they let me watch one episode, but I fell asleep right at the start. (I did go on to follow the show later in life, and would watch it with my granny in Birmingham when i'd visit her in the 80s).
Brazil, where I ended up growing up, is made of soaps - and the best ones were also in the 80s, the age of "event TV". In Brazil, however, they are shown 6 times a week and last about 9 months. They always end with a dramatic confrontation with the antagonist and a wedding. And they also, very often, contain supernatural elements.
I've been watching The Traitors and really enjoying it. (Still haven't watched the finale.)
As always so fascinating. And now I'm wondering where I can watch this. I love the American Soaps and miss them so. Dallas in particular which I rewatched last year. Great piece!
Thanks, Rebecca. EastEnders used to top UK TV ratings in its heyday, but like most soaps has been in decline for a long time.
The Traitors, meanwhile, had a massive audience for the final. And now the third series of the US version is starting. They use the same Scottish castle but a different presenter. (It's quite untaxing telly, really, but that's what I've needed this month to offset the heavy stuff.)
Top of the Pops and Dr Who (and Blake's Seven) were my childhood appointment TV. Then The Singing Detective. When I was at university, Twin Peaks launched and my twi friends and I used to meet in one of our rooms and discuss it frantically all week, hardly able to wait until the next episode. After that, my next big appointment TV was Lost (I bought it on DVD with it moved from Channel 4 to Sky, and a friend and I used to meet every Sunday evening to watch three episodes and discuss them - when we finished, we'd start all over again from the beginning. We probably did that three times). In more recent times, Game of Thrones, The Traitors and Wolf Hall have been appointment TV - plus, coming full circle, researching TOTP on BBC 4 on a Friday evening. Starts my weekend beautifully!
Thanks for sharing your own appointment telly memories, Fiona. You've reminded me of how much I enjoyed The Singing Detective. Twin Peaks, too. I was glued to Lost at first but drifted after a while, as it was going on forever, with no end to the mystery. Game of Thrones – yes! I still often think about that scene when Cersei looks out from the tower on all the destruction to that amazing music, Light of the Seven (finale of season six). The Traitors (of course!). Still not watched the new series of Wolf Hall, but it is definitely on my list. And what fun to be researching TOTP! Is that for something here or something else?
When I did work experience at Just 17, I went along with Yasmin Boland to interview Sophie Lawrence from Eastenders. I literally remember nothing about it, apart from getting in a black cab 🫥
Unless you keep the evidence, memories of those heady times can get very fuzzy, Keris! It’s a bit of a lucky dip revisiting old features. Sometimes famous people who were on the first rung of the ladder at that time only got half a page or a paragraph on the news round-ups. Other now has-beens got a double page spread. I’m glad I still have the magazines. But I don’t have any from the ‘90s so can’t track down your Sophie Lawrence feature unfortunately.
I always thought I’d remember big or out of the ordinary things but no. A friend once sent me a photo of me and Nick Kamen and I had no recollection of meeting him 😂
Gah! Nora Ephron’s memoir, I Remember Nothing, includes some great examples of her being at momentous events as a reporter and recalling absolutely nothing about them!
I loved that book. I loved her. Must reread actually now that I’m a good few years older. (When I first read it, I did not know what she was on about re her neck. I know now.)
I love that you watched (what was to me, anyway) the real Batman. I was young and naive enough, watching that show, that I didn't get any of the campiness at all. I thought it was all very serious, and worried every episode if they'd make it out alive.
I was also obsessed with the Six Million Dollar Man. I'm actually pretty disappointed at the lack of bionics, which I assumed we'd all have by now.
When I was around 12, I stayed home from school sick with a minor cold, and started watching a daytime soap opera (maybe Days of Our Lives?) Anyway, I got hooked, and faked a fever so I could stay home the rest of the week, as I had to see what happened!
Yes! The real Batman! Exactly, Rob. Glad to know you were a fan. I was on tenterhooks from one episode to the next. Watching again as an adult, of course I see the camp, but child me was caught up in the peril and action of it. It was the biggest make- believe game for me and my friends, too. Bagsy being Catwoman!
Thanks, Dean. I rather admire you for not watching TV.
Yes, I think the routine of soaps and following the same cast week in, week out, was/is the comfort. I didn’t get hooked on UK soaps – they weren’t quite different enough to be escapist – but some drama series have drawn me in to the point where I’d wake up fretting about the characters. Breaking Bad had that effect. I was SO worried about Walter White!
I found it a comforting start but largely bc of the style and acting, as per… loved the rhythm of the opening sequence, & Mr Milchik continues to be on-point. I don’t know if the fundamentally surreal premise will end up tying itself in knots or pushing all boundaries of relatability (as it sometimes does in sci-fi) but will see how that goes :)
What a wonderful experience you had Wendy, back in the day, visiting the 'Enders set. Although we watched it, I must admit, Corrie was a constant in our house. We were spoilt for choice - I do miss the glitzy days of Dynasty, Dallas and Knots Landing! I can't be alone - it's probably why Rivals was so popular recently. A nice bit of guilt-free escapism!
Thanks, Sharon. Yes, we were spoilt for choice! The comments here have reminded me of so many other shows I enjoyed. I never quite got into Dynasty or Knots Landing, just Dallas, but I really enjoyed Rivals recently and it did have a similarly slightly silly and escapist feel to it.
Fascinating. My daughter was born in 1985 and I remember gazing at early episodes of Eastenders in a daze of exhaustion. I can’t really say I took much of it in! I grew up near Elsteee and enjoyed spotting locations they used nearby, like the pub at Letchmore Heath where we did our underage drinking, which occasionally appeared in The Saint. My first real appointment TV once I outgrew Dr Who was a soap about a magazine called Compact. I wonder if anyone else remembers it?
Thanks, Alison. Thanks for sharing your own Elstree memories. I’m old enough to remember The Saint! I don’t remember Compact, though. I will Google it and see if it jogs my memory.
God, I love this Wendy. My mum was a soap fiend (at seven-years-old, I most certainly was not) and I can remember EastEnders starting. That first episode pulled my whole family in, and it became a bit of a family favourite for a while.
I often joke that TV raised me (when I was three or four I used to cordon off the telly with dressing gown belts and shout at anyone who came on 'my land'), and I've always had appointment TV. The A-Team on Saturday evenings as a child; Bottom, Red Dwarf and The Mary Whithouse Experience as an aggy teen; Oz (the first ever HBO show) at 2am on Channel 4 as an edgy young man.
Even with all the streaming options at my disposal, I have to watch some things live. The Traitors and Taskmaster are two things that I make time to watch as the telly gods intended. I like tradition, I like a little bit of ceremony.
Thanks, Lewis. Glad you enjoyed it. Love your territorial approach to the TV as a child! Thanks for sharing your favourites.
Bottom reminds me of another old favourite, The Young Ones, which was always discussed at work the morning after, but very “Marmite”. Some of us thought it hilarious but others just didn’t get it at all. (Rewatching it years later I could see it was patchier than I’d remembered.)
Bottom was appointment TV at school, but The Young Ones has my heart. I first watched it when I was about 10, I think. University Challenge episode on Comic Relief. I loved it and my mother was appalled. It's probably my favourite sitcom of all time (I quote it all the time). It is definitely dodgy on so many levels, but I love the energy of it all, the surrealism and anarchy just has it heads above anything else.
The common thread, of course, is Rik and Ade. Absolute heroes, national treasures.
My older brother was a massive Monty Python fan, so that was another must-see when I was a kid (which my parents didn’t much appreciate, but he was old enough to insist!). The Goodies, too. I remember Ecky Thump sketch triggering bouts of violence in the school playground.
Oh, I hold Python very dear to my heart. My maternal grandfather was German, brought over here as a PoW. His favourite thing about the UK was our humour, and Python was his absolute favourite. He used to watch it with my mum, she in turn got me watching it. Again, it's the absurdity of it all that I enjoy so much. I could watch Argument Clinic every day and still enjoy it.
Yes, I love Monty Python’s absurdity and watching it now, it really was unique, surreal and groundbreaking. And those Terry Gilliam animations are genius. My brother still quotes it regularly!
OMG this is amazing to read! I can remember even now the publicity push in the build up to it - the BBC's new soap - I was 9 at the time. Often the storylines were do good I couldn't wait until school the next day and would have to phone my best friend to discuss them.
I also remember reading an amazing book about how the writers created it and how they wrote intricate backstories for each of the characters which was fascinating. That really came through. And I think is a reason why these days it’s not so good….
What an incredible assignment to get Wendy! And wonderful to get to read your original piece.
I definitely class The Traitors as appointment TV and think it's so interesting how some tactics for this can work, and how storylines can be kept secret, even with lots of 'normal' people involved.
Can you remember around the time Eastenders began that Neighbours launched as well, the main thing i remember about that is to begin with Neighbours was broadcast at lunchtime, only after a few months so many teenagers were bunking off from school to watch Neighbours the TV Network (can’t remember if it was BBC or ITV) was forced to start replaying each episode at 6pm to get the kids back in school
Thanks, Lee – wow, I hadn’t realised Neighbours had that effect on school attendance. That’s fascinating! The power of soaps…
We emigrated to Australia in 88 and it was one of my favourite stories to share with Australians when we first got here, that’s probably why it’s stuck in my head all these years
Jumpscare (a nice one) seeing my name there, thank you for sharing! When I was at school I used to watch River City (Glasgow soap) with my mum. At one point we went on one of those BBC set tours, none of the actors or crew were there but walking about the sets was like being in Disneyland lol
You’re welcome, Ruby! I was thinking about your piece again, watching The Traitors final last night.
That Albert Square set was extraordinary. Of course, I’d never seen anything like it. Years later on holiday in Florida I visited Universal Studios and you got some of the same feeling on the behind the scenes tour.
Ah, the memories. Crawfords was an Australian production company that brought to life many of the much-loved TV shows throughout the 80s & 90s (many of them favourites of mine), but it was the music show "Countdown" that aired at 6pm on Saturday and Sunday nights on the ABC that was mandatory family viewing. I remember many a Sunday night tea of soup and sandwiches watching the legendary Molly Meldrum interview the guests, with live performances and video clips.
Thanks for sharing your own memories of appointment television! Countdown sounds similar to some of the weekend “variety” shows on UK TV when I was growing up. Suitable for all the family!
My current must-see appointment television is The Traitors US, Season 3. Two of my kids, one daughter-in-law, and I have a text thread solely for the purpose of discussing. Once this season ends, we'll get the new season of the UK version--I can't wait for that!
Catching up with The Traitors US now, Leanne! Much more noticeable with the cast of previous winners of other reality shows how "team of one" they all are. Very different dynamic! Entertaining, though.
They won't let us have the new season of The Traitors UK until The Traitors US is over, but I've watched the previous seasons of ALL The Traitors--US, UK, Australia, New Zealand--and yes, it is so interesting how different the dynamics are between them.
Thanks for reading, Leanne. I haven’t started Season 3 of The Traitors Us yet, but will definitely get on to it! (I find a need a bit of a gap between the UK and US versions, to “reset”!) That’s a good idea to have a dedicated thread for family discussion if they’re not watching alongside.
I love your posts, Wendy!
"Dallas" was my first obsession, when I was 5-years-old. This was in Johannesburg, when we had only a few hours of TV at night, 1980. Children would talk about the show in the playground and I was very upset that my parents wouldn't let me watch it (my mom was convinced they were pretending they'd seen the show.) After many tantrums, they let me watch one episode, but I fell asleep right at the start. (I did go on to follow the show later in life, and would watch it with my granny in Birmingham when i'd visit her in the 80s).
Brazil, where I ended up growing up, is made of soaps - and the best ones were also in the 80s, the age of "event TV". In Brazil, however, they are shown 6 times a week and last about 9 months. They always end with a dramatic confrontation with the antagonist and a wedding. And they also, very often, contain supernatural elements.
I've been watching The Traitors and really enjoying it. (Still haven't watched the finale.)
Thank you, Ollie. I won’t whisper anything about The Traitors final, then!
Five is quite young for a Dallas obsession, but it shows the power of peer pressure that your friends were already watching it.
Brazilian soaps sound really tempestuous/passionate!
As always so fascinating. And now I'm wondering where I can watch this. I love the American Soaps and miss them so. Dallas in particular which I rewatched last year. Great piece!
Thanks, Rebecca. EastEnders used to top UK TV ratings in its heyday, but like most soaps has been in decline for a long time.
The Traitors, meanwhile, had a massive audience for the final. And now the third series of the US version is starting. They use the same Scottish castle but a different presenter. (It's quite untaxing telly, really, but that's what I've needed this month to offset the heavy stuff.)
Top of the Pops and Dr Who (and Blake's Seven) were my childhood appointment TV. Then The Singing Detective. When I was at university, Twin Peaks launched and my twi friends and I used to meet in one of our rooms and discuss it frantically all week, hardly able to wait until the next episode. After that, my next big appointment TV was Lost (I bought it on DVD with it moved from Channel 4 to Sky, and a friend and I used to meet every Sunday evening to watch three episodes and discuss them - when we finished, we'd start all over again from the beginning. We probably did that three times). In more recent times, Game of Thrones, The Traitors and Wolf Hall have been appointment TV - plus, coming full circle, researching TOTP on BBC 4 on a Friday evening. Starts my weekend beautifully!
Thanks for sharing your own appointment telly memories, Fiona. You've reminded me of how much I enjoyed The Singing Detective. Twin Peaks, too. I was glued to Lost at first but drifted after a while, as it was going on forever, with no end to the mystery. Game of Thrones – yes! I still often think about that scene when Cersei looks out from the tower on all the destruction to that amazing music, Light of the Seven (finale of season six). The Traitors (of course!). Still not watched the new series of Wolf Hall, but it is definitely on my list. And what fun to be researching TOTP! Is that for something here or something else?
Ha! Damn you autocorrect! It was meant to say "rewatching"! But now you mention it - it could well be a Substack piece in the future!
Haha!
When I did work experience at Just 17, I went along with Yasmin Boland to interview Sophie Lawrence from Eastenders. I literally remember nothing about it, apart from getting in a black cab 🫥
Unless you keep the evidence, memories of those heady times can get very fuzzy, Keris! It’s a bit of a lucky dip revisiting old features. Sometimes famous people who were on the first rung of the ladder at that time only got half a page or a paragraph on the news round-ups. Other now has-beens got a double page spread. I’m glad I still have the magazines. But I don’t have any from the ‘90s so can’t track down your Sophie Lawrence feature unfortunately.
I always thought I’d remember big or out of the ordinary things but no. A friend once sent me a photo of me and Nick Kamen and I had no recollection of meeting him 😂
Gah! Nora Ephron’s memoir, I Remember Nothing, includes some great examples of her being at momentous events as a reporter and recalling absolutely nothing about them!
I loved that book. I loved her. Must reread actually now that I’m a good few years older. (When I first read it, I did not know what she was on about re her neck. I know now.)
Modern kids wouldn’t understand waiting a week !!
Haha! It is a stretch, Lib! Thank you for reading.
I love that you watched (what was to me, anyway) the real Batman. I was young and naive enough, watching that show, that I didn't get any of the campiness at all. I thought it was all very serious, and worried every episode if they'd make it out alive.
I was also obsessed with the Six Million Dollar Man. I'm actually pretty disappointed at the lack of bionics, which I assumed we'd all have by now.
When I was around 12, I stayed home from school sick with a minor cold, and started watching a daytime soap opera (maybe Days of Our Lives?) Anyway, I got hooked, and faked a fever so I could stay home the rest of the week, as I had to see what happened!
Yes! The real Batman! Exactly, Rob. Glad to know you were a fan. I was on tenterhooks from one episode to the next. Watching again as an adult, of course I see the camp, but child me was caught up in the peril and action of it. It was the biggest make- believe game for me and my friends, too. Bagsy being Catwoman!
What an interesting insight into that time.
I always hated soap operas, but still watched them religiously. I'm not sure why, but the routine seemed to provide some sort of comfort.
By the time I hit 15 I stopped, but can still remember these characters vividly.
I don't watch any TV now, although I'l occasionally watch Frasier, like you, which is still wonderful.
Thanks, Dean. I rather admire you for not watching TV.
Yes, I think the routine of soaps and following the same cast week in, week out, was/is the comfort. I didn’t get hooked on UK soaps – they weren’t quite different enough to be escapist – but some drama series have drawn me in to the point where I’d wake up fretting about the characters. Breaking Bad had that effect. I was SO worried about Walter White!
Yes! I had the same feeling about Kim in Better Call Saul. I never finished that show and will have to go back to it some day.
I watch You Tube sometimes, so don't admire me for that!
Yes! Kim in Better Call Saul is brilliant. I cared about her so much.
I adored the soundtrack & wry, eerie humour in the first episode of Severance season two. IT’S BACK. That’s my appointment TV of the moment!
Watched the first episode of Season two yesterday, Alex! Loved the first series, but reserving judgement.
I found it a comforting start but largely bc of the style and acting, as per… loved the rhythm of the opening sequence, & Mr Milchik continues to be on-point. I don’t know if the fundamentally surreal premise will end up tying itself in knots or pushing all boundaries of relatability (as it sometimes does in sci-fi) but will see how that goes :)
What a wonderful experience you had Wendy, back in the day, visiting the 'Enders set. Although we watched it, I must admit, Corrie was a constant in our house. We were spoilt for choice - I do miss the glitzy days of Dynasty, Dallas and Knots Landing! I can't be alone - it's probably why Rivals was so popular recently. A nice bit of guilt-free escapism!
Thanks, Sharon. Yes, we were spoilt for choice! The comments here have reminded me of so many other shows I enjoyed. I never quite got into Dynasty or Knots Landing, just Dallas, but I really enjoyed Rivals recently and it did have a similarly slightly silly and escapist feel to it.
Fascinating. My daughter was born in 1985 and I remember gazing at early episodes of Eastenders in a daze of exhaustion. I can’t really say I took much of it in! I grew up near Elsteee and enjoyed spotting locations they used nearby, like the pub at Letchmore Heath where we did our underage drinking, which occasionally appeared in The Saint. My first real appointment TV once I outgrew Dr Who was a soap about a magazine called Compact. I wonder if anyone else remembers it?
Thanks, Alison. Thanks for sharing your own Elstree memories. I’m old enough to remember The Saint! I don’t remember Compact, though. I will Google it and see if it jogs my memory.
God, I love this Wendy. My mum was a soap fiend (at seven-years-old, I most certainly was not) and I can remember EastEnders starting. That first episode pulled my whole family in, and it became a bit of a family favourite for a while.
I often joke that TV raised me (when I was three or four I used to cordon off the telly with dressing gown belts and shout at anyone who came on 'my land'), and I've always had appointment TV. The A-Team on Saturday evenings as a child; Bottom, Red Dwarf and The Mary Whithouse Experience as an aggy teen; Oz (the first ever HBO show) at 2am on Channel 4 as an edgy young man.
Even with all the streaming options at my disposal, I have to watch some things live. The Traitors and Taskmaster are two things that I make time to watch as the telly gods intended. I like tradition, I like a little bit of ceremony.
Thanks, Lewis. Glad you enjoyed it. Love your territorial approach to the TV as a child! Thanks for sharing your favourites.
Bottom reminds me of another old favourite, The Young Ones, which was always discussed at work the morning after, but very “Marmite”. Some of us thought it hilarious but others just didn’t get it at all. (Rewatching it years later I could see it was patchier than I’d remembered.)
Bottom was appointment TV at school, but The Young Ones has my heart. I first watched it when I was about 10, I think. University Challenge episode on Comic Relief. I loved it and my mother was appalled. It's probably my favourite sitcom of all time (I quote it all the time). It is definitely dodgy on so many levels, but I love the energy of it all, the surrealism and anarchy just has it heads above anything else.
The common thread, of course, is Rik and Ade. Absolute heroes, national treasures.
Good to know you were a Young Ones fan, too.
My older brother was a massive Monty Python fan, so that was another must-see when I was a kid (which my parents didn’t much appreciate, but he was old enough to insist!). The Goodies, too. I remember Ecky Thump sketch triggering bouts of violence in the school playground.
Oh, I hold Python very dear to my heart. My maternal grandfather was German, brought over here as a PoW. His favourite thing about the UK was our humour, and Python was his absolute favourite. He used to watch it with my mum, she in turn got me watching it. Again, it's the absurdity of it all that I enjoy so much. I could watch Argument Clinic every day and still enjoy it.
Yes, I love Monty Python’s absurdity and watching it now, it really was unique, surreal and groundbreaking. And those Terry Gilliam animations are genius. My brother still quotes it regularly!
I'm not an artistic guy, but I just love Gilliam. Pure, unfettered imagination. Even later on, he could break out the wildest visuals.
OMG this is amazing to read! I can remember even now the publicity push in the build up to it - the BBC's new soap - I was 9 at the time. Often the storylines were do good I couldn't wait until school the next day and would have to phone my best friend to discuss them.
I also remember reading an amazing book about how the writers created it and how they wrote intricate backstories for each of the characters which was fascinating. That really came through. And I think is a reason why these days it’s not so good….
What an incredible assignment to get Wendy! And wonderful to get to read your original piece.
I definitely class The Traitors as appointment TV and think it's so interesting how some tactics for this can work, and how storylines can be kept secret, even with lots of 'normal' people involved.
Thank you, Faith. Fascinating to know that you were watching EastEnders from the start – and that it had such reach with you and your friends.
A late evening reply, as I was just catching up with The Traitors!
Ooh what did you think?!
I'm gripped, Faith! I don't know whether one Traitor is smiling like the Cheshire Cat a bit prematurely. We'll see!
I think she needs to be careful. I loved it when Alexander said last night at the round table “and what do you think Charlotte?” 😅