Wednesday, December 24, 2008

And so we reach the final window of the Cheeseford Virtual TV Nostalgia Advent Calendar, prising the flap open gingerly and wondering what in the name of Jesus H Cribbins we can expect to see. Oh, it's a VT clock blackboard. How exciting. However, before you all demand refunds, let me tell you that this is the VT clock from studio A at Broadcasting House, Whiteladies Road, Bristol, now enjoying a very happy retirement. As a result, if any of you have timecoded Windmill Road windfalls of things like Vision On, Animal Magic, Jigsaw, Think of a Number, Leap in the Dark, Scoop, Take Hart, etc, this is the actual bit of blackboard that you see at the start. Not Rutland Weekend Television series 2, unfortunately, as though the shows were made in studio A at Whiteladies Road, they were given new, different clocks by the VT editors. Unfortunately, the accompanying Smiths clock became detached when studio A was taken out of commission, and is probably now in landfill somewhere under the M4.

As a special Christmas bonus, I have been alerted to the return of the ads for Mike's Carpets to Yorkshire Television. These cheaply-made efforts, featuring a man in a roomful of synthetic rugs with something similar perched on his bonce are the kind of commercials that come to the fore in times of recession. During boom times, ITV lives high off the hog, and has no need of Mike's advertising pound. However, when the chips are down and the Woolworths account has gone down the gurgler, the rate card goes out of the window and all money is good money, especially if it prevents ad breaks from consisting entirely of trailers for things starring Robson Green. Here's some vintage Mike. I'm just off to record a couple of hours of YTV in the hope of catching one of the new ads. Merry Christmas to one and all.

3 comments:

Apres la Guerre said...

THEY SHOULD DIG UP THE M-4 TO FIND THOSE CLOCKS. THEY SHOULD! DIG IT UP!! THINK OF HOW MANY EPISODES OF DOCTOR WHOOOOOOOOOOOOO THEY WOULD FIND!!!!!

Anonymous said...

I was surprised to Mike back on the telly when I was back home in YTV land over Christmas. Looking much older and a bit more rotund than in the example you show (almost looks like his wig has been CSO'd on there)

All we need now is a remake of the Shackletons Highseat chair ad's and my life will be complete.

Anonymous said...

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1427/1469317033_73872a545d.jpg?v=0

I've always wondered how he could ever afford to make TV adverts, here is his shop in Leeds. Classy !