BBC2: How the BBC Began

[MB]

I see there are a couple of programmes on beginnings of the BBC this
weekend and the following weekend.





DOCUMENTARY: How the BBC Began
On: BBC Two England HD
Date: Saturday 22nd October 2022 (starting in 3 days)
Time: 19:00 to 20:35 (1 hour and 35 minutes long)

The first of two programmes featuring the stories behind seminal moments
of the first 50 years of the BBC across TV and radio, with tales of
triumphs and disasters as new frontiers of broadcasting were mapped out.
James Burke tells how the Queen Mother helped shape the BBC's coverage
of one Apollo space mission, while Huw Wheldon describes the cliffhanger
of producing Winston Churchill's one appearance on television.
(High Definition, Subtitles, Widescreen, Audio Described, New Series,
Series 1, Episode 1)

Starring: Joanna Scanlan

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marked By: 'Category: Documentary' marker
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt taken from DigiGuide - the world's best TV guide available from
http://www.getdigiguide.tv/?p=1&r=7346

Copyright (c) GipsyMedia Limited.

[Brian Gaff]

I've not forgotten that story behind the way early cameras worked by taking
film, developing it on the fly then scanning it and what happened when the
chemicals leaked out. Thank goodness that did not last for long!

I think the first time a realised how far we had come was the Cilla Black
show live when the kit needed for visiting peoples houses unannounced became
doable. Now of course they give the emergency services clip on cameras and
let them do the content themselves and just do the editing and in shows like
Nature Watch, you can see live pictures from tiny cameras inside bird boxes.
I actually miss the current innovations, since my sight had gone too far
into blindness before the current innovations.
Brian



--

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"MB" <M...@nospam.net> wrote in message news:tioi40$s57$1...@dont-email.me...

[MB]

On 20/10/2022 09:44, Brian Gaff wrote:
> I think the first time a realised how far we had come was the Cilla Black
> show live when the kit needed for visiting peoples houses unannounced became
> doable.

Weren't they usually places close to where OB links had been set up for
a football match?

[John Williamson]

We weren't supposed to notice that. ;-)

--
Tciao for Now!

John.

[MB]

On 20/10/2022 10:14, John Williamson wrote:
> We weren't supposed to notice that.

For some years, a number of programmes used to do that because it was
the cheapest way to do an OB insert into a programme. I think some were
quite open about them doing it.

[Mark Carver]

Yes, Saturday morning Swap Shop/Superstore/Going Live etc used to have
their OB near a football match venue, and in the evening Noel Edmunds
show did the same

[NY]

"Mark Carver" <mark....@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:jrclmr...@mid.individual.net...

In the 1990s there was a game show where contestants were released "into the
wild" and had to make their way across country to a phone box that they had
nominated in advance (or had been told to use) by any means (foot, private
car, public transport) and then had to remain in that phonebox for the
duration of the live episode. Meanwhile a "chaser" tried to follow them and
to zap them during the programme. A bit like Interceptor, but *not* that
programme. I'm trying to think of terms that I can google to remind myself
what the programme was called.

I always wondered how they got the live pictures of the contestants from the
phone box to the studio, even with advance setup.

I remember one episode because the phone box was right outside the building
where I worked in Bracknell (the big ICL building). It was tempting to get
in the car, drive to the box and see myself (afterwards on a recording) as I
walked past. ;-) I believe the public was encouraged to phone in and "shop"
the contestant to the chaser - maybe there was some sort of financial
inducement to people who phoned in with correct information. Grr. What was
the programme called?

[Scott]

I believe Songs of Praise usually came from the same town as the
Saturday football.

[MB]

On 19/10/2022 11:04, MB wrote:
> I see there are a couple of programmes on beginnings of the BBC this
> weekend and the following weekend.

Someone asked a few weeks ago about the lack of programmes for the
centenary. This week BBC Four has virtually every evening full of some
of the best BBC TV comedy programmes (and Still Game!).

Some there that are rarely repeated, much better than most current
'comedy' programmes!

[MB]

It is funny the number of times over the last week when they talked
about the start of BBC radio in 1922, they have used pictures of the
Alexandra Palace tower and antenna!

[charles]

In article <tj9k36$27b1f$1...@dont-email.me>,

It's a lot more photogenic than Savoy Hill

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England - sent from my RISC OS 4té
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle

[MB]

On 26/10/2022 08:08, charles wrote:
>
> It's a lot more photogenic than Savoy Hill

Just shows their poor historical knowledge, would not be surprised
(particularly after Sunday's Antiques Roadshow) that many of them think
it all started at Alexandra Palace.

[Mark Carver]

I remember watching a documentary about Live Aid, that happened in 1985.
They were banging on about the event being the first to use satellites
at scale (wrong) but even worse the accompanying footage was of Col.
Booth at Goonhilly in 1962, trying to tune into Telstar.

If this is the accuracy and attention to detail regarding their own
industry, how can we trust anything else we see !

[NY]

"MB" <M...@nospam.net> wrote in message news:tjapg1$2e2g4$1...@dont-email.me...

Maybe they confused the start of the BBC with the start of BBC Television.

Will we get another series of retrospective programmes in a few years' time
to commemorate the start of BBC Television. We need another showing of The
Fools on the Hill.

[Scott]

On Wed, 26 Oct 2022 09:59:42 +0100, "NY" <m...@privacy.invalid> wrote:

>"MB" <M...@nospam.net> wrote in message news:tjapg1$2e2g4$1...@dont-email.me...
>> On 26/10/2022 08:08, charles wrote:
>>>
>>> It's a lot more photogenic than Savoy Hill
>>
>>
>> Just shows their poor historical knowledge, would not be surprised
>> (particularly after Sunday's Antiques Roadshow) that many of them think it
>> all started at Alexandra Palace.
>
>Maybe they confused the start of the BBC with the start of BBC Television.

The 100 years should have been a clue. There was no public TV service
in 1922.

I remember being reprimanded at school for referring to 'the telly'
(not in 1922!).

On a separate note, does anyone know about progress with opening the
BBC exhibition at Alexandra Palace? Last I heard the amount of
asbestos was so great that the project was running over budget might
not proceed.

[MB]

On 26/10/2022 09:59, NY wrote:
> Will we get another series of retrospective programmes in a few years' time
> to commemorate the start of BBC Television. We need another showing of The
> Fools on the Hill.

We should really have an updated version of Pawley but no chance of that.

[tony sayer]

In article <tjasu5$2edu0$1...@dont-email.me>, NY <m...@privacy.invalid>
scribeth thus

'ere tis:)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMmZ72uSuYk
--
Tony Sayer


Man is least himself when he talks in his own person.

Give him a keyboard, and he will reveal himself.

[Mary Wolstenholme]

Who or what is Pawley?

[Mark Carver]

In this context it refers to Edward Pawley, and a book he complied in
1972 (to mark the BBC's 50th anniversary) that catalogues the BBC's
engineering activity 1922 to 1972

[MB]

On 26/10/2022 13:54, Mark Carver wrote:
> In this context it refers to Edward Pawley, and a book he complied in
> 1972 (to mark the BBC's 50th anniversary) that catalogues the BBC's
> engineering activity 1922 to 1972

Long out of print though a PDF copy did appear online for a time, I
thought it was a pirated copy but now on the BBC site so must be legal!


<https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/documents/edward_pauley_bbc_engineering_1922-1972.pdf>

It covers the engineering history in some detail and is very readable.
I often get my copy out to look up something.

There is Asas Briggs' but that is more about the politics etc and not as
readable.

There are a couple about transmitters and a website, also some on
studios. Also one on BBC Scotland which does cover some of the
technical side but not in great detail.

[charles]

In article <jrsp06...@mid.individual.net>, Mark Carver

BBC Engineering 1922- 1972 ISBN 0 563 12127 0. (according to my copy)

[Paul Ratcliffe]

On Thu, 20 Oct 2022 12:02:55 +0100, Scott <newsg...@gefion.myzen.co.uk>
wrote:

>>> For some years, a number of programmes used to do that because it was
>>> the cheapest way to do an OB insert into a programme.  I think some
>>> were quite open about them doing it.
>>>
>>Yes, Saturday morning Swap Shop/Superstore/Going Live etc used to have
>>their OB near a football match venue, and in the evening Noel Edmunds
>>show did the same
>
> I believe Songs of Praise usually came from the same town as the
> Saturday football.

It didn't when I did it. It was recorded, twice, on subsequent evenings
with the same people (they were asked to turn up twice and wear the
same clobber for continuity) and then the better version of each bit
was selected in the edit.
We recorded the first programme on Wed/Thu and then moved on and did
another one on the Sat/Sun.
This was in the early 90s, in that hot-bed of football, the south of
Devon and Cornwall.
A most enjoyable week.

[Chris Youlden]

Agreed. My office used to book a DEL for each site in the years before
cellphones, and they were as Paul says.

--

Chris