Merry Christmas Everybody!
It’s 2.00 pm on Christmas Day so that means it’s time for the Top of the Pops Christmas Special. Mike Smith is one of those on presenting duties so I wouldn’t expect to see this one turn up on BBC4 anytime soon.
It’s a fair so-so sort of show, although Bucks Fizz did catch my eye (both Cheryl and Jay both looking rather fine) plus there’s also Heaven 17 with Temptation.
It’s the end of an era for Blankety Blank as Terry Wogan presents his final show. Appearing today – Roy Kinnear, Beryl Reid, Patrick Moore, Sabina Franklyn, Freddie Starr and Ruth Madoc. It’s slightly less elaborate than some of the previous Xmas shows (which featured two separate panels of celebs – not to mention various japes and special guests). In retrospect though, this show is a memorable once since it featured the appearance of Tom Moore (later to raise over 30 million for the NHS).
BBC1’s afternoon film is the Disney version of Treasure Island. Featuring Robert Newton as Long John Silver (impossible now to watch his performance and not think of Tony Hancock) who is backed up by an impressive roster of British character actors (the likes of John Laurie, Geoffrey Keen and Patrick Troughton). This means that the very American Bobby Driscoll (as Jim Lad) sticks out like a sore thumb, but that apart it’s very agreeable. Alas, there was no happy ending for Driscoll, who died of drug abuse aged just 31. Sorry to bring the mood down a little.
BBC1 wins the evening with The Two Ronnies and a feature length All Creatures Great & Small. Shot on film, All Creatures picks up the story post WW2 with a demobbed James returning home. Another one-off would surface a few years later before the series proper returned in 1988.
Only Fools & Horses has yet to assume pride of place on Christmas Day (today’s episode only runs for the normal 30 minutes and doesn’t air until 9.35). But it’s worth waiting for – as Del and Rodney’s estranged father Reg Trotter (Peter Woodthorpe) returns to detonate some bombshells …
Thicker Than Water has a very small cast (apart from the regulars, only Woodthorpe and Michèle Winstanley as Karen the barmaid are credited). Woodthorpe is typically solid and it’s the last chance to see Lennard Pearce as Grandad (Pearce would die very early on during production of the next series – which meant that the character of Grandad was swiftly replaced with that of Uncle Albert).
Once again, time is limited for ITV and C4 picks (plus there’s not much that I can source) but I’ll be tuning in for The Revenge of the Pink Panther.
Archive Television Musings 
Although Eastenders didn’t arrive until 1985, I noted that Coronation Street never did a Christmas Day episode. Although it was originally televised twice a week (Mondays and Wednesdays) I seem to recall Corrie wouldn’t be shown at all on either of those days if it fell on Christmas Day. It’s amazing to think that in recent years, the soaps seem to dominate Christmas with bumper episodes featuring an explosive storyline (usually involving a death).
The big ITV Christmas Day film was the original Superman movie that was released five years earlier. Every year saw a Christmas Day premier of a big film. In later years we got ET and Indiana Jones. I do vaguely recall my Dad taping Superman on a Betamax for me and I’m sure he taped it from Christmas Day 83! That tape was played numerous times over the years. I still regard Richard Donner’s Superman as one of the greatest super hero films ever made thanks to a stella cast (Chris Reeve in particular) and top quality film making.
I will end on Captain Tom – another super hero and an nice touch to see him here on Blankety Blank as a younger man, many years before he captured the Nation’s attention during the first Covid lockdown.
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There were four Christmas Day Coronation Street episodes in the 1960’s and four in the 1980’s (only one during the 1970’s though).
https://coronationstreet.fandom.com/wiki/25th_December
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For Christmas forty years ago I got Doctor Who – A Celebration by Peter Haining, which I read from cover to cover.
I wasn’t interested in watching tv that day.
My godfather came round with his family in the afternoon. His son had started watching the Superman film (which go its tv debut in January 1983) at their house, and he watched the end of the film round ours. We agreed that the bit where Superman reversed time by spinning the world backwards was silly. I ssaid if he did that time wouldn’t go backwards, people would see the sun go round the world in the opposite direction really rapidly.
I told my godfather’s oldest daughter that I was a Batman fan. She said her boys lijed Terrahawks, and I told her I loked to robot who sounds like Windsor Davies.
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