Looking back at those 70s programmes. I think the majority of viewers who liked the camp.racist humour were the older generation. we were told we are not laughing at racism, we are laughing at the racist. i was in my early 20s in the mid 70s and apart from Till death does us part and rising damp i thought they were all rubbish. i know my m8s felt the same as well. cant say it was down to being offended,it just wasn't funny. a lot of it was just lazy talentless writing getting cheap laughs.
It must be a taste thing as I would say that about most comedies from the last 15 years. The few sitcoms from today just cannot compare to the legends from the 70s in my opinion
I was worried when I saw jenny Eclair's response to Butterflies - one of the BEST aspects of Carla Lane's writing was it went very deep and dark when it needed...
And i miss having everythign in the open - t makes life a damn sight easier to navigate as an autistic-spectrum bloke.
Instead of coddling feelings - the culture geared around the prissiest completely-up-her-own-arse princess.
Or a 5-year-old.
There is a BRILLIANT meme regarding the whining one sees on Tumblr...
Well you could cherry pick the worst TV of any decade and make it look awful. I mean we've currently got a show on air that shows z list celebs eating animal penises and testicles and it's very popular apparently.
Well you could cherry pick the worst TV of any decade and make it look awful. I mean we've currently got a show on air that shows z list celebs eating animal penises and testicles and it's very popular apparently.
Which is in effect very slapstick. Freakshow. Very turn-of-the-century - rather than the incisive stuff we had in the 80s and 90s.
So many accusations that this is re-writing history. How so exactly? By showing clips of the what passed for family entertainment back then? Clips that highlight the prevailing attitudes of the time, attitudes which are genuinely shocking to many brought up after (but of course it's all "faux" shock).
Christ we've had a million nostalgia programmes about the 70s where it's all glam rock, disco and space hoppers, the long hot summer of 76, and classic sitcoms. But much less of programmes like this that set to redress the balance and show the three day weeks, the rubbish piling up, the IMF bailout, the chronically awful management and fecklessness that destroyed UK manufacturing etc etc. The hideous prejudice that permeated society is the icing on the cake.
The 1970s was unequivocally a decade of decline for this country and deserving of a bad press. It's the nostalgia programmes that airbrush history if anything.
My parents knew another married couple who had been in the Black and White Minstrels and they told them that the man who ran the group had a reputation in show-business for not paying the artists and theatres on time or at all.
I always thought that the Black and White Minstrel show was rubbish. Did you notice that it was all lip-synched.
Curry and Chips was the first sitcom that London Weekend Television made in colour. What a way to mark the move to colour television.
If you think about it the 80s and the 90s had the balance just right. Now we've gone too far the other way and become a nations of pussies who are offended by every little thing. I think Twitter has played a large part in it actually, so many news stories based on people's tweets whining about something someone's said.
Whoever said people have become increasingly infantilised is spot on. I mean look at those 70s public information films for kids... And now we've come to the stage where ADULTS need a warning before EVERY break because of content that might offend them. Way way way too far the other way.
I disagree.
The 80s and 90s were far more dominated by PC than subsequent decades.
Christ we've had a million nostalgia programmes about the 70s where it's all glam rock, disco and space hoppers, the long hot summer of 76, and classic sitcoms. But much less of programmes like this that set to redress the balance and show the three day weeks, the rubbish piling up, the IMF bailout, the chronically awful management and fecklessness that destroyed UK manufacturing etc etc. The hideous prejudice that permeated society is the icing on the cake.
The 1970s was unequivocally a decade of decline for this country and deserving of a bad press. It's the nostalgia programmes that airbrush history if anything.
You clearly missed the Dominic Sandbrook series about the 1970s called The 70s,shown two years ago by the sound of it. That was full of shopping by candlelight and cars that rusted away over two winters.
As for cherry-picking clearly that happens to illustrate a point in a fairly crude manner. Speaking of which here is a clip from the PC nineties, shown at breakfast on Channel 4 (the most PC of stations) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYeYD4BbMSw
So many accusations that this is re-writing history. How so exactly? By showing clips of the what passed for family entertainment back then? Clips that highlight the prevailing attitudes of the time, attitudes which are genuinely shocking to many brought up after (but of course it's all "faux" shock).
Christ we've had a million nostalgia programmes about the 70s where it's all glam rock, disco and space hoppers, the long hot summer of 76, and classic sitcoms. But much less of programmes like this that set to redress the balance and show the three day weeks, the rubbish piling up, the IMF bailout, the chronically awful management and fecklessness that destroyed UK manufacturing etc etc. The hideous prejudice that permeated society is the icing on the cake.
The 1970s was unequivocally a decade of decline for this country and deserving of a bad press. It's the nostalgia programmes that airbrush history if anything.
The 1970s (the decade in which I was born) was the most equal/fairest period in British history - the gap between rich & poor was at it's most narrow, we've now had a u-turn & we're headed back towards Victorian times.
The 1970s (the decade in which I was born) was the most equal/fairest period in British history - the gap between rich & poor was at it's most narrow, we've now had a u-turn & we're headed back towards Victorian times.
I was born in the 1970s too and think it looked a better time in so many ways than what followed.
Anyone can sit there taking sharp intakes of breath, shaking their heads, putting their hand up to their mouth and saying 'I don't believe it'.
If someone offered me a few quid and I had nothing else to do, I'd gladly become an 'expert' at whatever they wanted me to comment on.
I was around in the 70's, watching tv as a youngster. I thought these 'comedies' were unfunny and shocking then, they are just as unfunny and shocking now. I never have thought sexist, homophobic, racist stuff funny. I cannot see how anyone ever did. Whether it was the 70's, 80's, 90's or now.
I didn't get Love thy Neighbour, I never got Little Britain or Absolutely Fabulous. I never understood why people found someone shouting 'I'm free' to be hysterically funny.
I look back at 70's tv and don't condemn it, it was what it was. I wish we had moved on from it, but we have not. Casual racism and sexism is still part of our entertainment culture. Some of the racist comments about Scots on the run up to the recent referendum were disgraceful. As I pointed out after lasts weeks programme, there will be pictures appear of some woman showering as she appears in that jungle programme. Next day the papers had that very picture. Look at the short skirts worn by female presenters from everything from Breakfast programmes to Sky Sports.
Perhaps the racism and sexism isn't as in your face, but it is still there.
Im late 40s and it is shocking and offensive watching this now even though its the TV I grew up watching..
I think we just accept thats how things were then and they are different now we have all grown and moved on ..thankfully
There will be things today that we may look on in 40 years time and feel just the same..
You feel that littering everything with swear words is somehow "growing up"? Whatever the faults of 70s comedies ( or whatever seem like faults 40 years later) the language was decent. These days I look at programme guides, and the number which have a note "contains strong language" is just ridiculous. These words don't add anything, just show the writers up as crude and ignorant. Not to mention the way the audiences think they're hilarious.
One of the biggest laughs in the film "Carry on Camping" was when a gateman said "I'm off for a pee"; the camera tilted to a sign above the gate, which read "Cam ing". Would that even seem funny these days?
Comments
It must be a taste thing as I would say that about most comedies from the last 15 years. The few sitcoms from today just cannot compare to the legends from the 70s in my opinion
And i miss having everythign in the open - t makes life a damn sight easier to navigate as an autistic-spectrum bloke.
Instead of coddling feelings - the culture geared around the prissiest completely-up-her-own-arse princess.
Or a 5-year-old.
There is a BRILLIANT meme regarding the whining one sees on Tumblr...
Christ we've had a million nostalgia programmes about the 70s where it's all glam rock, disco and space hoppers, the long hot summer of 76, and classic sitcoms. But much less of programmes like this that set to redress the balance and show the three day weeks, the rubbish piling up, the IMF bailout, the chronically awful management and fecklessness that destroyed UK manufacturing etc etc. The hideous prejudice that permeated society is the icing on the cake.
The 1970s was unequivocally a decade of decline for this country and deserving of a bad press. It's the nostalgia programmes that airbrush history if anything.
I always thought that the Black and White Minstrel show was rubbish. Did you notice that it was all lip-synched.
Curry and Chips was the first sitcom that London Weekend Television made in colour. What a way to mark the move to colour television.
The 80s and 90s were far more dominated by PC than subsequent decades.
Can you give some examples? Which TV shows are you thinking of?
You clearly missed the Dominic Sandbrook series about the 1970s called The 70s,shown two years ago by the sound of it. That was full of shopping by candlelight and cars that rusted away over two winters.
As for cherry-picking clearly that happens to illustrate a point in a fairly crude manner. Speaking of which here is a clip from the PC nineties, shown at breakfast on Channel 4 (the most PC of stations) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYeYD4BbMSw
How come then we had shows like Spitting Image, Game On and Absolutely Fabulous commissioned in the 80s and 90s if these decades were so PC?
Kind of puts it in a nutshell of how nambypamby we are now if they felt the need to keep saying it before each segment.
The 1970s (the decade in which I was born) was the most equal/fairest period in British history - the gap between rich & poor was at it's most narrow, we've now had a u-turn & we're headed back towards Victorian times.
Why would there be any outrage over attitudes that we left behind long ago?
Their "outrage" (if you can call it that) seemed pretty genuine to me. The end of your sentence doesn't make sense btw.
The office
Little Britain.
I was born in the 1970s too and think it looked a better time in so many ways than what followed.
I nevr watched Game On. I didn't think the other shows were un-PC
'... At things they know nothing about'.
Anyone can sit there taking sharp intakes of breath, shaking their heads, putting their hand up to their mouth and saying 'I don't believe it'.
If someone offered me a few quid and I had nothing else to do, I'd gladly become an 'expert' at whatever they wanted me to comment on.
True, but that doesn't mean their reactions weren't genuine.
I caught bits of it and didn't have a clue who those younger people who were sneering, and feigning shock, were,
I was around in the 70's, watching tv as a youngster. I thought these 'comedies' were unfunny and shocking then, they are just as unfunny and shocking now. I never have thought sexist, homophobic, racist stuff funny. I cannot see how anyone ever did. Whether it was the 70's, 80's, 90's or now.
I didn't get Love thy Neighbour, I never got Little Britain or Absolutely Fabulous. I never understood why people found someone shouting 'I'm free' to be hysterically funny.
I look back at 70's tv and don't condemn it, it was what it was. I wish we had moved on from it, but we have not. Casual racism and sexism is still part of our entertainment culture. Some of the racist comments about Scots on the run up to the recent referendum were disgraceful. As I pointed out after lasts weeks programme, there will be pictures appear of some woman showering as she appears in that jungle programme. Next day the papers had that very picture. Look at the short skirts worn by female presenters from everything from Breakfast programmes to Sky Sports.
Perhaps the racism and sexism isn't as in your face, but it is still there.
I hardly think you need to "feign" shock at some of those excerpts!
I didn't say all of them!! The only ones who could really comment were the likes of Barry Cryer, Roy Hudd and Bill Oddie, who were actually there.
As for the rest, who exactly were they? I looked up one who was born in 1985 - what qualification is that to be commenting on life in the seventies?!?
Their qualification is the fact they're from the post-70s generation looking at the attitudes of the day. It's not that hard to understand.
You feel that littering everything with swear words is somehow "growing up"? Whatever the faults of 70s comedies ( or whatever seem like faults 40 years later) the language was decent. These days I look at programme guides, and the number which have a note "contains strong language" is just ridiculous. These words don't add anything, just show the writers up as crude and ignorant. Not to mention the way the audiences think they're hilarious.
One of the biggest laughs in the film "Carry on Camping" was when a gateman said "I'm off for a pee"; the camera tilted to a sign above the gate, which read "Cam ing". Would that even seem funny these days?
And "Round the Horne" just wouldn't work at all!