I haven't seen the DVD so I'm going on my memories from the time, but I don't remember the acting being as poor as some say. My recollection is that the family and and the presenters did very well. The two I did think at the time let it down were the "ghost expert" and the sceptic in the studio. The sceptic especially was very bad.
It was well-trailed as a drama, so I don't understand why anyone thought it was real. That didn't stop it being scary as hell, though!
I was 11 at the time, started off thinking it was real (there were a few good authentic things, like using the real Going Live/Crimewatch phone number) and I was the only person in the room to see Pipes standing in front of the curtain. It's interesting watching the DVD to spot how many times he actually appears, didn't realise he was in the crowd scene near the start, for example.
But anyway, about half way through I figured out it wasn't real, seemed to be the same for most people at school. Nobody at school knew it was a drama right from the start.
Yes, yes, the whole nation - white, middle class, dressed in Pringle sweaters and sensible slacks, ran about screaming after seeing Parkinson's stunning acting. Now, come on, let's keep these silly myths going. I remember talking to this old woman about how scared the show had made her. When she got out the car I found a bloody axe on the back seat. Then I went home and the next-door neighbour said his imported giant cactus was making a strange humming noise - the next day there were swarms of tarantulas exploding out of the top! And don't get me started on how stunned we all were when someone pointed out what the names of Captain Pugwash's crew were!:eek:
Yes, yes, the whole nation - white, middle class, dressed in Pringle sweaters and sensible slacks, ran about screaming after seeing Parkinson's stunning acting. Now, come on, let's keep these silly myths going. I remember talking to this old woman about how scared the show had made her. When she got out the car I found a bloody axe on the back seat. Then I went home and the next-door neighbour said his imported giant cactus was making a strange humming noise - the next day there were swarms of tarantulas exploding out of the top! And don't get me started on how stunned we all were when someone pointed out what the names of Captain Pugwash's crew were!:eek:
:D:D
Mike Smith and Sara Greene were my most hated celebrity couple of the time but I still watched. I didn't see it billed as a drama at all and can remember being surprised that Parky was involved. It dawned on me that it was all a load of tosh then I saw that face! Made me jump! :eek:
And when Parky got possessed...:D
My son is begging me to buy the dvd so he can watch it!
As far as I remember, since then and the boy killing himself over it, all the terrestrial channels have glossed over Halloween maybe showing Jason IXILV at 3.00am but that's about the extent of it.
As far as I remember, since then and the boy killing himself over it, all the terrestrial channels have glossed over Halloween maybe showing Jason IXILV at 3.00am but that's about the extent of it.
Yeah, I remember when Halloween used to be a big deal on TV. I remember the Paul Daniels live special where it ended with him being trapped in an Iron Maiden or something and it ended without him getting out, and then he had to appear on BBC 1 later in the evening to show all the people that were ringing in that he was still alive!
And I think it might have been the same night as GhostWatch that BBC 2 had a really good theme night of horror movies that went all the way through to the morning.
Why so many people believed it was real is beyond me. Didn't some dimwit top themselves the next day because of it? An early Darwin Award winner methinks.
I.
I believe the person who killed themself was actually mentally ill, is this what you mean by dimwit?
I was twelve when this was on tv and I watched it upstairs in my bedroom, alone. I remember thinking that the oldest girl seemed to be acting but naively thought she'd perhaps she'd just been told what to say by her mum . I was terrified and sure the whole thing was real until the very end when the studio got affected - then I thought, "Hmmm...that's a step too far!" and I twigged . Meanwhile, downstairs, my older brother and my parents were wetting themselves laughing at it.
Ghostwatch! SCARY! Sarah greene in the cupboard under the stairs!
The kids were a but rubbish, but it's great telly. Genius to have Parky playing himelf. Made it all seem far more genuine and believable, with Parky being his normal cuddly yet slightly gruff self.
Like quite a few other people here, I was 13 and missed the first 10 minutes. I only twigged right at the end that it was a fake. But for most of it, I was completely taken in.
I did figure out it was a spoof at the time - it was part of the Screen One drama series and BBC1, but it was very controversial at the time, and it is hard to imagine the BBC doing something similar today. The only thing broadly similar was Derren Brown's "Seance" from about 5 yrs ago, but he explained how it was all done: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derren_Brown#S.C3.A9ance
I can remeber everyone talking about it at school the next day. I was bloody scary but sort of 'jumped the shark' when the studio was haunted and Parky was posessed.
I loved how in the end credits there was one for the ghost 'Pipes'
I remember not being able to get to sleep because I was so petrified of what I'd seen on it - and that was when I was nineteen I was very sensitive back then though.
I wish the myth of an entire nation duped would end. Everyone I knew at school at the time were laughing their heads off at how ludicrous it had been.
I totally agree, It was the funniest thing I'd seen. The participants were so obviously acting, particularly the kids. No normal (i.e. non-acting kids) would ever have behaved that way, speaking their lines like they were learned from a script - which of course they were.
Then the end titles even listed their characters and the actors names who played them - how could anyone have been taken in by any of it? It was so false.
Sadly the 18 year old with a mental age od 13 did get taken in by it and killed himself. Then the Parents blamed the BBC although thats unfair I mean why were they letting him watch it if he had issues.
I wish people would stop calling this a hoax. It was written, produced and shown as a drama, as part of the Screen One series on BBC One. It went for a sense of verisimilitude by getting people like Michael Parkinson, Sarah Greene and Mike Smith to take part, since the setting of the show was quasi-reality TV. But it was never intended as a hoax. The writer's initial plan had been for a six-part series, but the BBC would only commit to one feature-length episode.
I was 17 when I watched it on its own and only broadcast in 1992 and I didn't believe it was real. Back on school on the Monday, I remember the class being fairly evenly split between those who saw and loved it and those who wished they'd seen it. Unfortunately, due to the over-reaction from parts of the audience and media, this superlative piece of Hallowe'en TV has never been repeated. I'm just glad it was released on DVD.
When I bought a few years ago, I found it still stands up and gets pretty creepy near the end, particularly if you watch it on a darkened night. The acting is relatively strong, I think, and it's wonderfully put together. It begins slowly and nothing seems to happen for the first hour, then things gradually get worse leading to an excellent finale.
Comments
trust me...they still are;)
It was well-trailed as a drama, so I don't understand why anyone thought it was real. That didn't stop it being scary as hell, though!
But anyway, about half way through I figured out it wasn't real, seemed to be the same for most people at school. Nobody at school knew it was a drama right from the start.
Mike Smith and Sara Greene were my most hated celebrity couple of the time but I still watched. I didn't see it billed as a drama at all and can remember being surprised that Parky was involved. It dawned on me that it was all a load of tosh then I saw that face! Made me jump! :eek:
And when Parky got possessed...:D
My son is begging me to buy the dvd so he can watch it!
As far as I remember, since then and the boy killing himself over it, all the terrestrial channels have glossed over Halloween maybe showing Jason IXILV at 3.00am but that's about the extent of it.
Yeah, I remember when Halloween used to be a big deal on TV. I remember the Paul Daniels live special where it ended with him being trapped in an Iron Maiden or something and it ended without him getting out, and then he had to appear on BBC 1 later in the evening to show all the people that were ringing in that he was still alive!
And I think it might have been the same night as GhostWatch that BBC 2 had a really good theme night of horror movies that went all the way through to the morning.
I believe the person who killed themself was actually mentally ill, is this what you mean by dimwit?
it was the curtain ghost that got me! i still picture it in my head when i have been freaked out by something!
Yeah, but at least Ghostwatch actually had a ghost in it.
hehe Ghostwatch was more genuine.
The kids were a but rubbish, but it's great telly. Genius to have Parky playing himelf. Made it all seem far more genuine and believable, with Parky being his normal cuddly yet slightly gruff self.
And scared spitless.
Wiki link is informative as well: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghostwatch
I did figure out it was a spoof at the time - it was part of the Screen One drama series and BBC1, but it was very controversial at the time, and it is hard to imagine the BBC doing something similar today. The only thing broadly similar was Derren Brown's "Seance" from about 5 yrs ago, but he explained how it was all done: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derren_Brown#S.C3.A9ance
I loved how in the end credits there was one for the ghost 'Pipes'
Then the end titles even listed their characters and the actors names who played them - how could anyone have been taken in by any of it?
I was 17 when I watched it on its own and only broadcast in 1992 and I didn't believe it was real. Back on school on the Monday, I remember the class being fairly evenly split between those who saw and loved it and those who wished they'd seen it. Unfortunately, due to the over-reaction from parts of the audience and media, this superlative piece of Hallowe'en TV has never been repeated. I'm just glad it was released on DVD.
When I bought a few years ago, I found it still stands up and gets pretty creepy near the end, particularly if you watch it on a darkened night. The acting is relatively strong, I think, and it's wonderfully put together. It begins slowly and nothing seems to happen for the first hour, then things gradually get worse leading to an excellent finale.