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1979 ITV strike - how did they cope? |
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#1 |
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Join Date: Aug 2003
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1979 ITV strike - how did they cope?
I tried in vain a few years back to ask this of "Inside Soap" magazine (where it disappeared down a black hole) but was interested if any of you soap boffins knew how the 3 main ITV soaps of 1979 coped when the 2 month strike hit between August and October. There seemed to be an air of denial in a Corrie hardback guides published in the mid-80s. It had a storyline guide arranged in order by month and there was a synopsis for September 1979 - no acknowledgement of any blip in production. Crossroads must have suffered the same problem tho Emmerdale Farm was only on seasonally then so might have escaped. Given the filming lead over broadcast and the technical blackout nature of the strike action I think the soap gap may have meant that filmed episodes had to be held over but that no new ones could be made until the strike was over. I have a recollection that they did not return until November.
I guess there were 2 options, either to carry on regardless despite continuity concerns (which could be ignored in those largely pre-video days) or to acknowledge to viewers that time had passed and "here's a resume of what you missed" (ie what had not been filmed). The latter may have been obliged if a wedding or suchlike had been flagged up beforehand with a date that fell during the strike. Also would the cast and crew have been paid for the down-time given that it was beyond their control? 2 months pay would be a big deal for most of us. Over 2 you ...G |
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#2 |
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As far as I remember, the strike was over a period of 11 weeks - Aug to Oct 1979 - and only an apology caption was broadcast.
Again, to the best of my recollection, storylines appeared to continue from (roughly) where they had left off when the strike started (Coronation Street & Crossroads). As to whether staff were paid, I would imagine that members of the ACTTU may have drawn some form of strike pay, but certainly the acting fraternity may well have been hard pressed. My memory is not what it used to be.... too much beef, I suppose! Heyho! C-E. |
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#3 |
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It wasn't a funny time for me, i was bedridden with a broken leg
. And there were only 3 channels in those days, so it was either Pebble mill on bbc1, test card on bbc2, or public information films on Itv Those were the days! P.S. i'm sure the strike was earlier in the year, my accident happened in february |
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#4 |
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Quote:
[i] A lot of strikes occurred earlier in the year (that was THE winter of discontent) but this mega one was certainly August-October and the arrival of Maggie at No10 did not extinguish industrial strife as some now think . I remember that one of my personal bete-noir Dr Who stories entitled "City of Death" went down as the highest rated ever in that period since there was literally no opposition.P.S. i'm sure the strike was earlier in the year, my accident happened in february [/b] G |
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#5 |
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I know with corrie they showed the episodes that were intended to hvae bene show during the strike afterwards, then showed the new episodes after.
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#6 |
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Quote:
Originally posted by ilscuro I think that there may have been an electricians strike earlier that year, but as far as I can recall, I believe only Channel TV managed to struggle on for a while.It wasn't a funny time for me, i was bedridden with a broken leg . And there were only 3 channels in those days, so it was either Pebble mill on bbc1, test card on bbc2, or public information films on Itv Those were the days! P.S. i'm sure the strike was earlier in the year, my accident happened in february Operated by execs, they had a couple of steaming tele-cines churning out old ITC produced material for a few weeks (Bless you, L G!), together with the cleaners providing links. C-E. |
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#7 |
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Quote:
Originally posted by Critical-Eeyore Sounds eerily like some of the digital channels we have todayOperated by execs, they had a couple of steaming tele-cines churning out old ITC produced material for a few weeks (Bless you, L G!), together with the cleaners providing links. C-E. G |
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#8 |
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Quote:
Originally posted by cobaltmale I wonder what Lew would have made of digital these days!!!Sounds eerily like some of the digital channels we have today G C-E. |
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. And there were only 3 channels in those days, so it was either Pebble mill on bbc1, test card on bbc2, or public information films on Itv