Funny how some television themes stick in your head years after the shows they came from ended. Even now, I can recall that this one went something like: "We love T.V!/ no doubt about it/ can't live without it/ we love T.V.!' etc.
Hosted by Gloria Hunniford, 'We Love T.V.' was a quiz show devoted to T.V. nostalgia. Not the first of its kind; I.T.V.'s 'Those Wonderful T.V. Times' ( hosted first by Barry Cryer, then Norman Vaughan ) beat it to the airwaves in 1976. Each edition was devoted to a type of programme - comedy, soap, sci-fi, drama etc. A member of the public would be paired with a celebrity, such as Ernie Wise or Joanna Van Gyseghem ( of 'Duty Free' fame ), and made to answer questions on old shows.
It hailed from the days before archive telly became a source of fun ( "look at those cheesy sets!", "look at those awful clothes the cast are wearing!" etc. ), meaning that the shows were treated with respect ( although one of the more over-the-top episodes of 'The Avengers' - 'A Touch Of Brimstone' - drew mirth from the studio audience ). I watched mainly to see clips of long-forgotten shows. One was 'The Human Jungle', a 1960's filmed drama series that starred Herbert Lom as a psychiatrist. The clip chosen to represent the show - Joan Collins taking her clothes off in the London Underground - served as an appetite wetter for the repeats Channel 4 had lined up for the following year.
John Alderton introduced a snippet of 'Please Sir!', a show he said he 'would not have missed for the world'. In 1984, repeats of 'On The Buses' and 'Doctor In The House' were nowhere to be found on British television, hence 'We Love T.V.' afforded viewers a welcome chance to reacquaint oneself with these long-unseen shows.
The B.B.C. refused to play ball, and denied L.W.T. access to their archives, meaning that 'We Love T.V.' was forced to use the movie versions of shows like 'Steptoe & Son' and 'Dad's Army' rather than the real McCoy. This was not just selfishness on their part - they had their own retro T.V. quiz in the pipeline - 'Telly Addicts'.
'We Love T.V.' scored over 'Telly Addicts' in two important respects: 1) it was slicker. The set had had money spent on it, while 'Telly Addicts' looked as though it was coming from a doss house in Croydon and 2) it did not have Noel Edmonds and his 'hoofer-doofer'. Gloria may have been lightweight, but she was easier on the eye and did not attempt to upstage the clips by cracking inane jokes. She also had better dress sense ( no tacky sweaters for Glo ).
We were also spared the hideously embarrassing spectacle of contestants attempting to 'sing' television theme tunes, which alas was a recurring feature of 'Addicts' and, for entertainment, is on a par with open-heart surgery and championship bowling.
L.W.T. inexplicably threw in the remote control after only two seasons, leaving the field clear for Noel for the next decade or so. There was never an 'We Love T.V.' board game in the shops at Christmas, but somehow you felt there should have been.
Hosted by Gloria Hunniford, 'We Love T.V.' was a quiz show devoted to T.V. nostalgia. Not the first of its kind; I.T.V.'s 'Those Wonderful T.V. Times' ( hosted first by Barry Cryer, then Norman Vaughan ) beat it to the airwaves in 1976. Each edition was devoted to a type of programme - comedy, soap, sci-fi, drama etc. A member of the public would be paired with a celebrity, such as Ernie Wise or Joanna Van Gyseghem ( of 'Duty Free' fame ), and made to answer questions on old shows.
It hailed from the days before archive telly became a source of fun ( "look at those cheesy sets!", "look at those awful clothes the cast are wearing!" etc. ), meaning that the shows were treated with respect ( although one of the more over-the-top episodes of 'The Avengers' - 'A Touch Of Brimstone' - drew mirth from the studio audience ). I watched mainly to see clips of long-forgotten shows. One was 'The Human Jungle', a 1960's filmed drama series that starred Herbert Lom as a psychiatrist. The clip chosen to represent the show - Joan Collins taking her clothes off in the London Underground - served as an appetite wetter for the repeats Channel 4 had lined up for the following year.
John Alderton introduced a snippet of 'Please Sir!', a show he said he 'would not have missed for the world'. In 1984, repeats of 'On The Buses' and 'Doctor In The House' were nowhere to be found on British television, hence 'We Love T.V.' afforded viewers a welcome chance to reacquaint oneself with these long-unseen shows.
The B.B.C. refused to play ball, and denied L.W.T. access to their archives, meaning that 'We Love T.V.' was forced to use the movie versions of shows like 'Steptoe & Son' and 'Dad's Army' rather than the real McCoy. This was not just selfishness on their part - they had their own retro T.V. quiz in the pipeline - 'Telly Addicts'.
'We Love T.V.' scored over 'Telly Addicts' in two important respects: 1) it was slicker. The set had had money spent on it, while 'Telly Addicts' looked as though it was coming from a doss house in Croydon and 2) it did not have Noel Edmonds and his 'hoofer-doofer'. Gloria may have been lightweight, but she was easier on the eye and did not attempt to upstage the clips by cracking inane jokes. She also had better dress sense ( no tacky sweaters for Glo ).
We were also spared the hideously embarrassing spectacle of contestants attempting to 'sing' television theme tunes, which alas was a recurring feature of 'Addicts' and, for entertainment, is on a par with open-heart surgery and championship bowling.
L.W.T. inexplicably threw in the remote control after only two seasons, leaving the field clear for Noel for the next decade or so. There was never an 'We Love T.V.' board game in the shops at Christmas, but somehow you felt there should have been.
