Once, there was a time
when a television was a special thing to watch - having spent a lot
of time talking to my grandmother (now a woman in her late 80s) about
it, she explained to me about TV viewing when she was growing up. I
also talk to my mother, who, born in the 60s, was a child growing up
with a TV in her home.
"It was a very
special thing to have" is how my grandmother starts, before
going on to tell me about the size and shape of the TV: a huge wooden
box with a small rounded screen. It was only ever on for important
things and at specific points of the day; she remembers in her late
teens watching the Olympic games on TV after its many years of
absence due to WWII, then the fuel shortage just after.
Cruising in to the 50s
she has fond memories of the TV becoming more of a focus in the
house, seeing it expand ever further with the creation of ITV in 1955
and the airing of the first non-scripted reality shows, as well as
game shows and the first UK sitcom (The Grove Family). "I
remember our living room being full of people from down the street;
it was so busy with all the children sitting on the floor at the
front that you could barely move in the room". Her words
describing the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II are ones echoed
across the country as people let neighbors into their homes to see
the first ever broadcast coronation.
While America was having
their 'golden age' of TV it was a whole decade before the UK enjoyed
the same thing, with TV sets being cheaper and the wider spread of
the colour variety hitting in the 1960s. My grandmother recalls as a
housewife with two young children in the 60s how the TV was "not
for during the day" - something she still refuses to do even now
- but how it quickly became part of the daily routine to watch the TV
in an evening.
Asking my mother about
her early TV memories, one that springs to mind is of Dr Who: "I
wasn't allowed to stay up and watch it, but I think that made it
scarier when I was allowed to watch it". She also talks of Blue
Peter and Top of the Pops all being staples in a Kids TV watching
list.
Growing up as a child of
the 70s my mother talks more about TV and the arguments it caused
between the family, she remembers not being allowed to watch The
Sweeney as a "great cause of arguments between me and my dad".
This is something equally remembered by my grandmother, who recalls
arguments around which channel to watch. It's also around this time
that the family gets their first colour TV, and incidentally are the
first to do so in the neighborhood. When I asked both women if the
continuing strikes from workers at the ITV studios effected
broadcasting they said they could barely remember it happening, but
could remember in detail the events that where televised during the
period.
By the 1980s TV was a
full-colour friend that had been let into our homes and was here to
stay. With again both women remembering the wedding of Prince
Charles and Princess Diana, it was a talking point for many weeks to
come in conversations with friends and other relatives. It looked
like TV had become the medium breaking down class barriers (all be it
temporarily). When asked about the launch of Children in Need, Comic
Relief and the legendary Live Aid concert - both women again had
memories of watching them and discussing with friends and relatives
after.
The launch of Channel 4
was met disapprovingly by my grandmother, but was welcomed by my
mother, with its clear aims to provide something different and an
alternative style appealing to the 20-30 age range. The BBC’s move
to full daytime broadcasting and ITV’s 24 hour broadcasting was
seen as a step forward by the younger of the two women, while the
elder felt it was unnecessary to have TV on during the day as it
"promoted laziness". When asked about the 1990 addition of
Sky TV as an alternative to the terrestrial four channels, both said
it was something only for the very wealthy and was far too costly for
the average family.
Moving more swiftly in to
the 90s, my mother takes up her title as such as well as remaining a
working woman; my grandmother starts slowing down and taking on
grandmotherly duties. These shifts in life mean a shift in TV habits
as well, with the former having little memory of early 1990s TV. With
prompting they both retrieve memories of the Gulf War coverage and
the controversial BBC 'live show' Ghostwatch.
Something I remember from
the earliest time is TV: the square box in the living room with 4
channels and a temperamental remote control, and the smaller, much
older black and white TV in my parents’ bedroom. As a child I
always woke up early and remember putting on children's TV, and
coming home from school to watch kids TV on ITV; in my later
childhood years it was CBBC, when, come 5pm, kids TV would end and I
would go and play with toys in my room until dinner. There was no TV
in the kitchen and we didn't watch any TV during the day. Saturday
nights were the only nights I remember being allowed to watch TV
whilst eating in the living room, with a whole host of different
shows vying for attention: the strongest memories being of
Catchphrase, You've Been Framed, Gladiators and Blind Date (now
arguably seen as the golden age of British entertainment television).
It's now I will give a
quick note to the VHS player, something my grandmother never had and
my mother didn’t have until I was a child. I remember having a
shelf in my room that I shared with my younger sister; with around 20
VHS tapes in my collection I was a child with choice, having all of
the Sooty videos and a good selection from Disney. I remember one
Fathers’ Day presenting my dad with the complete Star Wars VHS set,
with the 30 minute documentary at the beginning detailing how they
had been re-mastered.
Towards the end of the
decade, as my parents split up I found a great comfort in TV. Both
houses had them, and the programming schedule remained the same - it
was a constant that felt missing in other aspects of my life. Where
my mother would never let me watch shows like Casualty and The
Simpsons my father didn't mind, so at weekends spent at his I would
make use of my free reign of the TV and watch as much as possible -
often falling asleep in front of the box. It's also around now that I
became aware that not watching the latest episode of a soap opera was
considered pre-teen social suicide. Where my mother had never had
much of a "TV schedule" or programs that she watched
regularly, my grandmother took the same comfort I did in TV after she
lost her husband as I had when my parents split up.
It's during this time I
started to develop my preferred TV styles, with animation and science
fiction being my preferred genres. This meant that I spent a lot of
time watching Star Trek, Roswell, Robot Wars and most fondly Buffy
the Vampire Slayer (all on BBC2). Most of all it was sneaking the
chance to watch The Simpsons, something most firmly banned by my
mother. "It's a horrible show with violence and no story"
are words I remember greatly.
Heading into the new
millennium, TVs became even cheaper and as a result I was allowed one
in my bedroom, but with strict rules attached. Nonetheless I would
have the TV on at an almost silent volume and watch it late at night
(about 10pm) with my nose just inches from the screen. Most
memorable were the controversial TV series about a group of prisoners
and guards in a reality TV show on BBC2, and, with the original
series of Big Brother not taking my fancy, I would watch The Sky at
Night.
One of the most
documented incidents of the last decade was the falling of the Twin
Towers on 9/11 in the USA; I asked both women when they remembered
seeing the news and the now infamous footage. My grandmother was in
her flat with the radio on, and listened to the news unfold before
turning on the TV for the 6pm news. “I had been listening to it
all day, but the footage was raw and new compared to the audio; it
changed your emotions towards it - it made it far more real".
My mother, who was at work teaching in a prison, was interrupted
mid-class for the news where she saw the 2nd tower fall live on BBC
News. "It was devastating; people in the office were crying as
the news unfolded". Both made comment to how this was the first
time news had been captured by so many different people and not all
newscasters: the real start of 'amateur news capturing'. I myself
was in school, where the decision had been made not to inform any of
the kids of the news - making my first memory of it being in my room
home alone, when I returned from school and turned on BBC1 expecting
to see kids’ shows but instead being confronted with shocking and
dramatic images of death and falling buildings. Something that
shames me to admit now, I was annoyed that normal viewing had been
suspended on all 4 channels for the news. In retrospect it’s
nothing but the misguidances of youth.
As time moves on TV
becomes more of a talking point with me and my other family members
as well as with friends. By the middle of the millennium’s first
decade I had a PC in my room with internet access as well as a TV,
which meant I could talk and find out more information about shows.
During this time both my grandmother and my mother’s TV habits
didn't change at all. With my mother’s remarriage and relocation
she purchased the unlimited Sky TV package, giving me the opportunity
to watch Music Television and more animation when I was there, around
the normal TV viewing habits of the family. “I see no point in
paying for extra TV channels, as all they do is show repeats of shows
we have already seen” - that was (and still is) my mother’s
opinion of Sky and other TV packages.
By the turn of the decade
I had moved out of the family home and was living independently in
shared housing while at university. Without a personal TV, I moved
to watching shows on catch-up services like BBC iPlayer and 4oD. At
the same time, the Digital TV rollout was happening across the East
of England, meaning my grandmother and mother were looking at new TV
sets and means of watching TV. I went back to visit my grandmother to
help her buy a new Digital TV and set it up. In the few years since,
I ask her how she uses the new TV and DVD player: “I only watch the
normal 4 channels but I don't really like anything on ITV”. She
also says she doesn't ever use the DVD player and doesn't listen to
the radio on anything other than her FM radio. My mother on the other
hand has, since the Digital switchover, moved to an area where
satellite and cable TV isn’t available. Despite this, she sees no
difference in the quality of TV and has had no real change in her TV
viewing habits.
TV has changed a lot over
the last 70 years: it started as a luxury that was shared in times of
jubilations and celebration and has progressed to something that is
always there as a constant source of information and entertainment.
Habits for my grandmother have barely changed over the years, with
her still seeing it as something to do in the evenings and as a form
of entertainment. My mother - who although has no TV shows she
follows - uses the TV as something to relax to and as a source of
information. Neither woman uses any catch-up service, and are not
avid watchers of any show or programing; both say they watch the news
when it’s on and both have admitted to staying up later than
planned to see the end of a show or film being broadcast. This
differs dramatically to how I watch TV: I barely ever watch live TV
and use more catch-up services, I use news channels and other
broadcasting methods to keep me entertained whilst doing other tasks.
I make time to watch shows that I follow, and in some cases base my
timing around a show (if I don't want to be exposed to the plot by
other people).
What can be agreed by all
3 generations is that they wouldn't be without TV in some form or
another, and that it provides conversation points between all
generations. When asked where they saw their TV habits going in the
future, my grandmother feels hers will stay the same - only changing
if another major change comes to the TV medium. My mother on the
other hand feels her habits will change a lot once she has the
ability (such as a permanent internet connection) and that she will
use catch-up services more, using her tablet to watch TV on the go.
As for myself, I see my TV habits changing with my life: as someone
still in my early 20s life is not yet set on any path, and while I
want a career in the TV industry I still see myself subscribing to TV
shows and the traditional TV medium as well as embracing new and
emerging TV formats.
