There's not much more I can add to the excellent reviews here already, so just let me state for the record that I strongly believe the 1970's to have been the highpoint of British television. You want proof? 'I Claudius', 'Jesus Of Nazareth', 'Elisabeth R', 'Callan', 'Colditz', 'Secret Army', 'Upstairs Downstairs', 'Doomwatch', 'Survivors', 'Shoestring' and groundbreaking documentaries like 'The World At War', 'Johnny Go Home', and 'Disappearing World'. What have we got today? 'Big Brother', 'I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here!', 'The Only Way Is Essex', 'Bring Back Borstal', 'The X-Factor', and 'The Jeremy Kyle Show'. 'Dr.Who' was far better then than it is now, even with its inferior special effects.
'It Was Alright In The 70's' was akin to watching a bald-headed man laughing at a man with a receding hairline. At a time when television companies are struggling to put out anything of quality, it beggars belief that anyone has the nerve to go in front of a camera and put the boot into what was on forty years ago. Matt Lucas, the narrator, is no stranger to bad programmes, having co- starred and co-written the single worst comedy sketch show of all time - 'Little Britain'.
Yes, there was some bad stuff around, such as 'Crossroads'. Yes, there was racism, sexism, and homophobia on television then, but that was because it existed in the real world ( as it sadly does today ). The difference is that 1970's television was not afraid to tell the truth about the world we live in. Characters like 'Alf Garnett' were accurate depictions of small-minded bigots. We were invited to laugh at him, and that's how it should be.
Comedy? Right. There was 'Fawlty Towers', 'Steptoe And Son', 'Dad's Army', 'The Morecambe & Wise Show', 'Monty Python's Flying Circus', 'The Goodies', Rising Damp' 'Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads', 'Porridge', 'The Good Life', 'The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin', and 'Ripping Yarns'. Its telling that the most successful sitcoms of recent years - Mrs.Brown's Boys' and 'Miranda' - have imitated the style of some of these shows.
So get off your high horse, Channel 4. 1970's television standards have never been equalled, much less surpassed.
'It Was Alright In The 70's' was akin to watching a bald-headed man laughing at a man with a receding hairline. At a time when television companies are struggling to put out anything of quality, it beggars belief that anyone has the nerve to go in front of a camera and put the boot into what was on forty years ago. Matt Lucas, the narrator, is no stranger to bad programmes, having co- starred and co-written the single worst comedy sketch show of all time - 'Little Britain'.
Yes, there was some bad stuff around, such as 'Crossroads'. Yes, there was racism, sexism, and homophobia on television then, but that was because it existed in the real world ( as it sadly does today ). The difference is that 1970's television was not afraid to tell the truth about the world we live in. Characters like 'Alf Garnett' were accurate depictions of small-minded bigots. We were invited to laugh at him, and that's how it should be.
Comedy? Right. There was 'Fawlty Towers', 'Steptoe And Son', 'Dad's Army', 'The Morecambe & Wise Show', 'Monty Python's Flying Circus', 'The Goodies', Rising Damp' 'Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads', 'Porridge', 'The Good Life', 'The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin', and 'Ripping Yarns'. Its telling that the most successful sitcoms of recent years - Mrs.Brown's Boys' and 'Miranda' - have imitated the style of some of these shows.
So get off your high horse, Channel 4. 1970's television standards have never been equalled, much less surpassed.