When I saw this documentary programme advertised, I recognised a good number of the clips being shown that would be included, and I had my guesses of what else may be included, so I was really looking forward to watching. Basically, the show was a three-hour collection of live and pre-recorded television fails, mistakes, technical errors, meltdowns and unexpected moments, all caught on camera, and many broadcast to millions of viewers in Britain and/or around the world.
The first popular TV show going wrong was: Strike It Lucky with Michael Barrymore falling as he was running down the stairs after pressing TV screens. Popular TV shows with blunders included: an outtake that disappeared for years from crime drama Dixon of Dock Green, there was not much rehearsal and little time to film, and actors Alan Tilvern and Victor Maddern did take after take with the tongue twister line ("Dock Green nick"); The Late Late Show Breakfast Show with a piece of burnt toast from hand-built toaster flinging out and dropping on Noel Edmonds, it made his nose bleed; Name That Tune with Lionel Blair who couldn't unlock the door of the car (Ford Fiesta) that a contestant has just won; and Sez Les with Lew Dawson in sketch with John Cleese and a goat, Cyril the goat pooed on the floor and caused Les to corpse. More popular show calamities included: Wogan with Sue Lawley taking over from Terry Wogan, fashion designer Vivienne Westwood was irritated with the audience laughing at her clothes being displayed by models, Russell Harty teased her designs, but Janet Street-Porter stood up for her; and Going Live! with a caller who had a problem with their dog, a puppy Shih Tzu on the show got close to Gordon the Gopher, tried to dry hump the puppet, Sarah Greene laughed and tried to help Gordon. Mistakes on popular shows included: Parkinson with guest Steve Martin cutting Michael Parkinson's tie to demonstrate the difference between British and American humour/comedy; Deal or No Deal with contestant vicar David Schofield, an opened box was empty (with no card and cash amount, only tape), the show had to continue filming, the vicar chose to reshuffle rather than start again, the missing amount was £250,000; Mastermind with contestant Simon Curtis going through to the semi-final, he went completely blank answering questions about the films of Jim Carrey, he only got one correct answer, David Walliams later made him a joke on his show Awfully Good, Curtis complained but got nowhere. Unexpected and inappropriate moments on TV shows included: The Late Late Show (the Irish show) with guest Lenny Henry falling off his chair whilst joking to clairvoyant Helen Parry Jones, he styled it out; The Old Grey Whistle Test with music guests John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett, the singer jumped on the speakers and fell over with the speaker landing in between his legs, then the singer started ripping his shirt off, the producers started to roll the end credits as his behaviour got crazier; the gameshow 100% with an "accidents and disasters" special, contestants were police and hospital staff, all questions based on real and fictional accidents and disasters, the questions were depressing and distasteful; and Blue Peter with presenter Mark Curry on a traction engine, he could steer it and pressed the wrong button which sped it up, he crashed into the set. More TV mishaps included: This Morning with Keith Lemon presenting the floating map weather report in Liverpool Docks, a man jumped into the water, identified as environmental activist Jungle Bird, he failed to disrupt the report to make his point and protest; Gogglebox with regulars Jenny and Lee, Lee accidentally ate Jenny's face mask pack (paste), he spat on her; Who Wants to Be a Millionaire with contestant Alan Horsburgh answering a question about animals, assuming he was right Jeremy Clarkson told him the answer was correct, but it came up onscreen and it is wrong; The One Show with guest Paddy McGuinness breaking the table, he mocked the studio budget as the table was apparently stuck together by Sellotape; and Lorraine with guest Kevin Kennedy (Curly Watts from Coronation Street) talking about his stage show, there was a tag on his trousers, John Lewis forgot to take it off in the shop when he bought them. Accidents and embarrassing moments on popular TV shows included: The Big Breakfast with Richard Orford and Rory Bremner abseiling down a church building in London, the cameraman fell fast abseiling himself, and the screen went black, Mike Little and Zoe Ball had to reassure the audience he was fine; Juke Box Jury hosted by Jools Holland with panellists Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer, Neneh Cherry and John Fashanu being negative about new Glenn Madeiros song, Glenn is the mystery guest, the guests are embarrassed when he came out, Glenn refused a painting as an apology and left; and Junior Kick Start with Peter Purves commenting, a kid (10-year-old Mark Schofield) riding a motorbike fell off the beam into the ditch of straw, he caught his thigh on the handlebars, the St. John's ambulance man fell down trying to help him, then a second man slipped, Purves and the crowd could help laughing, but the kid had no serious injuries. More TV going wrong included: TV-am in 1987 filmed during the time of strikes, unqualified crew members ran a show, the picture and sound often cut and went funny, the episode was an absolute shamble, but the dispute was resolved; and Russell Harty with Russell interviewing David Bowie via a satellite link, he firstly offended David on his hair colour, David was irritated by the rude questions, including about his mother, a most uncomfortable interview. Guest and technical issues seen on popular TV included: 60 Minutes with president elect Bill Clinton with then-wife Hillary answering questions about an extramarital affair, a lighting rig dropped on the Clintons; Saturday Night at the Mill with Tony Lewis interviewing Oliver Reed about his film Tomorrow Never Comes, Oliver was drunk, forced Tony to swap jackets, then took his trousers down and walked across the studio with music playing, he dragged Lewis to join him strutting and dancing, this was his first drunk TV interview before he did many more; and Tomorrow's World with Kieran Prendiville taking on a robot (Hissing Sid) programmed to play snooker live, it was not initially switched on, the robot got the shot wrong and did not pocket the red, and another robot was not able to lay a cup and saucer for afternoon tea. The final popular TV show going wrong was: The Sky at Night with Sir Patrick Moore doing a live outside broadcast, they hoped to see Saturn through the televised telescope, but the night sky was cloudy, and the image was going in and out, Moore was forced to fill time with chat.
I had my guesses what TV incidents and programmes would be included, the funny ones and the awkward ones, I always enjoy the nostalgia seeing these moments again, but I wasn't expecting to see human tragedies as well, it was good to learn about the serious stuff I have only heard about, overall it was a most interesting and highly watchable documentary.
Narrated by Chris Tarrant, with contributions from journalist and broadcaster David Aaronovitch, Britain's Got Talent comedian Kojo Anim, Kathryn Apanowicz, Coronation Street's Steven Arnold, Stephen Bailey, Dave Benson Phillips, vocal coach Yvie Burnett, Mike Bushell, Blue Peter's Radzi Chinyanganya, presenter Paul Coia, Charlotte Crosby, Mark Curry, Simon Curtis (Mastermind contestant), TV writer Colin Edmonds, TV chef Dean Edwards, Sheila Ferguson, Neil Fox, darts player Bobby George, Sarah Greene, presenter Chris Hollins, Eamonn Holmes, presenter Storm Huntley, Dr. Christian Jessen, Dom Joly, Lesley Joseph, Kevin Kennedy, Iain Lee, Rustie Lee, Dominic Littlewood, Linda Lusardi, actor John Lyons, Sharon Marshall, Kym Mazelle, ITV News' Lucrezia Millarini, presenter Clare Nasir, TV-am's Nick Owen, Angela Rippon, presenter and announcer John Sachs (Gladiators), Penny Smith, singer Sonique, John Stapleton, Michaela Strachan, Good Morning Britain's Laura Tobin, Tim Vincent, and Bargain Hunt's Tin Wonnacott. Very good!
The first popular TV show going wrong was: Strike It Lucky with Michael Barrymore falling as he was running down the stairs after pressing TV screens. Popular TV shows with blunders included: an outtake that disappeared for years from crime drama Dixon of Dock Green, there was not much rehearsal and little time to film, and actors Alan Tilvern and Victor Maddern did take after take with the tongue twister line ("Dock Green nick"); The Late Late Show Breakfast Show with a piece of burnt toast from hand-built toaster flinging out and dropping on Noel Edmonds, it made his nose bleed; Name That Tune with Lionel Blair who couldn't unlock the door of the car (Ford Fiesta) that a contestant has just won; and Sez Les with Lew Dawson in sketch with John Cleese and a goat, Cyril the goat pooed on the floor and caused Les to corpse. More popular show calamities included: Wogan with Sue Lawley taking over from Terry Wogan, fashion designer Vivienne Westwood was irritated with the audience laughing at her clothes being displayed by models, Russell Harty teased her designs, but Janet Street-Porter stood up for her; and Going Live! with a caller who had a problem with their dog, a puppy Shih Tzu on the show got close to Gordon the Gopher, tried to dry hump the puppet, Sarah Greene laughed and tried to help Gordon. Mistakes on popular shows included: Parkinson with guest Steve Martin cutting Michael Parkinson's tie to demonstrate the difference between British and American humour/comedy; Deal or No Deal with contestant vicar David Schofield, an opened box was empty (with no card and cash amount, only tape), the show had to continue filming, the vicar chose to reshuffle rather than start again, the missing amount was £250,000; Mastermind with contestant Simon Curtis going through to the semi-final, he went completely blank answering questions about the films of Jim Carrey, he only got one correct answer, David Walliams later made him a joke on his show Awfully Good, Curtis complained but got nowhere. Unexpected and inappropriate moments on TV shows included: The Late Late Show (the Irish show) with guest Lenny Henry falling off his chair whilst joking to clairvoyant Helen Parry Jones, he styled it out; The Old Grey Whistle Test with music guests John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett, the singer jumped on the speakers and fell over with the speaker landing in between his legs, then the singer started ripping his shirt off, the producers started to roll the end credits as his behaviour got crazier; the gameshow 100% with an "accidents and disasters" special, contestants were police and hospital staff, all questions based on real and fictional accidents and disasters, the questions were depressing and distasteful; and Blue Peter with presenter Mark Curry on a traction engine, he could steer it and pressed the wrong button which sped it up, he crashed into the set. More TV mishaps included: This Morning with Keith Lemon presenting the floating map weather report in Liverpool Docks, a man jumped into the water, identified as environmental activist Jungle Bird, he failed to disrupt the report to make his point and protest; Gogglebox with regulars Jenny and Lee, Lee accidentally ate Jenny's face mask pack (paste), he spat on her; Who Wants to Be a Millionaire with contestant Alan Horsburgh answering a question about animals, assuming he was right Jeremy Clarkson told him the answer was correct, but it came up onscreen and it is wrong; The One Show with guest Paddy McGuinness breaking the table, he mocked the studio budget as the table was apparently stuck together by Sellotape; and Lorraine with guest Kevin Kennedy (Curly Watts from Coronation Street) talking about his stage show, there was a tag on his trousers, John Lewis forgot to take it off in the shop when he bought them. Accidents and embarrassing moments on popular TV shows included: The Big Breakfast with Richard Orford and Rory Bremner abseiling down a church building in London, the cameraman fell fast abseiling himself, and the screen went black, Mike Little and Zoe Ball had to reassure the audience he was fine; Juke Box Jury hosted by Jools Holland with panellists Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer, Neneh Cherry and John Fashanu being negative about new Glenn Madeiros song, Glenn is the mystery guest, the guests are embarrassed when he came out, Glenn refused a painting as an apology and left; and Junior Kick Start with Peter Purves commenting, a kid (10-year-old Mark Schofield) riding a motorbike fell off the beam into the ditch of straw, he caught his thigh on the handlebars, the St. John's ambulance man fell down trying to help him, then a second man slipped, Purves and the crowd could help laughing, but the kid had no serious injuries. More TV going wrong included: TV-am in 1987 filmed during the time of strikes, unqualified crew members ran a show, the picture and sound often cut and went funny, the episode was an absolute shamble, but the dispute was resolved; and Russell Harty with Russell interviewing David Bowie via a satellite link, he firstly offended David on his hair colour, David was irritated by the rude questions, including about his mother, a most uncomfortable interview. Guest and technical issues seen on popular TV included: 60 Minutes with president elect Bill Clinton with then-wife Hillary answering questions about an extramarital affair, a lighting rig dropped on the Clintons; Saturday Night at the Mill with Tony Lewis interviewing Oliver Reed about his film Tomorrow Never Comes, Oliver was drunk, forced Tony to swap jackets, then took his trousers down and walked across the studio with music playing, he dragged Lewis to join him strutting and dancing, this was his first drunk TV interview before he did many more; and Tomorrow's World with Kieran Prendiville taking on a robot (Hissing Sid) programmed to play snooker live, it was not initially switched on, the robot got the shot wrong and did not pocket the red, and another robot was not able to lay a cup and saucer for afternoon tea. The final popular TV show going wrong was: The Sky at Night with Sir Patrick Moore doing a live outside broadcast, they hoped to see Saturn through the televised telescope, but the night sky was cloudy, and the image was going in and out, Moore was forced to fill time with chat.
I had my guesses what TV incidents and programmes would be included, the funny ones and the awkward ones, I always enjoy the nostalgia seeing these moments again, but I wasn't expecting to see human tragedies as well, it was good to learn about the serious stuff I have only heard about, overall it was a most interesting and highly watchable documentary.
Narrated by Chris Tarrant, with contributions from journalist and broadcaster David Aaronovitch, Britain's Got Talent comedian Kojo Anim, Kathryn Apanowicz, Coronation Street's Steven Arnold, Stephen Bailey, Dave Benson Phillips, vocal coach Yvie Burnett, Mike Bushell, Blue Peter's Radzi Chinyanganya, presenter Paul Coia, Charlotte Crosby, Mark Curry, Simon Curtis (Mastermind contestant), TV writer Colin Edmonds, TV chef Dean Edwards, Sheila Ferguson, Neil Fox, darts player Bobby George, Sarah Greene, presenter Chris Hollins, Eamonn Holmes, presenter Storm Huntley, Dr. Christian Jessen, Dom Joly, Lesley Joseph, Kevin Kennedy, Iain Lee, Rustie Lee, Dominic Littlewood, Linda Lusardi, actor John Lyons, Sharon Marshall, Kym Mazelle, ITV News' Lucrezia Millarini, presenter Clare Nasir, TV-am's Nick Owen, Angela Rippon, presenter and announcer John Sachs (Gladiators), Penny Smith, singer Sonique, John Stapleton, Michaela Strachan, Good Morning Britain's Laura Tobin, Tim Vincent, and Bargain Hunt's Tin Wonnacott. Very good!
