TV Cream

Last updated

TV Cream is a British television nostalgia website, which has expanded to cover not only television, but film, toys, books, and other objects. The Daily Telegraph called it "a labour of love" and praised "the standard of the writing". [1] In 2003, it was amongst the nominees for Yahoo! UK & Ireland as best comedy website. [2] Its sister website Off The Telly offered more serious insight into television.

Contents

History

The site originally appeared as The Arkhive in 1997, before adopting its current name the following year. Founded by Phil Norman, the site mainly reviews hundreds of programmes shown on British television (but not necessarily made in the UK), during the 1970s and 1980s, though some earlier and later shows are also featured. The site also features a selection of nostalgia-based articles relating to areas of popular culture such as pop music, film, comics, and so on.

Site writers include Steve Berry, Chris Diamond, Chris Hughes, Ian Jones, Graham and Jack Kibble-White, Suzy Norman, Jill Phythian, Matthew Rudd, Ian Tomkinson, Simon Tyers, Steve Williams and TJ (Tim) Worthington. Some contributors were also involved with "Off the Telly", worked in journalism and/or wrote books. Graham Kibble-White wrote for the Daily Mirror and Jill Phythian appeared as a talking-head on TV list shows.

TV Cream also operates email lists; "Creamguide" currently the only regular email provides subscribers with a weekly mailout listing forthcoming TV programmes of interest.

Publications

The website and its contributors have produced a number of spin-off books, some marketed as TV Cream tie-ins, others individual projects by writers:

Official TV Cream books

TV Cream: The Ultimate Guide To 70's and 80's Pop Culture (aka TV Cream: Nostalgia Book of the 70's And 80's) ( ISBN   0-7535-1080-4) was published by Virgin Books in June 2005.

TV Cream's Anatomy of Cinema ( ISBN   190554846X) was published by The Friday Project Ltd. in April 2007. The Independent praised it for telling the truth about the often ropey quality of British cinema. [3]

TV Cream Toys by Steve Berry ( ISBN   1-905548-27-3) was published by The Friday Project Ltd. in November 2007. [4] The book rates toys according to their "status, lifespan, usability, 'eBayability' and overall play satisfaction". [5]

The Great British Tuck Shop (formerly The TV Cream Tuck Shop) by Steve Berry and Phil Norman ( ISBN   1906321450) was published by The Friday Project in October 2012.

Closet Reading by Phil Norman (Gibson Square) was a history of the spin-off books produced to accompany British television comedy series, such as The Brand New Monty Python Bok and The Goodies File , volumes which were often used as toilet reading. The Guardian called it "a wittily written curio, and to hardcore comedy fans, it's a definitive reference work". [6]

Morning Glory: A History of British Breakfast Television by Ian Jones and Graham Kibble-White. [7] A serious history of breakfast television by 2 regular TV Cream contributors, based on material originally published on the Off The Telly website.

Fun At One! The Story of Comedy at Radio 1, a history of BBC Radio 1's comedy output, by contributor Tim "TJ" Worthington.

Related Research Articles

Jonathan Ross English television and radio presenter

Jonathan Stephen Ross is an English broadcaster, film critic, comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He presented the BBC One chat show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross during the 2000s, hosted his own radio show on BBC Radio 2 from 1999 to 2010, and served as film critic and presenter of the Film programme. After leaving the BBC in 2011, Ross began hosting his comedy chat show The Jonathan Ross Show on ITV. Other regular roles have included being a panellist on the comedy sports quiz They Think It's All Over (1999–2005), being a presenter of the British Comedy Awards, and being a judge on the musical competition show The Masked Singer (2020–present) and its spin-off series The Masked Dancer (2021–present).

<i>Brookside</i> (TV series) British soap opera

Brookside is a British television soap opera, set in Liverpool, England. The series began on the launch night of Channel 4 on 2 November 1982, and ran for 21 years until 4 November 2003. Originally intended to be called Meadowcroft, the series was produced by Mersey Television and was conceived by Grange Hill and Hollyoaks creator Phil Redmond.

Danny Wallace (humorist) Scottish filmmaker, comedian, writer, actor, and presenter of radio and television

Daniel Frederick Wallace is a Scottish filmmaker, comedian, writer, actor, and presenter of radio and television. His notable works include the books Join Me, Yes Man, voice acting as the narrator for Thomas Was Alone and as Shaun Hastings for the Assassin's Creed game series, as well as the TV series How to Start Your Own Country.

Robert Alexander Spiers was a Scottish television comedy director and producer. He worked on many sitcoms and won two British Academy Television Awards for his work on Fawlty Towers and Absolutely Fabulous.

National Comedy Awards British awards ceremony

The National Comedy Awards is an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom, celebrating notable comedians and entertainment performances of the previous year.

Wacaday is a children's television series in the United Kingdom that ran in TV-am's school-holidays slot from October 1985 until 1992, in an 8:50-9:25 a.m. slot, and was hosted by Timmy Mallett.

Andrew Collins (broadcaster) English writer and broadcaster

Andrew Collins is an English writer and broadcaster. He is the creator and writer of the Radio 4 sitcom Mr Blue Sky. His TV writing work includes EastEnders and the sitcoms Grass and Not Going Out. Collins has also worked as a music, television and film critic.

Pacers (confectionery) Confectionery brand (discontinued)

Pacers is a discontinued British brand of mint flavoured confection, manufactured by Mars.

Robert Popper British producer, writer and actor

Robert Darren Popper is a British comedy producer, writer, actor, and author, best known as co-creator of the mock BBC documentary Look Around You, and creator of Channel 4's sitcom Friday Night Dinner. He also wrote the books The Timewaster Letters, Return of The Timewaster Letters and The Timewaster Diaries under the pseudonym Robin Cooper.

Rich Fulcher American comedian, actor and author (born 1968)

Richard Fulcher is an American comedian, actor and author. He played Bob Fossil and other characters in the British comedy series The Mighty Boosh, and Edward Sheath in the American series Jon Benjamin Has a Van. He has also appeared in Noel Fielding's more recent show, Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy. His other appearances include Unnatural Acts with Julian Barratt and Fielding of The Mighty Boosh and he starred in and wrote the TV series Snuff Box alongside Matt Berry.

Matt Berry British actor, comedian, musician, and writer

Matthew Charles Berry is an English actor, comedian, musician, and writer. He is best known for his roles in comedy series such as The IT Crowd, Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, The Mighty Boosh, Snuff Box, What We Do in the Shadows, and Toast of London, the last of which he also co-created. The series earned him the 2015 BAFTA Award for Best Male Performance in a Comedy Programme. As a musician, he has released nine studio albums.

Alan Carr English comedian and television personality

Alan Graham Carr is an English comedian, broadcaster and writer. His breakthrough was in 2001, winning the City Life Best Newcomer of the Year and the BBC New Comedy Awards. In the ensuing years, Carr's career burgeoned on the Manchester comedy circuit before he became known for co-hosting The Friday Night Project (2006–2009) with Justin Lee Collins. This led to the release of a short-lived entertainment show Alan Carr's Celebrity Ding Dong (2008), and he went on to star in the comedy chat show Alan Carr: Chatty Man (2009–2016) which aired on Channel 4. Since 2017, Carr often stands in as a team captain on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. In 2019, he became a judge on RuPaul's Drag Race UK.

Frys Chocolate Cream Brand of chocolate bar

Fry's Chocolate Cream is a chocolate bar developed by J. S. Fry & Sons and currently manufactured by Cadbury. Launched in 1866, Fry's Chocolate Cream is the first mass-produced chocolate bar and is the world's oldest chocolate bar brand. The original chocolate bar consists of a plain fondant centre enrobed in plain chocolate. Variants include Peppermint Cream, Orange Cream, Raspberry Cream and Strawberry Cream.

Frys Turkish Delight Chocolate bar by Cadbury

Fry's Turkish Delight is a chocolate sweet made by Cadbury. It was launched in the UK in 1914 by the Bristol-based chocolate manufacturer J. S. Fry & Sons and consists of a rose-flavoured Turkish delight surrounded by milk chocolate. The Fry's identity remained in use after Fry & Sons merged with Cadbury in 1919.

E4 (TV channel) British free-to-air television channel

E4 is a British free-to-air television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. The "E" stands for entertainment and the channel is primarily aimed at the 16/18–34 age group. Programmes currently shown on the channel include Hollyoaks, Made in Chelsea, Coach Trip, Celebs Go Dating and various versions of Married At First Sight. The most successful broadcast of the channel to date was on 11 October 2010 when an episode of The Inbetweeners received over 3.7 million viewers.

Up Sunday was a British late night comedy satire TV show shown on BBC2 that ran for 55 editions over four series from January 1972 to December 1973, featuring many comedy stars of its era.

<i>Doctor in Charge</i> British TV sitcom (ITV, 1972–73)

Doctor in Charge is a British television comedy series based on a set of books by Richard Gordon about the misadventures of a group of doctors. The series follows directly from its predecessor Doctor at Large. It was produced by London Weekend Television and broadcast on ITV during 1972 and 1973. Barry Evans was unable to return for this series.

BBC Radio 2 British national radio station

BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. The station broadcasts a wide range of content, the BBC Radio 2 about page stating: "With a repertoire covering more than 40 years, Radio 2 plays the widest selection of music on the radio—from classic and mainstream pop to a specialist portfolio including classical, country, folk, jazz, soul, rock 'n' roll, gospel, blues, organ music, big band and brass band."

Graham Kibble-White is a British writer known for his writing on television and popular culture. The Liverpool Daily Post described him as a "cult TV guru".

Constant Hot Water is a British sitcom written by Colin Pearson. Six episodes were broadcast from 10 January to 14 February 1986 on ITV. Every episode was broadcast on Friday nights at 8:30pm, and lasted 25 minutes.

References

  1. ↑ Knight, James (29 Dec 2007). "Top 9 nostalgia links". The Daily Telegraph (UK). Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  2. ↑ "Izzard beats bus shelter website to award". The Daily Telegraph. 16 Jan 2004. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  3. ↑ "Film books: the mad, the maverick and the macabre in the year's cinematic offerings" . The Independent. 16 December 2007. Archived from the original on 2022-05-26. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  4. ↑ "Win TV Cream Toys book". Toy News Online. 9 October 2007. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
  5. ↑ "TV Cream Toys (Book)", Bookseller, 12/10/2007, Issue 5302, p11-11
  6. ↑ Kettle, James (7 November 2009). "This week's comedy previews". The Guardian.
  7. ↑ Fanthome, Christine, "Morning Glory: A History of British Breakfast Television (Review)". Journal of British Cinema & Television; 2005, Vol. 2 Issue 2, p372
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.