Christmas is the perfect time to gather the family around the telly to watch some cosy festive fare. Indeed, growing up in the ’80s and ’90s it was the place to be after stuffing yourselves airtight with turkey and all the sundry accoutrements. Christmas TV from that time was something special, with many regular programmes making a specific episode for the seasonal holiday. It made tuning in part of the Christmas experience; it felt as if they were celebrating with us too.
We are awash with nostalgia in all forms of media. The internet both allows and encourages this, and in particular the Generation Xers among us, who lived through the golden sunset of analogue entertainment, often seek a return to those times.
In a recent survey conducted by Censuswide, almost 25% of those surveyed wanted to see the return of the Top of the Pops Christmas Special. There were also similar calls for family gameshows to make a comeback on the small screen.
Thankfully we have entire channels devoted to our seasonal whims. With a dedicated dip into the Free-to-view channel selection box, we can relive the very best of times this Christmas.
To cosy up to the Christmas TV warmth as the big day approaches, we look at some of the best entertainment from the ‘80s and ‘90s which capture that festive glow.
Classic Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?
Family gameshows are a television staple, and the ‘90s arguably saw the greatest audiences and appreciation for the curious collision of quiz and drama on the box. Far more genial than Anne Robinson riding a mean streak through the decade, WWTBAM was the ultimate quiz show. Incredibly simple to understand, very difficult to win. It was a sensation, as unimaginable riches were the prize and all that was standing in the contestant’s way were fifteen questions and an inscrutable Chris Tarrant whipping the audience of millions into a rapt frenzy.
Challenge TV have lived up to their name and risen to well… the challenge, and are airing episodes of Classic Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? this season. It’s the perfect show for the whole family to shout out answers and edge slowly forwards as the difficulty (and the prize money) rises. A clever variation on the endlessly compelling theme was the Celebrity specials, where they would compete in pairs for charity. The ‘90s were the apex of pre-internet celebrity culture so this was a marriage made in TV Heaven, and the results are just as much fun to watch now.
The Snowman/The Box of Delights
Two unadulterated classics of Christmas TV exemplify our next festive waypoint. Both instant classics from their first airing, repeat viewings over the years have not dulled their seasonal shine, and they are both essential to any seasonal TV line-up.
The Snowman is animated magic, and Raymond Briggs’ timeless story was realised in astounding detail with the jaw-dropping animation under the auspices of Jimmy T. Murakami and his team. Like the most cherished storybook come to life, The Snowman wove a spell across the entire country, with the seminal centrepiece featuring Peter Auty’s rendition of ‘Walking in the Air’ the jewel in its turkey crown. I must also point out that the sequel The Snowman and the Snowdog, which came thirty years later, is more than a worthy sequel and is just as magical. Well worth a double bill.
Say ‘The Box of Delights’ to someone of a certain age and they will smile softly and turn their gaze wistfully into the past to remember better times. The 1984 six-part series was a genuine moment in time for those who lived through it. The BBC’s Radiophonic Workshop’s beautiful variations on Hely-Hutchinson’s Carol Symphony matched the new box of Visual Effects toys the BBC had to play with. Add in a genuinely exciting story of schoolboy espionage, dark magic and travelling chaotically through time and you have possibly the greatest Children’s TV show of all time.
The Christmas Specials
Now, this really is a tradition that modern TV commissioners should revive. It may be a sign of the times that we don’t have as many must-see TV shows capturing the interest of the nation, but those of us who had our copy of the Christmas Radio Times in one hand and a ready highlighter in the other will remember circling a plethora of Christmas specials.
Often these were one-offs, shown outside the main series, centred around the festive season. The Only Fools and Horses Christmas specials dominated the seasonal ratings year after year. Shoulder to shoulder with them were the Morecombe & Wise specials, often replayed even now – decades after they were made. They are often seen as shorthand for the perfect Christmas TV offering.
My favourite however is 1988’s Blackadder’s Christmas Carol, Richard Curtis & Ben Elton’s smutty love letter to Dickens’ immortal tale of redemption and spectral epiphany. Set between Blackadders The Third and Going Forth, this Christmas special turned the usual tale of Ebeneezer Blackadder on its head, with the three ghostly visitations being the catalyst for our hero’s descent from The Nicest Man in England to ‘the Horridest Man in the World’ as his god-daughter Millicent (Nicola Bryant in brilliant, ear-shattering form) would say.
It revisited old friends from the Blackadder family, and made some new ones. It poked fun at Christmas traditions and stereotypes with merciless glee. It remains one of the best comedy episodes ever shown on UK TV. And it is, like many of the shows mentioned here, a must-see.
Whatever you watch this Christmas, we hope it’s a peaceful and a happy one.
Classic episodes of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? air on Challenge TV on Sky TV channel 48.
Main Image – AUSTIN HEALY & GARY LINEKER – Photo by Sven Arnstein.
