‘Ah, the good old days …’
p2pnet news view | TV:- When not hiring comedians to narrate documentaries, jumping on the reality/game show bandwagon, or commissioning terrible unnecessary remakes of classic sitcoms and serials, the BBC has never passed up the opportunity to roll out the red carpet for nostalgia.
The past week saw a repeat of a special on the best and worst of Hogmanay tv shows, and the start of a light-hearted three-part documentary on technology through the past several decades.
“Electric Dreams”, part of the current “Electric Revolution” strand, sees a well-to-do family (Dad, the accountant; Mom, the “Senior NHS Executive”; and their four incredibly spoiled pre-pubescent children) deal with daily life of 1970’s-1990’s Britain.
Each day is another year (1970-1979) in the first part. Their stately home is transformed into what the producers believe to be the typical British home of the 70’s: garish wallpaper in every room, shag carpeting, no central heating, b/w TV, transistor radio, etc.
All of their modern furniture, computers, microwave ovens, dishwasher, ipods, cell phones, etc., are taken away from them for ten days. Temporary walls are erected to block off rooms, or make rooms smaller. The family are reduced to having to share a single bathroom.
A single rotary phone in the hallway is their only way of communicating with the outside world.
Ah, the good old days: power cuts, strikes, no central heating.
They’re also provided with clothing from the era that they must wear.
A parcel arrives every day with a new appliance for the day’s year. One day a b/w TV, next a camera, then a color TV, a pocket calculator, a Pong console, and on. After a few days their portable record player is replaced with a stereo system that has a cassette tape deck – for recording purposes.
The producers instruct the family to take pictures and record a mixtape, which will be the entertainment for a party they’re to give at the end of the ten days, to which their friends are invited, and presumably will enjoy.
The show explains that in the 70’s, the ability to create a mixtape at home and carry an entire album around in your pocket to share with friends was a normal pastime.
The family were given a large collection of LPs, and the children were instructed – by Dad and the BBC technician on hand – in the mechanics of creating a mixtape on the vintage stereo.
At no point in the program was it ever mentioned that creating mixtapes infringes copyright – that’s because it doesn’t. Copying and sharing the tape with friends was also encouraged – in the 70’s and in this program. Again, no mention of copyright infringement or theft was ever implied, inferred, or stated.
Verdict: they loved the LPs and making mixtapes, but the kids didn’t seem to care for Pong.
A lot of 1970’s music was played by the family, but even in the end credits, there was no mention that the BBC had permission to use any of the music in the program.
In the next installment, the family enters the 1980’s. A lot of Duran Duran, Michael Jackson, and Madonna will probably be heard.
No doubt the family will again be encouraged to make mixtapes using tools and instruction provided by the BBC, as the Walkman is certain to be featured.
catflap – p2pet
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi
October, 2009
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October 1st, 2009 at 6:20 pm
My family in the US never had a color TV throughout the 1970s. We had a B/W one as a backup, but the primary TV was always color.
October 2nd, 2009 at 4:40 pm
“In our days, we didn’t have video games. We didn’t have Monopoly or Clue. We played ‘Bang our heads against the tree’! Sure, we had to stop every once in a while to pass out… but we LIKED IT THAT WAY!”
- Dana Carvey, as “The Grumpy Ol’ Man”, SNL
October 5th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
Bang our heads against the tree?
What happened to roshambo?