The persistence of television

Abstract

We argue here that rather than being threatened by new modes of delivery and of viewing, television persists and that this can be charted by examining the familiarity and recognisability of television across the post-World War II period, looking at British, American and Australian programmes, personalities and practices, including promotion. The article presents a case study of the BBC sitcom The Good Life to show some ways that television persists. It considers the sitcom genre, institutional practices, repeat screenings, particular types of spin-off programmes and the place of the show in the subsequent careers of the main actors.

Keywords

Situation comedy BBC performance repeat screenings

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Absolutely Fabulous (1992–2012) BBC1. French and Saunders Productions/BBC.

Backs to the Land (1977) Anglia Television.

Bewitched (1964–72) ABC. Ashmont Productions/Screen Gems Television.

Birds of a Feather (1989–98) BBC1, Alomo Productions; (2014-present) ITV1, Retort Productions/Quirkymedia Stuff.

Bochenski

(2014) Blissful time onstage for the good life star. Brisbane Times, 27 October. Available at: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/entertainment/stage/blissful-time-onstage-for-the-good-life-star-20141027-11cmpw.html (accessed 3 November 2015).

Britain’s Best Sitcom (2003) BBC.

Caldwell

(1994) Televisuality: Style, Crisis, and Authority in American Television. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.

Camomile Lawn, The (1992) Channel 4. Channel 4 et al.

Chapman

(2014) Fifty years in the TARDIS: the historical moments of Doctor Who . Critical Studies in Television 9(1): 43–61.

10.

Dallas (1978–91) CBS. Lorimar Productions; (2012–14) Turner Network Television. Cyntax Productions/Warner Horizon Television.

11.

Dowell

(2013) The Good Life’s Richard Briers Dies at 79. Guardian , 19 February. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2013/feb/18/richard-briers-good-life-dies (accessed 3 November 2015).

12.

Doctor Who (1963–89, 1996, 2005–present) BBC1. BBC.

13.

Ellis

(2007) TV FAQ: Uncommon Answers to Common Questions about TV. London: I.B.Tauris.

14.

Ever Decreasing Circles (1984–89) BBC1. BBC Television.

15.

Executive Stress (1986–88) ITV. Thames Television.

16.

Get Smart (1965–70) CBS. Talent Associates; (1995) Fox Network. HBO Entertainment.

17.

Giles and Sue Live the Good Life (2010) BBC1. Silver River Productions.

18.

Going Straight (1978) BBC1. BBC Television.

19.

Good Life, The . (1975–78) BBC1. BBC Television.

20.

Good Life, The? (1987) BBC2. BBC.

21.

Gray

(1994) Women and Laughter. London: Macmillan.

22.

Harries

(2011) Felicity Kendal: Barbara follows me around like a good fairy. Independent, 7 March. Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/felicity-kendal-barbara-follows-me-around-like-a-good-fairy-1917439.html (accessed 15 November 2015).

23.

Hartley

(2015) Situation comedy, part 1. In: Creeber

(ed.) The Television Genre Book. 3rd ed. London: BFI Palgrave, pp. 96–98.

24.

Hills

(2010) Triumph of a Time Lord: Regenerating Doctor Who in the Twenty-first Century. London: I.B.Tauris.

25.

Holdsworth

(2011) Television, Memory and Nostalgia. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

26.

Irwin

(2015) That’s the last time I play the tart for you, Jerry!: Penelope Keith and British Situation comedy. Critical Studies in Television 10(2): 87–101.

27.

Kompare

(2005) Rerun Nation: How Repeats Invented American Television. New York: Routledge.

28.

Kopytoff

(1986) The cultural biography of things: commoditization as process. In: Appadurai

(ed.) The Social Life of Things: Commodities in Cultural Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 64–91.

29.

Law and Disorder (1994) ITV. Central Independent Television/Thames Television.

30.

Life Beyond the Box (2003) BBC2. BBC Television.

31.

Likely Lads, The (1964-66) BBC. BBC Television.

32.

Lotz

(2014) The Television will be Revolutionized. 2nd ed. New York: New York University Press.

33.

Marriage Lines (1963–66) BBC1. BBC Television.

34.

McCann

(2014) Still Open All Hours: The Story of a Classic Comedy. London: BBC Books.

35.

Medhurst

Tuck

(1996) Situation comedy and stereotyping. In: Corner Harvey

(eds) Television Times: A Reader. London: Arnold, pp. 111–116.

36.

Mills

(2005) Television Sitcom. London: BFI Palgrave Macmillan.

37.

Mills

(2009) The Sitcom. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

38.

Mills

(2010) Invisible television: the programmes no-one talks about even though lots of people watch them. Critical Studies in Television 5(1): 1–16.

39.

Mistress, The (1985–87) BBC1. BBC Television.

40.

Monarch of the Glen (2000–05) BBC1. BBC/Ecosse Films.

41.

Muir

(1966) Comedy in Television: A Lecture. BBC Lunchtime Lectures, Fifth Series, No. 3. London: BBC.

42.

Muir

(1997) A Kentish Lad. London: Corgi.

43.

Nathan

(1971) The Laughtermakers: A Quest for Comedy. London: Peter Owen.

44.

New Tricks (2003–15) BBC1. BBC/Wall to Wall Television.

45.

Newcomb

(1974) TV: The Most Popular Art. New York: Anchor.

46.

No Job for a Lady (1990–92) ITV. Thames Television.

47.

On the Buses (1969–73) ITV. LWT

48.

Open all Hours (1973–85) BBC1. BBC Television.

49.

O’Sullivan

(1998) Nostalgia, revelation an intimacy: tendencies in the flow of modern popular television. In: Geraghty

Lusted

(eds) The Television Studies Book. London: Arnold, pp. 198–209.

50.

Paul Eddington: A Life Well Lived (2001) BBC Productions. Also available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqRAJ055duk (accessed 9 November 2016).

51.

Porridge . (1974–77) BBC1. BBC Television.

52.

Piper

(2011) Vintage entertainment: nostalgia, the archive and the disappearing pleasures of collective television viewing. Journal of British Cinema and Television 8(3): 411–429.

53.

Piper

(2015) The way we watched: vintage television programmes, memories, and memorabilia NECSUS; European Journal of Media Studies. Autumn. Available at: http://www.necsus-ejms.org/portfolio/autumn-2015_vintage/ (accessed 29 January 2016).

54.

Real Good Life, The (1994) BBC2. BBC Television.

55.

Real Good Life, The (1987) ITV. Granada.

56.

Red Dwarf (1988–93, 1997–99) BBC2. BBC North West et al.; (2009–17) Dave. UKTV/Grant Naylor Productions.

57.

Rosemary and Thyme (2003–06) ITV. Carnival Film and Television.

58.

Solo (1981–82) BBC1. BBC Television.

59.

Staiger

(2000) Blockbuster TV: Must-see Sitcoms in the Network Era. New York: New York University Press.

60.

Steptoe and Son (1962–74) BBC1. BBC Television.

61.

Still Open all Hours (2013–present) BBC1. BBC Comedy.

62.

Strictly Come Dancing (2004–present) BBC1. BBC Television.

63.

Supersizers Eat…, The (2007–8) BBC2. BBC Television.

64.

Supersizers Go…, The . (2009) BBC2. BBC Television.

65.

Sutherland

(2011) Competitive writing: BBC public service television light entertainment and comedy in the 1970s and 1980s. Journal of Screenwriting 2(1): 7–23.

66.

To the Manor Born (1979–81) BBC1. BBC Television.

67.

Tributes Flow for Paul Eddington (1995) A brave man and a fine actor, Independent, 7 November. Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/tributes-flow-for-paul-eddington-a-brave-man-and-a-fine-actor-1580747.html (accessed 3 November 2015).

68.

Webber

Esmonde

Larbey

(2000) A Celebration of The Good Life. London: Orion.

69.

What’s My Line . (1984–90) ITV. Thames Television.

70.

When the Boat comes In (1976–81) BBC1. BBC Television.

71.

Wickham

(2010) New Tricks and the Invisible Audience. Critical Studies in Television 5(1): 69–81.

72.

Williams

(1974) Television: Technology and Cultural Form. London: Fontana.

73.

Williamson

(2013). Richard Briers: Much-loved Actor of Stage and Screen who Rose to Prominence as a Pioneering Suburban Spirit in The Good Life . Independent, 21 February. Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/richard-briers-much-loved-actor-of-stage-and-screen-who-rose-to-prominence-as-a-pioneering-suburban-8500350.html (accessed 3 November 2015).

74.

X-Files, The . (1993–2002, 2016) Fox Network. Ten Thirteen Productions et al.

75.

Yes Minister (1980–84) BBC1. BBC Television.

76.

Yes Prime Minister (1986–87) BBC1. BBC Television.