New TV shows on Channel 4, 1997

Should've voted Brass Eye, but it didn't feature Harry Hill and Burt Kwouk impersonating the Chemical Brothers.

I voted Harry Hill, ahead of King of the Hill and Fortean TV.

Worst thing on here is Space Cadets, 30 minutes of Craig Charles and Bill Bailey making "Klingons look like they have Cornish pasties on their head/Why didn't Dr Who just run up the stairs to escape daleks?" gags.

Although Last Chance Lottery was dire as well, Don't Forget Your Toothbrush minus Chris Evans' understanding of the variety show format plus Patrick Kielty being Patrick Kielty.

Gas featured the TV debuts of both Peter Kay and Noel Fielding. So well done Gas.

You sure? I could've sworn Kay's slot on The Sunday Show came before that.

Kay was only on the last series of The Sunday Show, which would have been... 1998?

Goodness knows - it certainly doesn't feel that recent. IMDB says it started in 1996 but offers nothing more useful (and doesn't actually list Kay in the cast).

Phil Kay Feels!

The Kay that time forgot. I did see him on some festival coverage, acting lost and befuddled. Which is/was his method, but out of context looked very damaged indeed. A bit like Viv Stanshall having forgotten all his lines....

Anyway, that one, for sure.

These I remember:

Spin City
Dani Dares
Dark Skies
Fortean TV
Cows
Brass Eye
For the Love of
Light Lunch
McLibel
The Harry Hill Show
Nightwatch
King of the Hill
A Dance to the Music (of Time)
TV Offal
Suddenly Susan
Armstrong and Miller

Blimey, Cows!

Didn't that get talked about, then talked up, for the longest time!

And then it was on! and lo it was terrible!

Boys Unlimited was a bit after this yeah? that was good.

Ant and Dec Unzipped
This had Lee and Herring on it playing policemen. And a section where they shaved a kid's head if he got questions wrong.

The Show
Fantastic "real life Larry Sanders" quiz show with Bob Mills.

Fluke

Tim Vine has been in TV for 719 years.

http://www.mabey1.force9.co.uk/lightlunch/images/MS.gif

Tool Stories

this was either on at lunchtime or really late at night

pity this wasn't a 1998 poll, i could've voted for killer net :(

Brass Eye gets my vote, sorry for not being a typical ILX contrarian.

The Kay that time forgot. I did see him on some festival coverage, acting lost and befuddled

I saw him wandering down the Cowgate in Edinburgh last Saturday looking lost and befuddled. It's what he does.

Was Captain Butler Craig Charles' terrible sitcom that I had completely wiped from my mind until I saw the words "Captain Butler" up there? Even if it wasn't, thanks for reminding me of it anyway :-(

Yes it is. CC as a pirate ship captain, jokes on the level of "Captain Butler, I have heard all about your salty seamen", and worse.

Oh, OK, I've now bothered clicking through to the actual page that spawned this poll. Dear God, that was horrific bad stuff.

Contained the phrase "All I have to show for my pirating career is a yoyo, ho, and a bottle of rum"

The sets didn't rise much above "school production of Pirates of Penzance".

Even acne-scarred Red Dwarf fans give it the gas face:

http://www.ganymede.tv/atspeed/2007/06/captain-butler

Can we stop talking about that now please, and all cast our minds back to Game of War? Risk on the telly, fronted by Angela Rippon! How could it fail?

I remember quite liking that. Didn't they refight real historical battles?

(xxpost) The title music was the cast doing a version of "Frigging In The Rigging". (sorry, that'll be the last time I mention Captain Butler... ever)

http://www.ukgameshows.com/page/index.php?title=Game_of_War

(contains youtube clip that i can't actually find on youtube)

Didn't they refight real historical battles?

I think that was a BBC2 series a few years later that basically appeared to be people playing Age of Empires while being scolded by some professor or other. I don't remember the name, no.

I think that was a completely separate show, with "holographic" maps and shite.

Back to "Game of War", isn't the problem with that show that, no matter how you dress it up, watching people play Risk is really boring? And playing Risk isn't that much more interesting either. And the more bells and whistles you hang on it to try and interest an audience, the more bored they'll be?

Well, yes.

Dani Dares
This was Dani Behr’s “big break” after “The Word”, I think? I can’t remember ever watching it, she was always as boring as fuck on “The Word”
Fortean TV
Some nutter from the clergy potificating on mysterious phenomena. I watched it a couple of times. V v dissappointing.
Brass Eye
I voted for this. I know it’s obvious but it really was fucking brilliant.
McLibel
If this was the dramatisation of the McDonalds libel case, I thought it was pretty decent at the time.
The Harry Hill Show
Somebody I knew told me this was really funny so I watched it once. It was so, so bad. Bafflingly so, like how did this guy ever get ANYWHERE?
King of the Hill
I liked this for a while but it wore out its welcome pretty quickly.
TV Offal
Wasn’t this by that unfunny prat VL Smith? Avoided like the plague if so.
Armstrong and Miller
My wife liked this for some reason. Intermittently amusing IIRC, but not very.
Coltrane's Planes and Automobiles
I watched this a couple of times, nothing remains in my memory.

No memory of whatsoever:
Brit Girls
Deals on
Movers and Shakers
Pantoland
Captain Butler
Pet Rescue
Collector's Lot
Film Night
Last Chance Lottery
The Show
For the Love of
The Client
Seriously Funny
Family Money
Mrs Cohen's Money
The Entertainers
Tastes of the Times
Thatcher's Children
1964 and All That
Melissa
All at Sea
Fluke
Gas
Nightwatch
Tool Stories
Snap
Space Cadets
Feast
The Feel Good Factor
Game of War
Nights Out at the Empire
Seven Sins
School Rules
Ba Ba Zee
Bombay Blue
Arthouse
Royals and Reptiles
A Dance to the Music
Suddenly Susan
Underworld

Vague memory of title, nothing more:
Spin City
Dark Skies (this was an x-files knock-off I think?)
Cows

Vague memory of seeing once or twice, can’t remember a thing about it:
Ant and Dec Unzipped
Here's Johnny This was Johnny Vaughan I think?
Light Lunch
Planet Showbiz
Phil Kay Feels

Maybe not a vintage year, eh. Any particular reason for picking '97, Dom?

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