Classic UK TV Show Premieres Trivia Quiz

Answer: Big Brother

"Big Brother" was devised and first broadcast in The Netherlands in 1999, but soon made the jump to the UK and to many other countries - by August 2021 there'd been over 500 series broadcast in over 60 countries. The UK version made stars out of presenter Davina McCall as well as some contestants such as "Naughty Nick" (Nick Bateman) and Jade Goody.

After 11 series on Channel 4, in 2011 the programme moved to Channel 5 for a further eight series until it was taken off air in 2018. There have, of course, been innumerable spin-off programmes.

There are many debates to be had about the nature of the programme and its effects upon the societal and cultural life of the nation.

Answer: Doctor Who

"Doctor Who" premiered in November 1963, the day after the assassination of President Kennedy - thus accounting for the 80-second delay in starting owing to an extended News broadcast. And 58 years later (at time of writing in 2021) not only is it still with us but its future looks set for many years to come. I watched the first episode and I was hooked, although my favourite Doctor was Tom Baker in the Baker/Lalla Ward/K9 period in the late 1970s (though David Tennant runs him a close second). I'm sad to say that nowadays I don't enjoy the programme - I find the story-lines incomprehensible and there's too much "flash-bang". Just getting old, I suppose...

Answer: Dallas

"Dallas" was a huge hit from the beginning for the BBC and rapidly achieved cultural phenomenon status. Oil tycoon J. R. Ewing (played by Larry Hagman) quickly became the lead character, and the episodes centered around the incident in which he was shot became some of the most-watched TV programmes ever. IMHO, however, the show jumped the shark when it was revealed that all the events of season 9 had been a character's dream.

The show finished in 1991 after 14 seasons - and J. R. had appeared in all of the 357 episodes!

Answer: Panorama

"Panorama" is the doyen of TV current affairs programmes. Some of the best TV presenters have presented it, including Richard Dimbleby, David Dimbleby, Jeremy Vine and Robin Day. Many of the programmes have attracted national interest, for example Martin Bashir's interview with Princess Diana, the investigation of the links between three Conservative MPs and far-right organisations, and the hoax spaghetti tree film.

It's still essential viewing.

Answer: Red Dwarf

Set on an almost deserted space ship, "Red Dwarf" was an absolute hoot from the beginning, with excellent actors well-served by a scintillating script. It won an International Emmy Award for popular arts and was voted "Best BBC Comedy Series" at the British Comedy Awards in 1994; by 1999 it was attracting more than eight million viewers. Surprisingly the BBC did not take up the option for series nine, but after a 10-year lapse the Dave channel took up the programme.

By the way, I'm not going to mention the probable derivation of the word "smeg" - it's just too, too unpleasant!

Answer: Top Gear

If you're a fan of Jeremy Clarkson then "Top Gear" is definitely for you. If on the other hand you're not a petrol head and have some concern for the environment then you should avoid it like the plague. The BBC showed it from 1977 to 2001, whereupon they relaunched it - sadly, not into outer space.

Answer: Z Cars

Mum and I loved "Z Cars" - when it started it was completely unlike any other police show on TV, much grittier and true-to-life. And don't forget the catchy theme tune! Over 800 episodes were made before it ran out of gas in September 1978. It made stars out of Stratford Johns, Frank Windsor, James Ellis and the very loud Brian Blessed. Minor roles went to actors such as Leonard Rossiter, John Thaw and Davy Jones (who went on to become a Monkee). Johns and Windsor also went on to the spin-off programme "Softly, Softly" and its sequels.

Although it was meant to be set in Lancashire, part of an early episode was actually filmed in the car park of a pub near where we lived in Essex, over 270 miles away!

Answer: Top of the Pops

"It's Top of the Pops"! - and it lasted 42 years and over 2,000 episodes! It was the source of some iconic moments, particularly David Bowie singing "Starman", John Peel playing mandolin with the Faces on "Maggie May", New Order performing "Blue Monday" live and Nirvana mis-performing "Smells Like Teen Spirit". And then of course there were the dance troupes, especially Pan's People and Legs & Co. I spent most of my teens and all my 20s and 30s watching it - it was just wonderful. Whether it was as good as "Ready Steady Go!", however, is a debatable question!

Answer: Emmerdale Farm/Emmerdale

"Emmerdale Farm" debuted in 1972 in an afternoon slot, made in Leeds and telling the story of events in a fictional Yorkshire Dales village. By 1978 it was deemed sufficiently popular to be moved to an early evening prime time slot, but the show took off in the late 1980s when more dramatic storylines were introduced; at the same time, the name was changed to "Emmerdale".

The plane crash incident took place in 1993, enabling a new start for the script writers. As is the way with soaps, some actors have put in stints of over 25 years working on the programme. My Mum liked it but I hated it!

Answer: Monty Python's Flying Circus

It's..."Monty Python's Flying Circus". Forty-five episodes in four series changed the face of British comedy; it was totally unmissable viewing during my university days, and if you couldn't recite "The Dead Parrot" sketch or "The Cheese Shop" sketch word-for-word then you really weren't where it was at. It made major stars of the members of the cast.