Great Scott, 3 classic films in one trilogy. A feat not match (well except for the original Star Wars trilogy).
Award winning filmmakers Steven Speilberg & Robert Zemeckis joined forces to produce probably one of the biggest film franchise of the 80s. With an off the wall storyline and ahead of it's time special effects, The Back To The Future trilogy become one of the best loved and very successful trilogies of all time. Still enjoyed by millions, whilst constantly being introduced to new fans, the films have never aged.
The first film was introduced in 1985, staring Michael J Fox as the high school time traveller, Marty McFly. Travelling back in time to 1955 in the DeLorean time machine created by the ever eccentric Doc Brown (played by Christopher Lloyd). As Marty is transported into the past, he's on a race against time to get his parents (who are both high school students in 1955) together so that he doesn't disappear from time itself. With plenty of action and laughs, the first film of the trilogy went on to become the highest grossing film of 1985.
It would be another four years before the sequel was released into the movie theaters. Again the film went on to become a box office hit. This time Marty & the Doc have to travel to the future, to the year 2015 to save Marty's children from getting into trouble. However whilst in the future, not all goes to plan and they must go back to 1955 to correct the errors of the future.
During the making of the second film, the filmmakers also shoot the third & final installment of the trilogy. The film was eventually released during the summer of 1990 (however we still consider it an 80s gem). The film was set in the Wild West and due to the era and it's lack of technology produce probably the best story of the trilogy.
Throughout the trilogy, the films retain all the original characters and represents them during the different time zones that the films are set in. Who can forget the Tannen clan, causing mayhem whatever the decade is? Or the family members, past, present and future of the McFly family? Also the strict presence of the Strickland family tree?
2015 is going to be the 30th anniversary of the 1st film and also the year that the second film is set. What have they planned for next year to celebrate this milestone? Hopefully a full reunion of the cast with a TV special or DVD / Blu-Ray documentary and will we actually be wearing the self fastening Nike trainers and "skateboarding" on our hover boards?
Whatever happens, I'm sure the fans won't be let down and more importantly we have been lucky enough to have been given such an excellent trilogy of films.
Who can forget the TV viewing on a Saturday morning when they were kids. To most this was what the week was made for. A long week at school with very early mornings, but come Saturday morning we were up at the crack of dawn to tune into the morning's TV shows that was popular at the time.
This was essential viewing as the "magazine" format ticked all the boxes - live music, interviews, competitions, cartoons plus much more.
However it all started in 1976, when the BBC launched SWAP SHOP. Originally planned for six shows, it aired for 6 years!!! It paved the way for other shows (and channels) to revamp the trusted format and make it their own. Making their hosts (Noel Edmonds, Keith Chegwin, John Craven & Maggie Philbin) household names, whilst introducing new stars in the making from the World of TV, film and music.
After SWAP SHOP finished the BBC upgraded the show and SATURDAY SUPERSTORE was born. The format was the same, but the BBC altered the format slightly by dropping the SWAPPING element.
Again this show was a huge success for the BBC with millions of school children tuning in each week. The BBC had a wining formula and continued to dominate the Saturday morning TV slot.
During the last season of SATURDAY SUPERSTORE a new host was introduced, Phillip Schofield. It was during this season that the BBC decided to revamp the format of the show and in 1987 introduced GOING LIVE! The show ran for 176 programmes and ended in 1993.
Not to be outdone by the BBC, ITV (and it's regional channels) also had a number of Saturday morning TV shows that proved as popular.
ITV's most popular show was TISWAS. The show was first shown in the 70s on a variety of channels before finding it's home on ITV. The show ended in 1982, but is still consider to be a classic and many have called for the show to re-introduced to the TV screens.
However, ITV came up with other formats for the Saturday morning viewing. The channel introduced GET FRESH!, NUMBER 73, TX : READY FOR TRANSMISSION to name a few. ITV were considered to be more OTT shows that were thinking outside of the box.
Whatever show or channel you supported, we as "kids" of the 80s had some great shows to view on a Saturday morning. We were very lucky and also spoilt for choice (considering we were limited to 4 channels). Look out for further blog entries on the individual shows in the future!
Can you believe that the beloved Video Game, PAC-MAN, is to make a comeback on the British TV screens?
Can you also believe that the original game is 34 years old - wow that makes me feel old!
Pac-Man, one of the most popular and beloved video games of the 1980s was first introduced to us in October 1980 and has enjoyed massive success ever since.
In it's first year alone, the game sold over 100,000 units in America, making it an instant success. Kids would fill arcades everywhere just to spend their pennies on playing the game.
The idea of Pac-Man is to eat 240 dots whilst being chased (and if unlucky eaten) by the 4 four ghosts - Blinky, Inky, Pinky & Clyde. However you did have four power pellets which, when eaten, would turn the ghosts blue and you could then eat them to score more points. With 255 levels to play, you could score additional bonus points by eating the various fruits on offer (these would appear randomly on each level), these included a cherry, strawberry, orange, apple and even a key at the highest level (something I've never achieved).
In 1981, Ms Pac-Man was introduced to the gaming public. The format of her game was the same, but she had multiple mazes, moving fruit & faster gameplay. This too became a success, but many die-hards weren't impressed and preferred the original format of Pac-Man which was still popular and still outsold Ms Pac-Man.
During 1982, Hannah-Barbera introduced the cartoon series of Pac-Man to the USA tv screens. It also featured in the UK as part of Timmy Mallett's Wide Awake Club - something that I used to get up early on School Holidays to watch.
Not only was Pac-Man a video game and a cartoon, there was also a single released under the branding called PAC-MAN FEVER which sold over 1,000,000 units.
Pac-Man fever was definitely high and the demand was getting bigger & better. Pac-Man was also awarded by the Guinness World Records as the "Most Successful Coin Operated Game".
From a simple idea, the branding grew to be one of the best brands of the 80s. Who would have though that this game which was only 24kb in size (one for the computer geeks) would become so popular.
To this very day, the game is still being played (and let's admit it, it's most people's favourite game - I know it's mine). It help pave the way for the games of today.
The 80s was a very exciting time in terms of advancements in technology and also the affordability within the household.
Some advancements became so successful, whilst others found it hard to break the market.
One of these to not find commercial success is the LaserDisc (LD), which may become a surprise to many as it was the blueprint for CDs & DVDs.
Although the disc was invented in 1958 (patented in 1961 and 1990), it was during the 80s that the LaserDisc tried to break the home entertainment market, along with the VHS & BetaMax video systems.
Who can forget the excitement of putting together the Doomday Project? Launched in 1986 by the BBC, it was ambitious project to record a snapshot of everyday life across the UK. With many schools and organisations volunteering to have their items preserved for future generations to view. The medium used to record the information was the LaserDisc, due to the size of storage and the quality of pictures, etc. More to come on the Doomsday Project in a future blog entry.
So why didn't the LaserDisc become a success it should have?
Yes we had the video cassette, but this type of media storage was very limited and the quality was not the best. The LaserDisc was, after all, formatted for Digital Audio (this was introduced in 1985) and the picture quality was far superior.
The reason for the lack of commercial success was the cost of the hardware to play the Discs and also the limited number of "video" titles available. During it's height, the number of households in America to own a LaserDisc player was roughly 2 million (about 2%), whereas in Japan (it's biggest market) 10% of the households owned a player. Although these figures look impressive, they couldn't compete with the traditional video format.
However as the cost of production lowered and further advancements came about, LaserDiscs became DVDs, which is now being replaced by the BluRay discs. Looking back it's strange to see how this technological gadget did not do better considering it brought the concept of the DVD / BluRay to the buying public.
Was saddened to hear the news about the recent passing of Ian McNaught-Davis this week and decided to do a write up on him (as I was going to feature the BBC Micro Computer in a future feature).
As a child who was brought in the 80s and the introduction of "modern technology" and computing into the family home, I was somewhat of a geek and was fascinated with Computers (in fact I spent most of my adult life within an IT profession). The BBC was very important to me, as we used them in school and I was nominated the IT prefect in my primary school (I had to go in early to set up the computers and load the daily programs).
My father introduced me to the show, The Computer Programme, as he was starting to use computers in the workplace and found the programme to be very interesting and well presented.
However, whilst I recall watching this programme, I didn't have enough detail for this entry. Therefore thanks to the internet and google (how times have changed), I found this great article about Ian and the programme and I cannot think of a better way to do a write up. The article was written by Rory Cellan-Jones.
Please enjoy!
The article can be found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-26278902, but I have cut and pasted the text below...
How do you make the subject of computing accessible to a wide audience?
A very topical question, with arguments raging about the Year of Code. But maybe we need to go back and look at the work of a man who was a brilliant communicator about computers, without ever talking down to his audience.
I'm talking about Ian McNaught-Davis, the computing expert, broadcaster, and mountaineer whose death was announced this week. For many who first got to grips with computers in the 1980s it was the BBC's The Computer Programme which was the inspiration.
McNaught-Davis, or "Mac", as he was known, was the co-presenter of the programme which was part of the BBC Computer Literacy Project. At its heart was the specially commissioned BBC Micro, one of the most successful and influential computers Britain has produced.
Week by week, Mac and fellow presenter Chris Serle took viewers through the basics of computing, presenting more and more complex topics in an entertaining and accessible manner. It is hard to remember now, but in 1982 a computer was for many a large, expensive and frightening machine kept in a laboratory, and only to be approached by someone wearing a white coat.
So The Computer Programme and the BBC Micro arrived at the dawn of the personal computing era. They helped create a generation of bedroom programmers who went on to work in the IT industry - and some of them have been in touch with me this week via Twitter to express their gratitude to Ian McNaught-Davis.
The Computer Programme, with Ian McNaught-Davis and Chris Serle (left)
"He gave a generation of fledging programmers a credible programme and voice at a time when video games were the main headline. No exaggeration to say he was instrumental in me studying a computer science degree, working start-ups and now to teaching kids," says Dan Bridge.
Russell Davis tweets, "Although i'd been into computers before it was prog & Mac... that got me into it as a career & also into the hacker culture."
And David Clifford writes to me at length to express his gratitude to The Computer Programme and its star. He tells me he was a "spotty geeky teenager" in the 1980s, but one who was delighted at last to find some television aimed at him.
"There was this guy with funny hair and big glasses talking about stuff that I liked, information that was targeted at me, on topics that interested me and subjects I was learning about and could understand. This was unusual in the days when there were only three channels on TV and most of the output was directed at others - sport, variety, drama etc. Here was something for me and Ian McNaught-Davis will always be that man who brought it to me."
But it is to McNaught-Davis's co-presenter that I turn for an intimate portrait of the man. "He had immense charm and bonhomie," says Chris Serle, recalling their first meeting. "A big bloke, and a great big grin and an embracing smile all over his face. You just knew immediately you were going to be in comfortable company.
Mac, he explained, learned his broadcasting skills as a mountaineer: "What made him ideal for this work was that he had done pioneering work as an outside broadcast commentator on his climbs."
His career in computing had included working for a US firm selling space on mainframe computers. "But even he was fishing around when it came to this new phenomenon which had been brought about by the invention of the microchip and the discovery that you could make computers much smaller, you could get a whole computer on a desk."
Chris Serle admits that he himself was "in the enviable position of knowing absolutely nothing" and so was entitled to ask "all the stupid questions on behalf of our audience". Then Mac would work his magic:
"He did have this extraordinary gift for putting dense material into easily understood terms. He could always find a little analogy or twist of language to make you understand things that in those days were completely alien to people... Nobody knew about inputs and outputs, and binary code. This was all amazingly radically new."
Nowadays, of course, most of us are carrying tiny computers with many times the processing power of the BBC Micro - they are called smartphones. But do we have any better understanding of computing than the audiences who switched on to watch Ian McNaught-Davis in the 1980s? I somehow doubt it.
Some would say that they were more famous for their offstage antics rather than their music and live shows. However for a band who's personal lifestyles made it onto the headlines more than their music, they still managed to sell over 80 million records whilst continuing to sell out Arenas & Stadiums everywhere they go.
Formed in 1981, Motley Crue was on a quest to conquer the Heavy Metal market and take as many drugs, sleep with as many women and to cause merry mayhem along the way.
Nikki Sixx, the band's bass player, songwriter and the leader of the band wanted to put together a great rock 'n roll band after his time with bands such as London. He met drummer, Tommy Lee and guitarist Mick Mars who formed the nucleus of the band. However they needed a singer, Tommy suggested his old high school friend - Vince Neil. The line-up was complete.
As a four piece they started to play the local bars & clubs on the Sunset Strip. Creating an outrageous image and putting on a huge show with very little or no budget. This included their need to wear makeup and light Nikki's boots on fire. Music lovers loved them, whilst the girls liked to indulge with them.
During the 80s there was no stopping the band. Releasing classic album after classic album, which included Shout At The Devil, Girls, Girls, Girls & their biggest selling album Dr. Feelgood (sold over 6 million copies in the USA alone). With each new album came a tour bigger and more spectacular than the last, just look at the adventurous drum kits that Tommy used on those tours.
However not everything was rosy in the Motley Camp. Singer Vince got arrested for drink driving whilst killing his friend, former Hanoi Rocks drummer Razzle, in a car crash. Nikki Sixx "died" of a heroin overdose, but thanks to an adrenaline shot to the heart (inspired their song, Kickstart My Heart) he was quickly revived. Tommy constant string of women and his abusive behaviour lead to stints in jail.
In the early 90s Vince left or fired (depends on who you ask) and with the Grunge era closing in, the band failed to match their 80s heyday success. However the original four reformed the band in 2004 and have enjoyed a renewed success that not only matches the 80s, but surpasses it.
Recently the band have announced their retirement from touring and the end of the band. Unlike other bands the four members have said that they will never tour again and have signed a formal agreement which will see them being sued if they do tour again. They plan to mark this by playing one final tour that will take them into 2015 and then go their separate ways. However, we will finally see the film that's based on their New York's best selling book The Dirt. The film is currently in production.
Whatever you say about the band, you cannot deny their legendary status and influence on the 80s Hair Metal / Glam scene. Many bands tried to follow, but none succeeded - they is only one Motley Crue :)
Back in 1981 a new sitcom was first shown on British television. Written by John Sullivan and starring David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst & Lennard Pearce, it went on to have 10 successful years.
The name of this sitcom? Well, it's was "Only Fools And Horses".
When it first started the show was very slow to win the hearts of the nation, but it eventually become the most popular TV show in TV history.
The program centered around the core 3 family members, Del Boy (David Jason), his plonker Rodney (Nicholas Lyndhurst) & Grandad (Lennard Pearce). Backed by a excellent supporting cast, the show highlighted the humour, sadness and bond of a not so typical family life in London.
Living in a high rise council flat in Peckham, South London, the two brothers we local traders who would sell anything and to anyone with not much luck. However they did have a dream that "this time next year, we be millionaires". In their quest to become millionaires, they tried to sell Russian Army camcorders, luminous yellow paint and the famous sex dolls filled with explosive gas as part of their unregistered company of Trotters Independent Traders (T.I.T. for short).
The boys used their trusty, but very rusty yellow three wheeler Reliant Regal van to export their products. This car become as iconic as the show itself.
Although the show only ran for 10 years, the TV watching public were treated to a number of Christmas specials. 1996's "Time On Our Hands" took the record for the UK's highest rating show ever with 24.3 million viewers tuning in to sell Del Boy & Rodney finally becoming millionaires.
The beloved series also produced some spin-offs, which included The Green Green Grass & Rock And Chips. In addition, it also produced a wide range of merchandise, which I'm sure Del Boy would have been happy to sell out of his old suitcase down the market.
The BBC has recently announced that Del Boy & Rodney will be reunited for a one-off special sketch for this year's Sport Relief charity broadcast. David Beckham is also set to appear in this sketch.
