Saturday Night TV – But Not As We Know It
The X Factor.
The Generation Game.
Bullseye.
Gladiators.
These are all classic 'primetime' Saturday night television shows that used to draw in viewers by their millions, but lost their places on our TV schedules after declining viewing figures led to their demise (or relegation from the terrestrial channels to satellite stations such as Challenge and Dave).
Some people miss these game shows and talent competitions; others never liked them and deem their disappearance from our screens as 'good riddance to bad rubbish'. Even those of us who enjoyed these shows (and even attended tie-in events such as the Pop Idol tour in our teenage years) lost affection for them as times changed, but the format of the shows didn't. In the case of The X Factor (a reinvented version of its predecessor Pop Idol), the show lost its appeal for many fans when the acts became more obviously staged, and interactions seemingly more scripted, as the years went on.
With the 'be kind' movement, it also didn't sit well with the public for judges and producers to be openly mocking untalented but well-intentioned contestants, and devoting screen time to them at the expense of genuinely talented performers who production teams deemed less entertaining, and therefore less worthy of our viewing time. People's tastes change, and television programming has to adapt.
The competition for viewers' attention has also markedly increased in recent years. First came satellite television, with hundreds of channels at viewer's fingertips. The need to adapt with the times is even more pressing now that streaming services give viewers the option of thousands of films and shows at the press of a button.
However, just as video didn’t kill the radio star, so too streaming services haven't killed 'traditional' television viewing. Whilst shows such as The X Factor and The Generation Game have disappeared from our screens, Strictly Come Dancing still holds a prime time Saturday night slot, I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! and Britain's Got Talent attract millions of viewers every episode, and talent shows such as The Voice and The Masked Singer have stepped into The X Factor's shoes. Indeed, the Strictly Come Dancing 2021 final drew in 11 million viewers, and images of the finalists filled our news feeds on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in the days that followed.
Other terrestrial shows like The Great British Bake Off and Killing Eve have also been hugely successful, and created their own buzzes on social media. The Metro and The Independent even referred to past and present GBBO hosts Mary Berry and Noel Fielding, and former contestant Nadiya Hussain, as ‘national treasures’.
Whilst it is clear that there is still a place in our hearts for terrestrial television, it is undeniable that streaming and other technological developments have changed our viewing habits. The days of running to the kitchen or the bathroom in the ad breaks, with your sibling shouting at you to hurry up when your programme was coming back on, are now a fond but distant memory. Gone too are the days of choosing your movie rental from the shelves of your local Blockbuster, circling your favourite films in the TV guide, or ringing your friends on the landline as you settle down in your respective homes to watch the same show at the exact same time. True, we still have WhatsApp groups with friends and water cooler chats to discuss the latest Netflix obsession, but it’s not quite the same.
However, different does not necessarily mean worse – even if your friends are not watching the same shows as you, you can still find a forum online to discuss your ‘OMG’ moments and fan theories. Social media and sites like Reddit have created an online community where you can bond over shared interests – including your favourite films and series. They also provide an opportunity for viewers to discover shows they might not otherwise have stumbled upon, via their social media feeds – those of us who did not see them initially can thank TikTok, Facebook and Instagram for introducing us to shows that quickly obtained cult-viewing status, such as Peaky Blinders and Tiger King.
Tiger King is a great example of how modern viewing habits can arguably enhance our viewer experience – even if you haven’t seen the show, there’s a good chance that you’ve seen friends debating if they are Team Carole or Team Joe. Even if you’re not a fan of Peaky Blinders, it’s likely you’ll have seen screen grabs online of iconic moments from the show, alongside phrases like ‘By order of the Peaky Blinders’ and ‘In the bleak mid-winter…’
Christmas is the one time of year when we return to our more traditional viewing roots. Families still gather together around their TV screens to watch the 'Christmas classics' such as The Queen's Speech, Top of the Pops and The Snowman on Channel 4 on Christmas Eve, and viewers still get excited when beloved shows like The Royle Family and Gavin and Stacey come back for one off Christmas specials. Maybe it's because Christmas is the time of year when all the family come together, and the younger generation share their holiday season with family members who have lived through the evolution from VHS video tapes to DVDs, DVDs to Blu Rays, and from Blu Rays to digital streaming services.
Events of recent years have shown us that, whilst technology has brought us many benefits, it cannot replace real-world interactions. However, there is no reason why we cannot combine the two. Just as television viewing can be enhanced by our digital experiences, so too can real-world activities. For instance, geocaching encourages us to explore nature, Pokémon Go saw many fans exploring real locations in search of virtual Pokémon, and companies like CluedUpp create ‘immersive outdoor experiences’ that allow you to search city streets for clues whilst using your mobile devices to find the next location and piece the puzzle together.
Similarly, whilst television scheduling has remained unchanged for years, with concepts such as ‘daytime television’ and the 9pm watershed still in place, Freeview and Sky boxes provide the ability to record live television and watch it at your leisure. Terrestrial stations have also embraced the digital age by offering TV ‘on demand’ TV via players such as ITV Hub, All 4 and BBC iPlayer, and online only stations like BBC Three (albeit this is due to return to our television screens in February 2022). Perhaps this willingness to combine traditional forms of entertainment with modern technological advancements is why the dawn of digital television has not sounded the death knell for terrestrial channels.
Sometimes we just want a touch of nostalgia to pull us away from our phones and tablets – or, for the younger generation who were born after the era of cassette tapes and removable car stereos, the novelty value of a more traditional form of entertainment.
Terrestrial television channels like BBC One and ITV continue with their efforts to attract viewers with game shows such as The Chase and Michael McIntyre's The Wheel, and they are succeeding – The Chase reportedly has a regular audience of three to five million people, and The Wheel launched with 5.5 million viewers.
Saturday night TV is definitely not the staple of television schedules that it once was, but just as vinyl records have seen a revival, maybe our fondness for nostalgia will bring a resurgence of prime-time television shows, too. Moreover, just because we might not watch game shows on a Saturday night, it doesn’t mean that they are no longer popular – maybe we just choose to view them midweek instead. There are currently 24.8 million television licences in force in the UK, which indicates that the British public still has an appetite for live TV.
Whilst modern technology has undoubtedly led to the decline of the whole family gathering around the television on a Saturday night, the enduring popularity of seasonal specials over public holidays such as Easter and Christmas, and family friendly TV fare, demonstrates that programmes that bring the whole family together are still valued and loved. We still want to watch them – we have just changed how we do it.
Written by Michelle Peet
By day, Michelle Peet is a parent and lawyer. By night, when her toddler finally falls asleep, she is an aspiring (i.e. largely unpublished, but ever hopeful) author of children’s picture books, adult’s short stories and the occasional magazine article. Three of her favourite things are pizza, Las Vegas, and Christmastime.
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