9:57pm Wednesday 21st May 2008
By Ben Barnett
It was an era that brought viewers the likes of Byker Grove and Jim'll Fix It.
The 1980s was a rich period of televisual advancement in Britain, as the three terrestrial channels were joined by Channel 4 in 1983.
Video recorders were flying off the selves and a national museum dedicated to it all opened in Bradford.
In celebrating the National Media Museum's 25th anniversary, it is opening its 1980s TV Heaven exhibition on Saturday devoted to programmes of the period.
For children of the decade it is a chance to revisit classics such as Button Moon and Postman Pat, while a generation of adults can look back fondly at the early days of Eastenders or the likes of Jewel in the Crown and Top Gear, pre-Jeremy Clarkson.
The nine-day exhibition features seven booths each running a schedule of nostalgic television. Visitors are invited to park themselves inside and select programmes of their choice for a trip back in time.
For assistant curator of television Claire Thomas, who herself was a child in the '80s, choosing the programmes for the event was a lot of fun.
"There is a team of us behind it, of a range of ages who have remembered different programmes. As a kid of the '80s I'm responsible for things like Button Moon and Postman Pat, but there's stuff here for people whatever their age."
She explained it was important TV Heaven addressed some misconceptions about television in the 1980s.
"The '80s get a lot of bad press when it comes to television, people remember the '60s and '70s as the golden years," she said.
"They think of Black Adder and Eastenders and that's the lot. But we've found things that say something about the decade and the changing landscape of television, ground-breaking stuff as well as things people remember from a nostalgic point of view.
"It covers a variety of genres from the rise of alternative comedy and things like Auf Wiedersehen Pet and Boys from the Blackstuff; a response to unemployment and the Thatcherite Government."
Among the shows featured in the opening weekend are Tiswas, The Saga of Noggin the Nog, Thomas the Tank Engine, Blue Peter, Coronation Street, Vanity Fair and 'Allo 'Allo.
Accompanying the retro shows are artefacts from 60 years of television including Gordon the Gopher, Thunderbirds and The Wombles.
Running until June 1 are special screenings at the Imax cinema. The first film shown on the giant screen, To Fly!, is being shown as well as a host of other Imax favourites including Grand Canyon and the newly-released Speed Racer.
Dick Vaughan, Imax theatre manager, has been at the museum from the very beginning and spoke warmly of watching the format grow from 45-minute films to longer features such as Speed Racer.
For a long time Bradford's Imax was one of a kind in Britain and the only permanent screen in Europe.
He said: "We've taken a selection of films since 1983 to present during this week of celebration. To Fly! was the only film we showed for nearly 18 months when the Imax first opened, there weren't so many available at that time.
"It starts with a man, in the 1920s, in the basket of the hot air balloon. As the balloon lifts off the picture fills out the screen. When people first came to see it I could see, from standing in the projection room, people lean back in their seats - it was quite incredible."
Films made for the 19 metres by 16 metres screen grew in length over the years and 2-D became 3-D.
Mr Vaughan said: "From next year, Dreamworks (the studio behind Shrek) have announced that all its films will be made in 3-D so in May next year we'll be one of very few venues showing their film Monsters Versus Aliens all in 3-D."
Ticket prices for a selection of short features at the Imax cinema are being reduced to £1.50, the equivalent to 1983 prices, on Wednesday.
Elsewhere in the museum, visitors can peruse an interactive display to mark the museum's 25th anniversary and watch clips from past directors of the museum and submit their thoughts and suggestions via text which appear on screen at the exhibition.
Full listings of what's showing when at the National Media Museum are available at nationalmediamuseum.org.uk.
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