BR
Didn't a producer end up presenting the pilot last minute with Chris?
Looks like a floor manager..
Didn't a producer end up presenting the pilot last minute with Chris?
JA
Makes me wonder... if TV-am had kept their franchise, we might not have seen Chris on the Big Breakfast. He was presenting TV Mayhem, their Saturday Morning kids' show, which was commissioned initially for, I think, 40 weeks. Then when the franchise loss was announced it was axed uncerimonously after 6 weeks.
Also interested to see Chris Evans outside the TV-am building at Camden Locks.
Makes me wonder... if TV-am had kept their franchise, we might not have seen Chris on the Big Breakfast. He was presenting TV Mayhem, their Saturday Morning kids' show, which was commissioned initially for, I think, 40 weeks. Then when the franchise loss was announced it was axed uncerimonously after 6 weeks.
SW
TV-Mayhem was an indie production, so that would have helped TV-am meet the required quota in that regard, though as you say it was probably quite an expensive show. As Evans mentions in his autobiography, even though they only did six shows, they did get paid for all forty.
Had TV-am been successful they would have likely had to make cost savings in order to pay their annual fee to the Treasury. So it's possible TV-Mayhem would have had a similar fate regardless.
TV-Mayhem was an indie production, so that would have helped TV-am meet the required quota in that regard, though as you say it was probably quite an expensive show. As Evans mentions in his autobiography, even though they only did six shows, they did get paid for all forty.
JA
The clips I've seen of TV Mayhem and Power Up, the breakfast show Chris Evans did for BSB, look virtually indentical, apart from the fact one was linking cartoons and the other was linking music videos. I'm wondering, was it a case of the show being shopped around after The Power Station closed down.
The TV-am Archive YouTube channel has a video of Chris being interviewed on Good Morning Britain about it (as well as some footage from the first edition), so it seems they did give a big promotional push for the show, almost seems suprising they axed it after a mere 6 weeks.
The TV-am Archive YouTube channel has a video of Chris being interviewed on Good Morning Britain about it (as well as some footage from the first edition), so it seems they did give a big promotional push for the show, almost seems suprising they axed it after a mere 6 weeks.
SW
Evans more or less confirms this in his autobiography (which as I say, the first two volumes of which are well worth reading as he is very candid), in that it was indeed pretty much another spin on what they'd been doing on Power Up, and Andy Bird, who was the producer of Power Up, also produced TV-Mayhem, under the auspices of Big And Good Productions ("Big Bird" and "Good Evans").
I think TV-am wanted to make a bit more of a splash on Saturday mornings because after The Wide Awake Club had ended the replacements like Hey Hey It's Saturday had been pretty cheap and low concept, pretty much on the level of the Broom Cupboard but without the wit (Neil Miles uploaded an episode of Michaela the other day, which is literally just Michaela on her own linking any cartoons they could grab), and with the franchise coming up for renewal it was worth having a big new show, and an indie production to boot, which was quite distinctive, so they could cite that as how they were innovating and encouraging new talents and working with indies and so on. Of course, the second they lost the franchise, they didn't need to bother with any of that, so they could just show non-stop cartoons instead and save a load of money.
I remember Evans being interviewed in Look-In about it, saying he wore the same outfit every week because he wanted to look like a cartoon character.
The clips I've seen of TV Mayhem and Power Up, the breakfast show Chris Evans did for BSB, look virtually indentical, apart from the fact one was linking cartoons and the other was linking music videos. I'm wondering, was it a case of the show being shopped around after The Power Station closed down.
Evans more or less confirms this in his autobiography (which as I say, the first two volumes of which are well worth reading as he is very candid), in that it was indeed pretty much another spin on what they'd been doing on Power Up, and Andy Bird, who was the producer of Power Up, also produced TV-Mayhem, under the auspices of Big And Good Productions ("Big Bird" and "Good Evans").
I think TV-am wanted to make a bit more of a splash on Saturday mornings because after The Wide Awake Club had ended the replacements like Hey Hey It's Saturday had been pretty cheap and low concept, pretty much on the level of the Broom Cupboard but without the wit (Neil Miles uploaded an episode of Michaela the other day, which is literally just Michaela on her own linking any cartoons they could grab), and with the franchise coming up for renewal it was worth having a big new show, and an indie production to boot, which was quite distinctive, so they could cite that as how they were innovating and encouraging new talents and working with indies and so on. Of course, the second they lost the franchise, they didn't need to bother with any of that, so they could just show non-stop cartoons instead and save a load of money.
I remember Evans being interviewed in Look-In about it, saying he wore the same outfit every week because he wanted to look like a cartoon character.
FL
I remember realising this in my teens during the Liza Tarbuck era where they promoted what was coming up the following week (Christmas) and after the actual promoting Liza loudly declared “Also tune in to see how much my hair grows over the weekend!”
And low and behold, next Monday her bob had suddenly become shoulder length again and the clock was nowhere to be seen.
As Hatton Cross asked in the breakdown appreciation thread. They would normally pre-record the Christmas shows around November. This clip from the 8th November 2000 shows the decorations up ready to record that years Christmas specials:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9vUpMqZbbc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9vUpMqZbbc
I remember realising this in my teens during the Liza Tarbuck era where they promoted what was coming up the following week (Christmas) and after the actual promoting Liza loudly declared “Also tune in to see how much my hair grows over the weekend!”
And low and behold, next Monday her bob had suddenly become shoulder length again and the clock was nowhere to be seen.
BR
I'm surprised they pre-recorded them so early - always assumed it would be in the first or second week of December once the decorations were up. Always liked the Christmas episodes though - the rival shows had pretty much shut down and having the later start helped as well. Also the last actual live show on Christmas Eve always had a good feeling - indeed I think Denise's actual last live show on Christmas Eve 1998 was one of the best.
SO
Yes. And George Michael phoned-in as well ISTR.
Obvs they were briefly reunited in 2000, but strange to think Johnny and Denise were only ever on screen for 15 months (though I suppose Chris and Gaby were just 2 years...and barely together at all in the last few months)
I'm surprised they pre-recorded them so early - always assumed it would be in the first or second week of December once the decorations were up. Always liked the Christmas episodes though - the rival shows had pretty much shut down and having the later start helped as well. Also the last actual live show on Christmas Eve always had a good feeling - indeed I think Denise's actual last live show on Christmas Eve 1998 was one of the best.
Yes. And George Michael phoned-in as well ISTR.
Obvs they were briefly reunited in 2000, but strange to think Johnny and Denise were only ever on screen for 15 months (though I suppose Chris and Gaby were just 2 years...and barely together at all in the last few months)