Christmas TV: '84, '89, '94 And '99

During Christmas of 2021, I began a series here on this blog where I take a look over Christmas Day TV from years gone by.

The initial post looked at the things which aired in 1981, 1986, 1991 and 1996. A year later, I checked out the content from 1982, 1987, 1992 and 1997. Then - in last year's post - I focused on '83, '88, '93 and 1998.

(By the way, if you'd like to view the aforementioned posts, you can follow the links in the menu below)

In this year's edition, I take a stroll through 1984, 1989, 1994 and 1999.

1984

When I browsed through the schedule for 1984, I stumbled upon a movie I had totally forgotten about. It aired on ITV at 11:45AM on Christmas morning and is Bug's Bunny's Looney Movie. 

I'm close to certain my uncle had that film in his video rental shop back in the day.

The Christmas Day matinee - as it pertains ITV - was The Man with the Golden Gun. On the other side, at around the same time, the BBC aired Mary Poppins. 

ITV's evening movie was Raiders of the Lost Ark. My dad recorded it. 

The late film on BBC One was Some Like It Hot. 

1989

By 1989, I was in charge of the video recorder. Or, I at least thought I was!

The big movie of Christmas '89 aired on BBC One. It was the network premiere of Crocodile Dundee (remember I wrote about the film earlier this week?). I definitely recall taping the film that Christmas.

I also recall watching the late film on BBC with my parents. It was the John Cleese film - Clockwise - which was on from 10:20PM that night.

Over on ITV, the matinee movie was The B.F.G. That would have been the cartoon version with David Jason voicing the Big Friendly Giant.

Earlier in the day, ITV's James Bond film was On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

ITV's evening movie was Down And Out In Beverly Hills. I thought it was rubbish. I still do. Then, at 11:20PM, Raiders of the Lost Ark was on five years after its network debut.

1989 was the first year we had Sky TV, so I had a look at what films we would have been able to watch on Sky Movies. Look at this!

Shout out to TVRDB.com for having this on its website for Christmas '89. So many brilliant movies were played that day. 

Another thing I noticed on the TVRDB website was something which aired on Sky One on Christmas Day 1989:

I've written about this before, but it's well worth a repeat.

I saw 'Mr Krueger's Christmas' listed in one of the Satellite TV magazines my dad would get us every month. It didn't have a description below it, but I immediately assumed it was an episode of Freddy's Nightmares or something. Imagine my displeasure when this Christmas TV movie did not have anything to do with the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise.

1994

If you look back at the BBC One offering for Christmas Day 1984, you'll see I mentioned Mary Poppins was opposing the James Bond film on ITV following the Queen's Speech. Well, funnily enough, Mary Poppins followed the Queen ten years to the day. However, this time, the film was on ITV's schedule.

It wasn't the only Disney offering from ITV in '94. The 1958 classic - Sleeping Beauty - had its televised premiere (according to the website I have used to look up the TV guides) at 6:05PM.

The big film on BBC One in 1994 was Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. The late night film on the Beeb's main channel was Trading Places - a classic!

1999

The movie which aired in BBC One's Christmas Day afternoon slot in 1999 was Robin Williams' Jumanji. The last film of the night was The Italian Job.

BBC 2 had some classics that day as well. White Christmas, Singin' in the Rain and Citizen Kane are three films which stand out from my browse through that channel's Christmas lineup.

Over on ITV's schedule, mixed in with a couple of Christmas editions of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? and the usual soap opera offerings, was Ace Ventura: Pet Detective 

Pinocchio - one of my top Disney flicks - was ITV's midday offering. That would have been the film I would have gone out of my way to watch that year. IF I hadn't already owned it on VHS, that is.

And that's all for this year. The final edition of this series will be posted sometime next Christmas. In that post, I'll browse through the schedules of 1985, 1990, 1995 and 2000. Until then, you can check back previous years below.

2021 Edition - 1981, 1986, 1991 and 1996

2022 Edition - 1982, 1987, 1992 and 1997

2023 Edition - 1983, 1988, 1993 and 1998

Christmas TV: '83, '88, '93 And '98

For the past two Christmases, I have published posts in which I've looked over Christmas TV from the past. 

In 2021, I wrote about TV from the festive periods of 1981, '86, '91 and 1996 and then followed that up last year with a browse through the TV schedules from 1982, '87, '92 and 1997. In today's post, I'll continue the pattern with a look at what was on the telly during 1983, 1988, 1993 and 1998.

1983

I may have still been a little too young to watch much television back in 1983, but let's not allow that to get in the way of this idea I have.

For starters, the first film which stood out to me - when I looked up the TV schedules for Christmas '83 - aired at 1:05PM and is called Glitterball.

Glitterball was made by the Children's Film Foundation. I watched it many years later when CFF movies aired on Children's BBC. 

I thoroughly enjoyed the film about a silver alien ball (if I recall correctly!) and even bought the book of the movie when I saw it in a jumble sale at primary school. 

Speaking of books I read as a child - Treasure Island was the BBC's main movie of the day airing at 3:$0PM following both The Queen's Speech and Blankety Blank (the UK's version of Match Game for the Americans out there).

Over on ITV, they had a big one at 3:15PM with Superman. Following the Man of Steel was a Christmas Special of Bullseye.

ITV's movie for the late evening was Revenge of the Pink Panther. Yep, that feels about right. There seemed to be a Pink Panther film on every Christmas back then.

1988

Okay, now we're in a year I would have absolutely been watching TV in.

And I'll tell you something. I know exactly what I watched on that day. 

Following the Queen's Speech was the UK premiere of Back to the Future. I absolutely recall watching this on Christmas Day in 1988 and even remember cutting out the little pictures of it from inside the Christmas Radio Times to stick in a scrapbook I had of movie posters and other bits and pieces.

Back to the Future remains one of my favourite movies to this very day. But.. so is what was on ITV at near enough the same time.

My favourite Star Wars movie of all time - The Empire Strikes Back - was competing with the BBC from 3:55PM that day.

I already had the videotape on pirate from the early 1980s, so there was little point in me recording it.

I highly doubt this was the network premiere of The Empire Strikes Back due to it being eight years old at the time.

The BBC's movie of the night was another TV premiere in 1985's Silverado. I have never seen that movie, but remember seeing its trailers on a lot of films I rented back in its day.

ITV' had a triple bill late on Christmas night with The Squeeze, Our Man Flint and In Like Flynn.

1993

Five years after Back to the Future was the BBC's big Christmas Day movie, the channel had Back to the Future III.

It aired at 4:05PM following The Queen's Speech and Noel's Christmas Presents.

Over on ITV, the movie immediately following the Queen was The Neverending Story. 

Later on in the evening, the BBC aired Ghost at 9:10PM. I guess that may have been its network premiere. Over on ITV, it had National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation at 6:00PM, Field of Dreams at 8:00PM and those were followed by DOA and Airport III as the night turned into Boxing Day.

An episode of Twilight Zone aired at 2:40AM on Boxing Day. It is the Night of the Meek episode. I point it out because that particular instalment had a Christmas theme and first aired in the US on the night of December 23rd 1960.

With that said, The Night of the Meek was also remade for The New Twilight Zone in 1985. And - seeing as ITV did have episodes of The New Twilight Zone in the late 80s onwards - it could have been that one which was shown back in '93.

1998

I was quite surprised to see that BBC 1 didn't have a film on the afternoon of Christmas Day. Following the Queen was Noel Edmunds with another episode of his Christmas Presents specials. 

ITV also didn't have a film on during the afternoon. Its biggie for 1998 was an airing of a Spice Girls concert as the opening act before Her Majesty.

Channel 4 had Tom Thumb and Channel 5 had the Alastair Sim version of Scrooge as its respective movies.

In the evening, the two major channels had Carry On Girls (BBC 1) and The Godfather Part 2 (ITV). While - over on Channel 4 - they closed out the night with The Omen, The Fly and The Return of The Fly.

Was '98 a year when all of the terrestrial channels threw their hands up and let Sky show them who's boss? It sure feels like it based on THAT content.

Christmas TV: '82, '87, '92 And '97

On Christmas Eve of last year, I published a post titled Christmas TV: '81, '86, '91 and '96 in which I took a look at archived television schedules to see what the big movies were in those respective years.

In today's post, I'll take another trip down Memory Lane. This time, I'll look at what was on the box in 1982, '87, 1992 and '97.

1982

On Christmas Day of 1982, the film following the Queen's speech was Disney's The Parent Trap. This would have obviously been the original version - from 1961 - which starred Hayley Mills. Lindsay Lohan had yet to be born in '82.

Over on BBC 1, the 1978 film titled International Velvet was on after the Queen. I hadn't heard of it before, but looked at the cast and it is filled with some big names like Tatum O'Neal, Christopher Plummer, Nanette Newman and Anthony Hopkins.

The evening movies were The Black Hole (ITV, 8PM) and Death on the Nile (BBC 1, 8:15PM).

This would have been the first Christmas for Channel 4. It had the 1924 film - The Navigator - on at 4PM and then ended the night with an airing of Richard III.

1987

The BBC 1 offering for Christmas afternoon was Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. I remember recording that one. 

Over on ITV, we had an abundance of Disney films with Mickey's Christmas Carol on at 11:00AM. That was followed by Dumbo. Then - later in the day, and following the Queen's message - was Alice in Wonderland. It didn't end there. The final Disney film of the day was Bedknobs and Broomsticks.

The Spy Who Loved Me came on before the Queen.

BBC 2 had White Christmas on its schedule for Christmas morning of 1987.

1992

It was another Indiana Jones Christmas on the BBC in 1992 when it had Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade as the big movie of the day.

Over on ITV, the movie of Supergirl came on after the Queen.

ITV had Three Fugitives (I watched an advanced screening when it was making its theatrical release back the 80s) and the hockey movie - Youngblood - airing later that day.

BBC 1's evening movies were Shirley Valentine and Earthquake.

BBC 2's offerings for the day were Dangerous Liaisons at 9PM and then Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window played between 11:50PM and the early hours of Boxing Day.

1997

ITV's big film of Christmas Day 1997 was The Muppet Christmas Carol. However, later that day, it also aired another biggie in Home Alone II: Lost in New York.

It was a Rick Moranis day with ITV airing Honey, I shrunk the Kids in the morning while BBC 1's big film was The Flintstones which had Moranis cast as Barney Rubble to John Goodman's Fred Flintstone.

BBC's morning movie was the excellent Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Christmas TV: '81, '86, '91 And '96

I have spent a bit of time, over the past year, looking through TV listings articles to see what was on the box on particular days.

I thought I'd spend today looking at what was on TV on Christmas Day at four points during my life.

I'll start with 1981 and end with what I may have been watching twenty-five years ago.

1981

I doubt I would have been paying any attention to what was on TV in 1981. However, looking at the listings, it looks like the big feature on ITV on Christmas Day that year was The Muppet Movie.

BBC's afternoon/early evening film was In Search of the Castaways. 

1986

Channel 4 had launched in 1982 and, in 1986, it had The Snowman on as its film for Christmas Day. I'm certain it would have been a repeat, though.

ITV had Dumbo as the afternoon movie while the Beeb aired Annie.

1991

The winner of the battle for movie of Christmas 1991 had to have gone to the BBC as BBC 1 aired Batman during the evening.

To be fair, I would have enjoyed the offerings on ITV as well. During the day, it had The BFG, Pinocchio, For Your Eyes Only (even though it isn't a Roger Moore Bond film), Crocodile Dundee II and Police Academy IV.

1996

The BBC did it again in 1996. The big feature was Jurassic Park, which aired at 6:30PM

I don't recall how good it is, but ITV had Dennis as its movie of the day. Seems like a bum fight having a blockbuster up against Dennis. Or maybe that's just me.

Hope you enjoyed that short look back through history.