...on Television

...on Television
Also known as 'Clive James on Television
Floyd on Television
Tarrant on TV'
Genre Comedy
Starring Clive James (1982–88, 1997–98)
Keith Floyd (1989)
Chris Tarrant (1990–96, 1998–2006)
Country of origin United Kingdom
No. of series 21
Production
Producer(s) LWT
(now branded ITV Productions)
Watchmaker Productions/Carlton (1997-8)
Running time 30–60 minutes (including adverts)
Release
Original network ITV
Picture format 4:3 (1982–1999)
16:9 (2000–06)
Original release 26 December 1982 (1982-12-26) – 5 October 2006 (2006-10-05)
Chronology
Related shows Tarrant's Ten Years of Television
Tarrant on CCTV

"...on Television" or "...on TV", was a long-running late night television programme on ITV. The programme, which was made first by LWT and then Granada Productions, featured a number of clips from unusual or (often unintentionally) amusing television programmes and commercials from around the world.

The show was first presented by TV critic and journalist Clive James between 1982 and 1988, then celebrity chef Keith Floyd in 1989, and finally Chris Tarrant from 1990 to 2006.

The show remained "Tarrant on TV" for 16 years.

Early years

The show first began in 1982, hosted by the Australian television critic and satirist Clive James. The series showed funny and bizarre clips from TV shows and adverts from around the world, most notably from the far eastern countries of Japan and Korea. The series popularised the Japanese show Endurance which followed numerous contestants as they underwent painful tasks around the world.

After James joined the BBC in 1988, celebrity chef Keith Floyd was brought in for a six-episode series in 1989 before Chris Tarrant took over in 1990.

Later years

For its tenth anniversary in 1992, Tarrant presented a compilation series entitled Tarrant's Ten Years of Television (later 10 Years on TV), which showed clips from the past five series and specials. It also included extra footage that was deemed unsuitable for transmission in the original show.

In 1997, Clive James returned as host for two series, produced by Watchmaker Productions for Carlton Television, in 1997 and 1998. The series was axed due to poor ratings.

Tarrant on TV

The show continued to show bizarre clips from all over the world. But they now often included nudity, strong language, and crude or dark humour. Examples include a Japanese crying contest, a Japanese contraception advert, a profane North Korean propaganda film, and an advert showing eggs being fired from the bottom. Tarrant on TV also began to cover more violent and unusual programming such as the Jerry Springer Show or the The Man Show.[1]

With a different presenter, the format was also altered to include a special guest. On 4 April 1992, Mel Brooks appeared on the show. The show's content focused on different types of humour in Sweden, America and Israel. However the celebrity guest format was dropped by LWT because it was deemed too expensive to pay for cinematic clips and a guest star each week.

The last series of Tarrant on TV was in 2005. The theme tune between 1996–2006 was Syd Dale's "The Penthouse Suite".

Transmissions

No full series was aired between 1985–88, in 1991, 1992, 1994 and 1997; however special episodes were often broadcast.

Regular series

Series Start date End date Host
1 26 September 1982 31 October 1982 Clive James
2 23 October 1983 4 December 1983
3 28 October 1984 2 December 1984
4 5 March 1989 16 April 1989 Keith Floyd
5 21 January 1990 25 February 1990 Chris Tarrant
6 (Tarrant's Ten Years of..) 13 February 1993 20 March 1993
7 (10 Years on..) 19 March 1995 16 April 1995
8 8 September 1996 13 October 1996
9 4 January 1998 22 February 1998
10 3 January 1999 21 March 1999
11 4 January 2000 28 February 2000
12 21 January 2001 18 March 2001
13 3 May 2002 5 July 2002
14 12 September 2002 7 November 2002
15 2 January 2003 25 May 2003
16 6 February 2004 22 March 2004
17 (The Best of...) 10 June 2004 1 July 2004
18 8 October 2004 23 November 2004
19 30 May 2005 27 June 2005

Revived series

Series Start date End date Host
1 4 September 1997 16 October 1997 Clive James
2 11 November 1998 21 December 1998

Specials

Hosted by Clive James:

Hosted by Chris Tarrant:

References

  1. ↑ "Chris Tarrant: The all-rounder | Media | News". The Independent. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
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