BrokenTV

Yes. It can only be Perry Como’s French-Canadian Christmas Special (BBC1). Purely on the basis of that title. I mean, come on. It sounds like a joke from The Simpsons. And for anyone without a sense of what television was like on the other side of the Atlantic at the time, this could easily be…

(Yes, a day late. Like everyone else in the UK, I was full of cold yesterday. I’ll put the one for the 20th out later on.) Time for Eureka (BBC2), a reliably relatable teatime programme looking at everyday inventions, presented by Sarah Greene and Paul McDowell, aided by Madeline Smith, Sylvester McCoy and the always-welcome…

A rare pre-watershed airing for a repeat episode of Alexei Sayle’s Stuff (BBC2). Well, it had just won an International Emmy. That sparked a repeat showing of the show’s first episode (going by the cast list on Genome), plus a special episode description in the Radio Times: Dear Radio Times, Hip hip hoorah! International recognition…

Night Network (LWT) Here’s a half-hour section featuring tight-trousered troubadour Iggy Pop. 2.00 to 4.00am Night NetworkPAUL THOMPSONROWLAND RIVRONLEEE JOHNDEREK JAMESON Join Paul Thompson for Video View. Rowland Rivron hosts another edition of The Bunker Show with Derek Jameson listing what he couldn’t live without in his nuclear fallout shelter. Competition entries to LWT, PO…

Arena Animal Night (BBC2). An early example of a BBC2 theme night (pre-dating A Night From TV Hell by three whole years), the long-running documentary strand teaming up with Spitting Image Productions to introduce an evening of films of various animals, closing off with a debate programme on animal rights. The framing device: Noah’s Ark,…

Terry Wogan welcomes Paul McCartney to the Shepherd’s Bush set, with Fabwack also performing track All My Trials.

Telebugs – Lifo to the Rescue (TVS). More antics for the character count inconveniencing C.H.I.P, B.U.G. and S.A.M.A.N.T.H.A. as they embark on a rescue mission. A programme that really should have been right in my wheelhouse (a cartoon about robots with televisions built into them? All boxes ticked), but it simply wasn’t very good. Wonder…

It’s Sunday, so it must be The South Bank Show (ITV). Here’s a look at “secondmost-trusted face in America” John Houseman: film producer, actor, writer & director. The other person behind the War of the Worlds radio broadcast & Citizen Kane.