30 Years on: The Sacred COW

As we saw in the previous post, the 1980s brought about a huge change in TV idents and presentation, as many broadcasters embraced computer graphics, leaving behind cell animation, mechanical models and sometimes, a static caption card, which had been the tried and trusted methods of on-screen branding since transmissions began.

In the 1980s, computer animation was starting to advance to a degree in which it was of a broadcast standard and although it still wasn't cheap, it was possible to produce short, high-quality pieces of animation for a reasonable price.

When Channel 4 burst onto UK screens in 1982, the highly impressive computer-animated idents had to be animated in the USA, as at the time, no computer animation company in the UK had the processing power to produce such smooth-flowing images with believable texture and lighting. Computer animation has always been a rapidly-evolving medium and this was especially true during these early days, as by 1983, the BBC had started work on creating a new ident for BBC 1 - their first computer-generated symbol.

The outcome of their research and hard work finally made it's debut at 7pm on the 18th February 1985 - 30 years ago this week, heralding a new era for the channel in more ways than one...

Oops!: Eastenders (TX: 1/1/15)

CONTAINS POSSIBLE SPOILERS IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN EASTENDERS FROM 1/1/15!

As we all know, celebrations and death/disaster go hand-in-hand in Albert Square - the setting of Eastenders - and 2015 has already lived up to the show's reputation. Whereas the 10th Doctor once pointed out that "This'll be the best Christmas Walford has ever had" is usually a good indication of misery under the Mistletoe, the residents of the fictional East London borough had hardly had a chance to say 'Happy New Year' to each other, before a sabotaged car hit somebody, flipped over, crashed through the Square's famous railings and then caught fire!

"When I said 'let's start 2015 with a bang', that's not what I meant. Dial 999. Again."

Now, the actual crash itself was very well done, considering how small and tightly-packed the exterior set is. Eastenders may be the master of misery as far as soaps go, but to give them their due, they certainly pull out all the stops when a stunt is required. 

If only this attention to detail extended to making sure bits of technical equipment didn't appear on screen. In one of the scenes that followed the stunt, as shocked relatives of those involved in the crash came to blows in The Queen Vic, one of the cameras was accidentally caught in shot...