In the early days of the BBC, virtually all broadcast entertainment would be considered light by today's standards, as great pains were taken not to offend audiences—which is not to say that they always succeeded in this.
Singers, magicians and comedians were drafted from the music hall circuit to fill the schedules. Stage acts were transferred directly to screen; in the case of productions such as Sunday Night at the London Palladium, the broadcasts actually came from large theatres. Many future household names, including The Beatles, were given their first public airings during these programmes, which attempted to cater for varying tastes through staging variety acts. Bruce Forsyth was one of several hosts for the show. He went on himself to present the studio-based Generation Game, which remains a landmark in the light entertainment genre. The Generation Game revolved around the now-common television standby of getting members of the public to provide the entertainment themselves by doing silly things for prizes. The show's format was somewhere between the old variety programmes and the increasingly ubiquitous quiz shows and it and its descendants still appear in the television schedules.
1970s
The 1970s continued the move away from the music hall format to studio-based shows. Staged concert acts lived on through television magicians such as Paul Daniels and Royal Variety Performances. The Comedians was another programme which looked back at the live entertainment of the music halls and was also a prototype of many later stand-up comedy series. It employed a number of comics from the working men's club circuit to do their routines on camera.
1980s
In the 1980s the budgets available for light entertainment increased, and shows had dazzling sets and expensive prizes. With the simultaneous ascendancy of alternative comedy, however, the popularity of light entertainment shows started to decline among audiences. An example of this phenomenon is found in the name of a lesser-known panel show Bring Me the Head of Light Entertainment (which is also a pun on a broadcasting job description). Part of the complaint was that light entertainment sought to amuse, yet younger audiences found the attempts at humour weak and watery.
In spite of critical reaction, light entertainment continues to be popular, perhaps because it provokes no awkward questions when the viewing is shared by different generations of the same family. Current light entertainment stars include the Geordie double act Ant & Dec. They have in the past included the late Bruce Forsyth and the late Cilla Black. Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway achieved a viewing figures ratings high of 8.5 million viewers in 2020.[2]
Canada
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2013)
^Dalby, James R (2017). Social Class and television audiences in the 1990s. In: Social Class and Television Drama in Contemporary Britain(PDF). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 103–118. ISBN9781137555052.
^"Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway is big, stupid - and very smart". Inews.co.uk. 19 February 2022.
^Miller, Mary Jane (1987). Turn Up the Contrast: CBC Television Drama Since 1952. University of British Columbia Press. p. 160. ISBN0774802782. It was scheduled in the Sunday at Nine (1970–73) slot, where 'single dramas alternate with light entertainment and special documentaries' (CBC Times, 8-14/11/69).
May 20, 2023
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This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Light entertainment news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject You may improve this article discuss the issue on the talk page or create a new article as appropriate December 2010 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Light entertainment encompasses a broad range of television and radio programming that includes comedies variety shows game shows quiz shows and the like Contents 1 In Great Britain 1 1 1970s 1 2 1980s 1 3 1990s 1 4 21st century 2 Canada 3 See also 4 ReferencesIn Great Britain EditIn the early days of the BBC virtually all broadcast entertainment would be considered light by today s standards as great pains were taken not to offend audiences which is not to say that they always succeeded in this Singers magicians and comedians were drafted from the music hall circuit to fill the schedules Stage acts were transferred directly to screen in the case of productions such as Sunday Night at the London Palladium the broadcasts actually came from large theatres Many future household names including The Beatles were given their first public airings during these programmes which attempted to cater for varying tastes through staging variety acts Bruce Forsyth was one of several hosts for the show He went on himself to present the studio based Generation Game which remains a landmark in the light entertainment genre The Generation Game revolved around the now common television standby of getting members of the public to provide the entertainment themselves by doing silly things for prizes The show s format was somewhere between the old variety programmes and the increasingly ubiquitous quiz shows and it and its descendants still appear in the television schedules 1970s Edit The 1970s continued the move away from the music hall format to studio based shows Staged concert acts lived on through television magicians such as Paul Daniels and Royal Variety Performances The Comedians was another programme which looked back at the live entertainment of the music halls and was also a prototype of many later stand up comedy series It employed a number of comics from the working men s club circuit to do their routines on camera 1980s Edit In the 1980s the budgets available for light entertainment increased and shows had dazzling sets and expensive prizes With the simultaneous ascendancy of alternative comedy however the popularity of light entertainment shows started to decline among audiences An example of this phenomenon is found in the name of a lesser known panel show Bring Me the Head of Light Entertainment which is also a pun on a broadcasting job description Part of the complaint was that light entertainment sought to amuse yet younger audiences found the attempts at humour weak and watery 1990s Edit Popular light entertainment in the 1990s included Barrymore Des O Connor Tonight Noel s House Party Surprise Surprise Stars in Their Eyes and The Paul Daniels Magic Show as well as radio shows such as Wake Up to Wogan Shows typically averaged over ten million viewers and over fifteen was not unusual 1 21st century Edit In spite of critical reaction light entertainment continues to be popular perhaps because it provokes no awkward questions when the viewing is shared by different generations of the same family Current light entertainment stars include the Geordie double act Ant amp Dec They have in the past included the late Bruce Forsyth and the late Cilla Black Ant amp Dec s Saturday Night Takeaway achieved a viewing figures ratings high of 8 5 million viewers in 2020 2 Canada EditThis section needs expansion You can help by adding to it May 2013 During the 1970s CBC Television introduced Sunday at Nine a time slot where dramas such as Corwin alternate with light entertainment such as The Hart and Lorne Terrific Hour and special documentaries 3 See also EditBroadcasting Act 1990 Show business Cultural industry Creative industries Cambridge University Light Entertainment Society Middlebrow Popular cultureReferences Edit Dalby James R 2017 Social Class and television audiences in the 1990s In Social Class and Television Drama in Contemporary Britain PDF Basingstoke Palgrave Macmillan pp 103 118 ISBN 9781137555052 Ant and Dec s Saturday Night Takeaway is big stupid and very smart Inews co uk 19 February 2022 Miller Mary Jane 1987 Turn Up the Contrast CBC Television Drama Since 1952 University of British Columbia Press p 160 ISBN 0774802782 It was scheduled in the Sunday at Nine 1970 73 slot where single dramas alternate with light entertainment and special documentaries CBC Times 8 14 11 69 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Light entertainment amp oldid 1151462662, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
