...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 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

SeriesStart dateEnd dateHost
126 September 198231 October 1982Clive James
223 October 19834 December 1983
328 October 19842 December 1984
45 March 198916 April 1989Keith Floyd
521 January 199025 February 1990Chris Tarrant
6 (Tarrant's Ten Years of..)13 February 199320 March 1993
7 (10 Years on..)19 March 199516 April 1995
88 September 199613 October 1996
94 January 199822 February 1998
103 January 199921 March 1999
114 January 200028 February 2000
1221 January 200118 March 2001
133 May 20025 July 2002
1412 September 20027 November 2002
152 January 200325 May 2003
166 February 200422 March 2004
17 (The Best of...)10 June 20041 July 2004
188 October 200423 November 2004
1930 May 200527 June 2005

Revived series

SeriesStart dateEnd dateHost
14 September 199716 October 1997Clive James
211 November 199821 December 1998

Specials

Hosted by Clive James:

  • Special 1: 5 January 1986
  • Special 2: 29 March 1986
  • Special 3: 28 June 1986
  • Special 4: 28 December 1986
  • Special 5: 1 January 1987
  • Special 6: 19 April 1987
  • Special 7: 11 October 1987
  • Special 8: 1 January 1988

Hosted by Chris Tarrant:

  • Special 9: 30 December 1990
  • Special 10: 4 January 1992
  • Special 11: 4 April 1992
  • Special 12: 11 July 1992
  • Special 13: 26 September 1993
  • Special 14 (Tarrant's Ten Years of..): 17 September 1994
  • Special 15 (Tarrant's Ten Years of..): 24 September 1994
  • Special 16: 27 December 1997 (Christmas special)
  • Special 17: 10 May 1998 (Best of TV Series 9)
  • Special 18: 16 May 1999 (Best of Series 10)
  • Special 19: 7 May 2000 (Best of Series 11)
  • Special 20: 25 March 2001 (Tarrant on CCTV)
  • Special 21: 20 January 2002 (Tarrant on CCTV)
  • Special 22: 7 July 2002 (Tarrant on CCTV)
  • Special 23: 23 November 2002
  • Special 24: 14 December 2002
  • Special 25: 5 May 2003 (Tarrant on CCTV)
  • Special 26: 4 September 2003
  • Special 27: 23 October 2003
  • Special 28: 7 November 2003
  • Special 29: 24 December 2003
  • Special 30: 13 May 2004 (Japan special)
  • Special 31: 5 July 2004
  • Special 32: 31 August 2004
  • Special 33: 5 October 2006

References

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