Thursday 22 September 2016
500 Get Set For Summer
First viewed : Summer 1981
I now realise I brought Hi -De-Hi in too early because I first saw the ghastly Su Pollard on this which didn't start until a month after the first repeat of the comedy series.
Get Set For Summer was a curate's egg of a show . Broadcast from Manchester on a Saturday morning , it seemed to be a ragbag of ideas from elsewhere with a pop band performing live and doing a short interview with host Peter Powell, a guest presenter also from the world of pop (e.g Toyah, Pauline Black ), a "comedy" weather spot c/o the terminally unfunny Pollard and "fun" ideas features straight from Why Don't You ...? Apart from some of the musical performances, it's hard to imagine anyone recalling it with much affection.
The first series started on 11 July with the summer nearly half over and ran for 5 weeks. The second series began more sensibly in April 1982 after the last Multi-Coloured Swap Shop and was quite a different beast. Pollard was no longer involved and actor Mark Curry had been promoted to co-presenter instead of the guests. Ostensibly it ran for an extra half hour but in reality this was filled by cartoons and a repeat screening of the hoary old Robinson Crusoe serial. The programme now ran to a strict timetable with the band doing their first number at 10.15, an open invitation not to bother switching the TV on until then.
That version of the show ran until June 1982. Six weeks later it was back without Powell and re-branded as simply Get Set . This ran until the beginning of October and has the distinction of being the first thing I saw on our new colour television that summer .The only other thing I remember from it was the Video Vote where the youngsters in the studio judged which was the best of four pop videos from small snippets although strangely enough the winner was always the group with the largest fan base. I was disgusted that what turned out to be Talk Talk's breakthrough hit , Today , got about three votes though I'd have to admit it's not a great video.
It was then re-branded again as The Saturday Picture Show , still with Curry , but I think I'd given up by then.
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