Films and TV programmes that have influenced you

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Chris S

Legendary Member
Location
Birmingham
Anybody see the news last night? Chris Hoy said that he got into cycling as a child after watching BMXs racing around the streets in 'ET'.

I was profoundly affected by 'The Wombles'. It got me into recycling and it's stayed with me for the rest of my life.
 

Mad Doug Biker

Just a damaged guy.
Location
Craggy Island
Apollo 13. I have absolutely loved the history of manned spaceflight ever since, especially the 1960 - 1972 period.
 

threebikesmcginty

Corn Fed Hick...
Location
...on the slake
[QUOTE 2417356, member: 259"]This is probably incomprehensible to most, but the Galloping Gourmet was hugely influential to me, at a time when most UK food TV was stuff like Fanny Craddock, it set me off on a life-long adventure with cooking and food. He was very much of his time, but he was terribly enthusiastic, and for a kid of my age it was really interesting.[/quote]

I loved that show for some reason! I started one of my celebrated threads on it once, don't think it got a single reply.
 

swee'pea99

Legendary Member
Extend it to the steam-driven wireless and The Goons (albeit I only ever heard them on record, having been too young to hear the live broadcasts) and to a lesser extent Monty Python (watched live) definitely have a lot to answer for in terms of a twisted sense of humour that leaves me almost unable to give a straight answer to a simple question, driving my entire family to distraction. (Eg "How long's dinner?" "Well, it's sausages, so, what, five inches or so.")
 

Noodley

Guest
I am astounded that nobody has mentioned This Morning or Loose Women or The One Show, I really am.
 

Durian

Über Member
I love to travel and I think this was started by watching Whicker's World with the great Alan Whicker. The early Holiday programmes, with Cliff Michelmore, were another influence and then, later, along came Michael Palin and his adventures.
 

Speicher

Vice Admiral
Moderator
Extend it to the steam-driven wireless and The Goons (albeit I only ever heard them on record, having been too young to hear the live broadcasts) and to a lesser extent Monty Python (watched live) definitely have a lot to answer for in terms of a twisted sense of humour that leaves me almost unable to give a straight answer to a simple question, driving my entire family to distraction. (Eg "How long's dinner?" "Well, it's sausages, so, what, five inches or so.")

:rofl:
 

pplpilot

Guru
Location
Knowle
[QUOTE 2417367, member: 259"]Jacob Bronoski's Ascent Of Man. I used to watch it with my dad and it used to get discussed in the miners' welfare - but not as much as Match of the Day. :thumbsup:[/quote]


Possibly the greatest tv series ever made, the guy is totally mesmerising to listen to. I have a first edition of the book that went with the series, it was released on dvd a year or so ago too, I regularly watch an episode or two when theres not much else on.
 

swansonj

Guru
My daughter, now 16, agrees with me that one of the best parenting decisions I made was giving her my tapes of Ben Elton's stand up comedy routine when she was about 12 or 13. That's the old style Ben Elton, full blooded left wing and feminist, before he went all establishment.
 

Mad Doug Biker

Just a damaged guy.
Location
Craggy Island
I had almost forgotten about this, but before Apollo 13 came out, I saw, as a kid, a short 5 or 10 minute film on channel 4, the type that they put on to fill time during the day, which consisted entirely of film from the Apollo missions.

There was no commentary, just music which seemed to complement the scenes, vignettes of things if anything, perfectly, and included footage such as the famous film of the rocket stages falling away above a huge, blue Earth, and the tubular section spinning, making an 'O' at just the right angle.

I think it was because they just let the films play unintereupted by voices that I remember it so well, it was, quite frankly gorgeous and spellbinding to me at the time (indeed, some of the film is anyway), it was one of these films that was so good visually that it didn't need anything added to it like narration, it was simply perfect the way it was, even to me, a kid. It oozed quality and I probably would have watched it all day if I could have.

I think it certainly influenced me and my interest in manned spaceflight later on, and I'd LOVE to see it again!
 

Mad Doug Biker

Just a damaged guy.
Location
Craggy Island
And..... on a similar vein

.... From The Earth To The Moon

And the opening theme, ooft! (although it is a bit much to sit through each time, so I sometimes fast forward it now):


View: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WhZhzt1rh7o

My favourite episodes are definitely 'Spider' (the story behind the design and production of the Lunar Module) the one about the wives (a subject often ignored), the one about Apollo 12, the one about Alan Shepherd and the one where the crews learn to be Geologists for the last few missions (sorry, other than 'Spider' I can't remember the other episode titles, although the one about the Wives was something like 'The Nasa Wives Club', and there was one called 'Gallileo Was Right').
 
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