And so it continues. Shows Beginning with the letter J and K contains more programmes that people need to know about, that have ushered in a new form of entertainment or have made the most impact in terms of popularity. This one tells the story of Sir Jimmy’s wish granting powers on Jim’ll Fix It, Fry and Laurie adding extra Wodehousian charm to Jeeves and Wooster, the deductive genius Jonathan Creek, kid’s shows on the cheap in Jackanory and an epic VR quest with Knightmare.
Jim’ll Fix It (BBC One: 1975-1994)
A basis format: children (or in rare cases adults) would write a letter to eccentric TV and radio presenter Jimmy Saville asking for a wish to be granted, cue footage of it happening and everyone’s a winner. The popularity of the show allowed it to run for 20 years and made Sir Jim’ll a recognisable face in children’s TV.
Perhaps the famous broadcast was when a group of Cub Scouts wanted to eat in an unusual place. The destination chosen was a rollercoaster at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, where most of them being covered in food and almost being sick. Still, it made for an amusing couple of minutes.
Jeeves and Wooster (ITV: 1990-1993)
When it was announced that ITV were producing a comedy drama series based P.G. Wodehouse’s most famous creations who better for the lead roles than Footlights alumni Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie? The plots were lifted straight from the novels and reworked by Clive Exton to fit an hour of television.
The character Jeeves was much older than an early 30s Fry but his acting ability and occasionally sarcastic delivery was enough to prove that he was the correct choice, and Laurie was born to play the idiot socialite Bertie Wooster. The result was a funny and charming series that was one of ITV’s last great swings at comedy.
Jonathan Creek (BBC One: 1997-)
The original adverts for Jonathan Creek set up ridiculously implausible crimes that were almost impossible to solve, except if you happened to be a magician’s assistant with a brilliantly intuitive mind (played by Alan Davies). And didn't it do well? The series was written entirely by David Renwick, the man behind One Foot In The Grave, and although it turned the detective genre on its head with some genuinely head scratching mysteries it lost some pace after co-star Caroline Quentin left in the third year.
The most recent special, The Grinning Man, was a little disappointing but fared much better than the forth series and was enough of a success to be awarded a further feature length episode for Easter 2010.
Jackanory (BBC One: 1965-1996, CBBC: 2006-)
Jackanory exists for the simple fact that children love stories. And due to budget constraints meaning that live-action dramas were too expensive to produce so we ended up with a bunch of actors reading books for 15 minutes a day. The stripped down nature of the programme is what made it so watchable, where else could you see Bernard Cribbins reading James and the Giant Peach or A Bear Called Paddington read by Thora Hird?
As children’s TV evolved into by the mid-90s action packed cartoons and destructive gameshows fronted by Pat Sharp Jackanory was eventually cancelled. The show was eventually revived 10 years later for the CBBC channel using animated sequences and voice actors along with the solitary reader.
Knightmare (ITV: 1987-1994)
As video game technology was becoming more advanced in the 80s it made sense that TV game shows were going to get in on the virtual reality craze that reached its peak during the latter part of the decade. However, the only one to make a positive impact was Tim Child’s exciting children’s adventure game series Knightmare.
This programme not only allowed the kids a chance to take part in their own epic quest but also raised the importance of teamwork as the child moving through the levels had to be guided by other members. Old, boring people like to remind anyone under the age of 40 that they don’t make things like they used to but in the case of Knightmare they really don’t make them like this anymore. Shame that.
Steven Cookson - Steven Cookson is a writer and attempted journalist based in Howden. Originally from Chester, that Hollyoaks place in North-West of ...
