Foreword to the bfi TV 100 by Jon Teckman
by bfi Director Jon Teckman
Welcome to the BFI's TV 100, a selection of the favourite British television programmes of the twentieth century. The bfi aims to promote the appreciation and enjoyment of all forms of the moving image, and we regularly celebrate television programmes in our various activities.
Early in 2000, we sent voting booklets to the professional experts - programme makers, actors, technicians, executives, critics, academics - altogether some 1,600 members of the TV industry UK-wide, each of whom was invited to make up to 30 choices across six genre categories (with at least three votes per category):
- Comedy & variety
- Single drama
- Drama series & serials
- Factual
- Children's & youth
- Lifestyle & light entertainment
Which programmes were deemed to be the most important, influential and innovative? Which were most fondly remembered? Thousands of votes were cast, covering hundreds of programmes. The final bfi TV 100 list reflects the wonderful diversity and quality of home-grown production from the 1950s to the 1990s and the myriad creative talents which have contributed so many timeless words and images.
News and sport were omitted from this poll at the outset (is it the event itself, rather than the coverage, which is most important?). We also excluded classic shows which were wiped or discarded (or broadcast live and not recorded in the first place), so that every programme in the bfi TV 100 still exists and can be viewed today.
The lack of black and Asian programming indicates that these communities were not, perhaps, best served by television in the last century, and that relatively few black and Asian people were active in programme production. But the votes for the BBC's Goodness Gracious Me, for instance, which ended up outside our top 100, shows that welcome progress is being made.
Such lists inevitably provoke controversy. Indeed, our intention is to create a talking-point, encouraging wide discussion. This TV 100 suggests how the programme makers rate their own output, but what do audiences think? As the industry braces itself for seismic technological and structural changes, I hope that the information and views expressed here stimulate a timely celebration of the UK's vital television heritage and a reflection on its future potential.
