Product Description

The 1970s was not just the decade of power-cuts and three-day weeks, of Chopper bikes and Spacehoppers, of kipper ties and bad perms, of Abba and the Bay City Rollers ...it was also the decade of Fawlty Towers and Porridge, A Bouquet of Barbed Wire and I, Claudius, The Sweeney and Starsky and Hutch. There was no such thing in those days as Wacky Warehouses or Playstations or even video recorders; for its entertainment, the nation switched on the telly. Some programmes, such as The Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show, were practically part of the national psyche, while some characters -- such as Benny from Crossroads and Olive from On The Buses -- became the unlikeliest of icons. Watching the box will never again be the collective experience it was then, and Brian Viner, in this hilarious and affectionate memoir, pays tribute to an era in televison -- the forgettable as well as the memorable -- which happily coincided with his own formative years.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #26386 in Books
• Published on: 2009-02-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

About the Author
Brian Viner is a senior features writer and columnist for the INDEPENDENT newspaper. He lives with his family in Herefordshire.

Customer Reviews

Shamelessy nostalgic
In these days of political correctness it is hard to imagine that, not too long ago, one of the highlights of the television year was the Miss World contest. In households all over the UK entire families would gather in front of their TV sets to discuss the merits of each contestant, as they paraded in both swimsuit & evening wear. At least that's what happened at our house and, as he tells us in this book, it also happened in Brian Viners house too.

'Nice to see it' is a shamelessy nostalgic book about TV in the 1970's. In it the author hasn't set out to write about the best programmes of the 1970's, instead he has written about the programmes that he remembered watching as a boy growing up in that decade. Being a schoolboy these were usually either the programmes that his parents deemed suitable for him to watch, or were programmes that his friends at school watched, and so he had to watch them as well in order to not be left out when they discussed the show at school next day. While this means that many of the big programmes from the era - Fawlty Towers, The Generation Game, Dads Army, The Sweeney etc - are included, others which are today remembered as classics, such as `MASH', `Rising Damp' and `The Two Ronnies' don't get a mention. These ommissions though, do not detract from the book in the slightest.

The result is a very entertaining book, packed with stories both about the programmes and their stars and about the events in the authors life during the time when the programmes were broadcasted.

I loved this book, as I suspect everybody that grew up watching TV in the seventies will do too.

A journey down memory lane.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is brilliantly written, and captured my interest from the opening paragraph, reviving many happy memories, of life in the 70s, when my children were of a similar age to that of the author, and equally addicted to some of the same TV programmes. After reading this book, I can appreciate why!

Nice to see it...is a personal account of the writer's TV viewing in the 70s, which obviously had a lasting effect on Brian Viner, and his peers. However, Viner very cleverly extends the reader's appreciation and knowledge of many of the characters from his favourite programmes, through sharing details of his more recent interviews with them.

The book is a fascinating and thought provoking account of Viner's life, as it developed and changed, in parallel, almost, with his growing sophistication of TV viewing. 'It isn't everyone who, more than 33 years later, can remember what was on ITV shortly after 8.15p.m. on Wednesday 4th February 1976.'(p 1, para 1)...an event which brought about massive changes to Viner, as a growing lad.

This book rates as one of my 'unputtable down' reads. I read it a second time, just in case I'd missed something!

Perm and Chopper Bicycle Not Required
An amazing, flawless book. To enter into the spirit of it, I remember a line from an obscure Morecambe and Wise sketch - "Enid Blyton, a laugh on every page!" Well this book really does have a laugh on every page. The writer loves his subject matter, but his skill is such that he could be writing about Ukrainian tractor output and he would still hold us in thrall.

Maybe you had to be there, which I was, but any old Spangle-chewing, Spacehopper-riding, platform-wearing hack can write about Seventies culture. Viner brings it totally to life, poking gentle fun where it's deserved, heaping praise where it's warranted, and ladling contempt onto one family entertainer revealed to be a scoundrel after his death (yus my dear, he was).

The laughs sit comfortably alongside touching family meories - reminiscent of Nick Hornby at times. This book had me scouring the IMDB and Wikipedia for long lost gems like Alias Smith and Jones and the Martini girl - now THERE'S an interesting tale!