The Christmas TV Thread 2010

BBC1 Christmas Schedules 2010: (My fantasy ones anyway!)

CHRISTMAS EVE

5.45pm BBC News
6.10 FILM: Flushed Away
7.30 Outtake TV
8.00 EastEnders
8.30 FILM PREMIERE: Nativity!
10.15 The Graham Norton Christmas Eve Show
11.15 The National Lottery Draws
11.30 BBC News
11.45 Midnight Mass

CHRISTMAS DAY

6.30am Breakfast
9.00 CBBC
10.00 Morning Worship
11.00 Saturday Kitchen Christmas Challenge
12.20 BBC News
12.30 FILM: The Santa Claus 3
2.00 Top of the Pops
3.00 The Queen
3.10 FILM PREMIERE: Enchanted
4.50 FILM PREMIERE: Shrek the Third
6.20 BBC News
6.30 EastEnders
7.00 Doctor Who
8.00 Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special
9.00 EastEnders
9.30 The Royle Family
10.30 Would I Lie To You at Christmas
11.00 BBC News
11.10 Catherine Tate: Nan's Christmas Carol (rpt)
11.50 FILM: Calendar Girls

BOXING DAY

6.30am Breakfast
8.10 Football Focus
9.00 CBBC
10.00 FILM: Chicken Run
11.20 BBC News
11.30 EastEnders
2.30 FILM PREMIERE: Cars
4.30 Songs of Praise
5.05 Final Score
5.40 BBC News
6.00 Celebrity Mastermind
6.30 Total Wipeout Celebrity Special
7.30 EastEnders
8.00 Casualty
9.00 Rock and Chips
10.30 BBC News
10.45 Match of the Day
12.15 The Football League Show

HOLIDAY MONDAY

6.30am Breakfast
9.00 CBBC
11.20 FILM: The Ant Bully
12.40 Keeping Up Appearances
1.10 BBC News
1.30 Only Fools and Horses
2.20 FILM: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe
4.30 The Gruffalo
5.00 Total Wipeout (rpt)
6.00 BBC News
6.30 Celebrity Mastermind
7.00 The One Show at Christmas
7.30 A Question of Sport
8.00 EastEnders
8.30 Toast
10.00 Live from the Apollo
10.45 BBC News
11.05 FILM: War of the WorlRAB

HOLIDAY TUESDAY

6.30am Breakfast
9.00 CBBC
11.20 FILM; A Very Merry Muppet Christmas
12.50 Keeping Up Appearances
1.20 BBC News
1.40 FILM PREMIERE: The Game Plan
3.20 FILM: Bedknobs and Broomsticks
5.15 The Weakest Link (rpt)
6.00 BBC News
6.30 Celebrity Mastermind
7.00 The One Show at Christmas
7.30 EastEnders
8.00 Holby City
9.00 Masterchef: The Winners Story
10.00 BBC News
10.20 Match of the Day
11.35 The Football League Show

That's my theory! What do you think?
 
I agree about the animated films. I remember thinking in 2008 "Why the hell didn't BBC1 schedule The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe as the Christmas afternoon movie! It so was meant for Christmas Day!" This year they could show "Enchanted" on Christmas afternoon which would be good.

To confirm your post,. with the exception of 2003 and 2004, all years since 2001 has seen an animation movie. Here are the movies shown on BBC1 on Christmas afternoon since 1999:

1999: Jumanji
2000: The Borrowers
2001: Toy Story
2002: Chicken Run
2003: Stuart Little
2004: 102 Dalmations
2005: Shrek and Toy Story 2
2006: Monsters Inc.
2007: Finding Nemo and Shrek 2
2008: Shark Tale and Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit
2009: The Incredibles

All were premieres except for Shrek which was first screened on Christmas Eve 2004.
 
They have the rights to Universal films as they recently signed a deal with them but they dont have many family friendly films frpm 2007/8 apart from Mamma Mia! and The Mummy and I imagine they'll save the 2008 films for 2011. Warner Bros is a bit tricky as the rights are more for individual films like Potter, Batman and Oceans because Five also did a deal with Warner Bros and have got the rights to 300, Beowulf, 10,000 BC and TMNT to name but a few so it will be interesting what films end up on what channel. I Am Legend is a biggie that could well for ITV1 but not sure if they have the rights to it.
 
Ahh I see.


Yeh I know what you were saying :). I was just making a general point about Movies on Christmas Day. Gotta love a fantasy Christmas schedule too. :D
 
I wonder what other comedies BBC One could have on Christmas Day aside from The Royle Family? I know OFAH dominated for many years but the only one I think of are Gavin and Stacey and maybe Miranda. Vicar of Dibley did sort of become the replacement Christmas comedy after the original trilogy and then in 2004 and 2006.

New Tricks would be a good one for Christmas, if it gets 7m at the moment, it would probably do nearer 10m scheduled on Boxing Day!

With the success of The Gruffalo, Robbie the Reindeer and Wallace and Gromit, I'm surprised we haven't heard about any animated specials. I think Prep and Landing would do well as would Merry Madagascar or The Kung Fu Panda Christmas Special as well as the yearly showing of Shrek the Halls.
 
Yeah!

Looking forward to seeing what else the BBC has planned for this year! There's always a few hidden gems that appear that noone expects! Like last year, I had no idea Catherine Tate had a Christmas Special until the BBC released their Christmas Highlights.
 
I'm predicting the BBC will network premiere Cars as it's Xmas day movie as it appears to have some sort of deal with Pixar.There will certainly be another big premiere from the BBC,possibly I Am Legend or Iron Man.
Another Royle Family is a shoo in from what I've read,but I hope the BBC commision a christmas episode of Rev. and show it in decent timeslot.It was a good show and would benefit from some hype - could even become a big thing for the BBC if they let it.

ITV use up all their "big" stuff by early December.
 
I think that's very unlikely.

They appear to be content with leaving it as it is.




I could see G&S doing a one off special a few years down the road for a particular event.

But I don't think James Cordon and Ruth Jones would do it unless the knew they could do a good story and script.
 
I don't think a Men Behaving Badly would work now, and I was a big fan of it. It was a programme for it's time, the 'lad' culture of the mid 90's. A programme set now, with both couples set up as some middle class families with mortgage and kiRAB is really just My Family, but with other characters. In saying that if there was a one-off Christmas special, i'd watch it.

I would like to see a update of Ever Decreasing Circles, a forgotten treasure of a comedy. They did do one Christmas special, where Martin and Ann find there house over run with frienRAB of Paul staying for Christmas and a final longer episode with Martin and a pregnant Ann moving to Oswestry.
 
I predict CFWM will replace Reggie Perrin which means it would start on November 25th and episode 5 would be on December 23rd. I'm sure the Christmas schedule would be drawn up before CFWM is up and running so if they schedule the final episode on a Christmas Holiday day then they'll be taken a risk on it being a hit. Maybe they'll opt for a 10pm slot on Holiday Monday or Holiday Tuesday.


I am confident that Rock And Chips will get a Christmas day slot. It is the prequel to Only Fools And Horses: that's Only Fools And Horses, the sitcom that was the centrepiece of BBC1's Christmas Day schedule for years and years and years. It's because of this that they tried to turn Green Green Grass, the Only Fools spin-off into a Christamas day regular, even though it was critically slated from the word go and thus flopped in its Christmas Day slot. Rock And Chips got a more favourable reaction plus an audience of 8.7m. Put it on at 10pm after The Royle Family and it would easily get at least 8m and possibly even match the 10m that Gavin And Stacey got in the same slot last year.
 
Or Christmas Day. From 1985 to around 96/97 it was shown on Christmas Day, then on Christmas Eve til 2004 (apart from 1999 when it was Boxing Day) then I think its chagned between Christmas Day and Christmas Eve since. It usually alternates with 'Father Christmas'(which I adore!)
 
Not sure if they'll show this Christmas but the BBC have the rights to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and I think on Christmas Eve or Boxing Day would do really well. I Am Legend will likely appear on ITV1 or Five as they have deals with Warner Bros while Iron Man will likely appear on Channel 4 due to their output deal with Paramount.

I reckon it'll be a Cars/Shrek the Third doubleheader on Christmas Day with Enchanted on Christmas Eve.
 
BBC2 usually put on a lot of stuff that I like. The old comedy/enterainment classics, documentary and factual stuff.

A lot of nostalgia shows too like The Story of Light Entertainment, Story of Slapstick, Funny Side of Christmas and James May's Toy Stories were all very watchable.


Im not that surprised, I think last year it was pretty much the beginning of October that the Christmas aRAB started for proper. It wont be long until we see the Coca-Cola Santa, WH Smith aRAB and Shakin Stevens blaring out in the shops.
 
You haven't spoken to my family then! (Not that I personally know you of course!) but we love animated films.

I'm 52, my wife is 56 and our daughter is 22!
 
I don't think they would do more than an hour - at least in primetime anyway. If it were that long, I suspect we'd be seeing it early evening, maybe 5.30 to 7pm, instead of a second animated film.

On the other hand, I wonder whether it might be a good idea to try Christmas Eve? As we've been discussing, the comedy slate is pretty weak - and as Christmas Eve has been the 'comedy night' in recent years, I think it could suffer. I'm not convinced a My Family special plus a Christmas episode of QI would really be enough to hold down the night. NeeRAB something more, and as I don't think its the place for drama, Strictly could fit the bill.



I hope they do leave it as it is. They did Back and Forth for the millenium, and frankly that was patchy. Rowan Atkinson always says the only other setting for one would be a WWII POW camp, which is intriguing - but I'd rather not take the risk of it being rubbish. Besides, virtually all the cast have totally moved on to plenty of other things - especially Fry and Lawrie.
 
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