Going Live!

Going Live!
GenreChildren's
Presented by
Starring
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series6
No. of episodes179
Production
Production locationBBC Television Centre[1]
Running time165–195 minutes
Original release
NetworkBBC1
Release26 September 1987 (1987-09-26) –
17 April 1993 (1993-04-17)

Going Live! was a British children's television series that aired on BBC1 from 26 September 1987 to 17 April 1993. It was presented by Phillip Schofield and Sarah Greene. Other presenters included Trevor and Simon, Annabel Giles, Phillip Hodson, Emma Forbes, Nick Ball, James Hickish and Mark Chase.

In 1988, when the second series started, Greene was hurt in a helicopter crash with her then boyfriend, who subsequently became her husband, Mike Smith.[2] Guest presenters stood in for her including T'Pau's Carol Decker.[3] Similarly, in 1992–93 during the final series, Schofield was starring in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and was unable to present the show. A third presenter took his place. Originally, then Australian soap Neighbours actor Kristian Schmid took the role but soon left after problems with his work permit.[3] Various other celebrities who stood in included Shane Richie and Robbie Williams during his Take That days.[3]

Some of the cartoons shown during Going Live! included Spider-Man, Thunderbirds 2086, ThunderCats, The Raccoons, Star Wars: Droids, Muppet Babies, Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light, Defenders of the Earth, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, Dungeons & Dragons, Alvin and the Chipmunks, and The Pirates of Dark Water.

Show segments

Double Dare

Double Dare was presented by Peter Simon, and it was best known for Simon to fall, during the final round, into the Gunge. It was replaced in later series of Going Live!, first by Clockwise, presented by Darren Day, and then by Run the Risk, which was again presented by Simon. The latter of these shows continued onto Live & Kicking.

Growing Pains

Phillip Hodson provided 'agony uncle' advice to young callers on diverse and often difficult topics in Growing Pains. The topics ranged from love troubles and general teenage angst, to more severe topics such as child abuse and AIDS, which were uncharacteristically deep issues for a Saturday morning youth programme.

Live Line

In this segment, the show's producers would arrange for popular musical groups and performers to pay surprise visits to their fans.

The Press Conference

The big set-piece interview at the end of each programme, featuring questions from both the studio audience and from phone callers. These were often with politicians, high-ranking executives in the BBC, or people who had made a notable achievement (e.g. sports people who had success at the Olympics).

The Video Vote

This was a phone-in section where the viewing public were encouraged to cast their opinions on the popular music videos of the time, which were then shown according to popularity.

Trevor and Simon

Main article: Trevor and Simon

These two anchormen (who were essentially clowns) provided light-hearted humour and character comedy. Popular characters played by the duo included:

  • 'The Sister Brothers', a pair of rogue traders;
  • 'The Singing Corner', a folk duo;
  • DJ Mick McMac and rave-goer Moon Monkey;
  • 'Blimey, that's good!', a parody of television shopping channels;
  • The Bottomless Bin;
  • The Witch Finders, who appeared every Halloween to enlist members of the studio audience to hunt 'witches' and other evil-doers. This normally ended up with them poking Phillip with sticks.
  • Ken and Eddie Kennedy, a pair of jaunty barbers.

They were replaced in series five by Nick Ball and James Hickish, but returned for the last series.

It Started With Swap Shop

Going Live! had their own section on the BBC's It Started With Swap Shop[4] featuring classic clips of the show. It is presented as elevator employees recalling favoured parts of the show.

Awards

In 1992, the show's opening sequence of a 'colourbars army preparing to Go Live', was nominated for a Bafta Award,[5] created by the BBC Design team consisting of Morgan Almeida, Mark Knight and Paul Baguley.

Transmissions

Series Start date End date Episodes
1 26 September 1987[6] 16 April 1988[7] 30
2 8 October 1988[8] 15 April 1989[9] 28
3 23 September 1989[10] 14 April 1990[11] 30
4 22 September 1990[12] 13 April 1991[13] 30
5 21 September 1991[14] 18 April 1992[15] 31
6 26 September 1992[16] 17 April 1993[17] 30

References

  1. ^ "BBC TV Centre". Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  2. ^ "ON THIS DAY | 10 | 1988: BBC presenters in helicopter crash". BBC News. 10 September 1973. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
  3. ^ a b c "Cult – Classic TV – Going Live (1987–1992)". BBC. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
  4. ^ "Saturday Mornings ~ It Started With Swap Shop". Saturdaymornings.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 May 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
  5. ^ "Past Winners and Nominees – Television – Awards – The BAFTA site". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. 17 January 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
  6. ^ "Going Live! – BBC One London – 26 September 1987". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  7. ^ "Going Live! – BBC One London – 16 April 1988". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  8. ^ "Going Live! – BBC One London – 8 October 1988". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  9. ^ "Going Live! – BBC One London – 15 April 1989". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  10. ^ "Going Live! – BBC One London – 23 September 1989". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  11. ^ "Going Live! – BBC One London – 14 April 1990". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  12. ^ "Going Live! – BBC One London – 22 September 1990". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  13. ^ "Going Live! – BBC One London – 13 April 1991". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  14. ^ "Going Live! – BBC One London – 21 September 1991". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  15. ^ "Going Live! – BBC One London – 18 April 1992". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  16. ^ "Going Live! – BBC One London – 26 September 1992". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  17. ^ "Going Live! – BBC One London – 17 April 1993". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 2 January 2021.