Network 7 (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Network 7 was a short-lived but influential youth music and current affairs programme screened on Channel 4
over two series in 1987 and 1988. The series was created by Jane Hewland and Janet Street-Porter
who was also editor of the first series.
to bulimia.
Much of Network 7's innovative style can be seen as being inspired by a combination of elements such as the aesthetic of the Max Headroom
drama 20 Minutes into the Future
and the studio based anarchy of Tiswas
.
The show took place in a specially built 'caravan city' in Limehouse Studios, a deserted banana warehouse on the site of what is now One Canada Square
. Presenters included Jaswinder Bancil, Magenta Devine
, Sankha Guha, Eric Harwood, Murray Boland, Tracey MacLeod
, Sebastian Scott, and Trevor Ward. Most presenters had previously worked in either television or journalism in a smaller capacity, but they all got their first major TV exposure on the show. Charlie Parsons
was a presenter and also part of the production staff. He later set up the production company Planet 24
, which produced The Word
and The Big Breakfast
with his partner Waheed Alli.
Network 7 challenged the idea that youth programming could only be a niche concern in the television business. The series won a British Academy [BAFTA] award for Originality for Hewland and Street Porter in 1987. The series has been credited with changing the language of factual television and giving a start in the industry to some of UK TV's leading programme makers.
and featuring Vladek Sheybal
and Diana Quick
in the main roles.
Dick Spanner, P.I.
was a 6 minute Gerry Anderson
claymation detective serial shown weekly during in Series 1.
Room 113 was a pre-recorded one-to one psychological celebrity interview conducted by Oliver James
.
True or False showed a pre-recorded bizarre real life story, and the following week revealed whether the story was true or false. In Series 2 viewers could voice their guesses via a phone poll.
Film On 7 showed a short one minute film made by students at London International Film School.
A report on how a child in Japan had made several withdrawals totalling tens out thousands of dollars using a candy bar wrapper, although Network 7 refused to mention which brand had been used.
A live satellite link-up to Ed Byrne, a man on death Row in the USA charged with murdering his girlfriend. Viewers voted whether they thought he deserved to live or die, and a presenter revealed the results to him at the end of the show (55% favoured death).
Spitting Image
featured a Network 7 spoof where an interviewer asked God to sum up the meaning of life in 9 seconds.
Victor Lewis-Smith
featured a scathing spoof of Network 7 as part of his Buygones series, itself ironically part of Network 7s successor Club X
.
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
over two series in 1987 and 1988. The series was created by Jane Hewland and Janet Street-Porter
Janet Street-Porter
Janet Street-Porter is a British media personality, journalist and television presenter. She was editor for two years of The Independent on Sunday. She relinquished the job to become editor-at-large in 2002...
who was also editor of the first series.
Overview
Network 7 was broadcast live on Sundays from noon until two o'clock and was conceived of as a 'channel within a channel', something young people could roll out of bed and watch the morning after the night before. Its mission statement was "News is Entertainment. Entertainment is News." It was known for its heavily self branded, frenetic visual style with wild camera work, rapid cuts, very short items and "blipverts" - a dense combination of graphics, and pop video style visuals explaining everything from Third World debtDeveloping countries' debt
The debt of developing countries is external debt incurred by governments of developing countries, generally in quantities beyond the governments' political ability to repay...
to bulimia.
Much of Network 7's innovative style can be seen as being inspired by a combination of elements such as the aesthetic of the Max Headroom
Max Headroom (TV series)
Max Headroom is a British-produced American science fiction television series by Chrysalis/Lakeside Productions that aired in the United States on ABC from March 1987 to May 1988. The series was based on the Channel 4 British TV pilot Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future...
drama 20 Minutes into the Future
20 Minutes into the Future
Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future is a 1985 cyberpunk television movie created by Chrysalis Visual Programming Ltd. for Channel 4 in the UK to provide a back story for Max Headroom, a computer generated TV host...
and the studio based anarchy of Tiswas
Tiswas
Tiswas was a Saturday morning children's British television series which ran from 5 January 1974 to 3 April 1982 and was produced for the ITV network by ATV Network Limited....
.
The show took place in a specially built 'caravan city' in Limehouse Studios, a deserted banana warehouse on the site of what is now One Canada Square
One Canada Square
One Canada Square is a skyscraper in Canary Wharf in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is the tallest completed building in the United Kingdom since 1991, standing at above ground level and containing 50 storeys...
. Presenters included Jaswinder Bancil, Magenta Devine
Magenta Devine
Magenta Devine is a TV presenter and journalist. She is perhaps most known for presenting the youth travel programme, Rough Guide and "Reportage" on BBC2 in the 1990s. Then "Young, Gifted and Broke" for ITV.She began her career working for Queen/Thin Lizzy/Whitesnake publicist, the late Tony...
, Sankha Guha, Eric Harwood, Murray Boland, Tracey MacLeod
Tracey MacLeod
Tracey MacLeod is a journalist and broadcaster who has presented a range of BBC arts and music programming, including The Late Show 1989-95 and its musical offshoots New West and Words and Music, Edinburgh Nights The Booker Prize and The Mercury Music Prize...
, Sebastian Scott, and Trevor Ward. Most presenters had previously worked in either television or journalism in a smaller capacity, but they all got their first major TV exposure on the show. Charlie Parsons
Charlie Parsons
Charlie Parsons is a British television producer who created a number of notable television shows including Survivor. He also created The Big Breakfast and The Word....
was a presenter and also part of the production staff. He later set up the production company Planet 24
Planet 24
Planet 24 was a television production company. It produced The Big Breakfast and The Word had an animation division Impossible TV. Bob Geldof and Tony Boland founded Planet Pictures which merged with 24 Hour Productions headed by Charlie Parsons and Waheed, later Lord Alli...
, which produced The Word
The Word (TV series)
The Word was a 1990s Channel 4 television programme in the United Kingdom.-Format:Its presenters included Mancunian radio presenter Terry Christian, comedian Mark Lamarr, Dani Behr, Katie Puckrik, Jasmine Dotiwala, Alan Connor, Amanda de Cadenet and "Huffty"...
and The Big Breakfast
The Big Breakfast
The Big Breakfast was a British light entertainment television show shown on Channel 4 and S4C each weekday morning from 28 September 1992 until 29 March 2002 during which period 2,482 shows were produced. The Big Breakfast was produced by Planet 24, the production company co-owned by former...
with his partner Waheed Alli.
Network 7 challenged the idea that youth programming could only be a niche concern in the television business. The series won a British Academy [BAFTA] award for Originality for Hewland and Street Porter in 1987. The series has been credited with changing the language of factual television and giving a start in the industry to some of UK TV's leading programme makers.
Regular Programme Segments
Flesh + Blood was a mini-series running each week for 14 minutes within Network 7, written by Joanna HoggJoanna Hogg
Joanna Hogg is a British film maker and screenwriter. She made her directorial and screenwriting feature film debut in 2007 with Unrelated.-Early TV Work:...
and featuring Vladek Sheybal
Vladek Sheybal
Vladek Sheybal , born Władysław Sheybal, was a Polish character actor, whose career lasted from the 1950s into the 1980s. He was probably best known for his portrayal of the chess grandmaster Kronsteen in the 1963 James Bond film From Russia with Love, a role for which he had been personally...
and Diana Quick
Diana Quick
-Life:Quick was born in London, England. She grew up in Dartford, Kent, the third of a dentist's four children. She was educated at Dartford Grammar School for Girls, Kent. She was greatly aided by her English teacher, Miss Davis, who encouraged her to pursue acting...
in the main roles.
Dick Spanner, P.I.
Dick Spanner, P.I.
Dick Spanner, P.I. was a 1986 British stop-motion animated comedy series which parodied Chandleresque detective shows. The titular character and main protagonist was Dick Spanner, voiced by Shane Rimmer, a robotic private detective who works cases in a futuristic urban setting...
was a 6 minute Gerry Anderson
Gerry Anderson
Gerry Anderson MBE is a British publisher, producer, director and writer, famous for his futuristic television programmes, particularly those involving specially modified marionettes, a process called "Supermarionation"....
claymation detective serial shown weekly during in Series 1.
Room 113 was a pre-recorded one-to one psychological celebrity interview conducted by Oliver James
Oliver James
Oliver James is a clinical psychologist, journalist, bestselling book author, and television documentary producer. and presenter He also frequently broadcasts on radio and acts as a pundit on television...
.
True or False showed a pre-recorded bizarre real life story, and the following week revealed whether the story was true or false. In Series 2 viewers could voice their guesses via a phone poll.
Film On 7 showed a short one minute film made by students at London International Film School.
Memorable Moments
A feature on cloning cashcards, where the presenter actually cloned a card and used it to take money out of ATMs, going in depth on how it was done using a video recorder and strips of tape.A report on how a child in Japan had made several withdrawals totalling tens out thousands of dollars using a candy bar wrapper, although Network 7 refused to mention which brand had been used.
A live satellite link-up to Ed Byrne, a man on death Row in the USA charged with murdering his girlfriend. Viewers voted whether they thought he deserved to live or die, and a presenter revealed the results to him at the end of the show (55% favoured death).
Spoofs
A spoof of Network 7 (renamed 'Network') appeared in Episode 4, Series 2 of French and Saunders.Spitting Image
Spitting Image
Spitting Image is a British satirical puppet show that aired on the ITV network from 1984 to 1996. It was produced by Spitting Image Productions for Central Television. The series was nominated for 10 BAFTA Awards, winning one for editing in 1989....
featured a Network 7 spoof where an interviewer asked God to sum up the meaning of life in 9 seconds.
Victor Lewis-Smith
Victor Lewis-Smith
Victor Lewis-Smith is a British satirist, producer, critic and prankster. He is known for his sarcasm and biting criticism.-Radio and recordings:...
featured a scathing spoof of Network 7 as part of his Buygones series, itself ironically part of Network 7s successor Club X
Club X
Club X was a short-lived 1989 Channel 4 arts and music magazine programme that is often cited as an example of TV Hell.- Details :The production and presentation team was largely taken from the earlier Channel 4 success Network 7 and had the same editor Charlie Parsons...
.