1990: PRIMETIME MAGAZINE ISSUE 16 AND THE UNPUBLISHED THE BOX

From 1990: the 16th, and final, issue of British television fanzine/ magazine PRIMETIME.  And a tease for something that never actually launched.

As fara as I know, the unpublished version of THE BOX has no relation (other than name and subject matter) with the really rather good (but very shortlived) Haymarket magazine of the same name that appeared, for three issues over six months, in 1997.

It joins the list of never-published or shortlived TV magazines that also includes Marvel UK's PRIMETIME (just a single special, again unrelated to this magazine, published before the magazine department was closed) and a DWB/ DREAMWATCH spin-off the details of which I must unearth and share some day.

1998: PRIMETIME MAGAZINE CHAPTER 2

From 1998: a one-off (?) revival of the TV fanzine PRIMETIME.

Published by TV historians and trackers-of-lost-telly Kaleidoscope, this revived the earlier incarnation of the title.  And it contains some really excellent articles sure to tickle the fancy of Telly types.  For me, the best of the bunch is Andrew Pixley's inevitably comprehensive history of the TV output of ITC.  There's been a number of books and articles written about the company's extensive output but they almost invariably focus on the familiar suspects.  Pixley, of course, pieces together the whole ITC small-screen canon including shows barely seen (if at all) in the UK as well as Children's (THE MUNCH BUNCH anyone?) and other shows released under the ITC (rather than ATV) brand.  The complete history of ITC (including all their numerous movie projects, behind-the-scenes dramas, changes of ownership, remakes and more) is still to be written.  But, in the meantime, I consider this an invaluable reference.

I picked this up from - of all places - London's COMIC SHOWCASE when it was published and I've never seen another copy 'in the wild'.  I'm not sure how extensively this was distributed but - I imagine - not very much.

1989: PRIMETIME MAGAZINE ISSUE 15

From 1989: PRIMETIME (The Television magazine) issue 15.

1983: PRIMETIME MAGAZINE ISSUE 5

From the spring of 1983: the next issue, number five, of the black & white British magazine of TV appreciation PRIMETIME... Marking the passing of M*A*S*H.

1982: PRIMETIME MAGAZINE ISSUE 4

From Autumn 1982: the fourth issue of the British magazine PRIMETIME.

This was a black & white journal dedicated to the serious issue of telly, offering heavyweight (but accessible) analysis ala some of the more highbrow movie mags. 

I already had a few of these that I had acquired over the years but I recently chanced across a longer run (of which this was the earliest) so I grabbed them for STARLOGGED.

As a journal of serious research, I would say this has one key disadvantage: the time this was published. This was before sell-through video and multichannel TV started to open up the archives (although early Channel Four wasn't afraid to pepper its schedules with some older, aquired, shows), so much of what the magazine contained must have been written from memory... With the knowledge that most readers wouldn't be any better placed to check the "facts". That's not to say that I suspect this is riddled with errors... Just that the individual writers must have had a tough time pulling the pieces together. 

Googling the title pulls up multiple entries for titles and services dedicated to older folk (and none of us are getting any younger) which makes finding hard facts trickier. I know it remained in black & white for the bulk of its life, but did adopt colour covers at the very end. I have one issue, purchased new circa 1990, with a colour cover devoted to ST:TNG, SHOESTRING and MIDNIGHT CALLER. That issue was definitely distributed via UK comics specialty stores.

Then, I think, it went on an extended hiatus before returning, once again in black & white, for an standout finale. That (unplanned) last issue featured an excellent Andrew Pixley penned timeline for the various series produced under the ITC banner, at home and abroad. Although I was aware of several of the shows from repeats on ITV and the BBC, the piece really sparked my interest and I later snapped the shows up on VHS and, latterly, DVD. 

Later mainstream titles like the excellent and much missed THE BOX tried a similar approach to treating TV with the same regard as film... But didn't find an audience (hey Haymarket.... I'm still waiting for that long-promised fourth issue). Marvel UK's PRIMETIME, which never progressed beyond a solitary pilot, probably would have also offered something similar as well.