First viewed : Uncertain
For a long time after its launch . I deliberately boycotted this series because it was an extension of his intrusive American chart spot on Top of the Pops which I resented as it denied British acts just outside the Top 40 a priceless slot on the programme and often promoted US hits that had hitherto been struggling to make an impression here. That's what presenter Jonathan King was all about; a resentful anti-patriot belittling everything Britain had to offer and proclaiming the superiority of our former colony's culture.
I think it was probably around 1987 that, softened up by Dallas and Dynasty , we started to watch it semi-regularly. It was a well put-together magazine show with King an under-rated interviewer whose irreverent style paved the way for the likes of Louis Theroux. It was also good for previewing stuff that was inevitably going to come our way; I remember first hearing about Twin Peaks on the show. I recall one uninspiring evening when my Mum and I agreed that Entertainment USA was actually the best thing on that night.
Famously, the show came to grief in 1989 when Janet Street-Porter became head of Youth Programming on BBC Two and promptly axed both this and No Limits , describing them as "dreadful". There were stories of King chasing her down the corridor to protest but it was to no avail.
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