Over on BBC1 now...1979 Christmas Day and just before "Baboushka" starts on BBC2, announcer Robin Whitting reminds us that All Creatures Great And Small is about to start on BBC1.
Baboushka Breakdown25.12.1979
A sound fault causes BBC2's musical story, Baboushka, to be interrupted on Christmas night. The problem is quickly resolved, but it gives us a look at the 1979 Christmas slides design. Also, the announcers changed shift during transmission of Baboushka. Andy Cartledge makes the on-air apology, followed by a further one at the end of the programme.
A strange choice of viewing...1979 Couldn't resist this one! On BBC1 now it's the main evening news, so what do you think is on BBC2? Martin King is the man to tell us, and he does so without losing face.
BBC2 Sunday menu1980
Highlights of Sunday evening on 2 include further Snooker coverage and Masters of the Keyboard. Interesting use of total opposites here - a corporate look for the start of the menu and a generic end board!
BBC2 TV World trailc. 1980 Television World was a BBC2 documentary strand examining various aspects of the broadcasting industry as the seventies made way for the eighties. The episode trailed here looks at American Television - ratings-driven even then. Look out for the NBC continuity at the end.
BBC2 Christmas Films Promo1980 It's going to be a merry Christmas this year on BBC2, albeit an icy one - BBC1's usual Futura lettering hops over the fence and forms the ice sculpture in this festive teaser.
Trail: The Godfather1980
So having had a general look at BBC2's festive films, here's more about the star attraction - the UK television premiere of The Godfather. The 1980 Christmas symbol follows.
BBC2 Listener link1981 Plenty of variety in this junction from 1981. Following an academic lecture, Andy Cartledge tells us the full text will be in the next issue of The Listener, but if you can't wait there's an address you can write to for a transcript.
That out of the way, Andy tells us the Nine O'Clock News is just starting on BBC1, while here on 2 it's...Not the Nine O'Clock News!
BBC2 Christmas Promotions1981
Candles were BBC2's Christmas theme in 1981 and here they are promoting a season of Jack Lemmon films to be shown over the holidays. More candles are seen at the end of a Christmas Eve trail.
Christmas Day on BBC21981 So what did Christmas Day bring on BBC2? If The Generation Game and the usual mainstream stuff wasn't your bag you could have always watched the London Festival Ballet, Country Holiday and another film from Jack Lemmon.
BBC2 Christmas link25.12.1981 A standard no-trails junction from BBC2 on Christmas Day. Your announcer is Clive Roslin (yes, Gaby's dad!)
BBC2 Easter Promoc. 1982 David Allan looks forward to BBC2's Easter treats. Not sure of the year; the graphics look similar to those seen on BBC1 the previous Christmas.
BBC2 Friday menu1982 This evening menu features a revolving 2 symbol in the background, which could almost have been an alternative ident. Peter Bolgar runs through the programmes live, complete with a nice bit of Bruton Music.
BBC2 Year of the French trail1982 1982 wasn't really Year of the French - that was an early docusoap charting the lives of several very different Frenchmen and women. Mike Gamble tells us more in this trail.
BBC2 Breakdown1982
Just when today's Saturday Cinema has us on the edge of our seats, the film disappears! The Temporary Fault caption is soon on screen and David Allan apologises for the break. There's no quick fix - the film needs to be transferred to another projector. As visuals switch to the programme slide, two familiar tunes keep us entertained.
BBC2 Christmas Animations1982
BBC2 has Christmas gift-wrapped with a tesellating Christmas tree design. To view the animation on its own, click the left-hand link, while on the right is a full promo offering a taste of BBC2's seasonal goodies. These include the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Richard Baker's Christmas Dozen.
On BBC1 now... Christmas1982 A rather nice Christmas card idea for cross-promo slides on BBC2. Electronically generated and not a snowflake in sight!
BBC2 World Darts trail1983 The Christmas festivities may now be over but no need to despair - BBC2 has some nail-biting Darts action to liven up those dark January nights. Plus all your favourites from Bobby George to Jocky Wilson!
BBC2 Sci-Fi Festival1983
A luminescent "2" toasts the arrival of 1983 with a Sci-Fi Festival of all-time classic movies. There's no danger of these monsters giving you nightmares, but the campness of some of them may well have you roaring with laughter...
BBC2 Christmas Promotions1983
From welcoming in 1983 we're right back to Christmas again. And if there's something familiar about those Christmas trees it's because it's the second year in a row BBC2 has used the tree theme. Also on Boxing Day is the lively musical starring Lucille Ball, with David Miles doing the voiceover on our trail.
BBC2 Animation1984
The 2 has gained a third "stripe" in this sting, used to herald the return of Arena to BBC2.
BBC2 Weather junctionc. 1984 Lots going on here - after coming out of the news, read by Jan Leeming, we have a weather summary from announcer Peter Bolgar. Then it's time for tonight's episode of The New Land - opening with slides and a recap of the story so far.
BBC2 Young Ones trail1984
Heralding the second series of BBC2's anarchic comedy, showing two years after the first. John Braban narrates.BBC2 Christmas Promotions 1984
Christmas moves on but BBC2 just can't shake off that Christmas tree! But this year the hero of the piece is this red bauble, branded with the famous BBC2 logo. Two stings lead into a trail promising some great musical entertainment from Lena Horne, encased in the Christmas branding.
Christmas on 2: Fanny and Alexander1984 A complete link from December 1984 including some festive slides, and a promo for Ingmar Bergman's Fanny And Alexander, among the big films for Christmas, tailed with the classic =2= symbol. At a guess it looks like this clip went out a week or so before Christmas, so it's odd the festive slide designs would be showing at this point. Continuity is from Andy Cartledge, with Mark Waddington voicing the trail.
Over on Radio 2...1985 Tonight's the night the clocks go forward so just before BBC2 closes down, Peter Brook points to the shortened night of entertainment over on Radio 2. Slides like these prevailed for many years until the fairly recent introduction of animated backgrounds to promote radio output.
BBC2 Animationsc. 1985 Time was running out for the striped 2 but it trouped on to the very end, keeping up with the latest graphical trends. These stings top and tail a promo for "Anna of the Five Towns".
BBC2 Christmas Animations1985 The night is alive, but nobody knows why - when all of a sudden a great big 2 illumens the sky!
Christmas Eve on BBC21985
Charlie Brown is on the menu celebrating his 20th anniversary, while Simon King's latest film Rush The Fallow Deer offers a festive feel to natural history.BBC2 Holding Slides 1978-1986
The slides most people remember. Strangely these were adopted before the introduction of the electronic 2 symbol in 1979.
