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Nice to See it, to See it, Nice: Bk. 4: The 1970s in Front of the Telly
Book by BRIAN VINER
320 pages, Paperback
First published February 2, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
August 8, 2012
Viner is a newspaper columnist and television critic who grew up in Northern England and seems to remember every show his family enjoyed during his teen years in the seventies. Chapters in this book discuss the hit shows like "The Sweeney", "The Professionals", "Fawlty Towers", "I, Claudius" and the impact on he and his schoolmates from the enormous amount of American shows imported. Other chapters on the pioneers of British cooking shows and the rise and fall of chat show host Simon Dee introduced me to names I'd never heard before, and as Viner was a critic at a large London paper, he's had the opportunity to meet many of the people he grew up watching and includes bits of his interviews.
Even though many of the performers and shows discussed in the book were new to me, I ate it up. And I found that a lot of what he mentioned could be found on Youtube, like clips of Simon Dee's show. I do have two gripes: first, throughout the book, in every chapter, Viner compares his own childhood to his children's and is filled with pity for them. This was such an old man moan and I'm sure I was rolling my eyes as much as his teenagers were. Secondly, it's a book about a visual medium, yet didn't have a single photograph. Which is kinda weird. Otherwise it's highly recommended even for those who want to read about England in this decade in general, as he frequently goes off on little sidetrips discussing what was happening in the country or in his personal life at the time a particular show aired.
Even though many of the performers and shows discussed in the book were new to me, I ate it up. And I found that a lot of what he mentioned could be found on Youtube, like clips of Simon Dee's show. I do have two gripes: first, throughout the book, in every chapter, Viner compares his own childhood to his children's and is filled with pity for them. This was such an old man moan and I'm sure I was rolling my eyes as much as his teenagers were. Secondly, it's a book about a visual medium, yet didn't have a single photograph. Which is kinda weird. Otherwise it's highly recommended even for those who want to read about England in this decade in general, as he frequently goes off on little sidetrips discussing what was happening in the country or in his personal life at the time a particular show aired.
May 25, 2013
There are so many books like this around - bit of pop culture, bit of autobiography, anecdote or two about meeting Bruce Forsyth - that the reader can afford to be picky. When the biggest laughs in a book which is trying hard to be funny about TV come from the author - a TV critic himself - quoting from Clive James' Observer column, I think you can guess where the problem with "Nice To See It..." might lie. Not to beat around the bush, it's all a bit of a dog's breakfast; or, I suppose, a dog's TV dinner.
August 28, 2012
For anyone growing up in the seventies in the UK this book will make you laugh out loud. A great, comforting trip down memory lane. It is amazing how 70s tv informed so many British lives and the huge audiences it attracted. A golden era!
May 28, 2014
A really good look back at TV from the 70's. Whilst I'm just a little young to remember some of the shows it's still a good read and would recommend it to anyone born in the 70's!
It does read like a Who's Who of Operation Yewtree at times, mind :)
It does read like a Who's Who of Operation Yewtree at times, mind :)
January 7, 2018
First book of the year. I read it in one sitting, Saturday night- nothing on the telly. It's most of the telly I watched growing up, notable exception the 'Doctor' series based on Richard Gordon's books. It's repeated on one of the satellite channels and it's dreadful, the episode I saw had the doctors baying for Julia Foster to strip at a party.
I loved the book. I remember watching Bouquet of Barbed Wire as a family none of us embarassed, I don't think we got the incest. My brother and I were also allowed to watch Budgie with our dad on a Friday night aged 8 & 9 ,I watched it as an adult and couldn't believe our dad let us see this, swearing , unmarried mother and a sex shop, I can only think he thought we were too young to understand, we were.
I loved the book. I remember watching Bouquet of Barbed Wire as a family none of us embarassed, I don't think we got the incest. My brother and I were also allowed to watch Budgie with our dad on a Friday night aged 8 & 9 ,I watched it as an adult and couldn't believe our dad let us see this, swearing , unmarried mother and a sex shop, I can only think he thought we were too young to understand, we were.
December 13, 2018
Subject matter: Potentially interesting.
Authorship: Utterly abysmal.
Viner is more interested in telling us that John Cleese once hugged him, how many times he's been to New York or unseemly lusting over the TV stars of his youth than he is in crafting any decent or cohesive narrative or examination of his subject.
It's a badly put together series of ramblings & is made up more of "interesting" asides than researched or actually interesting text.
If you like your books written like a 14 year old's diary of footnotes, read it. If you want a cultural reminiscence or examination of subject, avoid like the plague. I finished it because my OCD wouldn't allow otherwise.
I've rated one star simply because I'm not sure that a zero would register as an active choice.
Authorship: Utterly abysmal.
Viner is more interested in telling us that John Cleese once hugged him, how many times he's been to New York or unseemly lusting over the TV stars of his youth than he is in crafting any decent or cohesive narrative or examination of his subject.
It's a badly put together series of ramblings & is made up more of "interesting" asides than researched or actually interesting text.
If you like your books written like a 14 year old's diary of footnotes, read it. If you want a cultural reminiscence or examination of subject, avoid like the plague. I finished it because my OCD wouldn't allow otherwise.
I've rated one star simply because I'm not sure that a zero would register as an active choice.
July 28, 2017
I enjoyed this mainly as I'm a similar age to the author so a lot of his memories have resonance for me. I remember most of the programmes he describes, and it was interesting to see 70s telly from a male point of view rather than my own female one. While there were lots of characters he could pretend to be in the playground, my choices were much more limited! The book has a good mix of personal reminiscence and more general points on the mores of the era. While I enjoyed it, I didn't feel much affection for the book in the way that I did for Andrew Collins similar book Where Did It All Go Right? but would recommend to anyone who grew up in the 1970s.
September 24, 2025
Started and finished date – 21.09.25 to 24.09.25.
My rating – Three Stars.
This book was okay, and I did found is both interesting and informative but it was very repetitive also I think people who like sting ray afternoons by Steve Rushin or watching neighbours twice a day by Josh Widdicombe may like is book. The cover of book was okay. The writing was okay and easy to follow also the paced of book was well structured.
My rating – Three Stars.
This book was okay, and I did found is both interesting and informative but it was very repetitive also I think people who like sting ray afternoons by Steve Rushin or watching neighbours twice a day by Josh Widdicombe may like is book. The cover of book was okay. The writing was okay and easy to follow also the paced of book was well structured.
April 14, 2019
An interesting, enjoyable love letter to TV - although I did find the following quote from Chapter 27 quite odd:
‘At thirty-two years Brucie’s junior, Wilnelia had only recently miscarried their second child. I’ve said it before in this book, but it bears echoing: didn’t he do well?’
‘At thirty-two years Brucie’s junior, Wilnelia had only recently miscarried their second child. I’ve said it before in this book, but it bears echoing: didn’t he do well?’
September 1, 2019
Superb, took me right back. Who still talks about Gordon Honeycombe? Brian Viner does. And the story of the Martini girl, you have to read it to believe it.
September 8, 2022
Superb. Made me laugh out loud on numerous occasions. Admittedly if you weren't around in the 70s most of this book will mean very little to you, but if you were then it brings back fabulous memories
April 20, 2009
Well this was quite an enjoyable nostalgic read for me. Even though I'm about 8 years younger than the author, his recollections of growing up in the 1970s and watching the great British TV programmes of the age struck a chord with me.
TV had a much greater impact on people's lives then that it does now. As the author states, there was no Sky +, no VCRs or DVDs and only 3 channels on the box (and even those 3 weren't broadcasting all the time). If a programme was worth watching you can bet that a fair proportion of the population were also watching it. The "water-cooler" gossip the next day was therefore a lot more centred than it is these days.
The book features some stories about interviews the author has done with stars of the times but mainly it is about his own recollections and experiences of growing up in the 1970s. There are also some snippets and facts that were unknown to me at the time (probably because I was too young to give them much thought at the time...lol) which now give an interesting insight into the behind-the-scenes stories.
Overall, if you're younger than 35 this book will pass you by, but if you're in your late 30s or up to 50, this book will strike a chord with you and hopefully bring back some good memories of your early days (especially if you spent some of them watching the goggle box as it was known at times).
TV had a much greater impact on people's lives then that it does now. As the author states, there was no Sky +, no VCRs or DVDs and only 3 channels on the box (and even those 3 weren't broadcasting all the time). If a programme was worth watching you can bet that a fair proportion of the population were also watching it. The "water-cooler" gossip the next day was therefore a lot more centred than it is these days.
The book features some stories about interviews the author has done with stars of the times but mainly it is about his own recollections and experiences of growing up in the 1970s. There are also some snippets and facts that were unknown to me at the time (probably because I was too young to give them much thought at the time...lol) which now give an interesting insight into the behind-the-scenes stories.
Overall, if you're younger than 35 this book will pass you by, but if you're in your late 30s or up to 50, this book will strike a chord with you and hopefully bring back some good memories of your early days (especially if you spent some of them watching the goggle box as it was known at times).
December 2, 2016
It was a delve back to the shared consciousness of television viewing in the 1970s which brought up so many memories in front of the TV. We inevitably watched most things as a family, whether we had an avid interest in the program or not, and consequently the various programs act as a trigger to memories of family and personal events which were happening around the same time. Once, I remember all the family gathered aound the TV while we changed channels, looking for something we all wanted to watch. This didn't take long as there was only three channels at the time. My Grandfather, who was pouring his can of beer into a glass, happened to look up just at the point when the program was switched over onto a documentary on nudist camps. The beer not only filled the glass but flowed onto the carpet as his eyes were firmly fixed to the screen. Only changing the channel again brought him back to reality whence he righted the glass. Thank you Brian Viner for evoking those precious memories of childhood. A well written book with warmth and humour which will be a pleasure to anyone who watched the TV in the Sevenites. It certainly was to me.
September 29, 2011
This is an ok book but I do feel it could have been a lot more. It seems to be all over the place and never really decides if it is a true history of TV in the 70s or a childhood memoir. The writer seems to repeat the same facts again and just to make it more confusing there is a chapter on Simon Dee who even the writer admits had his best days in the sixties. The only reason he seems to be in the book is that Viner did an interview with him and it gives him the chance to use it in the book. So all in all an easy read with some good memoties despite the feeling that the book was rather thrown together
March 7, 2015
I'm probably not quite the right age to get the full benefit from this book, having been born in 1974, but most of the TV shows Brian Viner discusses have been repeated many times. As well as some good telly nostalgia we get his personal recollections of growing up. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that telly helped him through some difficult times. The book is written in short neat chapters and is good to dip into and out of so would make a good commuting read. Now I've read this I'll be lending it to my Mum, who will remember some of these TV shows from the first time round. She thinks Van Der Valk was dishy.
November 29, 2016
This is a book I just picked up to tide me over on a train journey but it really hit the spot in terms of it being an exercise in nostalgia. Most of the programmes Viner writes about I can recall watching myself (especially the US detective shows like Cannon & Starsky & Hutch) and it's inevitable that it left me reminiscing about my own childhood tv habits. Near the end of the book he says nostalgia is an emotional impulse not an intellectual one, but where's the harm in getting emotional once in a while?
May 3, 2013
Really enjoyed this trip down memory lane, as journalist Brian Viner palpably evokes the 1970s all over again, this time through some of the most iconic British TV shows. I thought he might be a bit waspish in his historical perspective, but he wasn’t at all. It’s all very gentle and respectful.
© Koplowitz 2009
© Koplowitz 2009
December 30, 2014
Entertaining light read, but one that is structurally rather messy. It's part autobiography (sub sub fever pitch), part television criticism (in the lightest way) and part star stories (as Viner recalls interviews with personalities). It works well enough, but it's very, very light.
September 25, 2012
I really enjoyed this book, so much so it prompted me to buy other Brian Viner books.
April 1, 2013
This was an enjoyable and nostalgic read.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews