Telegantic Megavision

Telegantic Megavision
Genre Children's
Starring Dave Chapman
Emma Lee
Country of origin United Kingdom
Release
Original network ITV
Picture format 4:3
Original release 6 January – 27 April 1996

Telegantic Megavision (in some billings written as "teleganticmegavision") was a British children's television programme produced by The Media Merchants and aired on ITV from 6 January - 27 April 1996.

Telegantic Megavision

The show was presented by Emma Lee and Dave Chapman and was recorded at The Maidstone Studios in Kent. The series aired between 9.25 and 10.25am on Saturday mornings. The show went behind scenes of film and television productions (such as Babylon 5), and also showed inserted cartoons from the in-studio 'animation station'. There was also a gameshow called Slops, presented by Nic Ayling and a roller-skating waitress called Cynthia Sundae, played by Lucy Benjamin, (later better known as Lisa Fowler in EastEnders.)

It's Not Just Saturday

It's Not Just Saturday is a magazine programme aimed at teenagers which was broadcast on Saturday mornings on ITV during the winter and spring of 1996. It was the companion piece to Telegantic Megavision, though produced by a separate production team (Scottish Television), and with no direct connection to the sibling show, aside from the fact that CITV would often run trailers for the shows together. The programme was presented by Gareth Jones (who had previously hosted the Saturday morning show Get Fresh under the name Gaz Top) with Dannii Minogue.

The show featured music, studio guests and chat, viewer interaction and competitions. Some parents were unhappy with the irreverent and sometimes cheeky nature of the humour, and complaints were made to ITV and broadcasting watchdogs about the programme's content and style. It was originally a 65-minute programme (10.25-11.30, including breaks), sitting between Telegantic Megavision and The Chart Show in ITV's Saturday schedule; however, part-way through its run, the programme was cut to 35 minutes (10.55-11.30) with the 10.25-10.55 section replaced by a repeat run of the Thames Television-produced children's sitcom Spatz.

On one occasion prior to the reduction (in early February), INJS failed to appear on screen at all, and was replaced by an episode of US drama series seaQuest DSV. The magazine show returned the following week. The reason for the one-week disappearance of the show is unclear: it may have been due to disruption caused by the 1996 Docklands bombing which had occurred the day before (and had led to GMTV replacing their own children's programmes with news output),[1] though this has never been confirmed or proven.

Cancellation

Telegantic Megavision and It's Not Just Saturday were both axed after just one series each. These were two of a series of ITV Saturday morning shows in the mid-late 1990's that failed to compete against the BBC's competitor, Live and Kicking, and to match the success of What's Up Doc?. It wouldn't be until 1998 when ITV launched what would later become the network's most popular children's Saturday morning show since Tiswas, that show would be SMTV Live.

References

  1. ↑ It's Not Just Saturday at SatKids
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