"KYTV" (1989) TV series 1989-1993

Directors:

John Kilby
John Stroud

Writers:

Terence Dackombe (additional material)
Philip Pope (additional material)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3

Release Date:

12 May 1989 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

A headlong chase for ratings at the expense of quality

Plot Keywords:

TV Shopping Network | Spoof | Deliberately Bad Dubbing | Based On Radio Series | Satellite Television

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

Helen Atkinson-Wood	...	Anna Daptor / ... (19 episodes, 1989-1993)
Angus Deayton	...	Mike Channel / ... (19 episodes, 1989-1993)
Michael Fenton Stevens	...	Martin Brown / ... (19 episodes, 1989-1993)
Geoffrey Perkins	...	Mike Flex / ... (19 episodes, 1989-1993)
Philip Pope	...	Continuity Announcer / ... (19 episodes, 1989-1993)

Runtime:

30 min (19 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

A TV version of the 1980s radio series "Radio Active" which lampooned commercial radio stations. The characters from Radio Active moved to the then-new field of satellite TV.

Quotes:

Mike Flex: Of course, the buzz word of the sixties was "Mini". Women wore them, men drove them.
Anna Daptor: And women drove them as well, Mike.
Mike Flex: Yes, but not quite as well as the men. And like a woman, they were good to look at, and easy to handle.
Anna Daptor: Oh really? Well, mine was just like a man. It used to shoot off and stop immediately.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Comedy Connections: Spitting Image (#3.2)" (2005)

We Could Laugh Then, We Can Only Cry Now

With its wall-to-wall soaps, crass quiz shows, tacky news coverage and brainless reality series, the launching of Rupert Murdoch's 'Sky T.V.' in 1988 led some commentators to gloomily predict the beginning of the end for British television. 'K.Y.T.V.' was a retaliatory strike against this new threat; by ridiculing Sky's output it hoped to stave off the tidal wave of 'dumbed down' dross. The first edition featured the striptease game 'Gettem Off!' and a pop show hosted by Ernie Wise and Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards. A World War Two tribute had presenters who clearly had no idea what they were talking about, and reconstructions of famous wartime events done with shop window dummies. The series grew out of the Radio 4 comedy 'Radio Active' with the same cast reprising their roles. Funny though it was it failed to have the intended impact. Terrestrial television eventually decided 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em'. 'K.Y.T.V'. was British television's last scream of despair. Before the lunatics took over the asylum...