The Magic Box by Rob Young (Book)

[Lord Emsworth]

This new book looks like something many here would enjoy

The Magic Box: Viewing Britain through the Rectangular Window by Rob Young

Growing up in the 1970s, Rob Young's main storyteller was the wooden box with the glass window in the corner of the family living room, otherwise known as the TV set. Before the age of DVDs and Blu-ray discs, YouTube and commercial streaming services, watching television was a vastly different experience. You switched on, you sat back and you watched. There was no pause or fast-forward button.

The cross-genre feast of moving pictures produced in Britain between the late 1950s and late 1980s - from Quatermass and Tom Jones to The Wicker Man and Brideshead Revisited, from A Canterbury Tale and The Go-Between to Bagpuss and Children of the Stones, and from John Betjeman's travelogues to ghost stories at Christmas - contributed to a national conversation and collective memory. British-made sci-fi, folk horror, period drama and televisual grand tours played out tensions between the past and the present, dramatised the fractures and injustices in society and acted as a portal for magical and ghostly visions.

In The Magic Box, Rob Young takes us on a fascinating journey into this influential golden age of screen and discovers what it reveals about the nature and character of Britain, its uncategorisable people and buried histories - and how its presence can still be felt on screen in the twenty-first century.

Reviews and more info here...

www.theguardian.com/books/2021/aug/13/the-magic-box-by-rob-young-review-a-spirited-history-of-television

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08Q2RCT98/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

www.roughtrade.com/gb/rob-young/the-magic-box

[Lord Emsworth]

Great cover isn't it?

Three wholesome kids watching The Village of the Damned, one of the best Brit science fiction films ever.

[Lord Emsworth]

Just finished this

Rob Young's gift is to provide fascinating connections, context and insights about whatever he writes about. In this book he takes the reader on a tour of British television and films from the 1950s onwards.

If you lived through any of this era, and you regularly watched television, then you will probably have heard of, or even recall the likes of Bagpuss, Children of the Stones, Quatermass, Tom Jones, The Wicker Man, Brideshead Revisited, A Canterbury Tale, The Go-Between, and so on. Rob Young lifts the lid on how sci-fi, folk horror, public information films, period dramas and Xmas Ghost Stories reflected tensions between the past and the present, and illuminated the fractures and injustices within British society.

One name that recurs through is Nigel Kneale (no, me neither). A visionary and towering presence who was responsible for Quatermass and numerous other dystopian dramas. Sadly many of these were wiped or are now lost. The campaign for a blue plaque should now start in earnest.

Everything Rob Young describes in this book sounds intriguing and interesting. I am now keen to get my mitts on DVDs of Robin Redbreast (a folk horror Play for Today), Bagpuss (children’s classic), Tarry-Dan Tarry-Dan Scarey Old Spooky Man, Winstantley, Gallivant, amongst many others. I already have Penda's Fen and Children of the Stones in my collection - both excellent by the way. A lot of what exists can be found on YouTube so be prepared to dive down many a fascinating rabbit hole.

An absorbing dive into Britain’s collective psyche during its golden age of television and film.

[Del Boy]

Thanks for the recommendation L.E. 
The experience of watching the box back then was so different from today.  Three channels and a video player was the best format ever for me, always good to read about those times.

[Lord Emsworth]

Sept 29, 2021 13:56:30 GMT Del Boy said:

Thanks for the recommendation L.E. 
The experience of watching the box back then was so different from today.  Three channels and a video player was the best format ever, always good to read about those times.

Thanks Del - I'm guessing it would hit the sweet spot of a fair few of our members

[Arthur Pringle]

Nigel Kneale's 'Beasts' is well worth getting Lord E- networkonair.com/all-products/255-beasts-the-complete-series

BABY
A mummified creature is found in the walls of a house.
BUDDYBOY
Has a dolphin’s spirit returned to haunt the living?
THE DUMMY
An actor becomes possessed by the monster he is playing.
SPECIAL OFFER
A poltergeist is loose in a supermarket.
WHAT BIG EYES
An eccentric scientist tries to turn himself into a wolf.
DURING BARTY’S PARTY
A couple are trapped in their home by a horde of rats.

[Three Litre]

Sept 28, 2021 14:00:34 GMT Lord Emsworth said:

Just finished this

Rob Young's gift is to provide fascinating connections, context and insights about whatever he writes about. In this book he takes the reader on a tour of British television and films from the 1950s onwards.

If you lived through any of this era, and you regularly watched television, then you will probably have heard of, or even recall the likes of Bagpuss, Children of the Stones, Quatermass, Tom Jones, The Wicker Man, Brideshead Revisited, A Canterbury Tale, The Go-Between, and so on. Rob Young lifts the lid on how sci-fi, folk horror, public information films, period dramas and Xmas Ghost Stories reflected tensions between the past and the present, and illuminated the fractures and injustices within British society.

One name that recurs through is Nigel Kneale (no, me neither). A visionary and towering presence who was responsible for Quatermass and numerous other dystopian dramas. Sadly many of these were wiped or are now lost. The campaign for a blue plaque should now start in earnest.

Everything Rob Young describes in this book sounds intriguing and interesting. I am now keen to get my mitts on DVDs of Robin Redbreast (a folk horror Play for Today), Bagpuss (children’s classic), Tarry-Dan Tarry-Dan Scarey Old Spooky Man, Winstantley, Gallivant, amongst many others. I already have Penda's Fen and Children of the Stones in my collection - both excellent by the way. A lot of what exists can be found on YouTube so be prepared to dive down many a fascinating rabbit hole.

An absorbing dive into Britain’s collective psyche during its golden age of television and film.

Must get this. Big fan of Nigel Kneale (great first name BTW  ) and his Quatermass stories, thankfully his best one, the third one from'59, Quatermass and The Pit still exists. Superior to the quite good film, one of the best things the BBC created IMO.

[Three Litre]

Sept 29, 2021 13:56:30 GMT Del Boy said:

Thanks for the recommendation L.E. 
The experience of watching the box back then was so different from today.  Three channels and a video player was the best format ever, always good to read about those times.

It was two channels and black and white when I started ..................!

[Lord Emsworth]

Oct 7, 2021 19:30:50 GMT Three Litre said:

Sept 28, 2021 14:00:34 GMT Lord Emsworth said:

Just finished this

Rob Young's gift is to provide fascinating connections, context and insights about whatever he writes about. In this book he takes the reader on a tour of British television and films from the 1950s onwards.

If you lived through any of this era, and you regularly watched television, then you will probably have heard of, or even recall the likes of Bagpuss, Children of the Stones, Quatermass, Tom Jones, The Wicker Man, Brideshead Revisited, A Canterbury Tale, The Go-Between, and so on. Rob Young lifts the lid on how sci-fi, folk horror, public information films, period dramas and Xmas Ghost Stories reflected tensions between the past and the present, and illuminated the fractures and injustices within British society.

One name that recurs through is Nigel Kneale (no, me neither). A visionary and towering presence who was responsible for Quatermass and numerous other dystopian dramas. Sadly many of these were wiped or are now lost. The campaign for a blue plaque should now start in earnest.

Everything Rob Young describes in this book sounds intriguing and interesting. I am now keen to get my mitts on DVDs of Robin Redbreast (a folk horror Play for Today), Bagpuss (children’s classic), Tarry-Dan Tarry-Dan Scarey Old Spooky Man, Winstantley, Gallivant, amongst many others. I already have Penda's Fen and Children of the Stones in my collection - both excellent by the way. A lot of what exists can be found on YouTube so be prepared to dive down many a fascinating rabbit hole.

An absorbing dive into Britain’s collective psyche during its golden age of television and film.

Must get this. Big fan of Nigel Kneale (great first name BTW  ) and his Quatermass stories, thankfully his best one, the third one from'59, Quatermass and The Pit still exists. Superior to the quite good film, one of the best things the BBC created IMO.

If you like Nigel Kneale then it's really going to appeal