Electric Dreams (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Electric Dreams is a BBC television documentary series, co-produced with The Open University, that places a family of two parents and four children in their home with only the amenities available during each of the previous three decades (1970s, 1980s and 1990s), and recording their responses to the changing pace of technological change. The intent of the series was to be "much more than a technology show … it is contemporary social history and asks big moral questions about life in the modern world." Narrated by actor and comedian Robert Llewellyn
, the series first aired on the UK digital terrestrial channel BBC Four
in September and October 2009. It was later sold for international broadcast in 2010 and 2011.
" style over the course of the series; instead life continues "normally" - the parents go to work, children to school, friends come over, videos are (only just) rented, and dinner parties held. The series concludes with the family hosting their own Millennium party (to the children's initial confusion) with friends and neighbours in attendance. Their general opinion is one of relief to be returned to the 21st century and its more widely electronically connected society, but that some lessons have been learned from the past on how making more time for family togetherness actually made them happier than their previously quite personally insular existence.
, members of Ultravox
, Simon Munnery
, Patrick Bossert and Keith Stewart of The Guardian
, a gaming journalist.
(1999), Who Do You Think You Are?. (2004 - present), and Man on Wire
, winner of an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature (2008). Wall to Wall was jointly commissioned by the BBC and the Open University to produce the series in early 2009. Mark Ball, Commissioning Editor of the BBC said at the time, "It will be much more than a technology show … it is contemporary social history and asks big moral questions about life in the modern world."
The Sullivan-Barnes family was selected to appear after they responded to a letter sent to their son’s school by the producers of the program. The Sullivan-Barneses are a blended family, father Adam Sullivan and his daughter Steffi (age 12 at the time of filming), mother Georgie Barnes and her two children, Hamish (13) and Ellie (12), and their son together Jude, age 2, Mr. Sullivan an accountant with BP
and his wife a manager with the NHA
. Adam Sullivan said he was drawn to the project because of the chance of being reintroduced to the technologies that interested him as a youth and, as he said to an interviewer afterwards, “the chance to ride classic cars.”
Filming occurred over the winter of 2009, which was particularly cold and snowy for England, a fact which figured into the story when the family had to endure cold nights early in the project when the lack of central heating was simulated for the 70s episode. The house was renovated before each “decade” to reflect the design styles of each era. While these renovations were being completed, the family lived in a cottage nearby.
said that it was "warm, funny and done with impeccable attention to detail."
Meanwhile, the television critic for The Telegraph
found the reality show premise predictable, saying, "the programme carefully followed the formula laid down in the Ancient Texts. The mother, Georgie, gave a wistful sigh and said she hoped they would get to ‘spend more time together as a family’, the narrator threatened to rupture himself with mirth as the Sullivan-Barneses walked towards their home – ‘They have no idea what lies behind their front door!’ – and the children duly emitted shrieks of delight upon seeing that the house had been transformed into something that even Dave Hill
from Slade might have blanched at."
TeamTeaBag found Electric Dreams "an enjoyable mini-series" but that "the 'reality' side of it didn’t really fit well with the technological exploration. More attention could have been paid to the technology itself as any reaction is of secondary importance." Conversely, TV Throng called it "gadget porn", as it dwelled more on the technologies than on the family's reactions.
in late January 2010 and on Knowledge, the British Columbia
public educational broadcaster, which aired the series weekly beginning on 6 October 2010. In Australia the series was broadcast by Channel Ten and narrated by Amanda Keller
. Much of the music used throughout the show on the BBC airing, including the main theme by Philip Oakey "Together in Electric Dreams," were removed from foreign airings presumably due to licensing and copyright reasons. Episodes were edited and shortened due to advertising on the Australian showing.
In the US, the series was purchased for broadcast by PBS early in 2011 as part of a large purchase of more than 200 programming hours negotiated by BBC Showcase Syndication, the US marketing wing of the BBC. WGBH
of boston aired the program in April 2011.
Robert Llewellyn
Robert Llewellyn is an English actor, presenter, and writer. He is best known as the mechanoid Kryten in the hit sitcom Red Dwarf, and for his role as presenter of Scrapheap Challenge.-Early career:...
, the series first aired on the UK digital terrestrial channel BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
in September and October 2009. It was later sold for international broadcast in 2010 and 2011.
Background
There are three episodes; "The 1970s", "The 1980s" and "The 1990s". Each covers a period of ten days, one for each year, with a counter over the front door showing the current year. New devices and amenities - as well as clothing and interior designs - are provided as appropriate as days go by (for example, a home computer in 1982, and a VCR in 1984), and sometimes removed as they go out of date. The programme follows the family's adaption and reaction to being thrown back in time to a more technologically sparse period; and how their pastimes, social interactions and attitudes change in response to both landing in the early 1970s and coming up-to-date. They are not kept isolated "Big BrotherBig Brother (UK)
Big Brother UK is the British version of the Dutch Big Brother television format, which takes its name from the character in George Orwell's 1948 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four...
" style over the course of the series; instead life continues "normally" - the parents go to work, children to school, friends come over, videos are (only just) rented, and dinner parties held. The series concludes with the family hosting their own Millennium party (to the children's initial confusion) with friends and neighbours in attendance. Their general opinion is one of relief to be returned to the 21st century and its more widely electronically connected society, but that some lessons have been learned from the past on how making more time for family togetherness actually made them happier than their previously quite personally insular existence.
Guests
Guest appearing on the show included Sir Clive SinclairClive Sinclair
Sir Clive Marles Sinclair is a British entrepreneur and inventor, most commonly known for his work in consumer electronics in the late 1970s and early 1980s....
, members of Ultravox
Ultravox
Ultravox is a British New Wave rock band. They were one of the primary exponents of the British electronic pop music movement of the late 1970s/early 1980s. The band was particularly associated with the New Romantic and New Wave movements....
, Simon Munnery
Simon Munnery
Simon Munnery, also known by his stagenames of Alan Parker: Urban Warrior and The League Against Tedium, is an English comedy writer and experimental standup comedian...
, Patrick Bossert and Keith Stewart of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, a gaming journalist.
Inception and production
The program was produced by Wall to Wall, an independent UK production company with a long track record of educational reality programming, including The 1900 HouseThe 1900 House
The 1900 House is a historical reality television programme made by Wall to Wall/Channel 4 in 1999. The show is about a modern family that tries to the live in the way of the late Victorians in 1900 for three months in a modified house...
(1999), Who Do You Think You Are?. (2004 - present), and Man on Wire
Man on Wire
Man on Wire is a 2008 British documentary film directed by James Marsh. The film chronicles Philippe Petit's 1974 high-wire walk between the Twin Towers of New York's World Trade Center. It is based on Philippe Petit's book, To Reach the Clouds, recently released in paperback with the new title...
, winner of an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature (2008). Wall to Wall was jointly commissioned by the BBC and the Open University to produce the series in early 2009. Mark Ball, Commissioning Editor of the BBC said at the time, "It will be much more than a technology show … it is contemporary social history and asks big moral questions about life in the modern world."
The Sullivan-Barnes family was selected to appear after they responded to a letter sent to their son’s school by the producers of the program. The Sullivan-Barneses are a blended family, father Adam Sullivan and his daughter Steffi (age 12 at the time of filming), mother Georgie Barnes and her two children, Hamish (13) and Ellie (12), and their son together Jude, age 2, Mr. Sullivan an accountant with BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
and his wife a manager with the NHA
NHA
The acronym "NHA" can refer to:* National Healthcareer Association * National Highway Authority * National Hockey Association * National Housing Act of 1934 * National Housing Act of 1938...
. Adam Sullivan said he was drawn to the project because of the chance of being reintroduced to the technologies that interested him as a youth and, as he said to an interviewer afterwards, “the chance to ride classic cars.”
Filming occurred over the winter of 2009, which was particularly cold and snowy for England, a fact which figured into the story when the family had to endure cold nights early in the project when the lack of central heating was simulated for the 70s episode. The house was renovated before each “decade” to reflect the design styles of each era. While these renovations were being completed, the family lived in a cottage nearby.
| 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2009 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decor | 1970s in furniture | Laura Ashley Laura Ashley Laura Ashley was a Welsh fashion designer and businesswoman. She became a household name on the strength of her work as a designer and manufacturer of a range of colourful fabrics for clothes and home furnishings.... |
n/a | n/a |
| Clothing | 1970s in fashion 1970s in fashion 1970s fashion, which began with a continuation of the mini skirts, bell-bottoms and the androgynous hippie look from the late 1960s, was soon sharply characterized by several distinct fashion trends that have left an indelible image of the decade ... |
1980s in fashion 1980s in fashion In the 1970s, the silhouette of fashion tended to be characterized by close fitting clothes on top with wider, looser clothes on the bottom. This trend completely reversed itself in the early 1980s as both men and women began to wear looser shirts and tight, close-fitting trousers.Men wore power... |
1990s in fashion 1990s in fashion The 1990s was the genesis of two sweeping shifts in Western fashion: the beginning of the rejection of fashion which continues into the present decade among a large section of the population, and the beginning of the mainstream adoption of tattoos , body piercings aside from ear piercing and to a... |
2000s in fashion 2000s in fashion The 2000s are often described as a "mash-up" decade, where trends saw the fusion of previous styles, global and ethnic clothing, as well as the fashions of numerous subcultures, such as hipsters. For the most part, the decade did not have one particular style but recycled styles from the... |
| Transport | Cortina Mark II Raleigh Chopper Raleigh Chopper The Raleigh Chopper is a children's bicycle, a wheelie bike, manufactured and marketed in the 1970s by the Raleigh Bicycle Company of Nottingham, England. Its unique design became a true 70s cultural icon, and is fondly remembered by many who grew up in that period... Space hopper Space hopper A space hopper, also known as a moon hopper, skippyball, kangaroo ball, bouncer, hoppity hop, or hop ball, is a rubber ball with handles which allow one to sit on it without falling off... |
Escort 1.3l Sinclair C5 Sinclair C5 The Sinclair Research C5 is a battery electric vehicle invented by Sir Clive Sinclair and launched by Sinclair Research in the United Kingdom on 10 January 1985. The vehicle is a battery-assisted tricycle steered by a handlebar beneath the driver's knees. Powered operation is possible making it... |
Toyota Town Ace | Land Rover Discovery Land Rover Discovery The Discovery was introduced into the United Kingdom in 1989. The company code-named the vehicle "Project Jay". The new model was based on the chassis and drivetrain of the more upmarket Range Rover, but with a lower price aimed at a larger market segment and intended to compete with Japanese... |
| Kitchen and Appliances |
Teasmade Teasmade A teasmade is a machine for making tea automatically. It was once common in the United Kingdom and some of its former colonies. Teasmades generally include an analogue alarm clock and are designed to be used at the bedside, to ensure tea is ready first thing in the morning... Twin tub washer Freezer Toaster Toaster The toaster is typically a small electric kitchen appliance designed to toast multiple types of bread products. A typical modern two-slice toaster draws anywhere between 600 and 1200 W and makes toast in 1 to 3 minutes... Atora brand lard Atora Atora is a British brand of shredded suet, which is clarified beef fat, primarily used in the production of pastry and dumplings.-History:Suet had one of its first mentions in a recipe of 1617 as a key ingredient for 'Cambridge pudding' served to students at that university... Bejam Bejam Bejam was a British frozen food retailer which was founded by John Apthorp in 1968, based in Stanmore. The concept of selling only frozen foods was a novel idea at the time, and Bejam grew out of Apthorp's existing family business of E. A. D. Apthorp, who were potato merchants specialising in local... |
Microwave oven Microwave oven A microwave oven is a kitchen appliance that heats food by dielectric heating, using microwave radiation to heat polarized molecules within the food... Deep fat fryer Deep fat fryer A deep fryer is a kitchen appliance used for deep-frying.While commonly used in commercial kitchens, household models are available and have become common.-Features:... Slow cooker Slow cooker A slow cooker, also known as a Crock-Pot or Slo-Cooker , is a countertop electrical cooking appliance that is used for simmering, which requires maintaining a relatively low temperature compared to other cooking methods for many hours, allowing unattended cooking... |
Water filter AGA cooker AGA cooker The AGA cooker is a stored-heat stove and cooker invented in 1929 by the Nobel Prize-winning Swedish physicist Gustaf Dalén , who was employed first as the chief engineer of the Swedish AGA company... Breadmaker (1998) |
not stated |
| Communication | Rotary dial telephone |
Ansaphone |
Motorola International 3200 Motorola International 3200 The Motorola International 3200 was the first digital hand-size mobile telephone introduced in 1992, along with the more compact 5200, 7200 and 7500 "flip phones" introduced in 1994... Dial-up 56k modem (1997) Nokia SMS SMS SMS is a form of text messaging communication on phones and mobile phones. The terms SMS or sms may also refer to:- Computer hardware :... Pay-as-you-go Mobile phone Mobile phone A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator... (1998) Text messaging Text messaging Text messaging, or texting, refers to the exchange of brief written text messages between fixed-line phone or mobile phone and fixed or portable devices over a network... (1998) |
mobile phones (5) Internet |
| Toys and Gadgets |
Atari Pong Hand held calculator Sinclair Cambridge The Sinclair Cambridge was a small pocket-sized calculator manufactured from summer 1973 by UK company Sinclair Radionics. It was available both as a kit to be assembled by the purchaser, and assembled... Black and white TV Colour TV Color television Color television is part of the history of television, the technology of television and practices associated with television's transmission of moving images in color video.... (1976) LP record LP record The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry... s Cassette tapes Compact Cassette The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel... KerPlunk KerPlunk (game) KerPlunk is a children's game first marketed by the Ideal Toy Company in 1967.The game consists of a transparent plastic tube, plastic rods called straws and a number of marbles... Binatone Binatone Binatone is a private company owned by brothers Partap and Gulu Lalvani. Binatone was started in the United Kingdom in 1958 to import and distribute consumer electronics... (8-bit computer) |
Polaroid Polaroid Corporation Polaroid Corporation is an American-based international consumer electronics and eyewear company, originally founded in 1937 by Edwin H. Land. It is most famous for its instant film cameras, which reached the market in 1948, and continued to be the company's flagship product line until the February... instant camera Component stereo Compact disc player Compact disc player A Compact Disc player , or CD player, is an electronic device that plays audio Compact Discs. CD players are often a part of home stereo systems, car audio systems, and personal computers. They are also manufactured as portable devices... VHS camera Video camera A video camera is a camera used for electronic motion picture acquisition, initially developed by the television industry but now common in other applications as well. The earliest video cameras were those of John Logie Baird, based on the electromechanical Nipkow disk and used by the BBC in... VHS recorder Hand held games Handheld electronic game ----Handheld electronic games are very small, portable devices for playing interactive electronic games, often miniaturized versions of video games. The controls, display and speakers are all part of a single unit. Rather than a general-purpose screen made up of a grid of small pixels, they... Amstrad CPC Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,... Simon Simon (game) Simon is an electronic game of memory skill invented by Ralph H. Baer and Howard J. Morrison, with the software programming being done by Lenny Cope and manufactured and distributed by Milton Bradley. Simon was launched in 1978 at Studio 54 in New York City and became an immediate success. It... Betamax Betamax Betamax was a consumer-level analog videocassette magnetic tape recording format developed by Sony, released on May 10, 1975. The cassettes contain -wide videotape in a design similar to the earlier, professional wide, U-matic format... ZX Spectrum ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd... Commodore 64 Commodore 64 The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595... Sony Walkman BBC Micro BBC Micro The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, was a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers for the BBC Computer Literacy Project, operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation... Remote controller Synthesizer Synthesizer A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones... Rubiks cube |
Mega Drive (1990) Windows 3.1 OS (1992) Oxford Children's Encyclopedia on CD-ROM CD-ROM A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data.... Apple QuickTake 100 Apple QuickTake The Apple QuickTake was one of the first consumer digital camera lines. It was launched in 1994 by Apple Computer and was marketed for three years before being discontinued in 1997. Three models of the product were built including the 100 and 150, both built by Kodak; and the 200, built by Fujifilm... (1994) Windows 95 Windows 95 Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Windows products... OS Playstation PlayStation The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000... (PS1) (1995) Tamagotchi Tamagotchi The is a handheld digital pet, created in Japan by Akihiro Yokoi of WiZ and Aki Maita of Bandai. It was first sold by Bandai in 1996 in Japan. As of 2010, over 76 million Tamagotchis have been sold world-wide... (1996) Laptop computer Palm Pilot Karaoke machine (1999) |
games consoles (3) DVD players (3) televisions (6) computers (7) |
Reviews
The Guardians Kathryn FlettKathryn Flett
Kathryn Flett is a British TV critic, author, and star of the BBC's Grumpy Old Women series, was educated at Notting Hill & Ealing High School, and Hammersmith and West London College....
said that it was "warm, funny and done with impeccable attention to detail."
Meanwhile, the television critic for The Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
found the reality show premise predictable, saying, "the programme carefully followed the formula laid down in the Ancient Texts. The mother, Georgie, gave a wistful sigh and said she hoped they would get to ‘spend more time together as a family’, the narrator threatened to rupture himself with mirth as the Sullivan-Barneses walked towards their home – ‘They have no idea what lies behind their front door!’ – and the children duly emitted shrieks of delight upon seeing that the house had been transformed into something that even Dave Hill
Dave Hill
Dave Hill is an English musician, who is the lead guitarist and backing vocalist in the English glam rock group, Slade. The music journalist, Stuart Maconie, commented "he usually wore a jumpsuit made of the foil that you baste your turkeys in and platforms of oil-rig-derrick height...
from Slade might have blanched at."
TeamTeaBag found Electric Dreams "an enjoyable mini-series" but that "the 'reality' side of it didn’t really fit well with the technological exploration. More attention could have been paid to the technology itself as any reaction is of secondary importance." Conversely, TV Throng called it "gadget porn", as it dwelled more on the technologies than on the family's reactions.
International broadcasts
Despite its UK focus that sometimes featured products not marketed in other parts of the world, such as the C5 and Teasmade, the series proved salable in other markets. The programme was seen in Asia on History ChannelHistory (South East Asian TV channel)
History is an Asian television channel with shows on historical events and persons. The channel is owned by AETN All Asia Networks, a joint-venture between A&E Television Networks, owner of the American History, and Astro Holdings Sdn Bhd.- Company :AETN All Asia Networks was formed on 15 June...
in late January 2010 and on Knowledge, the British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
public educational broadcaster, which aired the series weekly beginning on 6 October 2010. In Australia the series was broadcast by Channel Ten and narrated by Amanda Keller
Amanda Keller
Amanda Rose Keller is an Australian journalist, radio presenter, and media personality.-Education:Keller went to Carlingford High School, and then went on to study media and communications at Charles Sturt University as a contemporary of Andrew Denton...
. Much of the music used throughout the show on the BBC airing, including the main theme by Philip Oakey "Together in Electric Dreams," were removed from foreign airings presumably due to licensing and copyright reasons. Episodes were edited and shortened due to advertising on the Australian showing.
In the US, the series was purchased for broadcast by PBS early in 2011 as part of a large purchase of more than 200 programming hours negotiated by BBC Showcase Syndication, the US marketing wing of the BBC. WGBH
WGBH
WGBH-TV, channel 2, is a non-commercial educational public television station located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. WGBH-TV is a member station of the Public Broadcasting Service , and produces more than two-thirds of PBS's national prime time television programming...
of boston aired the program in April 2011.
Episodes
| Episode | Original Airdates | PBS Airdates |
|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 29 September 2009 | 13 April 2011 |
| 1980s | 6 October 2009 | 20 April 2011 |
| 1990s | 13 October 2009 | 27 April 2011 |