John Wyver writes: When the BBC television service at Alexandra Palace began operations officially on 2 November 1936, Studio A was fitted out with four Emitron electronic cameras supplied by the recently-established joint venture company Marconi-EMI. One or more of more
John Wyver writes: To the ICA on Saturday last for another fascinating programme in Michael Witt's Jean-Luc Godard: Unmade and Abandoned series. This has been a revelatory season, shown more or less monthly, of films by Godard more
John Wyver writes: To Falmer, near Brighton, for a visit to The Keep to dig into the Mass Observation Archive. I'm starting on the first stages of research for Switching On (title tbc), a more
John Wyver writes: As we recover from the centenary, today's post is just a single link to a piece I published on The Conversation yesterday: The BBC once made the arts ‘utterly central’ to television – 100 years later they’re more
John Wyver writes: To mark Monday's Centenary of television in Britain, BBC Four this week played two programmes from the archives, The Birth of Television from 1976 (a scene from which is above) and JLB: The Man who more
John Wyver writes: Tonight in the Reuben Library at BFI Southbank, I am in conversation with BFI Television Curator Lisa Kerrigan talking about, of course, Magic Rays of Light: The Early Years of British Television, which was published more
John Wyver writes: Publication day! And just in time, my copies of Magic Rays of Light: The Early Years of Television in Britain arrived yesterday. Unsurprisingly perhaps, I am thrilled. The book feels substantial but not (I hope) intimidating; more
John Wyver writes: The Magic Rays of Light season at BFI Southbank kicks off tomorrow night, Thursday 8, with a programme of four documentaries made for the early television service. On what is also publication day for the more
John Wyver writes: Once again, since I have contributed here more than a year of near-daily posts recognising 'on this day' events in the first decade of British television, I am now contributing a weekly reprise round-up. All of more
John Wyver writes: As I noted last week, since I have contributed here more than a year of near-daily posts recognising 'on this day' events in the first decade of British television, I am now proposing a weekly reprise more