Brave new world
I've been cheated, conned, hood winked and taken for a ride. When I were a lad I was awed by the vision of the modern world as revealed to me each week by Raymond Baxter and Judith Hann on Tomorrows World. By now, they promised me, we'd drive to work, once a week, in our self driving hover car along empty and pollution free hover-ways. Once at the office, we'd switch on the automated machine that did our work for us before nipping back home for a week of care free leisure. Back home to the self cleaning house, sipping a perfectly chilled Martini (mixed by your own robot Butler) while gazing out of the window across the manicured lawn (maintained by the robot-mower). Life would be good in the 21st Century. Where did it all go wrong and who do I blame, eh?
I lost faith in Tomorrows World (and so did the BBC some years later) when I was old enough to spot the obvious crap being presented. I remember it clearly, Judith Hann was demonstrating the newly developed Compact Disc circa 1983. She took the shiny new CD, smeared marmalade all over it and stuck it into the very expensive top loading CD player, assuring us the orange shredded abuse would not affect the crystal clear audio. It didn't work, big surprise (to the presenter certainly, but not to me). My dream of a Utopian future crashed around me in that instant.
And so, Today, I traveled to work in my clapped out, damp and smoking car through traffic jams, accidents and breakdowns. Arriving at the office I fired up the computer and started wading through the 105 e-mails I'd received during my week off. The day went downhill from there, all because of shredded bloody marmalade.
The BBC seemed to have erased their collective memory of Tomorrows World as no mention of it can be found by searching their website. Very sad but probably wise.
posted by Ricky Dee at
6:21 PM
3 Comments:
I recall an episode when they introduced the great new plastic bicycle wheel. The great advantage of this device was that, when you had been run over and crippled for life, the plastic wheel would survive the impact, increasing the second hand value of your redundant bike.
To prove this they ran over the new wheel in a car - the wheel survived. They then ran over the old spoked wheel in the same manner - it also survived the experience...
David
By
Anonymous, at 18 October 2004 19:09
LOL. Of course it was the "videophone" that preoccupied the programme the most. Every year they'd demonstrate the latest advances in videophone technology. Usually this consisted of Kieran Prenderville being punted off on the back of a motorcycle courier to the Pebble Mill Studios where a matching machine (the only 2 in existence) was set up and waiting. Cue Judith fawning over some humongous phone with a tiny 1" tube screen. This, she said, was what we all wanted and in 2-3 years we'd all have. The demo never worked, not once in all those years did it work. Worse than that nobody wanted it in the first place apart from BT who were rubbing their hands at the thought of charging us through the nose, twats.
The zeal with which TW tracked the non-development of the videophone would lead you to believe it was a cure for cancer. That's why, as a Design Engineer, my first question is always "Why?"
By
Ricky Dee, at 19 October 2004 12:05
I always thought your first question was;
"Why bother? We'll soon be dead and gone and no-one will remember us."
Followed by'
"Where's the Tunnocks Teacakes?"
David
By
Anonymous, at 19 October 2004 20:08
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