Greatest Heroes of the Bible 1978

Daily writing prompt

What was the last thing you searched for online? Why were you looking for it?

View all responses

I was just looking up old TV shows following yesterday’s post, and I noticed that on RTE in 1982, there was this TV show named Greatest Heroes of the Bible. I was actually in London in the autumn of 1982, so I knew nothing about it. But I looked it up on YouTube, and I found it 😀. I looked at the credits for the first episode, and seemingly, it’s from 1978.

So here, I list some RTE TV shows from 1975 and 1979. I didn’t necessarily like all these, but they bring back the atmosphere of my teenage years. I’ll bold the Irish shows. Most of them were from the US and UK. In 1978, we received our second channel, RTE 2. It was launched from the Cork Opera House in November 1978. And in 1985, we got cable TV in our house. As the song goes “67 channels and nothing on” 😀. I think of the days before the web, when there was little to do indoors apart from read, listen to the radio or watch TV. With respect to the radio, I often listen to old Radio Luxembourg 208 shows on rtlgreat208. Here are some shows that appeared for the first time in Ireland from 1975 to 1979, at least the ones that I remember. These would probably have appeared in the UK or US a few years earlier. It’s just a rough guide from glancing at old RTE Guides and newspapers. I know that Coronation Street began in the UK in the early 1960s, but it didn’t arrive in Ireland until 1978. And Top of the Pops only arrived in Ireland in 1978 too, though we did have a few pop shows before then, such as Like Now, Aimen High, and Supersonic.

I’m sure I probably missed some too. I will revise the list on an ongoing basis😀. I’ll also list my top 10 shows:

• Poldark: I watched it as a child, and in recent years, we got the DVDs, and we watch it every few years. I remember being impressed with the methodist preachers in the later series, which showed in Ireland in 1979. It was one of the things that nudged me towards investigating evangelicalism. There was a new version of Poldark in recent years, but I never like new versions of things 😀.
• Opportunity Knocks: This was a 1970s talent show. My most vivid memories from 1977 are the Duane family and The Brothers. I couldn’t find the Duane family on YouTube, but I did manage to find The Brothers, with Sing Me.
• The Onedin Line: It was worth watching for the opening credits alone. In recent years, I watched a good bit of it again with my daughter during the COVID lockdown on my Meta Oculus in a Virtual Reality Cinema (Bigscreen). You can simply play the show on YouTube, send an invite and watch it together online.
• The Muppets: Who doesn’t love the Muppets?
• I, Claudius: I briefly glanced at one episode in 1979. I thought it looked quite boring, but we got the DVD in recent years and we regularly watch it. Our favourite bit is Caligula’s dance 😀.
• Rumpole of the Bailey: That’s another one that has grown on me over the years. Soon, I’ll know every line of every episode 😀.
• The Pallisers: This is another one that I grew to love in later years.
• Life on Earth: This was very compelling back in 1979. The next year, most of my friends were creationists, who dismissed it all because of the focus on evolution. But even if you are a creationist, I don’t see the harm in knowing about the theory of evolution and enjoying the exploration of life on earth. I firmly believe the biblical account, but I’m quite open to the possibility that it’s a simplified explanation of our origins. I don’t expect to know precisely what happened until I get to heaven, and even then, I might not care. Up to now, I’ve never seen an in-depth convincing attempt to neatly reconcile the biblical account with the theory of evolution. When I was younger, I was a lot more prone to think that I could know everything about everything 😀. My ignorance doesn’t trouble me as much nowadays.
• Dad’s Army: What fascinates me about this excellent comedy is how predictable the behaviour of all the characters was and how it was so funny nonetheless. I feel the same way about Laurel and Hardy. It always delights me to see them fighting each other.
• Top of the Pops: I was mad into pop and rock music as a teen. This arrived in 1978, and I hardly ever missed an episode if I was at home. We used to have a bit of a battle because Benson was on the other channel at the time, and we didn’t get a video recorder until 1984.

Getting back to great heroes of the Bible, it gives me an idea of a verse to finish with, from Hebrews. Throughout Hebrews 11, the writer mentions many great heroes of faith from the Old Testament. Then he begins Hebrews 12 as follows:

Hebrews 12:1-3
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

And here are two TV themes from the era, Follyfoot and Kidnapped.