The BFI TV 100 is a list of 100 television programmes or series that was compiled in 2000 by the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

(BFI), as chosen by a poll of industry professionals, with the aim to determine the best

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

television programmes of any genre that had been screened up to that time.

Selection and criteria

The

television programme poll was conducted in the year 2000, and its results are reflected in the list that appears in a following section. Initially, a 'big list' of 650 programmes was drawn up by BFI personnel. Television programmes no longer extant in the archives were excluded from consideration. The provisional list was split into six categories: Single Dramas, Drama Series and Serials, Comedy and Variety, Factual, Children's/Youth, and Lifestyle & Light Entertainment. Some programmes were represented in the list by an entire series; however, for some series—e.g., the anthology ''

The Wednesday Play ''The Wednesday Play'' is an anthology series of United Kingdom, British television plays which ran on BBC One, BBC1 for six seasons from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually original works written for television, although dramatic ...

'' and the current affairs programme '' This Week''—individual episodes were listed. News stories were mostly excluded, with exceptions such as the coverage of the death of

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...

(on the basis that it would be impossible to determine whether it was the coverage or the news itself that made them important). Sport was excluded for similar reasons, and also because many events such as the 1966 World Cup, while important to those in England, would not necessarily matter to those in other areas of the UK. The provisional list of 650 was then distributed to 1,600 television industry professionals in the UK, who were each given 30 votes. Each voter was required to cast a minimum of three votes in every category. The judges were also asked to name their top overseas programme (where the U.S. sitcom '' Frasier'' was chosen).

List

The following are the results of the poll, as reported by the BFI and other sources. Because the list reports decisions made in the year 2000, programmes and series are presented as they were perceived in that year; as such, ones not yet having concluded by the year 2000 are presented as having an open-ended date span in the "Year(s)" column, even if they have subsequently ended. The Genre column, added to the original table, may have a lot of crossover genres and is intended as guide to the "main" genre of each programme.

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

led broadcasters in terms of numbers of programmes/series produced, with 70.

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...

was the second most represented with 7, and Thames Television and

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

tied for third with 6 each. Central produced four of the listed titles, while ATV produced two, and

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT; now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV (TV network), ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00&nbs ...

, ABC Weekend TV and Associated-Rediffusion produced one each.

References

External links

British TV guide
* British television-related lists TV 100 2000 in British television Top television lists British television awards

Selection and criteria

List

See also

References

Further reading and viewing

External links