First Aired: September 29th, 2009
Status: Ended
Genre: Documentary, Documentary
Network: BBC Four
Summary: 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, 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.
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Episode Statistics:
# of Episodes: 3
# of Episodes I watched: 0
# of Episodes I haven't watched: 3
Last Episode I watched: -
Episode Summaries
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Season 1
Episode 1: The 1970's
Air Date: September 29th, 2009
Summary: By modern standards the 1970s are decidedly low-tech and the family face many challenges. They endure a spell without central heating and get to grips with the suburban favourite, the teasmade. They see the effects of 70s industrial unrest on their home when they experience a power cut and home entertainment becomes even more limited when their newly-arrived colour television breaks down.
But it's not all grim - the arrival of chopper bikes, the first video game and a mix-tape expert who shows them how to create the soundtrack for their very own slide show all help to prove that life in the 1970s had its upside too.
Episode 2: The 1980's
Air Date: October 6th, 2009
Summary: For a modern family it is a decade of challenges. In 1980 they attempt to cook a roast dinner in a microwave oven, as consumers of the time were encouraged to do. They are faced with a bewildering choice of home computers in 1982 and the arduous task of finding a rental shop that still supplies films on video cassette for their newly-arrived VHS player.
Dad takes a spin in the most famous technological flop of the decade, the Sinclair C5, but the family do experience an 80s success story when New Wave icons Ultravox pay a surprise visit to demonstrate the synthesiser technology which soundtracked the era.
Episode 3: The 1990's
Air Date: October 13rd, 2009
Summary: They attempt to stay in touch using pagers and take a giant mobile phone and a rudimentary digital camera on a day trip to Paris in honour of the opening of the Channel Tunnel in 1994. Workplace technology becomes increasingly portable, but a home without access to the internet proves frustrating and the arrival of the 1990s world wide web is a far cry from what the kids are used to.
The 1990s see a whirlwind of technological progress and the family are inundated with gadgets and upgrades that infiltrate every area of their home. They are left reeling by the pace of change and surprised by the impact of 1990s tech on family life.
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