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Over the last 40 years, technology has developed with dizzying speed.

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But how has technology changed us?

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How has it transformed our homes?

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What has it done to our families?

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To find out, the Sullivan-Barnes family are taking part in a unique experiment.

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They've been stripped of all their modern technology.

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Their own home has been turned into a time machine.

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What on earth have they done with our kitchen?

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Already they've lived through the digital wilderness of the 1970s.

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It's black and white.

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They're fast-forwarding through the years at the rate of one a day.

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Now they're entering the ''80s.

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Can modern kids get to grips with prehistoric electronics?

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Wait! Why can't you be more patient? Nothing ever works.

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And will the ''80sbring them labour-saving must-haves or time-wasting boys' toys?

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Ha-ha! I've got it working.

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Has progress always been for the better?

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Has it fulfilled our electric dreams?

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# We'll always be together however far it seems

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# We'll always be together, together in electric dreams. #

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For one household in Reading, it's still the 1970s.

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But not for much longer.

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And that's a relief for some of them.

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I have to say, the technology's been pretty poor.

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For self-confessed gadget freak, Adam,

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the ''80s have got to be better than the decade he's just lived through.

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What a total waste of time!

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What on earth were they thinking?

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Though mum Georgie's faced challenges too,

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she feels the simpler life of the '70s had its upside.

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We've really spent quite a lot of time round the table as a family.

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That's partly because the kids haven't been busy with their usual electronic gadgets.

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Adam's daughter, Steff, and Georgie's children,

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Hamish and Ellie, have no idea what lies ahead for them in the 1980s.

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Nor does two-year-old Jude.

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Not surprising really. Even the eldest wasn't born until 1995. I don't know what to expect really.

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I hope our '80s lifestyle doesn't mean that everybody's got massive distractions.

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Can their new found closeness survive the coming onslaught of '80s electronics?

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Elsewhere in Reading, the family's very own technical support team are assembling vintage '80s equipment.

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# It was acceptable in the '80s...#

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Gia Milinovic is a technology writer with a lifelong passion for computing.

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This is when things get very exciting for me.

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Obviously, this is the first time that computers make it into the home.

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There's loads to choose from.

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They may cause the family some problems, however,

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because they're not quite as easy to use as modern computers.

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Tom Wrigglesworth is in charge of all audio and communications devices.

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It's going to be a busy decade for him.

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In the 1980s, consumer electronics were getting smaller, more personal and more portable.

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It meant, for the first time, you could live in a world of your own.

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To put it all in context, Dr Ben Highmore

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is a sociologist who specialises in the history of domestic technology.

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This technology gets sold to people as being convenient, labour-saving.

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How labour-saving was it?

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As they prepare '80s equipment to send into the family home, the team face a constant challenge.

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This era's technology often went wrong.

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When it broke, it was hard to fix.

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# We are family... #

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The family's been dressed up for the '80s.

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They're about to find out how their house has been similarly transformed.

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For many people in this decade, home became increasingly important, as more time and money was spent there.

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Oh, wow!

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The digital age has arrived.

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As the new Conservative government exhorted Britons

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to buy their houses, Laura Ashley was telling us how to decorate them.

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Very tasteless really. It's just...

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The whole flowery stuff just drives me bonkers.

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Though they're marching into the digital future, their decor's heading in the other direction.

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This cod-historical style was nostalgic for less high-tech times.

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It looks a lot like a granny or more a great-aunt or something.

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I'd agree with youon that one. Look at that! Is that an answer machine?

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In 1980, Britain's phone system was still run by the Post Office.

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Many people had only ever seen an answering machine on the Rockford Files.

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'Hello, family. Welcome to your new house. I hope you like the decor.

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'I hope you like the floor and drapes.

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'Good luck with all the technology we've supplied you with,

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'including the answerphone, which you've clearly found and mastered.'

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'See you soon, bye.'

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And a really nice stereo. Look at that!

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It's got all sorts. A complete leap of technology, isn't it?

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This is proper separates hi-fi.

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This is more like it.

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'80s appliances were less likely thantheir predecessors to be hidden away behind the doors of cabinets.

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The latest technology was a status symbol to be proudly displayed.

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Look how much thinner it is now!

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It was a massive thing, wasn't it?

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I hope we have more channels than we did last time.

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I don't think you'll get another channel until 1982, Steff.

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It's nice to have extra space, to spread out a bit more.

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For a decade when building house extensions became common, the family have more space.

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In the '70s, this was the living room.

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Now, a lounge has been created next door, it's a set-aside dining area.

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It's a little bit of a status thing, isn't it?

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You can impress people in here.

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The kitchen's no bigger and still a long way from high-tech chic.

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There has been some progress with the white goods.

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This is a fridge and freezer.Yeah, we have a freezer inside the house.

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Wow! A ceramic hob, Adam.

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They were really difficult to clean.

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Go, go, go!

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Upstairs it's all change.

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Oh, my God! Look at that.

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How completely cheesy is that?

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We've got an upstairs phone, darling.

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You can make private phone calls now.

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We've come from a decade where there's been nothing private about the phone.

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It's right in the middle of the house.

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Do you like the style of the phone?

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Yeah, I like it.

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It's very girlie.

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The only bit of masculinity I can see in the house is that hi-fi.

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That feels really rugged and manly.

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Oh, my goodness!

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Ellie and Steff's room isn't exactly macho either.I love it.

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During the '80s, kids started to spend more time in their bedrooms.

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It's going to freak me out. How horrible.

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There was now more to keep them entertained upstairs.

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Hey, look, we've got a tape player.

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We didn't have any technology in our old room in the '70s.

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Hamish's room is littered with electronic toys.

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During the early '80s recession, much of Britain couldn't afford technology like this.

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Families with disposable income were increasingly spending it on their children.

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I think 1980s girls should go and be playing in their room with their scary dolls and ponies.

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What are you doing?Nothing!

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It is not your personal property.

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The other male of the family is also marking his territory.

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I am absolutely convinced that the man of the house would have gone out and bought himself a decent hi-fi.

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The children of the house would not have been allowed near this

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kind of hi-fi kit because it would have been so expensive.

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I would be.You might be!

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I would be.You would be. I'm going to leave you to it.

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Let me know when it's not working.

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Oh, please God, make me be able to make it work.

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It's not working, girls.

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No, it's just a button we need to press.

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That needs to be on. Come on, you stupid thing.

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Everything's on.

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MUSIC STARTS Ah!

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# I said upside down you're turning me... #

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Mum said to let you know it was working.

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Good.I'm glad you managed to work it out!

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Don't touch it again without my permission.

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Back at the workshop, the tech team are preparing their first delivery.

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Microwave ovens are now found in over 90% of British homes.

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# Atomic... #

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But in 1980, only 6% of households had one.

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A basic microwave then cost over 30 times more in real terms.

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Yet that wasn't the main reason they hadn't caught on.

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There was a real fear around them in the beginning of the '80s.

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It was a slow and difficult take up even though the technology was available from the mid-70s.

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The radiation at the heart of microwave cookery sounded uncomfortably similar

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to radioactivity for many consumers, at a time of widespread nuclear paranoia.

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'Today, many scientists are worried that the safety levels aren't good enough.'

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This fallacy was encouraged by a widely seen television programme.

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Microwaves can kill a person,

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for example, if you have the intensity required to cook something, you could cook a person.

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I was literally baked in a microwave oven.

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There's a host of unknown consequences including cancer, birth defects, things of this sort.

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UK microwave sales plummeted immediately after the documentary aired.

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Potential purchasers were particularly anxious

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that radiation would somehow escape through the oven's walls or door.

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I suggest we give them this - a microwave leakage detector.

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Knowing that the safety fears eventually proved groundless,

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the tech team dispatch the oven to the house.

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Gor, it's heavy!

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The family's challenge is to use their delivery as a household would have done in 1980.

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At that time, microwaves were being sold as a time-saving replacement for the traditional oven.

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So, we've got to do a menu for tonight created entirely with the microwave oven.

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An exciting prospect for anybody about to embark on it.

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But first, following commonplace advice in 1980, the family makes sure the oven won't cookthem.

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If it gets into the red, run for your life!

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I've heard before it's going to be harmful standing in front of the microwave.

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Who told you that?You.

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Because I heard that when I was first using microwaves, so, I probably just passed on the big fib.

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It's fine. What's all the fuss about?

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There might be meals that you could do quite nicely.

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Many cookbooks were published at the time dedicated solely to the new art of microwave cuisine.

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They promised food which not only cooked much faster but also tasted better.

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Some of my dinner guests have exclaimed that my microwave

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cooked vegetables are the best they've ever tasted.

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What are we making for dinner then?

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Roast chicken in the microwave.

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Even the most evangelical cook books had to admit microwaves couldn't brown meat or poultry.

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They suggested slavering your roast in ketchup, gravy mix or paprika.

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It's to give it a bit of colour to try to persuade yourself it looks a bit more

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something akin to the colour bird you're used to eating from an oven.

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Roast. So I guess that's the fellow.

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Of course, only one dish at a time can fit into the microwave.

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None of the trimmings Georgia's preparing can begin cooking

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till the chicken's completed its 40 minute spin.

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Hello, chicken.

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It looks like fake tan that's had a bit of time sweating on the dance floor.

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Microwaves were even recommended for baking, so making puddings should be a piece of cake.

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Wow!

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That is brilliant. Look!

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It's good being able to see it, isn't it?

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Only when every single dish has had its moment in the oven, can the family finally have their dinner.

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Is that nice, Jude?

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Delicious.

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I looked at my watch at 6.20pm and thought, 40 minutes, brilliant, we'll be eating at 7.

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8.52pm on my digital watch.

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Nearly 9 o'clock.

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Let's be honest, throwing a chicken in the oven with a few roast potatoes is

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at least as easy and probably less bother.

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I'm surprised this actually tastes, if you're not eating the skin, absolutely fine.

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Not as nice as the oven but it's not horrible.

207
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It is better than I thought it would be.

208
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Though the cake looks the business, the proof of the pudding traditionally lies elsewhere.

209
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Looks like it's a stale cake. A hint of radiation.

210
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Rock solid.Almost like it's not cooked evenly all the way through.

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Classic microwave cooking really, where it tends to heat one part of the dish more than another.

212
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The family won't be chucking out their regular oven just yet.

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Right in the middle!

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The kids end their first day in the '80s by settling down in front of the new TV.

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There's one novelty waiting for them.

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It's massive.It's huge. Is it heavy?

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It's quite heavy.It's quite heavy.

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Like a mobile phone. Hello.

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'I have only one thing to say,

220
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'you turn if you want to.

221
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'The lady's not for turning.'

222
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'This is another wrong type. The links are far too fine, the hair gets through...'

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Since only 2% of households had video recorders in 1980,

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this was as much control over the TV as most people had.

225
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With a new day comes a new year

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And a new delivery from the tech team.

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An increasing amount of technology in the '80s was designed to entertain us...

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This is Jude's one.

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..no matter how young.

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It says spell, A.

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Speak & Spell cost £120 in today's money

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but sold well because parents could be persuaded it was educational.

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For the older kids, the primitive ancestors

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of the world's best-selling hand-held electronic games.

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That's Nintendo.I didn't think they'd be around in the 1980s.

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I don't get what you're supposed to do.

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It's not very good compared to the games in 2009 but since we don't have that, it's good enough.

238
00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:32,360
Hamish quickly figures out the benefits of having pocket-sized tech.

239
00:16:32,400 --> 00:16:34,280
It's mine.

240
00:16:34,320 --> 00:16:38,280
It belongs to me. Nobody else has the right to play it.

241
00:16:38,320 --> 00:16:44,040
Dad's new toy would have cost nearly £300 in today's money.

242
00:16:44,080 --> 00:16:46,360
A Sony Walkman, look!

243
00:16:46,400 --> 00:16:47,920
Look how big that is!

244
00:16:47,960 --> 00:16:54,640
For the same amount in 2009, he could by two MP3 players with room for 60,000 songs.

245
00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:57,040
Solid state.

246
00:16:57,080 --> 00:16:58,960
Lovely.

247
00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:01,320
A new Polaroid.

248
00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:12,640
They're all rapidly silenced by their individual gizmos.

249
00:17:12,680 --> 00:17:14,240
Even Jude.

250
00:17:16,520 --> 00:17:17,880
Where are you going?

251
00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:20,520
# I like tall speakers

252
00:17:20,560 --> 00:17:25,440
# If they've music they're wired for sound

253
00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:29,080
# Walking about with a head full of music

254
00:17:29,120 --> 00:17:31,880
# Cassette in my pocket and I'm going to use it

255
00:17:31,920 --> 00:17:35,720
# Stereo out on the streets... #

256
00:17:35,760 --> 00:17:41,000
Sony launched the world's first personal stereo in the dying months of the '70s.

257
00:17:41,040 --> 00:17:44,000
The designers initially worried it was anti-social,

258
00:17:44,040 --> 00:17:47,080
so early Walkmans were fitted with two head phone sockets.

259
00:17:47,120 --> 00:17:52,120
# Power from the needle to the plastic... #

260
00:17:52,160 --> 00:17:55,960
As it turned out, we all loved being cut off from the world around us.

261
00:17:56,000 --> 00:18:00,000
Soon, every other manufacturer brought out their own version of the Walkman.

262
00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:07,920
It's so much better than having nothing.

263
00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:13,520
Having something like this to take my mind away from the boredom of it is a must.

264
00:18:13,560 --> 00:18:15,600
I find it difficult.

265
00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:18,960
I don't think I'd do as much exercise without some entertainment.

266
00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:23,440
It's not one of those things you need to have but it sure is nice to have.

267
00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:28,160
In the decade where Margaret Thatcher would claim there was no such thing as society,

268
00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:32,080
the family are all ready enjoying technology they don't have to share.

269
00:18:32,120 --> 00:18:39,400
In the '70s, you'd like play together rather than playing on your own or something.

270
00:18:39,440 --> 00:18:44,480
Now, because they've brought in this kind of thing and tape players,

271
00:18:44,520 --> 00:18:46,440
you can go off on your own.

272
00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:50,760
It's good to have your own like a kind of bubble and you can do what

273
00:18:50,800 --> 00:18:57,160
you want really, instead of all being together at the same time, which kind of gets a bit annoying.

274
00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:11,960
While most of the economy was deep in recession, British computing was a miraculous exception.

275
00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:15,520
A manufacturing industry that wasn't sacking everyone.

276
00:19:15,560 --> 00:19:19,920
If it's got a keyboard, a manual and computer written on it, it'll sell.

277
00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:23,240
That's the word around the exploding market for personal or home computers

278
00:19:23,280 --> 00:19:25,600
that simply plug into a television set.

279
00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:30,560
We're the world's largest producer of computers. We make more than the whole nation of Japan put together.

280
00:19:30,600 --> 00:19:34,920
Technological innovation had met '80s entrepreneurialism.

281
00:19:34,960 --> 00:19:40,920
The perfect mix for a leader who was a science graduate as well as a free-market evangelist.

282
00:19:40,960 --> 00:19:46,560
Prime Minister, this is a small computer.

283
00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:51,120
The Sullivan-Barnes family are going to experience micro computer mania,

284
00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:56,520
so the tech team needs to check-up on the choice available in 1982.

285
00:19:56,560 --> 00:20:01,000
Gia's come to meet Simon Webb from the National Museum of Computing.

286
00:20:01,040 --> 00:20:04,960
We've got about 3,000 items in the collection.

287
00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:11,240
From this vast array, they select a few models of the right vintage - some faded rapidly into obscurity.

288
00:20:13,120 --> 00:20:15,640
There's a Dragon there, Dragon 32.

289
00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:18,080
A Welsh company produced this.

290
00:20:18,120 --> 00:20:21,440
Others, however, found their way into millions of homes.

291
00:20:21,480 --> 00:20:25,000
What made a machine successful was the availability of software.

292
00:20:25,040 --> 00:20:28,520
And this is where machines like the Spectrum sort of won out because

293
00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:32,200
there were a huge number of software titles available for it.

294
00:20:32,240 --> 00:20:35,880
Spectrum's main British rival was made by Acorn.

295
00:20:35,920 --> 00:20:40,160
Although it cost three times as much, it had heavyweight backing.

296
00:20:40,200 --> 00:20:46,240
The BBC branded it and the Government paid for one to go into every school in Britain.

297
00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:53,360
So, I suppose the main issue with early '80s computers was that none of them were compatible.

298
00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:56,760
That's right. This is what really was unsustainable.

299
00:20:56,800 --> 00:21:00,320
Everybody doing their own thing. It wasn't until the IBM PC really

300
00:21:00,360 --> 00:21:05,960
established a standard that all these machines started sort of dying out.

301
00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:11,320
Navigating a path through such incompatible hardware was often tricky.

302
00:21:11,360 --> 00:21:18,880
But the Sullivan-Barnes family would have to make this tough choice, just as early '80s consumers did.

303
00:21:18,920 --> 00:21:22,440
Gia's set up a computer fair for them.

304
00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:24,320
This is the astonishing new ZX Spectrum.

305
00:21:24,360 --> 00:21:28,440
Full eight colours, sound generation, high resolution graphics.

306
00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:29,960
High resolution!

307
00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:39,280
All of these machines had much less memory and power than a modern mobile phone at a much higher price.

308
00:21:39,320 --> 00:21:44,240
Even the cheapest Spectrum cost over £300 in today's money.

309
00:21:44,280 --> 00:21:50,480
The model the BBC kept plugging would have set you back a whopping 900 quid for 32K.

310
00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:54,840
Gia's invited some guests to help the family decide.

311
00:21:54,880 --> 00:21:57,480
Simon Munnery is now a professional comedian.

312
00:21:57,520 --> 00:22:00,880
In the '80s, he published software for the ZX Spectrum.

313
00:22:00,920 --> 00:22:02,000
It still works.

314
00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:04,080
How do you stop it?

315
00:22:05,640 --> 00:22:09,840
Patrick Bossett preferred the BBC Micro.

316
00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:12,520
He wrote a book about programming when he was a teenager,

317
00:22:12,560 --> 00:22:15,320
as a follow-up to his best seller, You Can Do The Cube.

318
00:22:15,360 --> 00:22:18,840
You're a whizz-kid in this area. What's happening here?

319
00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:23,280
You're controlling a car - it's a race track.

320
00:22:23,320 --> 00:22:25,400
Then you've crashed.

321
00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:29,120
I think you should buy the BBC computer because you'll have

322
00:22:29,160 --> 00:22:31,480
a lot of fun out of it. It's got tremendous games.

323
00:22:31,520 --> 00:22:35,400
When you get bored with playing the games, there's so much more you can do beyond it.

324
00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:40,280
Things like word processor and good software just for doing letters and business stuff.

325
00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:44,440
I recommend this, Sinclair ZX Spectrum.

326
00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:47,320
Partly because it's cheap and so many people have it.

327
00:22:47,360 --> 00:22:49,680
There are so many people out there writing games for it.

328
00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:53,640
The Spectrum's very good fun for games. It's effectively a toy.

329
00:22:53,680 --> 00:22:57,560
The BBC computer has the stench of school about it.

330
00:22:57,600 --> 00:23:01,440
Most of the games are fun with counting or,

331
00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:03,680
isn't geography nice? That sort of thing.

332
00:23:03,720 --> 00:23:09,160
Much better to stick with Sinclair, have fun and let education worry about itself.

333
00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:13,280
Simon's Spectrum is definitely sounding cooler but Patrick wins back

334
00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:18,000
the family's attention by demonstrating some of his old programming skills.

335
00:23:18,040 --> 00:23:20,560
Then when you tell it to run that...

336
00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:22,960
Wow!

337
00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:27,200
What he's written is basic in both senses of the word.

338
00:23:27,240 --> 00:23:29,840
It's enough to intrigue the kids.

339
00:23:29,880 --> 00:23:31,840
It's simple stuff but it's worth a go.

340
00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:37,840
All right, guys! I've brought you here to choose one computer.

341
00:23:37,880 --> 00:23:41,520
Which one do you want to choose? BBC.

342
00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:43,800
Which one do you want to choose? BBC.

343
00:23:45,360 --> 00:23:47,160
Which one?BBC.

344
00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:50,600
It's your decision. >

345
00:23:50,640 --> 00:23:53,240
I was going to save the BBC actually.

346
00:23:53,280 --> 00:24:00,600
I'm really surprised because in the '80s, kids really just wanted the Spectrum.

347
00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:06,200
It was kind of seen as being a bit swotty to have the BBC Micro.

348
00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:09,240
Look at Hamish! He's not even paying attention to this.

349
00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:10,920
He's just programming.

350
00:24:12,880 --> 00:24:18,640
It's got games and word processing as well and you can print things off or something.

351
00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:23,240
And Hamish quite likes... What was it?

352
00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:27,640
Processing, I think it's called.

353
00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:36,160
But a home computer is not what everyone in the house wants.

354
00:24:36,200 --> 00:24:42,000
Georgie's worried that kids will spend as much time on it as they do on their modern PCs.

355
00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:44,040
I guess it depends how capable the computer is.

356
00:24:44,080 --> 00:24:47,600
If it's got computer games, I think that will be

357
00:24:47,640 --> 00:24:56,800
the first start down the slippery slope to the kids regressing back to the naughties.

358
00:24:56,840 --> 00:24:59,000
Everything's just fine as it is.

359
00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:03,320
Do you want to get it in and we'll set it up?

360
00:25:03,360 --> 00:25:05,800
Where do you think it should go?

361
00:25:05,840 --> 00:25:09,280
In my bedroom. I wouldn't not let you play on it in my bedroom.

362
00:25:09,320 --> 00:25:12,960
No, it's not going in your bedroom. No question of it going in your bedroom.

363
00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:17,280
I'd like it in the spare room.We've got to put it somewhere everybody can use it.The spare room.

364
00:25:17,320 --> 00:25:20,600
It won't fit on that desk. Why can't it be on there?

365
00:25:20,640 --> 00:25:24,400
Because I want to be able to sit and relax in this room without having a computer here.

366
00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:26,480
There's enough gadgets in this room.

367
00:25:26,520 --> 00:25:29,240
The decision is thespare room, right?Yeah.

368
00:25:37,120 --> 00:25:40,080
That's the data loading device.

369
00:25:40,120 --> 00:25:44,160
And a load of software, which is cool. An instruction manual.

370
00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:48,400
We haven't got a monitor, have we? Definitely need a monitor.

371
00:25:49,960 --> 00:25:51,480
Call the tech team.

372
00:25:54,080 --> 00:25:56,280
Hi, it's Hamish.

373
00:25:56,320 --> 00:25:58,560
We need a monitor for the computer.

374
00:25:58,600 --> 00:26:05,000
The tech team have to break the news that the average family in 1982 plug the computer into the TV.

375
00:26:05,040 --> 00:26:07,480
OK then. OK, thanks. Bye.

376
00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:11,160
A dedicated monitor then cost more than most computers.

377
00:26:12,520 --> 00:26:17,120
Mum, they said you have to plug it in to the TV.

378
00:26:17,160 --> 00:26:19,960
Stop there. No, no.

379
00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:21,520
You'll have to take it back then.

380
00:26:21,560 --> 00:26:25,320
You can unplug it and put it in the cupboard when you don't use it.

381
00:26:25,360 --> 00:26:26,880
No.

382
00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:29,600
But that's not an option.

383
00:26:31,720 --> 00:26:34,360
I'd rather you put the TV upstairs.

384
00:26:36,840 --> 00:26:39,120
In my room?No.

385
00:26:39,160 --> 00:26:40,800
Absolutely no.

386
00:26:40,840 --> 00:26:42,400
I think we should have a computer.

387
00:26:42,440 --> 00:26:45,440
I think it's relatively easy to unplug and plug.

388
00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:48,600
It is. It's literally just like plug, pull out the cord.

389
00:26:48,640 --> 00:26:51,720
It's not like there's anything to watch on the television, is there?

390
00:26:51,760 --> 00:26:54,840
I think my vote's quite clear, so I'll let you vote.

391
00:26:54,880 --> 00:26:59,080
Do we have the computer down here or do we take the TV upstairs

392
00:26:59,120 --> 00:27:00,960
to the computer and don't have a TV down here?

393
00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:02,960
The TV is staying downstairs.

394
00:27:04,520 --> 00:27:08,200
The sitting room's quickly taken over by the boys' new toy.

395
00:27:08,240 --> 00:27:14,680
Right, shall we do the typical boy thing and just plug it in or shall we read the guide?

396
00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:18,200
I'm not particularly interested to watch the computer being installed.

397
00:27:18,240 --> 00:27:25,000
It has to be in the sitting room. I'm not very pleased about it but I'm resigned to it.

398
00:27:25,040 --> 00:27:26,640
That's how it's going to be.

399
00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:28,280
We won't be playing it.

400
00:27:29,840 --> 00:27:32,880
Because Hamish and dad will be dominating it.

401
00:27:32,920 --> 00:27:36,240
And dad will say, "The man of the house would normally have the computer."

402
00:27:39,480 --> 00:27:44,480
Back!How was school?Good.

403
00:27:44,520 --> 00:27:49,840
Hamish can't wait to show the computer off to his school friend, Dan.Put that there.

404
00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:55,080
Since it's not allowed to stay out overnight, that means setting up the hardware all over again.

405
00:28:01,080 --> 00:28:03,320
Look! It's a masterpiece.

406
00:28:03,360 --> 00:28:09,400
The common belief in the early '80s was that to use computers, everyone would need to learn programming.

407
00:28:11,840 --> 00:28:16,000
Instead, by the time these teenagers were born,

408
00:28:16,040 --> 00:28:18,920
many tasks required little more than the click of a mouse.

409
00:28:20,960 --> 00:28:22,840
Wait, wait!

410
00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:28,440
Yet, surprisingly, Hamish is more excited by the prehistoric micro

411
00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:32,040
than any of the technology he encountered in the '70s.

412
00:28:32,080 --> 00:28:33,920
One, and then press return.

413
00:28:33,960 --> 00:28:37,080
COMPUTER PLAYS TUNE

414
00:28:37,120 --> 00:28:38,360
Ah, yeah.

415
00:28:39,760 --> 00:28:42,040
Its a bit boring!

416
00:28:42,080 --> 00:28:46,760
Like her mum, Ellie can't see the point.

417
00:28:46,800 --> 00:28:49,360
Zero, zero...

418
00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:51,440
I have no idea what they're doing.

419
00:28:55,160 --> 00:28:57,080
Anyway. Sound.

420
00:28:57,120 --> 00:28:59,480
AU,1.

421
00:28:59,520 --> 00:29:03,920
COMPUTER PLAYS TUNE

422
00:29:03,960 --> 00:29:06,840
Electronics weren't just found in the home in the early '80s.

423
00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:10,800
They were saturating every aspect of popular culture.

424
00:29:10,840 --> 00:29:13,200
DOORBELL CHIMES

425
00:29:13,240 --> 00:29:14,960
Good evening, Ellie.

426
00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:19,480
Good evening, Steff.So, 1983's delivery from the tech team

427
00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:22,920
is the technology which soundtracked the era - the synthesiser.

428
00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:24,920
It means nothing to me, this.

429
00:29:24,960 --> 00:29:27,880
So, I've got a couple of chaps

430
00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:34,560
outside I'd like you to meet who will be able to explain a lot more how it works. Just give me one second.OK.

431
00:29:34,600 --> 00:29:40,480
Yes, playing live tonight in Adam and Georgie's dining room, the keyboard players from one of

432
00:29:40,520 --> 00:29:43,520
the most successful synth pop groups of the decade.

433
00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:47,200
All right, family. It's Chris Cross and Billy Currie from Ultravox.

434
00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:50,120
No! These guys were our idols.

435
00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:52,760
Absolutely gobsmacked by that.

436
00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:56,960
Though Adam was a huge fan, they don't mean as much if you weren't even born at the time.

437
00:29:57,000 --> 00:30:00,800
In 1983, we started doing bass sounds like...

438
00:30:05,440 --> 00:30:10,280
You know, that kind of thing. But with a drum machine, it was so new and sounded so exciting.

439
00:30:14,760 --> 00:30:17,360
Do you recognise that?That, I do.

440
00:30:23,080 --> 00:30:29,200
Ultravox broke new ground, not only with their synthesised sound, but also with their visuals.

441
00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:37,080
As well as ostentatious pop videos, the '80s brought the world

442
00:30:37,120 --> 00:30:39,480
thesatellite network to show them on.MTV.

443
00:30:39,520 --> 00:30:41,480
# This means nothing to me

444
00:30:41,520 --> 00:30:45,800
# Oh, Vienna. #

445
00:30:45,840 --> 00:30:47,360
We made our own videos.

446
00:30:47,400 --> 00:30:49,040
And it was really new.

447
00:30:49,080 --> 00:30:52,080
Our music was quite visual.

448
00:30:52,120 --> 00:30:57,280
There was a real big shift in how records were promoted.

449
00:30:57,320 --> 00:31:01,000
And these guys made some great videos.

450
00:31:01,040 --> 00:31:03,280
So you kids have got a challenge for this decade.

451
00:31:03,320 --> 00:31:06,120
You've got to make your own pop video.

452
00:31:06,160 --> 00:31:11,520
With what?Exactly. We haven't got a camera.

453
00:31:11,560 --> 00:31:14,840
Not yet you haven't. It's only 1983.

454
00:31:14,880 --> 00:31:18,080
By the end of the decade, I will give you enough things to make your own pop video.

455
00:31:18,120 --> 00:31:21,520
The good thing in the '80s was everyone used to mime. LAUGHTER

456
00:31:22,520 --> 00:31:28,920
It's so surreal having two absolute '80s music icons in our house.

457
00:31:28,960 --> 00:31:31,520
Sounds like Indian.

458
00:31:31,840 --> 00:31:36,240
Ellie gradually started to catch on what a big, big deal it was.

459
00:31:36,280 --> 00:31:38,760
We were so awestruck.

460
00:31:38,800 --> 00:31:41,760
Don't think Hamish and Steff give a monkey's.

461
00:31:41,800 --> 00:31:46,000
So, we just had half a pop band in our house. Isn't that pretty cool?

462
00:31:46,040 --> 00:31:49,240
It is cool, but I have no clue who any of them were.

463
00:31:51,280 --> 00:31:59,280
Say, in 40 years when we have kids and we'll be like, "These are the people from Scouting For Girls!"

464
00:31:59,320 --> 00:32:02,080
They'll just be like, "Yeah, whatever".

465
00:32:11,760 --> 00:32:16,880
As Britain reached the year of Orwell's nightmare, Big Brother wasn't watching us yet.

466
00:32:16,920 --> 00:32:19,000
But we were watching more.

467
00:32:23,440 --> 00:32:25,800
Telly was now broadcasting at breakfast time.

468
00:32:25,840 --> 00:32:28,920
And on a fourth channel.

469
00:32:28,960 --> 00:32:33,080
And technology was giving us for more choice over what we watched and when.

470
00:32:33,120 --> 00:32:38,520
A video cassette recorder was now found in almost a third of British households.

471
00:32:38,560 --> 00:32:41,640
Even though, just as with home computers, consumers

472
00:32:41,680 --> 00:32:45,960
were caught in the crossfire between conflicting technologies.

473
00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:50,320
The real video war isn't fought against invaders from outer space.

474
00:32:50,360 --> 00:32:54,400
It's battled out on the high streets of Britain.

475
00:32:54,440 --> 00:32:56,160
It's all a matter of format.

476
00:32:56,200 --> 00:33:00,440
The tech team have to decide which date format the family will get.

477
00:33:00,480 --> 00:33:06,040
With hindsight, VHS clearly seems the most future-proof choice.

478
00:33:06,080 --> 00:33:11,240
But back in 1984, Betamax still held a quarter of the market.

479
00:33:12,320 --> 00:33:14,680
Hello!Hello.

480
00:33:14,720 --> 00:33:21,160
Andy Hane has pieced together an entire history of the video recorder and he keeps it in his garden shed.

481
00:33:23,480 --> 00:33:26,000
Wow!Oh, my goodness!

482
00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:29,400
It's nice to know that there's someone who knows what they're looking at!

483
00:33:29,440 --> 00:33:31,560
Andy currently has 74 machines.

484
00:33:31,600 --> 00:33:35,880
And not just the two formats everyone remembers.

485
00:33:35,920 --> 00:33:39,840
He also has a staggering 19 alternatives, such as the laser disc player.

486
00:33:39,880 --> 00:33:41,480
Just amazing technology.

487
00:33:41,520 --> 00:33:45,680
There's a great big laser tube in there. It's not a solid state laser, it's a gas laser.

488
00:33:45,720 --> 00:33:49,800
Huge laser tube inside. Very rare because there's very few of those still working.

489
00:33:49,840 --> 00:33:52,240
That I know of.What other formats were there in the '80s?

490
00:33:52,280 --> 00:33:56,160
Philips developed Video 2000. These used tapes that you could turn over.

491
00:33:56,200 --> 00:34:01,320
So right from the start you had three hours on a side. So six hours total.

492
00:34:01,360 --> 00:34:05,320
Do you have a tape? They're pretty much the same size as a VHS cassette.

493
00:34:05,360 --> 00:34:08,280
It looks like an audio cassette and I'm very tiny!

494
00:34:08,320 --> 00:34:10,840
Well, Philips invented the audio cassette as well.

495
00:34:10,880 --> 00:34:13,040
This was their video equivalent of an audio cassette.

496
00:34:13,080 --> 00:34:16,880
By the time they got to market, VHS and Betamax were already fighting their war

497
00:34:16,920 --> 00:34:19,080
and they kind of ended up being an "also ran".

498
00:34:19,120 --> 00:34:23,760
Everyone knows the story that Betamax was the superior quality but VHS won out.

499
00:34:23,800 --> 00:34:26,480
What's your take on that? It was largely marketing.

500
00:34:26,520 --> 00:34:30,120
The Sony Betamax, they presented it as a quality system.

501
00:34:30,160 --> 00:34:34,320
VHS was a little bit more aimed at the average man in the street.

502
00:34:34,360 --> 00:34:37,920
When you're talking about hundreds of pounds, thousands of pounds in today's money,

503
00:34:37,960 --> 00:34:40,720
therewas a temptation to rent if there was two formats fighting.

504
00:34:40,760 --> 00:34:44,480
VHS was easier to rent and that became popular.

505
00:34:44,520 --> 00:34:48,040
It very quickly pushed Betamax down.

506
00:34:48,080 --> 00:34:52,480
Was there actually a difference between picture quality between the two of them?

507
00:34:52,520 --> 00:34:55,120
In a laboratory, yes. For the average person, probably not, No.

508
00:34:55,160 --> 00:35:00,840
The logical choice then in 1984 is the VHS.

509
00:35:03,520 --> 00:35:09,920
When the tech team send their choice to the house, they add an extra video treat for the kids.

510
00:35:09,960 --> 00:35:14,360
Wow!It's one of the very first camcorders.

511
00:35:14,400 --> 00:35:16,600
From the firm that invented VHS.

512
00:35:16,640 --> 00:35:19,240
Dibs being cameraman.

513
00:35:19,280 --> 00:35:21,200
And you can be like the pop girls.

514
00:35:21,240 --> 00:35:23,800
There's 136 pages of instructions,

515
00:35:23,840 --> 00:35:27,800
so seeing as you want to be the cameraman, there you go.

516
00:35:27,840 --> 00:35:32,120
Mammoth manuals became a common sight during the '80s.

517
00:35:32,160 --> 00:35:34,920
Though technology now offered advanced features,

518
00:35:34,960 --> 00:35:41,280
it hadn't yet cracked making them easy to use.Where is the on switch?

519
00:35:41,920 --> 00:35:43,280
That's quite heavy!

520
00:35:47,880 --> 00:35:49,520
To test drive the video player,

521
00:35:49,560 --> 00:35:51,800
Ellie fetches a gift from the night before.

522
00:35:51,840 --> 00:35:54,160
Ultravox Live in concert.

523
00:35:55,040 --> 00:35:59,080
Ooh, it's smaller. Hopefully it still fits.

524
00:36:05,520 --> 00:36:07,920
Sideways a bit.

525
00:36:09,920 --> 00:36:11,640
It's too small, Hamish.

526
00:36:11,680 --> 00:36:13,680
You know why it's too small, Ellie?

527
00:36:13,720 --> 00:36:17,080
Because that is a VHS and you're trying to put a Betamax in it.

528
00:36:17,120 --> 00:36:19,840
You know Blue-Ray and normal DVDs? Yes.

529
00:36:19,880 --> 00:36:23,080
You're trying to put a Blue-Ray into a normal DVD player.

530
00:36:23,120 --> 00:36:24,840
It's not going to work.Hi!

531
00:36:24,880 --> 00:36:29,840
The task of finding a tape the machine will actually play quickly gets passed on.

532
00:36:29,880 --> 00:36:33,440
You need to go and get a video.

533
00:36:33,480 --> 00:36:35,880
Any preference?Something good.

534
00:36:39,600 --> 00:36:41,800
Tricky third gear.

535
00:36:41,840 --> 00:36:46,240
Adam and his '80s Escort may have quite a journey ahead of them.

536
00:36:46,280 --> 00:36:52,800
It feels quite strange to me, having got back from quite a long day of working,

537
00:36:52,840 --> 00:36:56,480
to be off in the car in search of a film when,

538
00:36:56,520 --> 00:37:02,280
in the modern day, I'm a member of a DVD film club, so I get DVDs through the post.

539
00:37:02,320 --> 00:37:06,440
Which is very good because you don't even have to go out from the door.

540
00:37:06,480 --> 00:37:10,720
But video rental shops were a boom business in the early '80s.

541
00:37:10,760 --> 00:37:13,880
The UK boasted precisely none at the start of the decade.

542
00:37:13,920 --> 00:37:18,040
A couple of years later, it had 25,000.

543
00:37:18,080 --> 00:37:20,920
As a result, many cinemas closed.

544
00:37:27,120 --> 00:37:30,320
I'm looking for VHS videos. Films.

545
00:37:30,360 --> 00:37:34,440
OK, we haven't done them for about three to four years.

546
00:37:34,480 --> 00:37:37,200
DVD has taken over now, so we only stock DVD.

547
00:37:37,240 --> 00:37:43,200
I promised the kids I'd get them a film tonight because we've only just got a video recorder.

548
00:37:43,240 --> 00:37:47,240
Is there anywhere around here I could possibly get one?No.

549
00:37:53,480 --> 00:37:55,880
There's one other video shop we can go to.

550
00:37:55,920 --> 00:37:59,400
Might as well give that a go before we give up all hope.

551
00:38:01,480 --> 00:38:03,720
Dad is at the video shop. Still.

552
00:38:03,760 --> 00:38:05,880
After about two hours. Literally.

553
00:38:05,920 --> 00:38:10,920
Because he doesn't have a phone with him, we can't phone him up and say, "Where are you?"

554
00:38:10,960 --> 00:38:13,520
We're a bit bored now.

555
00:38:15,080 --> 00:38:18,000
Adam's finally found an old independent store.

556
00:38:18,040 --> 00:38:21,680
With no VHS tapes on its shelves either.

557
00:38:21,720 --> 00:38:25,000
But the owner does keep a few under the counter.

558
00:38:26,560 --> 00:38:28,800
It's ex-rental stock he's selling off.

559
00:38:28,840 --> 00:38:31,400
I'm just trying to get rid of them.

560
00:38:31,440 --> 00:38:37,360
Back in 1984, very few people bought rather than rented.Can I buy those?

561
00:38:37,400 --> 00:38:39,440
How much would that be?£3.

562
00:38:39,480 --> 00:38:42,760
The average retail price then was £60.

563
00:38:42,800 --> 00:38:46,200
That's £150 in today's money.

564
00:38:48,520 --> 00:38:50,000
Kids!

565
00:38:51,520 --> 00:38:54,680
What is that?It's coming on. Sh.

566
00:38:54,720 --> 00:38:56,480
It's not coming on.

567
00:38:56,520 --> 00:38:59,920
It doesn't look any different to the screen looked before you put it in.

568
00:38:59,960 --> 00:39:01,600
Was at working earlier when we got it here?

569
00:39:01,640 --> 00:39:03,800
It was at one point.

570
00:39:05,560 --> 00:39:09,160
Ellie neglects to mention her earlier vigorous attempts to force

571
00:39:09,200 --> 00:39:11,120
a Betamax tape into the VHS machine.

572
00:39:11,160 --> 00:39:14,000
It's not going round, so there's clearly something not right.

573
00:39:14,040 --> 00:39:16,800
Have you tried pressing a button called play?

574
00:39:16,840 --> 00:39:20,320
Is it rewound?Nothing ever works!

575
00:39:22,440 --> 00:39:25,880
Wind it up. No good. It's not working.

576
00:39:25,920 --> 00:39:29,400
Having spent all that time rushing around

577
00:39:29,440 --> 00:39:33,360
trying to get these videos and then for it not to work was a little bit of a let-down.

578
00:39:34,400 --> 00:39:36,400
DOORBELL

579
00:39:38,800 --> 00:39:42,320
The next day, the tech teamcollect the broken machine for repair.

580
00:39:45,480 --> 00:39:47,880
There you go. So, what's the problem?

581
00:39:47,920 --> 00:39:49,840
Well, it doesn't work.

582
00:39:49,880 --> 00:39:56,000
The early VHS machines weren't incredibly reliable and

583
00:39:56,040 --> 00:40:00,080
one of the suggestions was that you get it serviced every six months.

584
00:40:00,120 --> 00:40:04,240
Really? Every six months?

585
00:40:04,280 --> 00:40:09,040
In fact, 25% of VHS machines needed to be repaired in their first year of life.

586
00:40:09,080 --> 00:40:11,720
For other formats, the rate was even higher.

587
00:40:11,760 --> 00:40:14,320
Stick the cable on the top. That is heavy!

588
00:40:14,360 --> 00:40:19,400
But CPR for the VCR isn't the only reason Gia's come to call.

589
00:40:19,440 --> 00:40:23,240
OK, Adam. I've got you a surprise.

590
00:40:23,280 --> 00:40:25,560
I've got you a new set of wheels.

591
00:40:25,600 --> 00:40:27,200
Really?

592
00:40:27,240 --> 00:40:30,920
Now that is good news.OK, Adam.

593
00:40:30,960 --> 00:40:32,440
Here's what we've got you.

594
00:40:37,760 --> 00:40:40,320
MUSIC: "The Final Countdown" by Europe

595
00:40:47,680 --> 00:40:52,320
That is unbelievable! I didn't think there would be that many that actually worked still.

596
00:40:57,000 --> 00:40:59,560
1985 saw the launch of the C5.

597
00:40:59,600 --> 00:41:03,440
The most famous technological flop of the decade.

598
00:41:03,480 --> 00:41:04,640
Oh, man!

599
00:41:05,720 --> 00:41:07,840
I'm gobsmacked!

600
00:41:07,880 --> 00:41:12,840
Creating an electric vehicle had been the dream of Clive Sinclair

601
00:41:12,880 --> 00:41:15,680
long before he made his fortune with computers and calculators.

602
00:41:15,720 --> 00:41:18,920
We've got chaos on our roads.

603
00:41:18,960 --> 00:41:23,360
I don't believe that the forms of transport we have today can long survive.

604
00:41:23,400 --> 00:41:25,560
Sinclair's plan was to use the profits

605
00:41:25,600 --> 00:41:30,320
from the C5 to fund production of a full-sized electric car.

606
00:41:30,360 --> 00:41:34,040
But less than 17,000 were ever sold.

607
00:41:35,600 --> 00:41:41,120
These enthusiasts would like to persuade Adam their motors are more than just a retro joke.

608
00:41:41,160 --> 00:41:43,840
So, what's its top speed? Around 15 miles an hour.

609
00:41:43,880 --> 00:41:47,520
You can get a little bit more if you really pedal crazy, but 15 is about the going rate.

610
00:41:47,560 --> 00:41:51,160
Why do you think it didn't succeed in 1985?

611
00:41:51,200 --> 00:41:54,440
If it were released now, where cities have got more cycle paths and areas

612
00:41:54,480 --> 00:41:59,640
where you could use these things, it might have been a different story to the one that turned out.

613
00:41:59,680 --> 00:42:04,080
Highly ahead of its time.So this is the 1985 vision of the future.

614
00:42:04,120 --> 00:42:06,240
Everyone has a C5.

615
00:42:06,280 --> 00:42:08,400
I'm going to send you out

616
00:42:08,440 --> 00:42:14,520
shopping in one of these to get the experience of the future.Fabulous!

617
00:42:25,480 --> 00:42:29,680
Adam quickly has to supplement the engine with pedal power.

618
00:42:41,120 --> 00:42:43,480
25 years later, climate change has put electric

619
00:42:43,520 --> 00:42:50,240
vehicles firmly back on the agenda, but the C5's visionary concept was let down by its execution.

620
00:42:50,280 --> 00:42:53,200
A common fault of '80s technology.

621
00:42:56,280 --> 00:43:00,040
You feel quite intimidated because you're so small in this traffic.

622
00:43:00,080 --> 00:43:03,440
I couldn't really see myself using this full time,

623
00:43:03,480 --> 00:43:05,080
not in the main traffic.

624
00:43:05,120 --> 00:43:08,920
It's just too dangerous, I think. I wouldn't feel safe.

625
00:43:12,720 --> 00:43:16,320
And then you kind of factor in the weather conditions in England.

626
00:43:16,360 --> 00:43:18,600
Why would you have this? I don't know.

627
00:43:18,640 --> 00:43:21,040
It's a shame, really, because it's really fun.

628
00:43:21,080 --> 00:43:23,640
Most people in 1985 came to the same conclusion.

629
00:43:23,680 --> 00:43:28,400
Whoever brought out that wants putting up a wall and shooting.

630
00:43:28,440 --> 00:43:33,360
The failure of the C5 was proof that consumers were wise enough about new technology.

631
00:43:33,400 --> 00:43:36,280
Clearly not everything innovative was worth buying.

632
00:43:36,320 --> 00:43:38,920
# You can't go on

633
00:43:38,960 --> 00:43:43,600
# Thinking nothing's wrong

634
00:43:46,560 --> 00:43:51,240
# Who's going to drive you home tonight? #

635
00:43:51,280 --> 00:43:56,000
Sinclair lost millions and had to sell his own name.

636
00:43:56,040 --> 00:43:58,280
We've bought the Sinclair computer business.

637
00:43:58,320 --> 00:44:00,480
We've bought the Sinclair brand name.

638
00:44:00,520 --> 00:44:04,680
Other British computer manufacturers had already gone bust.

639
00:44:04,720 --> 00:44:08,720
There was no place for eccentric innovators anymore.

640
00:44:08,760 --> 00:44:13,080
The last big British player in computing was Alan Sugar's Amstrad.

641
00:44:13,120 --> 00:44:16,880
They outsourced their manufacturing to the Far East.

642
00:44:21,000 --> 00:44:25,240
That night, the family are sent an '80s invention which conquered the world.

643
00:44:25,280 --> 00:44:27,720
At least until MP3s came along.

644
00:44:33,080 --> 00:44:37,320
We have a letter. It says, "Dear Sullivan-Barnes family, here is your compact disc player.

645
00:44:37,360 --> 00:44:41,400
"The arrival of the CD saw people getting rid of their records.

646
00:44:41,440 --> 00:44:44,600
"So please remove yours and the turntable into the garage.

647
00:44:44,640 --> 00:44:46,440
"Regards, the Technical Support Team".

648
00:44:46,480 --> 00:44:49,040
Bit sad to get rid of this, though.

649
00:44:49,080 --> 00:44:51,360
Dad! We're not going to use it. We have a CD player.

650
00:44:51,400 --> 00:44:55,200
Couldn't we just put it on top of that?No, we couldn't because it will break.

651
00:44:55,240 --> 00:45:01,280
I'm not happy to get rid of the vinyl because I know that it's got a different, richer sound.

652
00:45:02,960 --> 00:45:06,920
But once the new player is plugged in, Adam admits the advantages.

653
00:45:06,960 --> 00:45:10,440
I can remember getting my first CD player and being amazed

654
00:45:10,480 --> 00:45:14,800
at how I could just skip tracks and go backwards and forwards so quickly,

655
00:45:14,840 --> 00:45:16,040
I really liked that.

656
00:45:25,000 --> 00:45:31,400
Dire Straits' 1985 album Brothers In Arms was the world's first million-selling compact-disc.

657
00:45:31,440 --> 00:45:35,560
# We gotta instal microwave ovens... #

658
00:45:35,600 --> 00:45:39,440
But it wasn't just the ability to hear protracted guitar riffs

659
00:45:39,480 --> 00:45:42,800
with crystal-clear clarity that helped CDs take off.

660
00:45:42,840 --> 00:45:46,360
# We gotta move these colour TVs... #

661
00:45:46,400 --> 00:45:50,720
Lessons have been learned from the computer and video format wars.

662
00:45:52,440 --> 00:45:56,680
'European and Japanese manufacturers have agreed on a single compatible

663
00:45:56,720 --> 00:46:00,480
'system, so one maker's disc will play on another's machine.'

664
00:46:02,040 --> 00:46:06,120
Though, with hindsight, not all the claims made for the new technology ring true.

665
00:46:06,160 --> 00:46:09,480
Make sure it's nicely spread around there.

666
00:46:09,520 --> 00:46:10,520
A bit of coffee.

667
00:46:10,560 --> 00:46:16,080
Anyone who has heard a CD jump due to a single fingerprint won't want to try this at home.

668
00:46:16,120 --> 00:46:18,760
A quick wipe down. Let's see how it sounds.

669
00:46:23,200 --> 00:46:25,720
# Blue eyes... #

670
00:46:32,000 --> 00:46:34,200
Do you think you're gonna miss the vinyl, Adam?

671
00:46:34,240 --> 00:46:37,320
It's my collection, it's just nice to have them.

672
00:46:37,360 --> 00:46:40,920
It's me, and I don't want to get rid of me, really.

673
00:46:40,960 --> 00:46:44,400
Most Britons weren't so attached to their vinyl.

674
00:46:44,440 --> 00:46:48,840
By 1988, more CDs were being bought than records.

675
00:46:53,000 --> 00:47:00,360
Adam's collection is laid to rest in the garage, which is fast becoming a graveyard for discarded technology.

676
00:47:01,640 --> 00:47:03,680
What a shame. Never mind.

677
00:47:03,720 --> 00:47:05,720
Progress.

678
00:47:07,880 --> 00:47:12,960
Most of the LPs I've now got on CD, because I went and bought them again.

679
00:47:13,000 --> 00:47:18,200
How stupid are we to go out and buy the same music twice?

680
00:47:18,240 --> 00:47:21,600
The tech team have also sent back the video recorder.

681
00:47:21,640 --> 00:47:24,480
Is it working?They guaranteed me it's working.

682
00:47:28,280 --> 00:47:31,120
Any second now. Hit it, yes. Can you turn it up, please?

683
00:47:31,160 --> 00:47:36,200
Unlike the contentious computer, a video brings everyone together.

684
00:47:37,560 --> 00:47:41,960
# Believe me The sun always shines on TV... #

685
00:47:49,640 --> 00:47:52,560
You need to find the instructions, sweetheart, they're over there.

686
00:47:52,600 --> 00:47:53,840
There, there you go.

687
00:47:53,880 --> 00:47:58,960
The following night, Georgie is still full of praise for technology

688
00:47:59,000 --> 00:48:02,120
that, for once, enhances family life.

689
00:48:02,160 --> 00:48:06,200
Having the video recorder for us, as a family, is going to be a really good thing,

690
00:48:06,240 --> 00:48:09,720
because we won't be scheduling the meals around the TV viewing times

691
00:48:09,760 --> 00:48:13,000
because there's a particular programme everyone wants to watch,

692
00:48:13,040 --> 00:48:15,360
we can video it when it's on and watch it later.

693
00:48:15,400 --> 00:48:20,440
Because this is time for us to sit down before a meal together as a family.

694
00:48:20,480 --> 00:48:23,440
Right now, though, the whole family clearly isn't together.

695
00:48:23,480 --> 00:48:26,520
The male side is notably absent from the kitchen.

696
00:48:26,560 --> 00:48:29,880
I wouldn't be at all surprised to find that Adam's in the sitting-room.

697
00:48:29,920 --> 00:48:33,000
He's been itching to get back to the computer, so...

698
00:48:33,400 --> 00:48:36,960
Wait, why can't you be more patient?

699
00:48:38,800 --> 00:48:42,920
What are you gonna run? I think you have to be patient, otherwise it definitely won't work.

700
00:48:44,600 --> 00:48:48,760
Five days after getting the Micro, Adam and Hamish still haven't

701
00:48:48,800 --> 00:48:53,040
managed to load in any of the games, which are stored on cassettes.

702
00:48:53,080 --> 00:48:54,600
Load. Load.

703
00:48:54,640 --> 00:48:56,680
The appeal is the challenge.

704
00:48:56,720 --> 00:48:59,240
It's the man against machine thing.

705
00:48:59,280 --> 00:49:03,480
I'm not going to be beaten by this inferior technology.

706
00:49:04,320 --> 00:49:07,480
Start.It's not in capitals, it won't accept it.

707
00:49:07,520 --> 00:49:09,120
Blast.

708
00:49:09,600 --> 00:49:13,440
But other members of the family aren't getting so much as a look in.

709
00:49:13,480 --> 00:49:17,400
Come on, Daddy. Come on!

710
00:49:17,440 --> 00:49:19,720
We're playing with the computer.

711
00:49:19,760 --> 00:49:22,000
Oh, "Searching", we're in!

712
00:49:22,040 --> 00:49:28,760
I haven't tried going on the computer yet cos I'm doing other things. Too busy.

713
00:49:31,480 --> 00:49:34,480
They aren't as interested in the computer, the girls.

714
00:49:34,520 --> 00:49:37,960
They do different things on the computers, so they're much more

715
00:49:38,000 --> 00:49:41,400
into communication rather than playing games or something.

716
00:49:47,400 --> 00:49:49,920
Several hours later...

717
00:49:53,160 --> 00:49:55,320
..Adam finally gets a game to load.

718
00:49:55,360 --> 00:49:56,840
Yes!

719
00:49:58,920 --> 00:50:02,320
I was finding it quite frustrating that it wasn't working.

720
00:50:02,360 --> 00:50:08,280
I think we've forgotten how basic everything really was, how awkward things were.

721
00:50:08,320 --> 00:50:10,240
Shall we turn it off now?No.

722
00:50:13,240 --> 00:50:17,280
I thought the deal was that you weren't going to have this out if I wanted to be in the sitting room,

723
00:50:17,320 --> 00:50:20,440
or if anyone wanted to watch telly, that you'd put it away in the cupboard?

724
00:50:20,480 --> 00:50:22,880
It's taken five years to do this.

725
00:50:24,120 --> 00:50:26,320
'I'd also forgotten how rubbish the games are.'

726
00:50:26,360 --> 00:50:31,120
Some of the games really are so basic that they don't even have the retro appeal.

727
00:50:31,160 --> 00:50:32,320
Let's try that again.

728
00:50:32,360 --> 00:50:34,480
Shall we not try it again?One more.

729
00:50:34,520 --> 00:50:36,640
We'll try one more.Oh, blimey.

730
00:50:42,680 --> 00:50:46,000
Another night, another year.

731
00:50:46,040 --> 00:50:49,400
The second half of the decade is racing by.

732
00:50:49,440 --> 00:50:55,120
In a home with ever more technology, all the family have plenty to keep them busy.

733
00:50:55,160 --> 00:50:57,960
Oh, at last. What are you doing?

734
00:50:59,800 --> 00:51:01,680
It's Mum and Adam.

735
00:51:01,720 --> 00:51:07,240
Since there's still only one phone line, no conversation can be entirely private.

736
00:51:07,280 --> 00:51:09,080
Mum is gonna be late home.

737
00:51:11,960 --> 00:51:14,280
See you later, bye.

738
00:51:14,320 --> 00:51:19,560
With Georgie late back from work, there's no chance of a family dinner tonight.

739
00:51:21,760 --> 00:51:26,560
Fortunately, 1987 saw the launch of microwavable plastic.

740
00:51:28,760 --> 00:51:31,600
Chilled ready meals were a godsend for the increasing

741
00:51:31,640 --> 00:51:35,840
number of households where both parents worked.

742
00:51:35,880 --> 00:51:41,000
The microwave had finally found its true purpose in our kitchens.

743
00:51:41,040 --> 00:51:43,800
I'm supposed to let it stand for a minute, aren't I?

744
00:51:43,840 --> 00:51:47,720
To hell with it. I'm sure it'll be fine.

745
00:51:47,760 --> 00:51:50,960
But being able to eat at different times and in different places

746
00:51:51,000 --> 00:51:53,760
had a downside for family life.

747
00:51:53,800 --> 00:51:55,680
What a day.

748
00:51:58,480 --> 00:52:03,440
The last thing that I want to eat now is this stuff.

749
00:52:05,000 --> 00:52:12,280
I like to eat as a family and the idea of individual portions of not very nice food is...

750
00:52:12,320 --> 00:52:13,920
really disappointing.

751
00:52:13,960 --> 00:52:19,360
Technology designed to take less time can mean less time spent with other people.

752
00:52:23,080 --> 00:52:27,240
With 1988, the weekend arrives.

753
00:52:30,360 --> 00:52:34,880
'Now then, how is your pop music? How's your decision-making on pop music?'

754
00:52:34,920 --> 00:52:37,400
What's the little otter thing? I dunno.

755
00:52:38,280 --> 00:52:43,760
The kids are seeking inspiration from Saturday morning TV for the pop video they've got to make.

756
00:52:43,800 --> 00:52:47,680
# Lucky, lucky, lucky I should be so lucky in love... # Really weird, she looks so young.

757
00:52:47,720 --> 00:52:51,440
# I should be so lucky,lucky... #

758
00:52:51,480 --> 00:52:53,000
I have a really good idea.

759
00:52:53,040 --> 00:52:58,280
We'll go through the whole routine of the day and in different scenes we'll just keep changing clothes.

760
00:52:58,320 --> 00:53:00,960
As we walk through different rooms, we pause it...

761
00:53:01,000 --> 00:53:03,000
And then we change, and then we come in again.

762
00:53:03,040 --> 00:53:05,720
What I want you to do, I want you to be the same distance apart

763
00:53:05,760 --> 00:53:08,520
so it's not like Steff goes halfway and then you start coming.

764
00:53:08,560 --> 00:53:10,800
Get closer, Ellie. Go.

765
00:53:10,840 --> 00:53:15,920
Hamish is clearly confident about directing as well as how to use the camcorder.

766
00:53:15,960 --> 00:53:17,640
Stay where you are, Steff.

767
00:53:17,680 --> 00:53:21,720
Ellie, come a bit more.Mastering an unfamiliar and antiquated piece of technology

768
00:53:21,760 --> 00:53:25,400
apparently isn't hard for a young and curious mind.

769
00:53:25,440 --> 00:53:28,320
No, you need to be alongside so you can high-five.

770
00:53:28,360 --> 00:53:30,240
Steff, all you have to do is this, it's not hard.

771
00:53:30,280 --> 00:53:33,400
Getting your sisters to do as they're told is an altogether bigger challenge.

772
00:53:33,440 --> 00:53:34,960
Just stop and high-five.

773
00:53:43,720 --> 00:53:49,760
1989. As the last day of the decade begins, the family are preparing to host a dinner party.

774
00:53:49,800 --> 00:53:53,480
Can we have a pen and paper to write down the recipe?

775
00:53:53,520 --> 00:53:57,040
Quick, hold that, I really want this recipe.

776
00:53:57,080 --> 00:53:59,200
Georgie's serving Teletext,

777
00:53:59,240 --> 00:54:02,840
the closest '80s homes came to the World Wide Web.

778
00:54:06,560 --> 00:54:08,200
As well as Ceefax cuisine,

779
00:54:08,240 --> 00:54:12,120
the dinner guests will also be treated to the kids' pop video.

780
00:54:12,160 --> 00:54:14,360
That provided the family work out

781
00:54:14,400 --> 00:54:17,000
how to connect the camcorder to the TV.

782
00:54:17,040 --> 00:54:19,360
That doesn't exist, that cover.

783
00:54:19,400 --> 00:54:21,560
They've come to realise that moments

784
00:54:21,600 --> 00:54:25,600
like these were an inevitable by-product of this decade's designs.

785
00:54:25,640 --> 00:54:30,120
The most annoying thing and the most frustrating thing

786
00:54:30,160 --> 00:54:34,320
about '80s technology has been that nothing works,

787
00:54:34,360 --> 00:54:36,440
and it's really annoying.

788
00:54:38,080 --> 00:54:41,680
We do take things for granted in 2009, because you just plug it in

789
00:54:41,720 --> 00:54:46,200
and turn it on and it works, rather than having to programme it

790
00:54:46,240 --> 00:54:50,120
or fiddle with all the switches or anything like that.

791
00:54:50,160 --> 00:54:54,840
And as the tech team reflect on their '80s experience, they've come to the same conclusion.

792
00:54:54,880 --> 00:54:59,760
It wasn't really plug and play in the 1980s.

793
00:54:59,800 --> 00:55:03,400
The ideas and concepts of the technology was there,

794
00:55:03,440 --> 00:55:08,120
but the hardware wasn't actually up to speed and the early adopters

795
00:55:08,160 --> 00:55:11,520
were left banging their head against the wall.

796
00:55:11,560 --> 00:55:13,840
It's not this cable, is it?

797
00:55:13,880 --> 00:55:15,360
Let me look at the photo.

798
00:55:15,400 --> 00:55:17,400
Throughout the decade, the boys

799
00:55:17,440 --> 00:55:20,880
have been noticeably more hands on with technology.

800
00:55:20,920 --> 00:55:23,040
A gender gap has opened in the home.

801
00:55:23,080 --> 00:55:24,960
It's near the cable at the bottom.

802
00:55:26,000 --> 00:55:28,320
The technology itself becomes time-consuming,

803
00:55:28,360 --> 00:55:31,600
just the attention and care that you need to put into it to make it work.

804
00:55:31,640 --> 00:55:35,400
Perhaps Georgie isn't interested in technology in the '80s

805
00:55:35,440 --> 00:55:40,080
because she's waiting for it to do something that she wants it to do.

806
00:55:40,120 --> 00:55:41,640
One of these things in the '80s

807
00:55:41,680 --> 00:55:45,120
that they talked about was a big gender divide around technology.

808
00:55:45,200 --> 00:55:53,160
Technology really was just about the hardware, it wasn't about socialising, which it is about today.

809
00:55:53,200 --> 00:55:58,080
And women are much more interested in the social side of technology, connecting with other people.

810
00:56:06,200 --> 00:56:12,920
Tonight's social event happily has something for the whole family, the premiere of the kids' '80s epic.

811
00:56:25,240 --> 00:56:29,440
The '80s childhood is quite good, to be honest. It wasn't bad.

812
00:56:29,480 --> 00:56:31,560
It wasn't as boring as the '70s.

813
00:56:37,400 --> 00:56:39,880
# Slowly learning that life is OK Say after me... #

814
00:56:39,920 --> 00:56:45,640
The '80s has been a lot more similar to the 2000s, but we still have a long way to go.

815
00:56:45,680 --> 00:56:49,240
# Take on me... #

816
00:56:51,880 --> 00:56:53,680
Very good.Really good.

817
00:56:54,160 --> 00:56:56,560
Then the kids are packed off upstairs

818
00:56:56,600 --> 00:56:59,400
so the adults can indulge in the '80s ritual

819
00:56:59,440 --> 00:57:01,200
of the formal dinner party.

820
00:57:01,240 --> 00:57:04,240
It seems appropriate to make a toast, so here's to the 1980s.

821
00:57:04,280 --> 00:57:06,960
Lovely to see you all. Thank you for coming.

822
00:57:08,800 --> 00:57:12,440
And at least for one member of the family, any hardware hassle has been

823
00:57:12,480 --> 00:57:16,080
compensated for by the chance to revisit his salad days.

824
00:57:16,120 --> 00:57:21,160
This was technology that I was awestruck by 20 years ago, I thought it was fantastic.

825
00:57:21,200 --> 00:57:26,120
The reality of it is that it's been a bit rubbish, really.

826
00:57:28,560 --> 00:57:30,520
But it's been fun investigating it and fun

827
00:57:30,560 --> 00:57:34,240
hitting it, banging it and getting frustrated with it.

828
00:57:38,240 --> 00:57:40,120
Bye, thanks for coming.

829
00:57:42,040 --> 00:57:43,520
Safe home.

830
00:57:49,640 --> 00:57:56,200
Next time, the family experiences the communications revolution of the '90s.

831
00:57:56,240 --> 00:57:58,000
It works!

832
00:57:58,040 --> 00:58:00,920
But as the pace of change goes into overdrive...

833
00:58:00,960 --> 00:58:03,560
Blimey, not another one.

834
00:58:04,680 --> 00:58:06,520
..what price family life?

835
00:58:06,560 --> 00:58:11,480
This is what I've been dreading, lots of different entertainment media choices around the house

836
00:58:11,520 --> 00:58:13,720
and everybody being off doing their own thing.

837
00:58:19,240 --> 00:58:24,520
And you can continue your journey through the decades online with the BBC and the Open University.

838
00:58:24,560 --> 00:58:25,800
Visit...

839
00:58:41,720 --> 00:58:45,720
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd