Hello and thank you to everyone who has taken the time to comment - this is Daniel's sister (aka Miss Pollick as-was). I indeed suspect that Mr. Robinson could not be bothered to remember our first names so it was easier to just refer to us as "young" (those were the days ...) It was a wonderful experience overall and we met lots of BBC "stars" in the canteen (Jimmy Hill, Richard Briers, Michael Gambon) who were very kind to us awestruck kids. Must agree that it's unimaginable to do something like this in 2014, but that's what progress is all about, right? Many thanks again to everyone who watched and commented. Now we just need to find the tapes of the other 3 ATF programmes we made!
Robert Robinson was a superb presenter and its quite apparent the standard of education then was far better than it is now, some tough questions and some equally good answers.
It was different priorities in education. Then it was about memorisation of facts, now it's more about how facts relate one to another. And I see that as a reasonable post-internet shift: it's easy to access facts now; the life-skill that's needed is making sense of them.
@@digitig I agree with all you 've said Tim, but things that are "easily available" are by that fact, less valued. The process of hunting down information at libraries (and my dad's OWN huge collection of books) before coming up with the knowledge you were seeking was a HUGELY rewarding exercise and I feel the knowledge so gained was more liable to stay in one's mind. Of course it might be early onset dementia in myself (hopefully not) that means that things I find off the internet nowadays tend to drift into oblivion within a week or two.
You don't think you could round up a family whose parents are company directors and consulting engineers (etc) and their privately educated children who could manage these questions?
Hi Daniel. I was the elder child opposite you (Buswell was my step-father's surname, not mine). Thank you for posting this - first chance I have had to watch it since our VHS copy was mislaid 25 years ago. I still remember us being told not to speak to 'Mr Robinson' unless he first spoke to us - a bit like royalty!
What do you do for a living now young Pollick or young Busswell if its not too personal? I wonder if Mr Robinson couldn't remember anyones names so he just called them Mrs Busswell and young Busswell. I guess it would have helped if their first names were on the front of the desk. Do you have any other memories of visiting BBC centre to film this? Did you have a tour of Television centre?
BarrieT I don't remember much of the day - only the extreme disappointment of having scored more points than any of the other 7 members of either team yet still being on the losing side!
Ah, that gilded era when being openly middle-class, educated, dedicated parents wasn't demonised! Even the music creates a frisson of golden-age thinking in me!
Whilst in my halcyon days I'd watch avidly every week and yearn, ohhh did i YEARN, to be on the show....were it not that my family were working class and thick.
@@mattsawyer343 If that's an attempt at sarcasm, it's fallen flat. Being middle-class is indeed demonised nowadays, based on a warped understanding of what 'class' entails. (In case you didn't know, it's not purely income, it's outlook first and foremost.) You're either dismissed as being a class that 'doesn't exist' (usually by ostentatiously 'working-class' people who conveniently ignore their own middle-class traits - if any class truly 'doesn't exist' these days, it's the working - but sometimes also by the upper class); or else you're rounded on as 'part of the problem' of society. All poisonous nonsense.
+Duc de Richleau I'm glad it's not just me who thinks this. There is definitely a "before and after" major to minor element to the theme. The minor key.... could this be reflective of the "before and after" of sending the kids to be entertained by Savile while the parents had a few at the BBC guests' bar?
For the avoidance of doubt, I've uploaded this as a bit of social/cultural history, for everyone's amusement. I am the Pollick kid and it makes me cringe. Green Onions, BTW, was not so well known in 1977 as you might think. It charted some years later, and that's why you might look back and wonder why no one knew it then.
Blimey! I watched this but I had never realised how fast it was! No wasted time or clapping. I bet there are more questions than in a modern quiz show,
You are therefore the same age as my brother Anthony. I would have been not yet eight, as my birthday is in the summer. Takes me back to junior school!
Great to see this again. Thanks for posting. A lot of people sneer at "Ask The Family" now thanks mainly to "Not The Nine O'clock News" I suppose but there are not enough intelligent quiz shows on television these days. The excellent "Only Connect" is descended from this.
Thank you for sharing. My dad used to enjoy watching Ask the family, though our family was nowhere near posh enough to go on it! Even as a kid watching this, I always liked the quiet, thoughtful atmosphere, very much like the 'parlour games' that a lot of TV games and quizzes sprung from. And for those watching this who are under 25, yes, people really did dress like that in the 70s!
Thanks for putting this video up. I can remember sitting with my family throughout the 70s and early 80s and thoroughly enjoying this show, finding the questions challenging but not taxing (we also used to watch University Challenge) and when you compare the likes of the quiz shows we watched back then to the dumbed down dross we get now (Only Connect being the exception to the rule, as well as the old favourites Mastermind and the aforementioned University Challenge) you realise just how lowbrow family viewing has become.
Happy times!....this is so good to see after many years. It fills me with happy times as a 14 yr old...without a care in the world....thank you....Cheers
Fantastic bit of game show history :) hink I had forgotten how the 70s fashions made the parents look far older then they most likely were. Thanks for the upload Daniel Pollick.
And very nice start music too with it. It seems they altered it later on until the series ended in 1984 at the time. I preferred this music to that one of later on though too! Thank you anyway too.
Thanks so much for sharing tho Daniel - it brought back great memories. I definitely watched this episode at the time, as I remember the families' surnames. Aroundabout this time, I remember out headteacher at our school assembly asking for families who would like to audition for the show... & knowing that I'd never be able to, as I came from a one-parent family! Well done though to your family for doing so well, & for you to have the courage to post this! ;-)
The credit sequence was always striking with the combination of tabla and groovy "Sergeant Pepper" style Edwardiana. Like a lot of 1970s things it seems to walk a narrow line somewhere between cool and a bit creepy.
Ooh yes - definitely a spooky, gothic/horror feel to the opening theme tune. Could also be a John Le Carre type spy thriller theme. Must have been some weird stuff they were smoking that day!!!
I came here for the theme music (and haven't found the full version yet) but I got engrossed by the quiz. You did exceptionally well, young Daniel! Brought back so many memories of my 70s childhood viewing. I'd have got the lightbulb question, though!
Never missed this each week, I recall two theme tunes, this is the 2nd one, its predecessor was an 'indian bangra' style melody, which was also very nice. That said, watching this, the BBC did have a love of 'posh' educated families ! Very nice to watch a complete episode. Thank you for uploading it.
The original theme was called, 'Acka Raga', by The John Harriott-John Mayer Double Quartet. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-DCYtEa9yDXs.html
Thanks for uploading Daniel. Watched tonight for a bit of nostalgia but also for a bit of a change from the usual twenty first century noisier telly!! A relaxing pleasant half hour. Very nice! One last thing....the production values always look older to me than the year in the credits. Look at the cramped, angular set. Looks like 1974 rather than 1978. To think Star Wars had already been out a year!!
ATF was not always 'automatic transmission fluid'. I took no notice at all of those who thought the show was 'too middle class'. It was of it's time and great early evening TV. Robert was a Master Broadcaster in every sense!
Thanks for sharing this portion of your youth. Of course the questions addressed to specific family members would be seen as promoting stereotypes now and the family unit is often so much more complex.
My old man was a Dustman who wore a Dustman hat. He wore core blimey trousers and we lived in a council flat in the rough part of Epsom in Surrey. We was not the typical family for this posh peoples quiz lol
The surnames are fascinating. Buswell being a typical Romanichal surname, meaning a fiddle player. The Pollick name may be an Ashkenazic derivative of Polish. Funny thing is, yesterday I looked at a book abt Manchester Jewry and my eagle eye spotted a family of Pollicks standing outside a shop. I keep getting these little synchronicities and connections, it was just weird when I spotted the surname here. ☺️ I think there's a sizeable Jewish community in both Southport and St Anne's too. If you are related to the Pollick family in the book, that would blow my mind. Or maybe it wouldn't, it's actually not the first time I've had amazing coincidences concerning Jewish surnames. Oh well, you live and learn.....
I remember being petrified of the opening titles, it didn't set me up for the rest of the programme very well. Good memories? "Aaaaah would that it were, would that it were" 😅
So Mr Pollick was a market trader. He and Mrs Pollick were both third gen immigrants. Son Pollick (me) was first in family to go to university. I guess we were and are middle class but it’s not like we inherited that status or were silver spooned.
Another scary "Ask The Family" intro when you were only a young kid in the 70's - not far off "Tales Of The Unexpected" this one. "Acka Raga" and the Happy Families theme (grumpy faces & big scissors!!) even scarier but nearly 50yrs on my favourite tune now.
Wow, it was that spooky intro I remembered most of all from childhood, those Victorian faces turning around with their toothy grins fascinated and disturbed me in equal measures!
The best thing about this show was Robert Robinsons hair which always entertains :) Also it's amazing that you could make a complete TV show for about a tenner. If it cost more than that then they were robbed :)
"theres always a black one..." i wondered where RR was going with that question, and then he called French people frogs. it was the 70s after all. wonderful bit of nostalgia there, i used to watch this all the time as a kid myself. thank you for uploading this Master Pollick. 40 years have gone in the blink of an eye, I'm guessing you're about 50 now. i hope your folks are still around to enjoy this, you look a wonderful family.
A time before British TV was dumbed down by the likes of Keith Lemon, Ricky Gervais and Co where even Tiswas was more intellectual that what is spewed on to our telly today.
The bucket of water song? - Hmmm - The dying fly? - Hmmm - getting gunged? The nipple revealing wet T-shirt of that girl presenter? ... not a LOT different to today's TV... - You can't knock KIDS entertainment when you're not a kid any more and haven't a clue WHY kids like any of it - If it's the sexual aspect of modern TV shows like Keith Lemon (who I can;t stand either TBH - yes, he's a prick) that bother you, don't forget that half the reason we watched TISWAS was to see that female presenter's nipples whenever her shirt got wet - We wern'et THAT innocent in the 70's!
This tune was a mystery in my memory for about 3 decades. In fact, it became a bit of a goal to get to the bottom of it, till a guy on YT put me in the right place. It's one of the best British TV tunes. What was the instrument? Nice reverbs. I like the waltz, too.
Rather baffled that Mr. Robinson thought Green Onions sounded as though it had been composed and played on a computer! He had NO idea what was to come...
Loved watching “Ask the Family” in the 70’s. Was this on Sunday evenings? I’m 54 now, but after watching this I still had thoughts, have I done all my homework for school tomorrow. Thanks Daniel for sharing. Super memories.
You must be around the same age as I am, as it would be too I guess of course. I turned 55 in January. I remember the series too, and very nice it was then. Not the same much now then really on alas too. Ask The Family; Call My Bluff; and My Music; all shows of old that the BBC did at the time on either BBC1 or BBC2 at the time; although of course later on they ended anyway too. Thank you!
I was watching Britains brightest families and I thought, what was that show I used to watch as a child. My word these people are bright. After the first round of 5 point questions I was stumped for most of the rest. Just goes to show how education standards have slipped these days. I pretty much nailed many questions on Britains brightest families.
I was trying at the age of 8, to figure out what the Russian style espionage music had to do with the programme. I can imagine this sort of style of programme in Russia today.
@@PastPresented ok here goes. In 1978 only primitive vcrS were available. We had a Phillips n1700 and we made a terrible recording off the tv. Those went obsolete very fast so we assumed we’d never get a recording. But then some time in the 80s/90s I wrote to the bbc to ask if they had a copy. They replied snootily that they didn’t and that only items of merit were preserved in the archive. A few years passed. Then I came to work one Monday and a colleague said ‘I saw you on tv on Saturday night’. Bbc2 had done a programme called tv hell, which was a full evening of clips from terrible old shows. The clip in which my sister and I featured (with a separate clip of parents who were not ours) was preceded by a screen banner saying ‘warning. Ugly middle class family approaching.’ We were especially amused by being chosen as the best example of kids to go with the chosen parents. Tv hell, incidentally, followed a c4 Saturday night special called tv heaven which was about good old shows rather than terrible ones. Anyway, I wrote to the BBC again and they admitted having one show in the archives and sold us a VHS copy for, I think, £170. This was the first round. I’ve never found the other three episodes in which we appeared. The video, and the story of getting it, has given us all enormous pleasure as well as helping us to realise how ugly and middle class we are.
@@danielpollick339 That sounds extremely cheeky of the BBC. Apart from anything else they should probably have paid you residuals for the _TV Hell_ clip; when we were on ATF we got extra payments for the weekly repeats.
Used to watch it as a kid. Shocked how hard the questions are. Not like Pointless and other modern quiz shows. Maybe I'm just thick, or all the families were Mensa members.
+edwardszzz There are still 'cerebral' quizzes like this - most recently one starring the lady in my avatar - but they tend to get shunted onto BBC4 these days.
I remember impatiently waiting for Ask The Family to finish and for Blake's 7 to come on. It seems so charming and naive, and slightly severe now. Things have changed so much...
Daniel Pollick It 'was' on a Monday. My dear old Nan use to come round every Monday and we always watched Ask The Family before Blake's 7. Thanks for uploading this Daniel...I really enjoyed it! :)
@@danielpollick339 I think in those days that BBC1 would have different start times to now. For instance it was 6.50pm after Nationwide and that sort of thing. I think it was only when Michael Grade later became controller that he decided in 1985 or so to round the times to 7.00pm and that sort of time too. I know I read it was to tie in with ITV's start times also, but also too that he had seen that in the USA tv start times were rounded up too, or at least I guess so too I wonder of course?
Thanks for this Dan. I used to watch this all the time. Brings back memories of other shows at the same time, classic Dr Who, It Ain't Half Hot Mum, Tomorrow's World, The Holiday Programme. TV was so much better back then. How far did your family get on the show?
+thriddoctor sorry for massive satellite delay: we got to the final where we were slaughtered by the Coleby family from Doncaster (this was the first round; the final was the fourth round).
After watching this I can understand why Count Arthur Strong still feels aggrieved at not getting the job over Robert Robinson .Ha. Actually when you watch Count Arthurs take on this and then watch this it kind of puts it all in perspective.
Robert Robinson now seems quite abrupt as a question master! A favourite show at ours. Comparing then with now, the introductions of the contestants are brief and the ending is wrapped up very quickly. These were days when it was really all about the quiz questions, and what good ones they were. Would that they were the same standard now! :-)
There was at least two theme tunes with two very different open titles. This is the one I remember but there was also one version with those weirdly drawn family playing cards with "Mr Bun the Baker" etc. Here's a link to the other theme... Ask The Family - Acka Raga - Joe Harriott and John Mayer - Theme Song
When British quiz programmes were still made for the British and aimed at the general level of general knowledge and ability of the British before commercial channels started dumbing everything down in the 90s in attempts to also sell to the American market.
Thanks for this... I had the tune in my head ....took me ages to work out it was this programme. Lol i was 8 when this was broadcast... I hated it..soooo boring for a 8 year old :)
I couldn't answer 1 of these questions, have an IQ of 145 and regularly answer 75% of the questions on Jeopardy ( at home of course ). Maybe today's 145 was yesterdays 100. Also I'm not British and that could be affecting it quite a bit. I was amazed at the quick responses to some of the math questions.
