Today viewers have hundreds of channels and streaming services, like Netflix, Apple TV and Disney+, at their fingertips.
But many of us still find ourselves missing our favourite TV shows from the past, vaguely remembering facts and attempting to explain them to a younger generation. There are many we wish would reappear on our screens, or even be rebooted.
This week, fans were thrilled to hear that years on from the last episode, Brookside will finally return to screens on the free streaming service, STV Player. But over the decades, a number of shows have come and gone that we can't easily rewatch, some more obscure than others.
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Last year on a Reddit thread, user Silly_Weather8332 posted 'What’s an obscure British TV show that only you seem to remember?' – and was flooded with more than 3,500 comments, the MEN previously reported. We took inspiration from the post and put the question to our readers on our Liverpool memories and history Facebook group – and here are just 20 of your suggestions.
This list isn't intended to be comprehensive, we chose a range of shows across the decades based on your comments. But if you feel there is a programme we should have included, let us know in the comments section.
Adam Adamant Lives!
British adventure series Adam Adamant Lives! first burst onto our screens in the mid-1960s. Over two series, viewers followed Edwardian adventurer Adam Adamant who had been frozen alive by by his archenemy, The Face and later revived after being discovered in a car park.
In the episodes, fans saw Adam adapt to like in the 60s and go on to solve crime as he did decades before. Starring Gerald Harper in the title role, it ran on BBC from 1966 to 1967.
My Wife Next Door
The concept of this storyline happening in real life would be a nightmare for many. My Wife Next Door, first aired by BBC, followed a divorced couple who both move to a new country for a separate new life, only to find they've moved in next door to one another upon their new beginning.
The sitcom ran for 13 episodes in 1972 and starred John Alderton and Hannah Gordon. One 1973 episode also won a British Academy TV Award.
Department S
Starring Peter Wyngarde as Jason King, Department S aired on ITV from 1969 to 1970. The episodes follow King and two other agents in Department S who take on cases that other colleagues had failed to solve.
Joel Fabiani, Rosemary Nicols and Dennis Alaba Peters also star. Many will also remember the 1972 spin-off Jason King which saw Wyngarde reprise his role.
One Summer
Written by Merseyside's own Willy Russell, drama serial One Summer was came to TV in 1983. Starring David Morrissey and Spencer Leigh, their 16-year-old character leave their broken homes in Liverpool for a new life in Wales.
And despite running away, their past still catches up with them. Shown on Channel 4, it is a five-part series.
Do you remember any of these TV shows? Let us know in the comments section below.
Rentaghost
A children's comedy show, Rentaghost followed a firm of ghosts who hired out other spirits to complete tasks. Broadcast on BBC, the show ran from 1976 to 1984.
Created and written by Bob Block, over 50 episodes aired during its life on our screens. Starring Anthony Jackson, Michael Darbyshire, Michael Staniforth and more, it later became available to re-watch on BritBox.
The Human Jungle
Airing on ITV, The Human Jungle starred Herbert Lom and Sally Smith and ran for two series between 1963 and 1965. It followed psychiatrist Dr. Roger Corder treating and curing patients, often through Freudian and contemporary approaches.
The majority of the episodes focused on one patient. Over two years, 26 episodes aired in total.
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Chocky
Coming to our TV screen in 1984, Chocky was a six-part series that was first broadcast on ITV. Based on the 1968 novel of the same name by John Wyndham, the series differed slightly from the book and was instead set in 1980s Surrey.
Chocky followed Matthew Gore, a schoolboy chosen by an extraterrestrial entity to provide information about Earth. Starring James Hazeldine and Caro Drinkwater, the show also spawned two sequels, named Chocky's Children and Chocky's Challenge in the 1980s.
The Adventure Game
BBC game show The Adventure Game was originally broadcast between 1980 and 1986. Each episode followed two celebrities and a member of the public travelling by spaceship to the planet Arg, later performing challenges to locate crystals to travel home.
It ran for four series and celebrity appearances included Bonnie Langford, Noel Edmonds and Johnny Ball.
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The Four Just Men
Broadcast for only one series, The Four Just Men first came to our screen in 1959. Based on a a sequence of novels by Edgar Wallace, the series follows four characters who band together after meeting as Allied soldiers during the Second World War.
Fighting injustice, the four men included aa British politician, an American journalist living Paris, a lawyer in the U.S. and a Roman hotelier. Released on ITV, it ran for 39 episodes.
After Dark
Ground-breaking in its time, Channel 4's After Dark was first introduced in 1987. The late-night discussion show tackled a range of topics and was broadcast live with no scheduled end time.
Featuring celebrities and experts speaking freely, it was a place were guests and could speak freely. Airing till 1991, it had two one off specials in the 1990s and was briefly revived for a single series by BBC Four in 2003.
Chance in a Million
Sitcom Chance in a Million starred Simon Callow and Brenda Blethyn. Produced by Thames Television for Channel 4, it was broadcast between 1984 and 1986.
In the show, Tom Chance is is frequently plagued with a number of unlikely circumstances. In the series, the character is oblivious to a lot of this and it also follows his relationship with girlfriend Alison.
Armchair Theatre
Running from 1956 to 1974, Armchair Theatre was an anthology drama series. Boasting over 400 episodes, viewers will remember it airing every Sunday evening.
The show followed a series of single play. In the late 1960s, the show was produced by Thames Television.
Your Life in Their Hands
Before shows like One Born Every Minute, GPs Behind Closed Doors and Ambulance, it was unusual to watch patient appointments or even surgery take place on TV. But in its time, Your Life In Their Hands was an innovative series which had millions of viewers glued to their screens.
The long-running BBC documentary series followed a surgical practice and first aired from 1958 to 1964. In later years, it was revived in the 70s to the 80s, in the early 90s and again in the 00s.
Watching
Set in Merseyside, Watching aired on ITV and followed the lives of a young couple – Brenda from Liverpool and Malcom from Meols on the Wirral. Broadcasting seven series from 1987 to 1993, the couple were played by Emma Wray and Paul Brown.
Broadcasting over 50 episodes, the name of the show comes from some of the characters hobbies of people watching and birds watching. Watching also had a number of Christmas specials.
Flambards
Based on the novels by author K. M. Peyton, Flambards aired for just one series in 1979. Broadcast by ITV, the series was set from 1909 to 1918 and ran for 13 episodes.
The show followed an orphaned teenager who who comes to live at the Flambards estate, where her uncle and two cousins live. Christine McKenna and Edward Judd star.
Rag, Tag and Bobtail
In the 1950s and 1960s, many children sat down to watch BBC's Rag, Tag and Bobtail. Viewers weekly tuned in to watch theadventures of the glove puppet characters.
Rag was a hedgehog, Tag a mouse and Bobtail was a rabbit, with five baby rabbits also appeared occasionally. At the time, 26 episodes each running for 12 minutes were made.
Torchy the Battery Boy
Running from 1959 to 1961, Torchy the Battery Boy was broadcast on ITV. Over two series, 52 episodes came to our screens.
Directed by Gerry Anderson, Torchy was a mechanical boy with a lamp in his head and batteries inside. The show followed Torchy on his adventures both on earth and Topsy Turvy Land
Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt
Selwyn Froggitt and his life in the fictional Yorkshire village of Scarsdale came to our televisions in the 1970s. From 1974 to 1978, the show ran on ITV and aired nearly 30 epsiodes.
Starring Bill Maynard as Selwyn Froggitt, the lead character had numerous jobs from being a handyman to council labourer – but continued to be a nuisance to residents in the area. It lasted four series and Megs Jenkins and Robert Keegan also starred.
Shelley
ITV sitcom Shelley ran from 1979 to 1984. But, the show made a comeback and was introduced to a new generation in 1988 till 1992, meaning the show lasted a total of ten series.
Starring Hywel Bennett as Dr James Shelley, we follow the life of the educated 'freelance layabout.' On the show, Shelley has many a run in with the authority, his landlady and his girlfirend.
The Beiderbecke Affair
Produced by ITV in the 1980s, The Beiderbecke Affair ran for six episodes. Starring James Bolam, Barbara Flynn and Terence Rigby, the show follows the lives of a number of characters and the later revealed interconnected events between them.
The Beiderbecke Affair was set in Leeds. The show sparked two sequel series in the 80s, The Beiderbecke Tapes and The Beiderbecke Connection.
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