He brought a wonderful empathy to Time Team.. his kind detailed replies to Tonys frustration always impressed me ! I was thinking, isnt it about time Time Team was on? We cannot wait to share this magic with you! . I take my hat off to them. May be he could be a Lord? !I have just retired and it would be perfect NOW. Oh dear what a shame as its such a great program especially with Phil & ALL the team.I think their sense of humour is almost worth a show on its own.Anyway a big thank you for many interesting hours as a an armchair archeologist. Self - Aston Eyre, Shropshire (1998) . That has gone now, so im going to just have to watch all the reruns on Discovery history ( and there are quite a few of them) and be happy. Promotion of family values good natured banter and above all a love of the past which TT has shared with us over the years is disposed of Shame, Shame, Shame. If there had been a mission statement for the show during those early days, it would have been the democratisation of archaeology. The writing was on the wall though poor scheduling . With its awkwardly embarassing reality programming and multitude of dream come true talent shows American television is NOTHING to emulate. With Season 20 airing next year, and a series of one-off specials running into 2014, there is still new Time Team on the way. I for one will not watch any new episodes. Tony Robinson, global warming? In 2003, I joined the amateur Biggar Archaeology Group which, among other achievements, discovered the oldest known archaeological site in Scotland. It is sad to read the mechanics of its demise and, worse, to see it played out on screen. It is made up of real people and I have learnt so much from it. We range in age from 8yrs to 82yrs and have loved Tony, Mick, Phil, Carenza, Helen, Faye, geophys John and most of all Stuart. I will think of you when I am digging in a field this afternoon, that you once dug, and bury a memento in your memory. youtu.be/rlKmrT. This is just swell. Towards the end of its run an average episode would cost around 200,000 a budget more on the scale of a small drama show in the eyes of television insiders but over 20 years Channel 4 pumped 4 million directly into British archaeology. I am shattered by this news. While the TV producers have obviously ruined a formula that entertained and educated millions of people worldwide for a couple of decades, I assume it is now beyond recall. Tony, Mick,and Phil will be missed. The pair bonded on the idyllic Greek island, where Micks aptitude for breathing life into the past convinced Tony that archaeology had untapped television potential. As a teacher of Ancient and Modern History in Australia, I found the T.T programs a wonderful way to back up the various topics I taught. When Time Team came along, I got absolutely hooked on it. I think he was a lovely man SO SAD ! You can watch some TT episodes on YouTube, you know-that one included. http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/time-team-should-continue-on-tv.html Tim Taylor recalls that some archaeologists were initially, quite fairly, a bit sceptical. One aspect that some treated with suspicion was the three-day deadline. Ok BBC4, its time for you to take Time Team. This is a project in its preliminary stages, run by Tim Taylor. We also miss Stuart very much. This was a fresh ongoing series with a warm and positive vibe, an interesting treat on TV. TT has inspired me to take up the challenge of retraining at the age of 67 for a second career in Heritage and Museum studies. A viewers petition is probably the most difficult to achieve. My wife and I are from the States and discovered Time Team on Amazon Prime after watching/ loving other British shows- Rick Steins culinary travels, Timothy Wests canal cruising, etc. just found TT on Acorn streaming. I love time team because it is filled with such enthusiasm and love for its subject. We will suffer forever without the seasonal hours of archaeology, in all its forms. . The way Phil, Mick, Tony and company have made an impact on my life, you have no idea. Can anyone help us with the contact? YOU HAVE JUST NOT THOUGHT THIS THROUGH! Ive learnt so much and enjoying every minuteo. Having said that, I hope this means Time Team DVDs will now be more available to those of us in the US who adore the show. With Phil Harding also on board, three members of the future Time Team core were in place. I know real archaeologists are dismissive of Time Team but I loved it. Inever felt patronised and loved the interation beteen Tony, Phil and Mick. Time Team Official 133K subscribers Time Team Teatime - Session 28 Wrapping up Black History Month and our exploration of North America's early European colonies, we're staying in St Mary's. Lets hope that BBC4 takes up the genre. British Television just one more nail in your coffin. It may not have been archaelogical perfection but it did make archaeology appealing to many and did digs that no one had the funds or interest to do. This article is 10 years old but like a spoiler. In other words, archaelogy, teamwork, and interaction in that order. It remains my all time favourite reality TV show and I really miss it. Tony Robinson seems an entirely likeable guy and does his presenting job with good humour and humility. The main loss will be the delight we have got shouting bullshit-ware at the screen as Paul Blinkhorn announces a small lump of stone is in reality early Anglo Saxon teaset. The team also included the likes of surveyors Stewart Ainsworth and Henry Chapman, illustrator Victor Ambrus, and fellow archaeologists Helen Geake and Phil Harding, and gradually the show. And I really enjoy watching The show ran on the chemistry among the original team, and failed to work as they left or lost interest. Filmed at Athelney, site of Alfred the Greats apocraphal burnt cakes, the site was scheduled, precluding excavation. Its a shame yet highlights the offensively patronizing view metro-based TV people have of the general public. In the country you have more sense of the spirit of a place. His passion for digging up relics, come rain or shine, is unparalleled. I thought Channel Four was supposed to be a cultural channel appealing to grown ups, yet the dire Big Brother has been inflicted on us for over ten years along with other ephemeral rubbish. Didnt like the changes either to the team it change the dynamics of the program but kept watching anyway. Channel 4 has just axed the best show on tv wont be watching channel 4 again, There will always be someone who knows what we like we to watch. Time Team! Do specials instead of a series. My politics are not Tony Robinsons or Mick Astons, but both deserve warm congratulations for what they did for archaeology and viewers over two decades.Tony Robinson seems to be largely responsible for the successful populist formula, the zest and the humourand the succinct resumes to stop viewers getting flummoxed., He deserves a knighthood but presumably he would just wrinkle his nose. Some of the regulars have retired, some have moved on to other things, a few have departed for Tr nan g or the Field of Reeds. The programme has no need for eye candy, no need to try to attract yuppies: archaeology is like genealogy interest grows (although not exclusively) with age. About the same time I discovered TT and became a dedicated viewer and have viewed all their programmes thanks to More Four. Whats on at this afternoon? I wonder if channel programmers read these blogs? Im an Englishman, came to Australia as a 12yo in 1970. So sad to hear that it came to an end. Time Team is a victim of Channel 4s misguided quest for progress, and we hope that, in some form, the programme may rise like the phoenix from the ashes and take on a persona not far removed from the popular format. It all got too big, too ambitious. 100% Upvoted. For years I had little interest in any of it but as time went by this programme made me interested. Like you, I find nothing more pleasant than to end a hard day in a Free House with a cold one and a good conversation. Envelopes hidden at strategic points would set challenges along the lines of find the Medieval high street in two hours. He joined the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (now part of English Heritage) in 1985, and is now head of its Landscape Investigation Team based in York, England. As others have said, lets hope that the B.B.C. Thanks to you all. It lost its way because of the producers. Gutted that Time Team has ended! The dig is important because the whole are is soon to be developed as a tourist complex with golf course. Dues have been paid, so get Sir Tony back, along with some younger faces and writing talent, and get cracking on a new TIME TEAM !!! In this months Science Notes, we will explore the evidence for this hypothesis, and examine how violence-related injuries are distinguished in archaeological human remains. Only a fool would get rid of an engaging program like TT. perhaps they could do a show that showed what happens as the sites are put back to their natural state. Somehow they know that the user is in the US and access is denied. TT is very fun to watch after nearly 30 years from the first episodes; watching the GeoPhysics change from season to season (week to week for me as I binge) is great for this engineer. []. TT had a great following here in Canada. "[3], As of 2010, Ainsworth has been affiliated with the history and archaeology department at the University of Chester, where he is a visiting professor.[4]. TV is going downhill faster & faster. Headed by D Macall. Pity arise Sir Phil???? I WONDER what rubbish they will put on instead. Are any available at the moment does anyone know? well done on ending one of the best programs on tele. There is a focus on interesting, previously discovered, artefacts, while pipe music lends an almost mystical air to proceedings. The writing was on the wall when it regularly began featuring cleavage shots of diggers and the dreaded re-enactments. This feature was published in Current Archaeology issue274. Restructuring, avoiding dumbing down, possibly making it a shorter programme all could help. Its December 2016, My Hubby and I live in Queensland Australia,we have Foxtel and have the old shows on a series link and never get tired of watching the Time Team. Miss TT so much. Time Teams genesis is a well-rehearsed story. It will be sad for it to end, but theres still a few epsiodes I havent seen. History is a fascinating subject but Faced with the loss of a stalwart the production team then proceed to sideline the other star of the show Phil Harding for most of the airtime, and we get all that Chief Investigator nonsense, coupled with the bright young things who were the televisual equivolent of the black death for the programme. I often wish you could all come to my back yard 1 acre) and help me find the many many pairs of secateurs buried therein. Im sitting here on the sofa watching the usual More 4 showing on a Saturday morning. There is more than enough rubbish shown on tv so why axe a good item that entertains, explains and raises more questions. Here in NZ we are only now starting Series 19,in Bitterly, at present. Struck by how much could be learnt in a few hours, Tim wondered what could be achieved in a few days. From jan Marie jaser. Time Team - Phil Harding Phil Harding Field Archaeologist Phil Harding is Time Team's resident trench-excavator. Many of my friends would love to travel to the UK because of shows like Time Team and Escape to the country. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVRe_gMtXNo. The changes proved too much, too fast, and viewing figures crashed to 700,000. Mick Aston is a damn good archaeologist and his departure was a serious loss to the programme. 17:30 EST 07 Feb 2012 Time Team announces historic comeback with 2021 dig at huge Oxfordshire Roman villa that may be 'almost the size of Buckingham Palace'. I would love to see as many of the team as posible brought together for specials or even to tell us what they are involved in now. But, as always with Time Team, the adventure is in the discovery of the secrets of the past, whatever they are!, Landowner Martin Fiennes a cousin of actors Ralph and Joseph Fiennes, and explorer Sir Ranulph says: Were delighted to welcome Time Team to Broughton. Far from a media concoction, the unique individuals on Time Team were filmed going about their work with an honesty and integrity that has seen the series heralded as Britains first reality television show. The onscreen introduction of team members and their specialist skills was a hangover from a time when participants would have varied from week to week, rather than coalescing into a core group. i like everything about it. It was an intelligent, thought provoking, and entertaining program. And key graphic purporting to show the significant shift in building alignments between two phases did not actually do that but simply repeated the original layout! I am! Please bring it back with all the original cast the new ones where good but I preferred the old cast and format. They will be joined by new faces representing the breadth of experts practising archaeology today. And this program had run its course several years ago. Thank you all for giving us years of delight and thank God for DVDs. Its like having a child grow up and leave home The cast felt like family that I would visit each weekend and even my 11 year old daughter enjoyed it so much she joined a young archaeologists club. Not that I want to live there though am quite happy to be an Australian. Unfortunately my DVD recording did not work. I agree Shiela, a long read but entertaining, and an indication of TTs popularity. The attempted dumbing down of Time Team smacks of dim executives meeting to dish corporate cliches out to one another. although a WONDERFUL outlet for the undoubted heroes, is not archaeology and not what I feel Time Team needs. Yes, Phil can still shift the muck but check out his work on lithics studies and you might change your opinion. Who is Mary Ann & what does she bring to the table? Many bad decisions for all the wrong reasons. It feels very sad that I shant do that. The UK has always been relied on for quality productions and Time Team epitomised these values, but obviously, some young Turk in a rented tux has been allowed to jazz it up. I was devastated to hear of the demise of this wonderful programme, but once they made the decision to bring in the awful Mary Ann Ochota as a co-presenter, the programme was doomed. What do other TT viewers think? Perhaps in gthe future we may have a project for a future Time Team, Channel 4 where did it all go wrong? It encouraged me to study the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages. Also, a Presenter is not supposed to insult the experts he is reporting on. Watching how the team coalesce over time and their skills mature. It is absolutely fantastic to see the amount of people who have followed this programme and the comments above are pretty amazing. He only lives about 10 miles away. Arrr! Sad to hear the show is coming to an end but hopefully repeat episodes will frequent our screens for a long time to come. 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