Pomona Rewind

While TV viewers have often escaped reality with drama, comedy and light entertainment, television has had a vital role in bringing people back down to earth. News and current affairs has been critical to that, acting as a window to the world. We have come a long way from the days of Richard Whitmore, Sir Alastair Burnett, Angela Rippon and RTE's Charles Mitchel reading teatime,  nine o'clock  and  ten o'clock news bulletins with the occasional news flash. Now we have wall to wall 24 hour news coverage of major state events and unfolding news stories and audience participation with instant text polls and social media commentary. But what are the TV news and current affairs moments that grabbed viewers during the analogue age? CAMP DAVID ACCORDS September 17, 1978 During the long dark days of violence in Northern Ireland, one other conflict cast a depressing shadow over the world and that was between the Israelis and the Arab World. But then, during the Preside

During the analogue TV era, many of us grew up dreaming of America thanks to imported drama. Some dreamt of the Western plains and the cattle ranches of 'Bonanza'. Others dreamt of the oil barons of Texas and the Southwest, thanks to 'Dallas' and 'Dynasty'. Some of us dreamt of the mean streets of Manhattan, Chicago or LA, thanks to a range of police or medical dramas.   But what were the high points of US TV drama during the analogue age? KOJAK     During the 1970s, David Soul and Paul Michael Glazer were two of US TV's biggest stars, thanks to 'Starsky and Hutch'. But CBS's 'Kojak', which aired on BBC1 on a Saturday night, always seemed to have more of an edge to it. Set in New York, it starred Telly Savalas as Theo Kojak, the lollipop sucking, tough talking dapper NYPD lieutenant whose tenacity and occasional willingness to bend the rules helped him land criminals in jail. But the real strength of Abby Mann's series lay i

Like a lot of people, I love watching sport. As I've written before on this site, sport is drama at its purest and when one of your own tribe triumphs on the international stage it has an extra special dimension. Until our recent rash of golfing, Paralympics and Olympics achievements, international success has been sporadic at best for Irish and Northern Irish sports stars. But when it happens, how sweet the sound. Analogue TV has witnessed many Irish and Northern Irish triumphs. Here are 11 favourites from the analogue age. GERRY ARMSTRONG - 1982 WORLD CUP It was a  Friday night  and I was 12 and the odds seemed heavily stacked against Billy Bingham's Northern Ireland squad progressing beyond the group stages in the 1982 World Cup in Spain. Northern Ireland had previously fought out two hard earned draws against Yugoslavia and Honduras but were facing the host nation in Valencia. John Motson was the BBC1 commentator in a nervy match but