History Trivia / Ghostwatch

* ExecutiveMeddling: The writing credit at the opening was a last minute addition insisted on by Creator/TheBBC, who had very nearly pulled the entire broadcast.
** Other ideas that were nixed after consultation with BBC higher-ups were the inclusion of a high-pitched frequency that would agitate any dogs proximate to the TV during broadcast[[note]]due to technical limitations in broadcast soundtracks at the time, this wouldn't have been possible even if permission had been given[[/note]] and a line delivered by [[spoiler:possessed Parkinson telling viewers that "the ghost" is probably in their house".]]
* OldShame: Creator/TheBBC were quick to scrub the special from their history following the negative press it got following the suicide of a teen who allegedly watched it. It has never been rerun on the network (as of 2020, it still hasn't), the Beeb never brought it up ever again and they, for the most part, pretended it never happened.
** Ultimately subverted around the special's tenth anniversary, when it was released on DVD, playing up the controversy in the taglines.
* PopCultureUrbanLegends: There have been allegations that prior to the broadcast, Sarah Greene performed an item promoting the film on the childrens' Saturday-morning entertainment show which she co-presented, ''Going Live!'', which gave no hint that the programme would be fictional. This was seized upon by people who accused the BBC of an irresponsible hoax, but Greene denies it, and people have searched unsuccessfully through editions of the show that might have been involved without finding anything like it.
** It's been suggested that Mike Smith's demands for reassurance of his wife Sarah Greene's wellbeing at the climax are genuine, a fairly ridiculous claim, not least because the Foxhall Drive scenes were filmed well in advance of the studio scenes.
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** It’s been suggested that Mike Smith’s demands for reassurance of his wife Sarah Greene’s wellbeing at the climax are genuine, a fairly ridiculous claim, not least because the Foxhall Drive scenes were filmed well in advance of the studio scenes.
* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: It has a distinct Nineties feel, aping then-emerging docudramas and making use of technology that was in vogue at the time, such as the light pen and the infrared vision (the latter commonly used on UsefulNotes/GulfWar reports).
** HarsherInHindsight: ...which actually is why, on first broadcast, it was accepted as realistic. Unlike SpecialReport and other films of a similar kind, it didn't use any noticeable accelerated time, only having the haunting events happen seemingly unrealistically fast. Also, if you stripped out the real credits, the presentation is spot on for the real shows it was copying at the time. Anyone looking at a mid-90's episode of Series/CrimewatchUK then a clip from the middle of Ghostwatch would think they were both genuine shows.
** Anyone who missed the first minute would be easily fooled into thinking it was a extra-long pilot commissioned for Halloween, having missed the extra long continuity announcement.

* ExecutiveMeddling: The writing credit at the opening was a last minute addition insisted on by Creato/TheBBC, who had very nearly pulled the entire broadcast.

* DidntThinkThisThrough: When taken to task by viewers on ''Biteback'', two of the personnel involved in the show's creation admit that, having thrown themselves into producing a ghost story with a contemporary spin, they were woefully underprepared for the possibility that swathes of viewers would be taken in by the show's premise.
** Further highlighted by the fact the phone number seen in the special, if called, leads to an automated message saying that the entire thing was fictional and there was nothing to worry about. Since people were indeed getting freaked out by what they saw, they dialed the number in droves, jamming the BBC's call center, resulting in a busy signal that likely made matters worse.
* ExecutiveMeddling: The writing credit at the opening was a last minute addition insisted on by the BBC, who had very nearly pulled the entire broadcast.

* OldShame: The BBC were quick to scrub the special from their history following the negative press it got following the suicide of a teen who allegedly watched it. It has never been rerun on the network (as of 2020, it still hasn't), the Beeb never brought it up ever again and they, for the most part, pretended it never happened.

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: The entire BBC production team for Ghostwatch are played as completely straight versions of themselves, including small details like Sarah Greene and Mike Smith being married and the cameraman and soundman being credited [[AsHimself as themselves]].
* ShownTheirWork: Writer Steve Volk and producer Ruth Baumgarten consulted with representatives of a number of psychical societies as well as members of the public professing to experiences with the paranaromal, with the result that the programme gives a veritable checklist of phenomena associated with the ghosts. Inversely, next to no research was done on the possible adverse reactions a suggestible viewer might have to the show (see DidntThinkThisThrough note above).
* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Ghostwatch has a distinct Nineties feel, aping then-emerging docudramas and making use of technology that was in vogue at the time, such as the light pen and the infrared vision (the latter commonly used on UsefulNotes/GulfWar reports).

** Further highlighted by the fact the phone number seen in the special, if called, leads to an automated message saying that the entire thing was fictional and there was nothing to worry about. Since people were indeed getting freaked out by what they saw, they dialed the number in droves, jamming the BBC's call center, resulting in a dial tone that likely made matters worse.

* OldShame: The BBC were quick to scrub the special from their history following the negative press it got following the suicide of a teen who allegedly watched it. It was never been rerun on the network (as of 2020, it still hasn't), the Beeb never brought it up ever again and they, for the most part, pretended it never happened.

** Ultimately subverted around the special's tenth anniversary, when it was released on DVD.

* PopCultureUrbanLegend: There have been allegations that prior to the broadcast, Sarah Greene performed an item promoting the film on the childrens' Saturday-morning entertainment show on which she appeared, ''Going Live!'', which gave no hint that the programme would be fictional. This was seized upon by people who accused the BBC of an irresponsible hoax, but Greene denies it, and people have searched unsuccessfully through editions of the show that might have been involved without finding anything like it.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Ghostwatch has a distinct Nineties feel, aping then-emerging docudramas like Crimewatch and making use of technology that was in vogue at the time, such as the light pen and the infrared vision (the latter commonly used on UsefulNotes/GulfWar reports).
** HarsherInHindsight: ...which actually is why, on first broadcast, it was accepted as realistic. Unlike SpecialReport and other films of a similar kind, it didn't use any noticeable accelerated time, only having the haunting events happen seemingly unrealistically fast. Also, if you stripped out the real credits, the presentation is spot on for the real shows it was copying at the time. Anyone looking at a mid-90's episode of CrimewatchUK then a clip from the middle of Ghostwatch would think they were both genuine shows.
** Anyone who missed the first minute would be easily fooled into thinking it was a pilot commissioned for Halloween, having missed the extra long continuity announcement.

** HilariousInHindsight: ...which actually is why, on first broadcast, it was accepted as realistic. Unlike SpecialReport and other films of a similar kind, it didn't use any noticeable accelerated time, only having the haunting events happen unrealistically fast. Also, if you stripped out the real credits, the presentation is spot on for the real shows it was copying at the time. Anyone looking at a mid-90's episode of Crimewatch then a clip from the middle of Ghostwatch would think they were both genuine shows.

** Other ideas that were pulled of consultation with BBC higher-ups were the inclusion of a high-pitched frequency that would agitate any dogs proximate to the TV during broadcast and a line delivered by [[spoiler:possessed Parkinson telling viewers that "the ghost" is probably in their house".]]

* HeyItsThatGuy: A number of BBC presenters from the time, but particularly Craig Charles of ''Series/RedDwarf'' and ''Series/RobotWars'' fame.

** HilariousInHindsight: ...which actually is why, on first broadcast, it was accepted as realistic. Unlike SpecialReport and other films of a similar kind, it didn't use any noticeable accelerated time, only having the haunting events happen unrealistically fast.

* ShownTheirWork: Writer Steve Volk and producer Ruth Baumgarten consulted with representatives of a number of psychical societies as well as members of the public professing to experiences with the paranaromal, with the result that the programme gives a veritable checklist of phenomena associated with the ghosts. Inversely, next to no research was done on the possible adverse reactions a suggestible viewer might have to the show (see DidntThinkThisThrough note above).

* DidntThinkThisThrough: When taken to task by viewers on ''Biteback'', two of the personnel involved in the show's creation unequivocally admit that, having thrown themselves into producing a ghost story with a contemporary spin, they were woefully underprepared for the possibility that swathes of viewers would be taken in by the show's premise.

* DidntThinkThisThrough: When taken to task by viewers on ''Biteback'', two of the personnel involved in the shows creation unequivocally admit that, having thrown themselves into producing a ghost story with a contemporary spin, they were completely unprepared for the possibility that swathes of viewers would be taken in by the show's premise.

** Other ideas that were pulled of consultation with BBC higher-ups were the inclusion of a high-pitched frequency that would agitate any dogs proximate to the TV during broadcast and a line delievered by [[spoiler:possessed Parkinson telling viewers that "the ghost" is probably in their house".]]