Regards, Paul Tressel [emailprotected], Time Team was a massive part of my life, Im still watching it even now on more 4 :O. It was just a ridiculous Channel 4 attempt to appeal to younger viewers, and failed dismally. I have enjoyed Time Team from day one. In fact, I actually struggle to watch any anyway, as I made clear at the beginning the post production is irritating. I would echo it completely. I could have watched it for another 20 years. To me that is a programme which went from being a programme presented by farmers and people who knew about the countryside to one in which there is only one farmer and is full of clich-ridden pap. R.I.P. Channel 4 please think again you have made a monumental mistake! Shots of him in woodland seeking out raw materials for a reconstructed axe allowed the audience to witness the hands-on practical process. Yes, we all love the longtime archaelogists (sorry, cant do stars I would say they wouldnt like it either it is rather derogatory of their abilities!) Stopping TT is just another step in the dumbing down of TV and radio. I thought the 2013 series was an improvement on the 2012 series, but tonights episode was disappointing. I generally watch one episode a night, but on weekends I sometimes binge watch until my eyeballs beg for mercy. I will watch Time Team episodes as long as I last. If ch4 wanted to save money why not repeat them from programme 1 . Karenza Lewis archaeological sex on legs. Because of Time Team I now want to become an archeologist. Only problem is the core members are getting on a bit, so no chance of it going another 20 years. Maybe one day she will say sorry to us all. Brought up 3 kids on it. & has never been more pi**ed off 2 here that its being INCREDIBLE ! just found TT on Acorn streaming. By the way I am 52, so I guess I am too old for channel 4, but tell my kids that. I am sure there are more sites for them to investigate. We only recently discovered the Time Team show and rush to ensure we dont miss a show. Sad that time team is no longer , they should go back to how it all started , dont mess with what is ok . Speak for your self! Oh! Tim Taylor explains because weve involved Wessex Archaeology in our work for the last 10 or so years the reports are really good quality. Whilst not filming Phil still works as a field archaeologist with Wessex Archaeology, and has been involved in a project listing all known Palaeolithic sites in Britain. I absolutely agree with everything you said ! In 2003, I joined the amateur Biggar Archaeology Group which, among other achievements, discovered the oldest known archaeological site in Scotland. By the way, if the executives mild revamp caused viewer figures to plummet, how come it was the programme and not those executives who got the flak? Just a thought If anyone knows how to get up an on line partition, perhaps we could get enough signatures to make Ch4 sit up and take notice? You are going to be missed more than most of us realise. Sir Tony Robinson, who is an honorary patron, says: I was delighted to hear about the plans for the next chapter in Time Teams story. I have watched Time Team over the years. The enthusiasm shown by the crews, the information, the chance to get a flavour of what made our country and the historical influences in each area. We have watched it form the start and enjoyed it on various level hugely. Have to admit they are probably the main reason I now spend a lot of my spare time out on the Thames foreshore with the Thames Discovery Programme- enjoying it hugely, and probably have them to thank, they showed us that anyone can get involved. Prof Mick, great bloke and always so calm, Carensa made a lot of episodes more entertaining and TR a god of comedy and history. Their ethos has been propagated through the educational system and I feel that its still there (though fading) With the archaeologists at the height of their game, by now the team was so confident of the three-day regime that development producer Jim Mower describes their appearance on site as like getting the A Team in. We invited him down to see our newly-completed Saxon hall, based on archaeology from a dig Phil was involved in back in 1974! It is to the Channels credit that it did this despite much of that outlay being channelled into post-excavation work that never appeared onscreen. Perhaps the question should be not what went wrong with Time Team, but what went wrong with Channel 4. Dont let it stop you Margaret. Phil annoys me at times, by always stealing the limelight when lesser mortals had done the hard graft,but, the highlights were when lesser mortals (IE Raksha, Matt or Ian) had exciting finds and were allowed to show.Victors drawings were more lively and thought provoking than the boring computer graphics.I will start to miss the programme in two years time, when we finally complete seies 20. Plans: Tim said they now have enough funds to film two new episodes for YouTube, with another two in the pipeline. What Time Team once was in the beginning will never be reproduced. Southern Gaulish Samian ware, or Green Glaze, 14th Century. Observing how so many, different, recondite specialty fields come together paleopalynography. This comment by Peter Thomas is an excellent precis of all that has been said. That way we still get our fix when we want to remind ourselves how good this series was. Required fields are marked *. The cast and crew were pretty obviously seriously digging their roles, (bad pun semi-intended sorry about that sort of). It was my favourite show for many years and definitely, for me, left so many other scientifically accurate but boring-as-bat-poo documentaries in its dust. A monumental row and walk out, one would guess. Also it being on an increasingly miserable Channel (4) did it no favours whatsoever. I want Time Team brought back. Why is it that when you get a winning format, which TT clearly is, you get the morons in suits, who obviously havent a clue what the audience want, having to justify their existence by changing things. It is obvious to me that they were always working on their format and that Tony was the TV guy while the others were the science folks. In the immediate aftermath of a programmes cancellation it is traditional to attempt a post-mortem of what went wrong. I think Phil is a genius at being able to read the ground he is digging up. Its prototype was Timesigns, a four-part series that aired in 1991. Such a shame a beautiful show as this is axed and they show such dribble as reality tv shows blah yuk. Admittedly, in the last year or so I have found myself increasingly disinterested in the programme. Enough said. Who was the idiot that canceled it??? I have only recently discovered TT and am currently watching 4 episodes a day, courtesy of More 4 and Discovery History channels, and am utterly devastated to learn that it has been axed. The money was well spent, and today only five Time Team sites remain unpublished a record that shames many UK units and academics. It remains my all time favourite reality TV show and I really miss it. With regards to a few folks comments about Tony Robinson. This is true Reallity Television. Team Team gang were so funny with their understanding of each other and professional approach to their subject, their knowledge of it all and portrayal to the audience was so entertaining, and Tony added an open view to a usually flat subject, with his level headed approach to academics and gave it life. It is hardly surprising that I rarely watch TV these days apart from repeats of old favourites thank goodness we still have 20 years worth of repeats. I dont think I could stand watching Phils grotty hat for one more season. and the entire bunch breathed fresh life into the sometimes boring subject of Archaeology. To all the people who wrote nasty comments on this forum about it, I leave you with this question why are you on this site at all if you didnt love it like the rest of us? There is a petition already, on Facebook, which is not the ideal place. BBC4 seems to have picked up the baton, thank goodness.!! Mick Aston. Ive enjoyed watching all the archeologists old and new & think Tony Robinson is a great presenter. Its interesting that Ch 4 is dropping a program on history and education, are they really dumbing down to suit a younger age group whose programs contain bad language smut and sex, bad attitudes and a large sense of self. But when he returned to Britain, Tony found the studios equally intransient. Will there ever be a time when I wouldnt watch Time Team repeats? Time Team was on television, but not of it. Unfortunately my DVD recording did not work. Yes, the original core team with Carenza, and then Helen Geake, were great. Found Time Team on You Tube. Thank you, thank you, Ive loved the passion, warmth, fun, humour and absolute professionalism that you all have brought to history. Couldnt agree more. So thank you time team I hope someone with a brain brings it back. Always will be in my heart! Surely television that inspires interest and development is too good to lose? With a fantastic team backed by Keith Westcott and Martin Fiennes, local community support, the possibility of an ongoing legacy, and the guarantee of great archaeology, Broughton Castle ticks all the boxes!, Taylor continues: The Broughton villa promises to be one of the finest examples in Britain. I guess it was always going to happen when TV administrators who, judging by the few Ive seen interviewed, are challenged by words of more than two syllables come into contact with educated professionals. With Mick in his amazing technicolor jumpers playing father and patient teacher, fielding Tonys laymans questions, Phil as the eccentric uncle who could dig with the instincts of a terrier after a bone, John and his whiz-bang geo-phys, and all the other children hard at work in their specialties, the programme wasnt merely TIME TEAM it was TIME FAMILY. Harding trained on various excavations with the Bristol University Extra Mural Department and other bodies from 1966; he has been a professional archaeologist since 1971. Select 'Manage settings' to manage your choices. Just discovered that this had been axed. I am off to channel four to ask them what is wrong with audiences that are over 40, 50 or even 60, what is wrong with older peoples programmes? I cant believe how much I have learned during Covid lock down because of Time Team. 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. Its sad to see another worthwhile educational program going by the wayside. I studied art and have worked for the V&A, meeting many interesting historians. So so sad, the only one of its kind and they axe it. Carenza Lewis, Stewart Ainsworth, Helen Geake and geophys genius John Gater will all be returning and are excited about the new sites. Its always sad when a long running and reputable series ends. I never saw any of these shows until a week ago when I stumbled over them on youtube. I met Phil Harding a few years ago at old sarum castle, Salisbury, we had a lovely chat, hes a fab bloke. Since changing his diet, hes lost about 50 pounds! The fact that TT was the only programme I regularly watched on Channel 4 I am very sad to see it go. I do not know he was pretty good towards the end at his archeology. Exploring the archaeology of the Roadford Reservoir, Devon, this came about after Tim Taylor approached Mick Aston to present the series. Time team is one of the programs I love to watch. There are only about a thousand signatures so far.Personally, although I have signed, I dont think it will do much good. It was responsible for me going on a dig and having a great time. The idea/format needs to be revived by BBC4. paleo-osteology, finds experts, experts in the Bronze Age or Rome I am as raptured as Phil squatting in a newly opened trench exclaiming, Oooh!