Christmas really wouldn't be Christmas for me without the double issue of the Radio Times. I must have used one every year since the early 70s to plot my viewing and still adopt an 'advent calendar' approach to it, refusing to jump ahead to check the layout of the Christmas Day listings until the night before. There has always been something hugely appealing about the artwork that decorates the listings pages for the big days of Christmas and I'll savour them again this year, even as I struggle to find anything decent to watch.
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| Copyright: Radio Times |
The cover of the Christmas double issue has iconic status, befitting not only the role in plays in the festive season for many of us, but also the huge circulation boost the RT gets at this time of year (the Christmas issue is by far the best selling issue of the year). So I make no apology for quibbling about this year's offering (pictured left). Viewed in isolation, it's a classic heartwarmer featuring Wallace and Gromit. But doesn't it look just a tad familiar?
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| Copyright: Radio Times |
Check the cover of the Christmas issue from 2008 (right) - while I appreciate that there are only so many ways you can feature a cartoon dog and his master on a mag cover, the 2010 version does bear a striking similarity to the RT offering of just two years ago. Of the two, the 2008 cover feels the stronger and better constructed image. I really like the details here - Wallace reading the Christmas issue he is starring in and the sinister penguin lurking at the window.
(Even odder - having now scanned my 2010 Christmas Radio Times from cover to cover, I can't find any trace of a new Wallace and Gromit film being screened this year that would justify their appearance on the cover. Sloppy...)
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