TV Guide (February 5, 1955)

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A Doreen Stephens, right, calls on a West London housewife for TV ideas. One thing she learned promptly was that there was plenty of tea in TV. Her opening gambit—“I see from the aerial on your roof that you are a viewer, so I have come to ask what you personally would like on TV ”— usually brought an invitation to share a cup of tea. A dozen cups was a frequent daily quota, for, Miss Stephens observes, “Tea puts a person in a chatty mood.” Sometimes her efforts were wasted. On one occasion, calling at a house that proudly displayed a TV antenna, she discovered there was no TV set inside. British viewers require a li¬ cense, and in several cases she was suspected of being a license “snooper” and had doors angrily slammed in her face. She listened frequently to “irrel¬ evant tirades.” But as a result of her prodigious knocking on doors and imbibing of tea, many changes have occurred in B.B.C. programming for women. Fashion telecasts had been devoted mainly, she found, to -items “far be¬ yond the means of ordinary people.” Announcing that her TV policy was “to cater for everybody,” she ordered fashion shows with arbitrary budget ceilings, in one instance specifying a top of £10 (approximately $28). Medic ’s clinical details were far sur¬ passed in a series chronicling a real- life maternity case. When one inter¬ view between the mother-to-be and an obstetrician caused uncertainty, Miss Stephens ruled: “Either we treat the subject in an adult fashion, or de¬ feat its purpose. The doctor must speak as he would to a patient in the privacy of his consulting room. I ac¬ cept full responsibility.” To encourage use of electrical ap¬ pliances, she arranged for a housewife to try a refrigerator for a month and then report to viewers. Improperly instructed on how to use the appli¬ ance, the woman returned with de¬ cidedly unfavorable opinions. Miss Stephens insisted she go on the air with her honest—if embarrassing— reactions. So that animal lovers won’t be of¬ fended, she has banned talk of fur values when pictures of living animals appear on the screen. Because her house-to-house survey indicated many women viewers found time heavy on their hands, she insti-. tuted a how-to-paint art program. Other programs seek to improve per¬ sonal appearance, home decoration and the notorious British cooking. She sums up her programming phi¬ losophy in a single sentence. “Our women’s television,” she says, “is intended to stimulate women to think and act for their betterment.” zw* EYES WEARY? TWO DROPS—QUICK RELIEF Do you sometimes work your eyes too long at a time—till they feel utterly weary? Then, a pause for a quick two-drop bath of Murine for each eye refreshes them in seconds. Compounded of seven tested ingre¬ dients, Murine is gentle as a tear. It makes your eyes feel good! MURINE -for your eyes 15