Antiques Roadshow

Antiques Roadshow is a British human interest television show in which antique appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom and appraise antiques brought in by local residents. It has been running since 1979. There are also international versions of the popular program.

History

The origin of the series was a 1977 BBC documentary about a London auction house doing a tour of the West Country in England. The show has visited a number of other countries (including Canada in 2001 and Australia in 2005) and has been imitated by other TV production companies around the world. In the original BBC series, various towns or famous places are advertised as venues.

The list of professional evaluators who have participated in Antiques Roadshow and its various versions reads like a "Who's Who" of experts of the antiques business.

In the United Kingdom an annual children's Christmas special has become a tradition. These specials air under the title Antiques Roadshow: The Next Generation and use a specially reworked version of the regular theme music.

Format

Local people bring along their possessions to be evaluated for authenticity and interest (especially related to the venue) and an approximate valuation is given. Often, the professional evaluators give a rather in-depth historical, craft, or artistic context to the antique, adding a very strong cultural element to the show. This increases the show’s appeal to people interested in the study of the past or some particular crafts, or certain arts, regardless of the monetary value of the objects. At the core though the focus of the production is on the interplay between the owner and the evaluator.

Hosts

Antiques Roadshow has been hosted by Bruce Parker (1979), Angela Rippon (1979), Arthur Negus (1979–1983), Hugh Scully (1981–2000) and Michael Aspel (2000–present). As the longest-serving presenter, Scully is the one most closely associated with the show.

International versions

United States

American public broadcaster PBS created a similar show in 1997. (PBS has renamed the original BBC series Antiques Roadshow UK to differentiate it from its own version). The American version of Antiques Roadshow is produced by WGBH, a broadcast station in Boston, Massachusetts.

The American version has been hosted by Chris Jussel (1997–2000), Dan Elias (2001–2003), Lara Spencer (2004–2005), and Mark L. Walberg (2006–present).

In 2005 PBS introduced a sister series to Antiques Roadshow: Antiques Roadshow FYI. The weekly half-hour show, again hosted by Lara Spencer with correspondent Clay Reynolds, provides information on items shown on previous episodes of Antiques Roadshow, as well as additional information on antiques and collecting.

Three items are recognized as the most valuable item featured on the American Antiques Roadshow. A Navajo blanket valued at between $350,000 and $500,000, appeared in Tucson, Arizona in 2002 ^*, a painting by 19th-century marine artist James Buttersworth valued at between $250,000 and $500,000 appeared on the 10th season premiere episode, filmed in Tampa, Florida in June 2005, and a mid-16th-century Milanese parade helmet crafted from a single sheet of metal and then highlighted with gold, estimated to be worth at least $250,000. A fourth item, which was appraised at one million dollars was a collection of signatures from every Presidential cabinet member from the Washington administration to Franklin Roosevelt. The owner of the collection declined to appear on the show.

Canada

A Canadian version — called Canadian Antiques Roadshow — debuted in January 2005 on CBC Television and CBC Newsworld. It is hosted by Valerie Pringle. The show has seen also been aired on CBC Country Canada.

The Netherlands

Since 1984 a version can also be seen in the Netherlands, under the name Tussen Kunst & Kitsch, (in English: Between Art & Kitsch). Also shown on the public broadcaster, the programme is usually set in a museum in the Netherlands or sometimes in Belgium and Germany. It has become so popular through the years that even specials have been made. The experts take the viewers on a "cultural-art-trip" to places of great importance in the history of art.

Sweden

The Swedish started out as co-production between SVT Malmö and the BBC where the Antiques Roadshow would visit Scandinavia in two programmes. Antikrundan, which is the Swedish title, premiered in August 1989 on TV2. Since then, Antikrundan, has been shown on SVT every year.

As of 2006, 17 seasons have been shown and most of the experts have been with the programme since the start. Jesper Aspegren was the original host, but Anne Lundberg

The show is highly popular. In 2005, each episode attracted around two million viewers, according to MMS ratings.

In popular culture

The American Antiques Roadshow featured prominently in the Frasier episode "A Tsar is Born". In it, the Antiques Roadshow is in Seattle and the Cranes go to find the value of a family heirloom, a bear clock. The appraiser tells them those bear clocks were only given to Russian royalty, which excites the Crane brothers with the thought that they might be descendants of royal blood.

External links

Official sites

Internet Movie Database sites

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