Time Team
Several decades ago I was up late watching TV. Insomnia. I came across a British TV show on PBS (I think. So long ago.) called "Time Team". I had never seen anything like this show. It was boring yet so damned interesting at the same time. I think they played a few episodes over the next few days then it disappeared.
At one point I found it again, years later when all of the streaming services started becoming available. I think it might have been Amazon Prime Video where I first saw it again and they had most of the seasons (apparently called "series" in the UK) available and I was hooked.
Each episode basically covers a 3-day archaeological dig on a site to uncover something about the history of the site. In the early days of the show (the mid to late 90s) many times the site chosen to visit would be due to a viewer writing in. That started to change as the show became more mature.
Generally all of the episodes are in the UK, mostly England, with the occasional visit outside of the UK. I believe they even visited the US once or twice. The cast was remarkably constant from the start with some changes in place near the end of the show's run. That group was:
- Sir Tony Robinson - presenter
- Mick Aston - archaeology
- Carenza Lewis - archaeology
- Phil Harding - archaeology
- Stewart Ainsworth - landscape archaeology
- John Gater - geophysics
This core group was surrounded by a supporting cast of historians, artists, etc. There was also a regular cast of helpers that appeared often. Starting in the mid-2000s the cast changed a bit, with people like Carenza Lewis who had left the show being replaced by various other people who had appeared on the show often. Mick Aston also left due to creative differences in how the show should be run, also replaced by people who had appearances on the show often during its run. The show ended its run in early 2013 and Mick Aston passed away in the summer of that year.
Even with the end of Time Team many from the show went on to have their own series. This show was hugely influential in the creation of other shows and careers like the long-running "Digging for Britain" with Dr. Alice Roberts who appeared often on Time Team.
To the surprise of all Time Team lovers it was announced in 2021 that due to an outpouring of support of fans on Patreon that the series would return with episodes to be shown on YouTube. These would go along with the return of many of the old episodes made available on the Time Team Classics YouTube channel.
Unfortunately for the superfans there would be no return of Phil Harding, likely the most beloved person on the original show outside of Tony Robinson. Nor would Tony Robinson be back though he was excited about the return of the show. There were two new presenters and the return of several of the original core team including Carenza Lewis, Stewart Ainsworth, and John Gater.
What we got in return was an absolute order of magnitude jump in the technology used to present the show. Time Team was always ahead of the curve in its use of 3D computer graphics, geophysics technology, etc. They even had the early use of a drone in one episode instead of the usual helicopter to get overhead views of sites. But what we have in the new digs is pretty mind-blowing. The technology really was leaps and bounds above what they were doing even at the end of the show's run in 2013.
I go back and watch these shows over and over. There is just something that is very calming to me about this stuff. It also helps when insomnia strikes, like last night when I started writing this post. The new shows are fun to watch not only for the new tech used but to see old friends and the return of many of the archaeologists who "grew up" on the original show. And best of all, the return of Sir Tony as a presenter this year.
If you're into archaeology and have never watched an episode of Time Team you are in for a treat. This is serious, hardcore archaeology, unlike much of the crap trying to pass as such on shows like "The Curse of Oak Island" on History Channel. The YouTube channel is a gold mine of new and old with more new stuff in the coming years.
Time Team can be found at: