The Programme Guide for more discerning viewers and listeners (Radio Times)

Member Name: Trishajs

Product:	Radio Times
Date:	10/09/09 (71 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A magazine to read as well as a programme guide

Disadvantages: Cannot afford it every week- when I can get a free one

I normally get my tv guide free with the Saturday Guardian - it is small and compact and is full of info on the arts- I really like it.

If I have been away for the weekend and have missed The Guardian, I just buy the cheapest guide on the shelf, they are usually packed with stories on the soaps and their casts- all of which I just ignore and use the mag just to see what is on the tv on any given evening.

This weekend, knowing that I still hadn't finished last week's Guardian, I decided not to bother to buy one and opted to return for the first time in years to my childhood tv guide, the Radio Times. The Radio Times was the tv mag of choice for my parents for as long as I can remember, but suffice to denote the timespan , we are talking back to black and white.

Now the tv guide mag I would normally have opted to buy, would be about 40p-45p and so spending £1.10 is a significant difference. But it really was a price worth paying. I would normally get nothing but a very brief programme guide and quite frankly nothing else I cared to read about. With the Radio Times I got a very detailed TV and radio guide and a great many articles I was interested to read - all adding up to 156 pages.

There are the regular features on:-

Readers' letters
Industry News
Nigel Slater's knowledge
Music
Sport
Soaps
Puzzles
Celebrity interview
A Celebrity's viewing week
TV Film Guide
TV Guide
Radio Guide
TV - discussion
Radio- discussion

In addition the edition I bought had 10 in depth programme related articles/interviews.

The journalism was excellent and in the issue I am looking at the contributors included Rory Bremner, Nigel Slater and Stephen Fry. The magazine photography was at a high standard with the exception of the ridiculous habit of airbrushing- why do they do it?

As an added bonus the side of the mag is colour coded for each day of the tv/radio guide, the first page giving you the colour guide as well as the page number- clever idea.

Each day in addition to the brief descriptions in the programme guide, and the Film Guides you get a further write up on Today's Choices- tv, film, sport and radio. I really felt able to make an informed choice.

They also have a quick glance section near the front of the magazine, telling you what in their opinion are the not to be missed tv shows, radio broadcasts and films of the week. As these are day by day listings I personally found this really useful. To be honest because of the format of the Radio times I have found programmes that I am so glad to have listened to/watched, that I would have been oblivious to before.

There is also a couple of magazine readers offers, for example , a mattress topper, ballerina slippers, amplifier and a watch.

I like to have a Saturday paper and so I will continue to buy the paper and get my TV guide with that. I cannot afford to pay a separate £1.10 on top of the £1.60 for my paper- but on the occasions I miss the weekend press- I will definitely not be buying the cheap guides again - the Radio Times will be on top of my shopping list.

Summary: Give it go - if you don't want soaps news on every page