History Creator / ITCEntertainment

The 90s were a quiet period, and for a time ITC even stopped producing TV shows entirely (the company was at this time was an American-based syndication company making first-run syndication series such as the infamous 1990 revival of ''Series/TicTacDough'' and ''The George Michael Sports Machine''[[note]]which was produced by WRC-TV in UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC, where Michael was the longtime sports anchor; Creator/{{CBS}} (through Group W Broadcasting) and later Creator/{{NBC}} Enterprises took over the rights[[/note]], as well as distrbuting theatrical films from independent film studios that didn't have TV units and low budget feature films and TV movies). They were purchased by another British film firm, Creator/PolyGramFilmedEntertainment, in 1995, and they even got Lew Grade to return as a consultant. ITC and PolyGram produced the TV series adaptation of ''Film/TheBigEasy'' for two seasons from 1996-97. By 1997, [=PolyGram=] renamed the company to [=PolyGram=] Television[[note]]A prior incarnation of this name existed in the 1980s, distributing mainly TV movies and the [=PolyGram=] Pictures film library. But the division was closed and its catalog was picked up by King Features[=/=]Hearst Entertainment (whose library is currently distributed by Creator/{{Lionsgate}})[[/note]], which produced shows such as ''Series/TheCrowStairwayToHeaven'' and ''Motown Live'', as well as serving as the US distributor of ''Series/DueSouth'' and ''Series/TotalRecall2070'' (these two were produced by Alliance Atlantis, who also produced The Crow as well). [=PolyGram TV=] maintained much of the same staff and management as ITC had before, also continuing ITC's focus in the 90s on TV movies.

1982 saw the bottom fall out -- ACC and ITC were taken control of by [[TyrantTakesTheHelm corporate raider Robert Holmes a Court]]; Grade had thought Holmes a friend and allowed him to buy a majority share of the company, only to realize who he truly was when Holmes fired Grade and everyone else. Over the next few years, ITC went from a prosperous British film and television concern to a tiny company that could only get by on distributing their extensive library and meager little productions (mostly TV movies). For a time, they had their own home video label after splitting off from Magnetic Video successor CBS/Fox Video; by the 90s, they switched to LIVE Entertainment for distribution, having been licensing their TV shows to them for years). Jim Henson split off his Muppet assets from ITC by 1985 (thanks to the loss of Grade, who'd been their biggest backer), leading to another financial blow (ITC had been getting 10% of the profits from all Muppet merchandise up to that point). The nadir of this was their attempt to get in on the lucrative syndicated game show market in the US, with the infamous 1990 revival of ''Series/TicTacDough''.

The 90s were a quiet period, and for a time ITC even stopped producing TV shows entirely. They were purchased by another British film firm, Creator/PolyGramFilmedEntertainment, in 1995, and they even got Lew Grade to return as a consultant. By 1997, [=PolyGram=] renamed the company's US division to [=PolyGram=] Television[[note]]A prior incarnation of this name existed in the 1980s, distributing mainly TV movies and the [=PolyGram=] Pictures film library. But the division was closed and its catalog was picked up by King Features[=/=]Hearst Entertainment (whose library is currently distributed by Creator/{{Lionsgate}})[[/note]]; at that time, aside from the aforementioned ''Tic Tac Dough'', ITC/[=PolyGram=] also distributed ''The George Michael Sports Machine''[[note]]which was produced by WRC-TV in UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC, where Michael was the longtime sports anchor; Creator/{{CBS}} (through Group W Broadcasting) and later Creator/{{NBC}} Enterprises took over the rights[[/note]], co-produced the TV series adaptation of ''Film/TheBigEasy'', and produced shows such as ''Series/TheCrowStairwayToHeaven'', ''Motown Live'' and ''Blind Date'', as well as serving as the US distributor of ''Series/DueSouth''. [=PolyGram TV=] maintained much of the same stuff and management as ITC had before.

Grade died in 1998, and [=PolyGram=] was bought out by Seagram's and merged with Universal shortly after, resulting in [=PolyGram TV=] being renamed Universal Worldwide Television (which folded in 2002, after Universal re-acquired the Creator/USANetwork). Meanwhile Seagram's sold the ITC library to infamous ITV company Carlton [[note]]who replaced Thames in 1993 after a restructuring of the ITV system brought upon by UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher; they proceeded to buy Central -- the former ATV -- in 1994 and Westcountry in 1996[[/note]] in 1999, reuniting the ATV and ITC libraries, and has stayed with the company even as it merged with Granada into one unified ITV company in 2004. The only exception was ''Franchise/TheMuppets''; the franchise was sold to Creator/{{Disney}} in 2004. However, Universal was haunted from beyond the grave by a project started by Polygram during their control of ITC -- the infamous 2004 LiveActionAdaptation of ''Film/{{Thunderbirds}}''.

Over the next few years, ITC would make bank by creating unusual for-the-time shows (nowadays classified as "cult TV"), including ''Series/TheSaint'' with a young Creator/RogerMoore (which earned ITC around $350 million, and [[FollowTheLeader inspired a profusion of similar shows such as]] ''Series/DepartmentS''), and ''Series/DangerMan'' and ''Series/ThePrisoner1967'', both with Creator/PatrickMcGoohan in the lead (with a long-running theory that both characters were in fact the same man). As mentioned, Gerry Anderson was backed by ITC and his landmark "Supermarionation" shows like ''Series/{{Thunderbirds}}'' and ''Series/CaptainScarletAndTheMysterons'', as well as non-puppet sci-fi including ''Series/UFO1970'' and ''Series/Space1999'' were produced through ITC. Perhaps because of this, Lew Grade was the only one interested in Creator/JimHenson's pitch for a Muppet-based variety show. ''Series/TheMuppetShow'' went on the air in 1976 and spawned an enduring cast of characters. The sheer amount of exporting ITC did earn them the Queen's Award for Export several times. This was what, for a while, kept the ITA/IBA off Grade's back -- they weren't happy about him focusing on his big-budget, exported ITC productions, whilst neglecting the Midlands area ATV was supposed to be serving. (ATV had kept their Elstree studio facilities near London even after 1968; the company continued to be headquartered in London as well. In fact, a common complaint joke among ITA executives was that Grade was more interested in programming for Birmingham, Alabama than Birmingham, England.)

Over the next few years, ITC would make bank by creating unusual for-the-time shows (nowadays classified as "cult TV"), including ''Series/TheSaint'' with a young Creator/RogerMoore (which earned ITC around $350 million, and [[FollowTheLeader inspired a profusion of similar shows such as]] ''Series/DepartmentS''), and ''Series/DangerMan'' and ''Series/ThePrisoner1967'', both with Creator/PatrickMcGoohan in the lead (with a long-running theory that both characters were in fact the same man). As mentioned, Gerry Anderson was backed by ITC and his landmark "Supermarionation" shows like ''Series/{{Thunderbirds}}'' and ''Series/CaptainScarletAndTheMysterons'', as well as non-puppet sci-fi including ''Series/{{UFO}}'' and ''Series/Space1999'' were produced through ITC. Perhaps because of this, Lew Grade was the only one interested in Creator/JimHenson's pitch for a Muppet-based variety show. ''Series/TheMuppetShow'' went on the air in 1976 and spawned an enduring cast of characters. The sheer amount of exporting ITC did earned them the Queen's Award for Export several times. This was what, for a while, kept the ITA/IBA off Grade's back -- they weren't happy about him focusing on his big-budget, exported ITC productions, whilst neglecting the Midlands area ATV was supposed to be serving. (ATV had kept their Elstree studio facilities near London even after 1968; the company continued to be headquartered in London as well. In fact, a common complaint joke among ITA executives was that Grade was more interested in programming for Birmingham, Alabama than Birmingham, England.)

* ''Series/{{The Prisoner|1967}}''

!!TV series produced and/or distributed by ITC with Wiki/TVTropes pages:

!!Films produced and/or distributed by ITC with Wiki/TVTropes pages:

Over the next few years, ITC would make bank by creating unusual for-the-time shows (nowadays classified as "cult TV"), including ''Series/TheSaint'' with a young Creator/RogerMoore (which earned ITC around $350 million, and [[FollowTheLeader inspired a profusion of similar shows such as]] ''Series/DepartmentS''), and ''Series/DangerMan'' and ''Series/ThePrisoner'', both with Patrick [=McGoohan=] in the lead (with a long-running theory that both characters were in fact the same man). As mentioned, Gerry Anderson was backed by ITC and his landmark "Supermarionation" shows like ''Series/{{Thunderbirds}}'' and ''Series/CaptainScarletAndTheMysterons'', as well as non-puppet sci-fi including ''Series/{{UFO}}'' and ''Series/Space1999'' were produced through ITC. Perhaps because of this, Lew Grade was the only one interested in Creator/JimHenson's pitch for a Muppet-based variety show. ''Series/TheMuppetShow'' went on the air in 1976 and spawned an enduring cast of characters. The sheer amount of exporting ITC did earned them the Queen's Award for Export several times. This was what, for a while, kept the ITA/IBA off Grade's back -- they weren't happy about him focusing on his big-budget, exported ITC productions, whilst neglecting the Midlands area ATV was supposed to be serving. (ATV had kept their Elstree studio facilities near London even after 1968; the company continued to be headquartered in London as well. In fact, a common complaint joke among ITA executives was that Grade was more interested in programming for Birmingham, Alabama than Birmingham, England.)

[[caption-width-right:350:You're already hearing the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsWlMGwAs2c dramatic Jack Parnell theme]], aren't you?]]

1980, however, [[HumiliationConga seemed to be disaster after disaster for ITC and AFD]]. ATV had won the ITV franchise round, but the IBA was fed-up with Grade's lack of commitment to the Midlands, and ordered a restructuring to reduce his power; ATV had to rebrand and dispose of the Elstree studios, and start a separate news service for the East Midlands (one of the running complaints was that ATV's news operation favored Birmingham and the West Midlands, where ATV was based). This culminated in ATV becoming Central Independent Television on New Year's Day, 1982. This all meant that Grade had lost his easy access to ITV, and easy money to fund ITC's big-budget productions. Another blow was Jim Henson voluntarily ending ''The Muppet Show'' in 1980, to focus on feature films and other productions. On the film side of things, AFD's next few releases were flops. EMI's ''Film/CantStopTheMusic'', featuring Music/TheVillagePeople, had the misfortune of being released as [[DiscoSucks the anti-disco backlash in the US]] had reached its' height. Shortly after, ITC's ''Film/RaiseTheTitanic'' -- completed in 1978, but only released that year, likely as an aftereffect of its TroubledProduction -- also flopped, with Grade himself commenting that "it would've been cheaper to lower the Atlantic." Grade chose to retire from active film production, and the two bombs meant AFD was done for. They opted to sell their remaining backlog to Creator/{{Universal}}. Ironically, while the films they sold to Universal were generally critical and commercial hits (''Film/TheGreatMuppetCaper'', ''Film/SophiesChoice'' and ''Film/OnGoldenPond''), one film burned them again. ''Film/TheLegendOfTheLoneRanger'', a DarkerAndEdgier reboot of ''Franchise/TheLoneRanger'' that flopped at the box office. (Evidently, [[HistoryRepeats Disney hadn't been paying attention when]] [[Film/TheLoneRanger2013 they tried their own adaptation decades later]].) Most of this stemmed from their lawyers forcing the original Lone Ranger actor, Clayton Moore, to stop making in-person appearances as his character; audience reaction to the new, darker tone wasn't positive, either. Universal also didn't like another AFD film, ''Film/TheLastUnicorn'', and sent it off (dooming it to box-office failure, although it eventually became a CultClassic).

The 90s were a quiet period, and for a time ITC even stopped producing TV shows entirely. They were purchased by another British film firm, Creator/PolyGramFilmedEntertainment, in 1995, and they even got Lew Grade to return as a consultant. By 1997, [=PolyGram=] renamed the company's US division (which aside from the aforementioned Tic Tac Dough, also produced/distributed The George Micheal Sports Machine[[note]]Before Creator/{{CBS}} and later Creator/{{NBC}} Enterprises took over the rights[[/note]] and the TV series adaptation of Film/TheBigEasy) to [=PolyGram=] Television[[note]]A prior incarnation of this name existed in the 1980s, distributing mainly TV movies and the [=PolyGram=] Pictures film library. But the division was closed and it's catalog was picked up by King Features/Hearst Entertainment (whose library is currently distributed by Creator/{{Lionsgate}})[[/note]], producing shows such as Series/TheCrowStairwayToHeaven, Motown Live and Blind Date, as well as serving as the US distributor of Series/DueSouth. [=PolyGram TV=] maintained much of the same stuff and management as ITC had before.

Grade died in 1998, and [=PolyGram=] was bought out by Seagram's and merged with Universal shortly after, resulting in [=PolyGram TV=] being renamed Universal Worldwide Television (which folded in 2002, after Universal re-acquired the Creator/USANetwork). Meanwhile Seagram's sold the ITC library to infamous ITV company Carlton (who replaced Thames in 1993 after a restructuring of the ITV system brought upon by UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher; they proceeded to buy Central -- the former ATV-- in 1994 and Westcountry in 1996) in 1999, reuniting the ATV and ITC libraries, and has stayed with the company even as it merged with Granada into one unified ITV company in 2004. (However, Universal was haunted from beyond the grave by a project started by Polygram during their control of ITC -- the infamous 2004 LiveActionAdaptation of ''Film/{{Thunderbirds}}''.) The only exception was ''Franchise/TheMuppets'', who were acquired by Disney in 2004.

The 90s were a quiet period, and for a time ITC even stopped producing TV shows entirely. They were purchased by another British film firm, Creator/PolyGramFilmedEntertainment, in 1995, and they even got Lew Grade to return as a consultant. By 1997, [=PolyGram=] renamed the company's US division (which aside from the aforementioned Tic Tic Dough, also produced/distributed The George Micheal Sports Machine[[note]]Before Creator/{{CBS}} and later Creator/{{NBC}} Enterprises took over the rights[[/note]] and the TV series adaptation of Film/TheBigEasy) to [=PolyGram=] Television[[note]]A prior incarnation of this name existed in the 1980s, distributing mainly TV movies and the [=PolyGram=] Pictures film library. But the division was closed and it's catalog was picked up by King Features/Hearst Entertainment (whose library is currently distributed by Creator/{{Lionsgate}})[[/note]], producing shows such as Series/TheCrowStairwayToHeaven, Motown Live and Blind Date, as well as serving as the US distributor of Series/DueSouth. [=PolyGram TV=] maintained much of the same stuff and management as ITC had before.

The 90s were a quiet period, and for a time ITC even stopped producing TV shows entirely. They were purchased by another British film firm, Creator/PolyGramFilmedEntertainment, in 1995, and they even got Lew Grade to return as a consultant. By 1997, [=PolyGram=] renamed the company's US division (which aside from the aforementioned Tic Tic Dough, also produced/distributed The George Micheal Sports Machine[[note]]Before Creator/{{CBS}} and later Creator/{{NBC}} Enterprises took over the rights[[/note]] and the TV series adaptation of Film/TheBigEasy) to [=PolyGram=] Television[[note]]A prior incarnation of this name existed in the 1980s, distributing mainly TV movies and the [=PolyGram=] Pictures film library. But the division was closed and it's catalog was picked by King Features/Hearst Entertainment (whose library is currently distributed by Creator/{{Lionsgate}})[[/note]], producing shows such as Series/TheCrowStairwayToHeaven, Motown Live and Blind Date, as well as serving as the US distributor of Series/DueSouth. [=PolyGram TV=] maintained much of the same stuff and management as ITC had before.