The Christmas Radio Times.

I buy the Radio Times every Tuesday when doing my food shop. Like others I mark the programmes I want to watch but also set them to record a week in advance so that nothing is forgotten. Mind you, I have many hours of stored radio and TV which I shall probably never watch.
I was rather disappointed with the Christmas RT, not much of interest apart from 'Death comes to Pemberley'. I know the stations are probably understaffed, but why are there so many repeats within the two weeks, sometimes three or more times?

Yes Rosiebee I am about to mark the next week's one and the Christmas one is secreted ready for action. My four year old grandson, who does not have a tv at home, loves Ceebeebies at our house. He call the RT "the magic paper" because it tells us what is going to be on and he can decide what he would like to see!

Good to hear wisewoman that I'm not the only 'Gransnetter' who buys the RT every week. It sounds sad but I always enjoy sitting down on a Fri night with a glass of red wine and the RT. I've got this week's copy ready to go and the Christmas edition tucked away until next Fri. I like reading the articles and anything written by Alison Graham. Also it's about the only listings magazine that is not obsessed with "celebrity". They also give a big chunk over to Radio 4 and I can check out any plays / books etc that will be worth listening too. I do the highlighter bit on the Christmas Edition but usually end up catching things on the i Player about a week later.

I love the Radio Times and buy it every week. Sit with my highlighter and mark the tv and radio progs I fancy. That way at the end of the week I can see what I missed and watch iPlayer. What a geek! I think there is lots of reading in it and much less about "celebrities" from the soaps than there is in the other mags. On the down side they do seem to have an obsession with DR Who . The Christmas issue has been bought and at the weekend I will start perusing with my trusty highlighter.

I have had it delivered from when we moved to France, but it drives me mad because it costs about £150 per year and is late every time the French have a bank holiday (which is often). I am trying out the ipad app at the moment, but not sure that it will give me the weekly overview that I get from the paper version.

Always buy the Radio Times at Christmas, don't read it , just like to see it in the house

It's traditional in this house, even though my TiVo box knows what I like on TV and radio and records it for me..... scary technology!
The marker pen has already been used but there is a lot less that I want to see every year
I love the crossword and also the picture quiz where you have to find 50 programmes... found 16 last night!!

It was always a Christmas tradition for us to get Radio and Tv Times ( did not have both in one in those days). I don't buy it any other time of year but I do like to look through and circle what I would like to watch.

It's very useful for the Radio 4 listings. DD used to use a highlighter when 12 or so marking off her programmes. She was the last in her class to be allowed to watch Eastenders or have her ears pierced. I bought her the Christmas edition today. Ariadne I had a picture of such a nice gentleman when reading your post.

It's a nostalgia thing isn't it? Not over expensive really, all mags cost about same these days.We used to get Radio Times, at Christmas and when children were young they loved doing some happy 'ticking' they used different colours as there were three of them. I think in the end, they didn't really mind if we watched something else [or went out] they just liked the ritual of the ticking.We don't bother now, we have Sky and buy the Saturday Times which has tv listings.

lots of good points, but for me it has to be the RT.

Oh heavens, just remembered, umpteen years ago, my Grandmother referring to "The Book". That was the TV times, which at the time did not include any other programme listings!

Our DD recently took advantage of a special offer - 3 months radio times for 99p! She could also order the same for a friend so kindly arranged for us to have the same offer. It's been nice having it delivered every week and the Christmas edition arrived a few days ago. Much as I enjoyed looking through it I would never pay £3.20 for it. But a great bargain for 99p!

It's a bit of a Christmas tradition. Use the daily and weekend papers during the year but Christmas time - well, buy the Radio times!

I know it`s expensive, and there are much cheaper options, but we`ve always bought the TV Times, partly habit and partly because we like it. We have it delivered every week, straight from the source, works out a little bit cheaper than going to the shop for it.

We used to take the Radio Times until we had notification that the cost of the yearly subscription was rising, (by a lot!) so we cancelled it. Our local daily newspaper has a really good TV supplement on a Saturday and it only costs an extra 10 pence for the paper on that day.

If I still had a wife, and she wanted to watch Strictly Come Dancing - that would be great - an excuse for me to slope off to the pub!

I get quite exasperated by the Radio Times - why oh why do I have to keep dodging back and forth to find out what is on TV and then what is on the radio? It seems quite barmy to me. I can't be the only person who watches/listens to both. Why not have each day's programmes on both radio and TV in the same section?!

Ariadne, that reminds me. I will have to fight my GC to be 'allowed' to watch the final of Strictly. May have to resort to either violence or tears.

It's a Christmas tradition and I don't mind paying the extra, after all it is for two weeks! I'm one of those sad characters who enjoys marking what we will watch in advance and this year's edition has lots to read as well as the listings.

I do enjoy the huge crossword in what we refer to as the "Raddy Ottomees" , but agree it is rather expensive.

I also like to look and see which actor is playing who in various films etc, yes, I know I could look it up on the internet, but as the only computer is upstairs, and the only television is downstairs.............

I just have a listings app, and so does Theseus; nevertheless he carefully secretes the Sunday supplement listings too.

My lovely Dad, who adored Christmas, used to arrive with his copy of the "Radio Times" with all the programmes that he wanted to watch marked in red. Needless to say, with three children in the house, he didn't stand a chance, and every year my mother would tell him off for being presumptuous. (She told him off for most things.)

He was such an innocent, gentle man, but it never occurred to him that everyone might not want to watch the same programmes. Oh, thank heavens for Sky!

Must admit it's a ridiculous price, £3.20. And I'm sure last year's copy was hardly used.

I bought it last year. First time since goodness knows when but it did not get used. We do watch TV but tbh nothing regularly and so many articles were about people and shows we had not heard of. So will just rely on regular newspaper guides if we need to check out things. Also we have no satellite tv so much of any specific guide is wasted!
Might watch a film on Christmas day when everyone has gone home but otherwise no time for telly!

We rely on the guides that come with the papers and enjoy reading their reviews and recommendations.

I agree, when. Years ago we wouldn't have been without it, but it's really not worth the price these days IMO.