The family have their very own Technical Support Team who will source and supply the family with the vintage technology that would have been available to British households during each decade.
1970s – in this episode they’ll live through the digital wilderness of the 1970s at a rate of a year per day starting in 1970. By modern standards the 1970s is decidedly low-tech and the family face many challenges. They endure a spell without central heating and get to grips with the suburban favourite – the Teasmade. They see the effects of 70s Industrial unrest on their home when they experience a power cut and home entertainment becomes even more limited when their newly arrived colour television breaks down; a common occurrence in the 1970s. But it’s not all grim – the arrival of chopper bikes, the first video game and David Quantick a mix tape expert shows them how to create the soundtrack for their very own slide show all help to prove that life in the 1970s had its upside.
1980s – in this episode they’ll experience the prehistoric electronics of the 1980s at a rate of a year per day starting in 1980. The Technical Support Team's deliveries include iconic technology such as the Walkman, Game and Watch and the CD player. For a modern family it’s a decade of challenges, in 1980 they attempt to cook a full roast dinner in a microwave oven, as consumers of the time were encouraged to do. They are faced with a bewildering choice of home computers in 1982 and the arduous task of finding a rental shop that still supplies films on video cassette for their newly arrived VHS player. Dad takes a spin in the most famous technological flop of the decade – the Sinclair C5. But the family do experience an 80's success story when New Wave icons Ultravox pay a surprise visit to demonstrate the synthesiser technology which soundtracked the era.
1990s – in this episode they’ll live through the communication and home entertainment revolution of the 1990s. Their time travel is at a rate of a year per day, starting in 1990. The family attempts to stay in touch using pagers and take a giant mobile phone and a rudimentary digital camera on a day trip to Paris in honour of the opening of the Channel Tunnel in 1994. Work place technology becomes increasingly portable but a home without access to the Internet proves frustrating and the arrival of the 1990s World Wide Web is a far cry from what the kids are used to. The 1990s is a whirlwind of technological progress and the family are inundated with gadgets and upgrades that infiltrate every area of their home. The family is left reeling by the pace of change and surprised by the impact of 1990s tech on family life.
