DEF II was a programming strand on BBC Two

BBC Two

BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...

, which aired at 6pm on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 May 1988 to 23 May 1994, to serve the teenage market. It was produced by Janet Street-Porter

Janet Street-Porter

Janet Street-Porter is a British media personality, journalist and television presenter. She was editor for two years of The Independent on Sunday. She relinquished the job to become editor-at-large in 2002...

, and followed on from her influential youth TV show Network 7

Network 7 (TV series)

Network 7 was a short-lived but influential youth music and current affairs programme screened on Channel 4 over two series in 1987 and 1988...

, on Channel 4

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

. In fact, many of the presenters and staff on DEF II started their careers on Network 7 and had followed Street-Porter when she was "poached" by the BBC. It had an ident featuring a barcode

Barcode

A barcode is an optical machine-readable representation of data, which shows data about the object to which it attaches. Originally barcodes represented data by varying the widths and spacings of parallel lines, and may be referred to as linear or 1 dimensional . Later they evolved into rectangles,...

 which differed from the usual idents used on BBC Two.

DEF II shows

Programmes included:

• Babylon II
• DEF II: EXTRA!
• Battlestar Galactica
  Battlestar Galactica
  Battlestar Galactica is an American science fiction franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica TV series in 1978, and was followed by a brief sequel TV series in 1980, a line of book adaptations, original novels, comic books, a board game, and video games...
  
  
• Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
  Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (TV series)
  Buck Rogers in the 25th Century is an American science fiction adventure television series produced by Universal Studios. The series ran for two seasons between 1979–1981, and the feature-length pilot episode for the series was released as a theatrical film several months before the series aired....
  
  
• Dance Energy
• The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air
  The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
  The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from September 10, 1990 to May 20, 1996. The show stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart teenager from West Philadelphia who is sent to move in with his aunt and uncle in their...
  
  
• Gimme 5
  Gimme 5
  Gimme 5 was a children's television programme broadcast on Saturday mornings on ITV from 1992 to 1994. The programme was a live two-hour show which included live guests, cartoons, competitions and games. For series 1, it was presented by Jenny Powell, Lewis MacLeod, Matthew Davies,and Nobby the...
  
  
• The Invaders
  The Invaders
  The Invaders, a Quinn Martin Production , is an ABC science fiction television program created by Larry Cohen that ran in the United States for two seasons, from January 10, 1967 to March 26, 1968...
  
  
• Les Lives!
• Liquid Television
  Liquid Television
  Liquid Television is an Emmy Award–winning 1990s animation showcase that appeared on MTV. The first season of Liquid Television also aired on BBC Two in co-production with MTV. Ultimately, MTV commissioned three seasons of the show, which was produced by Colossal Pictures...
  
  
• Mission: Impossible
  Mission: Impossible
  Mission: Impossible is an American television series which was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicled the missions of a team of secret American government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force . The leader of the team was Jim Phelps, played by Peter Graves, except in...
  
  
• Rapido
  Rapido (television)
  Rapido was a BBC2 television show which ran from 1988 to 1992 and was presented by Antoine de Caunes. It ran in over 14 countries worldwide . The show which would usually go out in an early evening slot, such as 7.30pm on a Wednesday night, featured reports from up and coming new bands linked...
  
  
• Reportage
• Rough Guides To The World
• Standing Room Only
  Standing Room Only (1991 TV programme)
  Standing Room Only was a television programme on association football shown on British channel BBC2 1991. The host was Simon O'Brien, but other people, including Shelley Webb, presented small sections of the programme...
  
  
• Snub TV
  Snub TV
  Snub TV or simply Snub was a alternative culture television programme that ran from 1987 to 1989. Originally produced as a part of the Nightflight in the USA, it went on to success in the UK and other countries...
  
  

Trivia

The popular expression "yoof TV" arose from this period of time, and was a mockery of Janet Street-Porter's pronunciation of the words "youth TV".

External links

• Les Lives at BBC Online Comedy Guide (Internet Archive
  Internet Archive
  The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
  
  )
• DEF II Revisited on Off The Telly