The channel, launched in November 1982, hoped to gain a reputation as a relatively avant-garde alternative to the existing terrestrial stations. It compiled a list of provocative films, generally
cult film or
art-house and mostly in another language, and entered into negotiation with independent TV regulator the
Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) with an eye to showing them. The films, all of which had been theatrically exhibited under
British Board of Film Censorship's 'X' (or later '18') certificates, had never been shown on British television before. Their content transcended that which had hitherto been permitted by the UK's TV
censors. The series began in September 1986 in a very late slot (with most films beginning after midnight). Broadcasts were preceded by a warning, saying "Special Discretion Required" and displaying a full-screen logo of a red triangle with a white centre (the standard scheme used for
warning signs in the UK). To prevent viewers who missed the warning at the beginning from later being unwittingly exposed to the adult content of the film, a smaller red triangle was continually displayed in the top left corner of the screen throughout the broadcast. This quickly led to the broadcasts being informally known as the "red triangle films". The broadcasts proved to be controversial even before they began. Several newspapers branded some of the films to be shown "
video nasties", and once broadcasts began the morality campaigner
Mary Whitehouse became involved. her
National Viewers' and Listeners' Association campaigned vociferously against the broadcasts and lobbied parliament and the IBA, calling for the broadcasts to be ended. The outcry over the red triangle series had entirely the opposite effect than the objectors had intended; the opening film, the grisly surreal comedy
Themroc, garnered over two million viewers. Later films (mostly those whose
TVTimes synopses sounded racy) gained viewerships of over three million, figures which dwarfed those of the other channels still broadcasting that late (which carried fare of very limited appeal and educational programming from the
Open University). Some critics contended that the whole series was a cynical attempt to wilfully stir controversy, and in practice many viewers discovered that "softcore" against which campaigners had railed was in fact genuine art cinema (and not the titillation for which they had stayed up late). With viewing figures latterly declining, and press opposition remaining strong, Channel 4 quietly discontinued the red triangle the year after it had been introduced. ==The films==