On this day in Beatles History...December 26, 1967

If you happened to be sitting around watching TV on the day after Christmas in London 48 years ago today (December 26, 1967), you could have watched the very first broadcast of The Magical Mystery Tour film on the BBC!  The reaction at the time from critics and fans wasn't all that favorable.  To be honest, the reaction was absolutely terrible.  In fact, the reaction was so bad that no one bothered to keep a proper negative of the film so copies of prints were used when the film was distributed later theatrically and on video.

Although the initial reaction was harsh, part of the problem was probably that the vividly colorful film was original broadcast only in Black and White!  It was re-broadcast a few days later in color, but at the time not everyone had color televisions, so many people saw the film for the first time in Black and White.  That probably wasn't the only issue with the film, but it didn't help.  

There was also no script.  The band had a rough idea of what they wanted to accomplish, but the film was mostly improvised.  Almost everything I've read about the film suggest that the entire project was mainly Paul's idea, though he has stated that he's not sure he wants to take the blame for coming up with it.  He also has stated that he thinks the film is better now looking back than it was at the time.  It may not have been the best day to release a film that, at the time, was very strange.  Although some fans think this wasn't The Beatles' finest hour, the album did give us some neat songs and the film gave us our only opportunity to see the band performing some of that music.  What do you think of The Magical Mystery Tour?  I'd love to read your comments below!