Reply to: Merlin

[Bob Dalek]

Some of the older programmes are brilliant. Rise and Fall of Reginald Perrin and Karaoke being just two of them.
There really isn't anything of this calibre being made any more

Vanity Fair.. not something that I would watch but I remember that series and the quality in writing and acting was there.
Try watching its modern equivalent, Tudors... another pile of absolute toss

Agreed. Watched "Elizabeth R" (the one with Glenda "Scraggy Stoat" Jackson) on one of the freebie channels last week - THAT'S how it should be done... proper acting, reasonably in-tune-with-the-facts plots, no tw@tty sexed-up w@nk.

[Spacecadet]

I watched two episodes of Vanity Fair back to back yesterday afternoon on BBC Prime. Worth the license fee (if I had to buy one) on its own.

Some of the older programmes are brilliant. Rise and Fall of Reginald Perrin and Karaoke being just two of them.
There really isn't anything of this calibre being made any more

Vanity Fair.. not something that I would watch but I remember that series and the quality in writing and acting was there.
Try watching its modern equivalent, Tudors... another pile of absolute toss

[NotAllThere]

I watched two episodes of Vanity Fair back to back yesterday afternoon on BBC Prime. Worth the license fee (if I had to buy one) on its own.

[Bob Dalek]

Agreed. This isn't meant to be adult viewing, surely?

Perhaps the real question is why the BBC are scheduling kids programmes in a prime-time slot.

Because they want adults to watch it with their sprogs, thus getting the family audience, and sell it to the States for a lucrative ROI.

By the way, Richard Wilson is in it with an unconvincing wig. FFS.

[FiveTimes]

Maybe I'll get flamed for this but my two kids really enjoyed it, but of harmless fun and a lot better than X factor stuff

[expat]

I had the misfortune of watching this for 10 minutes last night
Another cliche ridden saturday night yawn fest seemingly designed to keep the Sun readership away from whatever ITV/SkyOne is showing

Should the BBC really be wasting license payers money on this crap?

No. But for some reason it is widely thought that, having given the BBC a non-commercial source of funding, its success should then be judged on audience share, i.e. the more like a commercially-funded network it becomes, the better. I don't understand it.

[Spacecadet]

Can you provide an example of 'socially important' programmes to provide a reference...

Top Gear

[Old Greg]

She's sent me upstairs because she's watching a CSI that I've seen

I get this terrible and irresistible urge to tell her what's going to happen next

Only you don't go upstairs do you? It's all piecing together in a CSI kind of way.

http://forums.contractoruk.com/gener...ncelled-2.html

[Diver]

Which is, of course, the point of life.

She's sent me upstairs because she's watching a CSI that I've seen

I get this terrible and irresistible urge to tell her what's going to happen next

[Old Greg]

Yes! My wife hates that too

Which is, of course, the point of life.

[Diver]

It was truly awful. The only redeeming feature was my pointing out to Mrs OG every 30 seconds: 'And they wouldn't have had <insert anachronistic feature> in early post-Roman Britain'.

Yes! My wife hates that too

[Old Greg]

It was truly awful. The only redeeming feature was my pointing out to Mrs OG every 30 seconds: 'And they wouldn't have had <insert anachronistic feature> in early post-Roman Britain'.

[Diver]

Strictly Come Dancing?

<puts on tin hat>

With the outfits some of those birds wear, some of us do

[Bob Dalek]

It's for kids... underachieving kids, but kids nonetheless.

[BrilloPad]

And why not?

Trouble is, what are the BBC making for grown-ups to enjoy?

All their big-budget productions are kid's stuff (Dr Who etc.) or tiresome period dramas. All their major feature documentaries are dumbed-down beyond belief (e.g. Horizon).

I think the problem is largely that the BBC now employs 'children' who have been raised on a diet of pap in their production departments.

Strictly Come Dancing?

<puts on tin hat>