Licence Fee Increase.

[Dan]

Ramone has said everything I wanted to say on this. I'll just add that once the analogue TV signal gets switched off in 10-or so years (or whenever), cable companies will have the ability to sell you a non-bbc package. When that happens they'll be forced to scrap the licence fee and become a subscription channel because with no analogue signal you'll have no other way of picking up their signal. (Well, there'll be cracked boxes and pirate cards, heheh).

This thread makes a refreshing change from when I see the TV licence discussed on other forums, where everyone are total BBC arselickers coming out with phrases that sound like they're from that Not The Nine O Clock News episode (A spoof of Points of View with a letter saying something like "I'd happily sell all my belongings and give all my money to the BBC, they provide such wonderful programmes.).

[nick the stripper]

Code: Select all

                 Sam tears open a pair of old sliding doors and runs into:

       17        THE OLD BAR                                              17

                 Stuffed animals of all kinds staring down at him:  Squir-
                 rels, birds, cats, etc.

                 Also, boxes of eyes, pelts, hides, wooden animal forms.
                 In other words, all the equipment and accouterments of
                 a taxidermist.

                 MICHAEL

                 dashes in.  Both boys stare in wonder.

                 The whole scene is very weird.  Suddenly a voice from
                 behind.

                                         GRANDPA
                           Rules!

                 Both boys jump, Grandpa is behind them.

                                         GRANDPA
                           Got some rules around here.

       18        INT. KITCHEN                                             18

                 Grandpa opens the refrigerator revealing a shelf with a
                 cardboard flap on it reading:  "Old Fart."

                                         GRANDPA
                           Second shelf is mine... keep my
                           root beers and double-thick Mint
                           Oreo cookies there... Nobody
                           touches the second shelf...

                 Grandpa closes the door as Michael notices something out
                 the window, as they follow Grandpa back towards the
                 living room.  Michael points to a small marijuana crop
                 growing outside.  Sam is puzzled but Michael make a
                 "smoking a joint" gesture.

       19        LIVING ROOM (CONTINUOUS)                                 19

                 They follow Grandpa.
                                         GRANDPA
                           When the mailman brings the T.V.
                           Guide on Wednesdays, sometimes
                           the corner of the address label
                           will curl up... You'll be tempted
                           to peel it off.  Don't.  You'll
                           end up rippin' the cover and I
                           don't like that...

                 He disappears into the Taxidermy.

                                         GRANDPA
                           ... And stay outta here.

                                         SAM
                           You have a T.V.?

                                         GRANDPA
                           No, I just like to read the T.V.
                           Guide.  Read the T.V. Guide, you
                           don't need a T.V...

Nuff said.

[James Blast]

The Lost Boys

[mik]

Ramone has said everything I wanted to say on this. I'll just add that once the analogue TV signal gets switched off in 10-or so years (or whenever), cable companies will have the ability to sell you a non-bbc package. When that happens they'll be forced to scrap the licence fee and become a subscription channel because with no analogue signal you'll have no other way of picking up their signal. (Well, there'll be cracked boxes and pirate cards, heheh).

Not sure that I'm following you properly on this....

I got rid of Sky a while back and bought a combined 'Freeview' digibox / PVR thing* through which I get all the free to air digital tv channels plus the digital radio channels, so no analogue required.

Top tickety boo it is too; and to be honest apart from More4 for The West Wing when it was on, and Film4 we rarely watch anything BUT BBC channels. Can't honestly remember the last time I watched anything on ITV, and UK History is still repeating all the Nazi documentaries I watched on the History channel years ago which were repeats of old BBC documentaries anyway...

Don't believe in the 'child minder in the corner' but Alice gets stuff we've recorded from CBeebies like Charlie and Lola ( ), Postman Pat, Fireman Sam and Little Red Tractor when we're having fifteen minutes of quiet time before bed and books and although its not "worth the license fee alone" it goes a long way; as does my three hours a day fix of Radio 4 which usually stops me getting road rage (although Start the Week was s**t today so I was listening to an Atari Teenage Riot best of compilation ).

Anyway; £131 isn't too bad in the scheme of things; I used to regualrly spend more than that in a week, or a on many occasions a weekend, on beer and ciggies.

Mik.

* bought the Humax PVR-9200T twin tuners etc 100 hours worth of recording. £160

[Dan]

Not sure that I'm following you properly on this....

Ah Freeview, I'd forgotten about that. You get BBC on it I assume. Yeah they'd have to do away with that for my theory to work. It's not free though is it if you have to pay for the tv licence?

[Rafster]

most tv is really bad. BBC is a stupid and crazy anachronism, but weirdly, it works....mostly.

unfortunately the hutton enquiry chopped its balls off.

i'm pc inclined but i'm starting to rebel against it. all diversity of people should be catered for....but i'm finding that there is always one police officer shown to be of an ethnic minority...and criminals are almost always white. this is a form of social engineering and not a mirror.

i totally empathise with the intentions but not the results...and the consequences of this ie: BNP or even UKIP also make me uneasy

[mik]

Not sure that I'm following you properly on this....

Ah Freeview, I'd forgotten about that. You get BBC on it I assume. Yeah they'd have to do away with that for my theory to work. It's not free though is it if you have to pay for the tv licence?

There's about 60 channels on Freeview these days, including the digital versions of all standard BBC TV and Radio output.
There's a lot of dross on there as well like shopping and gambling (sorry Quiz...) channels but I've simply removed these from my channels list.
Full line up here

[James Blast]

Nae Planet Rock!

[DeWinter]

i'm pc inclined but i'm starting to rebel against it. all diversity of people should be catered for....but i'm finding that there is always one police officer shown to be of an ethnic minority...and criminals are almost always white. this is a form of social engineering and not a mirror.

i totally empathise with the intentions but not the results...and the consequences of this ie: BNP or even UKIP also make me uneasy

The BBC hasn't been impartial for a long time, it has it's own agenda, and quite an obvious one. Even when I was a Labour voter I noticed every BBC political broadcast deliberately focused on Tory problems(Europe, usually) and glossed over those of Labour. For decent political coverage you've had to go to Channel 4 for a fair amount of time.
And of course, dear Andy E pointed out the notorious Question Time segment when the American Ambassador was reduced to a quivering jelly and was reassured afterwards that the BBC would find a more responsive audience next time. Alright the audience were a bunch of animals, but still.
Oh, and if you want an example of BBC's "right-on" programming, the best ever was "Thin Blue Line", the most preachy, sanctimonious, tokenist excuse for a comedy in the history of television. I wouldn't have minded if it was actually amusing. Unfortunately neither Elton, nor his writing, possess functioning testicles these days.
If we accept, and people do seem to, that the BBC is no longer impartial, and doesn't provide a good enough service, the maybe people ought to just outright refuse to pay. It worked for the Poll Tax, and that had more logic to it than the license fee.

Curiously, I am coming quite close to voting UKIP myself, more because all the other parties offer exactly the same policies, and I think a kick up the arse will do them good. Show them that there is an alternative to voting for them.
When I hear about the BNP, it reminds me of a line from "Cracker" when a homicidal racist ex-Liverpool fan says something like "we'll blow this country up, theres no brownie points for sticking up for the likes of us". Thats the type the BNP are targetting, white ex-Labour heartlanders. And ignoring their grievances and screaming racist won't make them change their mind. Reasoned debate might, but sadly no-ones offering it.

[Rafster]

i'm pc inclined but i'm starting to rebel against it. all diversity of people should be catered for....but i'm finding that there is always one police officer shown to be of an ethnic minority...and criminals are almost always white. this is a form of social engineering and not a mirror.

i totally empathise with the intentions but not the results...and the consequences of this ie: BNP or even UKIP also make me uneasy

The BBC hasn't been impartial for a long time, it has it's own agenda, and quite an obvious one. Even when I was a Labour voter I noticed every BBC political broadcast deliberately focused on Tory problems(Europe, usually) and glossed over those of Labour. For decent political coverage you've had to go to Channel 4 for a fair amount of time.
And of course, dear Andy E pointed out the notorious Question Time segment when the American Ambassador was reduced to a quivering jelly and was reassured afterwards that the BBC would find a more responsive audience next time. Alright the audience were a bunch of animals, but still.
Oh, and if you want an example of BBC's "right-on" programming, the best ever was "Thin Blue Line", the most preachy, sanctimonious, tokenist excuse for a comedy in the history of television. I wouldn't have minded if it was actually amusing. Unfortunately neither Elton, nor his writing, possess functioning testicles these days.
If we accept, and people do seem to, that the BBC is no longer impartial, and doesn't provide a good enough service, the maybe people ought to just outright refuse to pay. It worked for the Poll Tax, and that had more logic to it than the license fee.

i think channel four news has a distinctly liberal bias, mainly cos of jon's snow's own beliefs. the actual programmes are good investigative journalism, much better than what the bbc provide. yes elton is crap.

i respect the bbc for providing opposition to whoever is in govt and they've done it for all govts. the only problem is the hutton thing stopped it in its tracks.

don't get me wrong, i'd certainly describe myself as liberal. and i don't mind the idea of the media reflecting these views or the opposite of these views. just concerned that they pass off something as similar to reality when it just isn't, and the thin blue line is a goodish example (but it was supposed to be a "comedy" - so maybe we shouldn't take it as a reflection of modern society).

its too early in the morning and i'm rambling.

rafster out

[Dan]

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18        INT. KITCHEN

I realise that means "Interior kitchen" but I read it as "In t'kitchen".

[weebleswobble]

TV licence workers strike over jobs
More than 100 workers at the TV licensing headquarters have gone on strike to protest at plans to outsource work from the UK to India.
Members of the Communication Workers Union at the Bristol centre began their 48-hour walkout on Monday morning after warning that the switch could lead to hundreds of job losses.
Protesters formed a noisy picket line outside the TV licensing site in Temple Street, where they handed out leaflets to passers-by and demanded jobs were kept in the city.
Capita - the firm which administrates the TV licence - made the controversial decision to outsource work from Bristol to Mumbai in a bid to save money.
But the union claims the move could lead to large-scale job cuts after the company refused to give guarantees over the long-term future of dozens of posts at the centre.
David Wilshire, a union official at the strike, said further action could not be ruled out unless Capita returned to the negotiating table.
"We've got 130 people or so here and the strike is being very well supported," he said.
"It's taking place because Capita have announced the equivalent of 35 jobs will be moved to India and they're refusing to guarantee further jobs will not be moved there in the future.
"People are very upset. We want to keep jobs in Bristol. We want Capita to take a mature approach to this dispute and come back to the table. But we cannot rule out further stoppages."
Union members voted by 95% in favour of industrial action following a ballot in December.

Outsourcing has already cost me a good job, these companies need their naughties booted