Heartland

Now call me sad or just a moaning arse. But when the BBC tell us they are hiking up the fee for the licence, you like to think they'd be giving us value for money for it. But the other broadcasters are equally to blame. Ok, the BBC has not made a decent sitcom for nigh on ten years. But to constantly wheel out the same dire tripe year in year out is insulting and cheap.

Vicar of Dibley, Two Ronnies, Porridge..Ok may be 'classics' in some eyes, but they now seem so dated it's depressing.

But the biggest shame is the timing of some of the shows: The Simpsons Halloween special on Christmas day!!, 8 simple rules - The episode where the Dad dies ( Shown on New Years Day;Happy New Year anyone?), UK TV History : On Christmas morning showing a documentary on the Holocaust and the SS.. mmmm full of Christmas cheer) I'm sure there are many more.. I'm cancelling my direct debit to the BBC this year. Stiffing bastids!!

Happy New Year by the way ..lol

Yeah well, i'd just like to pitch in by complaining about "quality dramas" produced by BBC such as an adaptation of Dostoyevski's Crime and Punishment. They're no good. But of course, BBC is as bad a media company as any.

I like documentaries.. and WW2, the Holocaust and the evil on both sides of the war is worth learning more about.

Shame I don't get that channel.

I watched a very good documentary about flying sharks yesterday. God bless the Discovery channel.

And the first of this year's Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, recorded last week. God bless prime numbers .... especially Five.

I rarely watch television anymore, I only really have it on when a movie I want to see is on, but I am a complete Eastenders addict. And it's been one of the better Albert Square Christmases.

It's more of an annoyance, that most of us either own sky or cable. But we're still forced by law to pay for a service very few of us watch on a regular basis.

All your major sport is on Sky, first run films, cartoons and documentaries. But when it comes to Xmas - it's like going back in time twenty years or inot the video section of a local shop when they used to have photocopied covers of films like today's 'blockbuster presentation' : Superman!!

Later today we are being treated later to The Great Escape and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - oh the romantics in you may get tearful and say how it wouldn't be Christmas with out the those films warming your heart every year. But doesn't it feel more like the BBC have thrown in the towel and gone to the 50p per film section at Londis ? And they still want money off us for it.

Now I may get strung up for saying this. But I watched the Dr Who episode over Christmas - and yes it looks like it was shot on a budget of £38.78p and the acting was atrocious, and I know you lot say this is what makes Dr Who the show it is. But I was informed by my nephew it has the same budget as Battlestar Gallactica!! Now you'd be a fool to try and compare the two - US television wipes the floor with British shows ( comedy, sci fi, drama, animation) We'll never have a Frasier, Star Trek Voyager, X-Files, NYPD Blue, Family Guy or Simpsons in our life time - in the meantime, we'll be forced to pay for the likes of My Family, My Hero and Heartbeat !! I feel a revolution is very much over due!

Hi ohhhh

And don't get me started on the state of radio in this country!!! grrrrrrr..

It probably won't make you feel any better, but it's more or less the same on this side of the Channel... except that public radio is almost okay (if you're not too picky, that is).

And us Belgians are stuck right in the middle, so don't expect it to be any better here.

It's so bad I have to watch BBC 1 and 2 to see some Quality TV...

IZ.

Can't agree with you on BBC radio Ramone, Radios 2, 4 and 6 are (along with Planet Rock) my preferred choice of entertainment. Otherwise I agree on the BBC's channel 1 output, I still find the occasional gem on BBC 2 like Extras and QI. Shite like Later have me reaching for the remote. BBC3 holds no attraction, but BBC 4 has thrown up a lot of quality music programmes like the recent re-runs of Rock Goes to College - Siouxsie and the Banshees' gig being well worth the admission. It also tends to test the waters with things like Extras, QI and Jack Dee's excellent (IMO) sitcom Lead Balloon.

James Blast
TV & Wireless critic, The Heartland Grauniad

Izzy HaveMercy wrote:And us Belgians are stuck right in the middle, so don't expect it to be any better here.

It's so bad I have to watch BBC 1 and 2 to see some Quality TV...

IZ.

Aye, same with me...

Ramone wrote:I was informed by my nephew it [Doctor who] has the same budget as Battlestar Gallactica!!

Yeah I think your nephews right if he means that the cost per episode budget for both shows is the same. I seem to remember reading in sfx that battlestar has a small budget by US drama standars as sky tv uk gave the finance required to shoot the first season.
the small budget was possible as most of the actors where not major stars at the time of shooting and because the script writters, camera crews etc in the US are paid less than their UK (or should I say BBC) counterparts I belive.
even so Doctor who was about the only good thing on this Christmas which is why I dont have a tv licence* so i will buy it on DVD
thank you tv licence payers for funding it!

*my parents have a tv licence tho