BS: UK telly=Rubbish!

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: John Routledge
Date: 13 Jan 05 - 08:55 PM

Thanks for the correction MoH. I am finally losing it:0). The instant recall isn't like it used to be.

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: Don(Wyziwyg)T
Date: 13 Jan 05 - 07:17 PM

Sir John,

First let me say you are absolutely right. Far too much crap on telly.

Two points come to my mind:-

1. It's not UK TV that provides the worst muck. They actually use our money to buy it in. Filter out all the imports and the proportion of rubbish in what's left is rather lower, 'tho still not good enough.

2. You raised the question "Who's responsible?", and commented that they should be shot. Perhaps you should sit down before I tell you the bad news. WE are responsible!! As long as we turn the bloody thing on, and give their advertisers multi million ratings, they don't need to improve the programming.

So here's the answer. Let's campaign for a nationwide turn off for just one day. If we all do something else for twenty four hours, they will s**t themselves, and (after a change of underwear) they will re-think their programming so fast it'll make your head spin.

B.T.W. as it's my idea can we do it on a Thursday. That's the night my folk club runs, and it'll be nice to have a capacity audience. The last one was our opening night with Les Barker.

Don T.

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 13 Jan 05 - 03:13 PM

You can get Late Junction on your computer through this BBC link, and at a more convenient time, since it's archived (at least from week to week).

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: GUEST,Harry Jackboot Winger Windsor
Date: 13 Jan 05 - 07:58 AM

I agree its a horrible shade of blue

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: ThreeSheds
Date: 13 Jan 05 - 03:11 AM

I've not seen Naked News its interesting consider whose doing the naked bit or what is the newsworthy bit about naked, new appendage discovered? On my telly at the time mentioned you can be treated with Late Junction I'll grant you the visual content is limited and its not my favourite shade of blue but its usually worth the trouble!

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: Sooz
Date: 13 Jan 05 - 02:56 AM

Is that "Naked News" ThreeSheds?

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 12 Jan 05 - 01:51 PM

Winifred Atwell used to play for "Muffin the Mule"

Winifred Atwell did play the piano, and sold a lot of records back then, but it was Annette Mills who played for Muffin the Mule.

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: ThreeSheds
Date: 12 Jan 05 - 12:26 PM

Sky channel 853 is my favourite especially round about 10.15pm
Best thing on Telly

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: John Routledge
Date: 12 Jan 05 - 12:24 PM

jon - To not quite answer your question Winifred Atwell used to play for   "Muffin the Mule" on children's TV - early 50's I think.

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: muppett
Date: 12 Jan 05 - 11:58 AM

Looking forward to see the new series of Dr Who which due out sometime later this year, hope it's not crap

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: GUEST,Oscar Wilde
Date: 12 Jan 05 - 05:11 AM

Germainne Greer certainly is'nt gay, she could well be a lesbian though.

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: GUEST,Guest guest Teevy Guide
Date: 11 Jan 05 - 11:05 PM

ave an ON and OFF switch!

You don't need to go to sessions (and suffer their repeats) why not find something else to do rather than watch TV?

and even sadder count how many different types of programs were on!

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: GUEST,TEEVY GUIDE
Date: 11 Jan 05 - 11:02 PM

Hey have you seen the new TVs? they h

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: akenaton
Date: 11 Jan 05 - 08:03 PM

BBC is doing a season of Dennis Potter plays at present, I watched the first half of "Pennies from heaven" last night.
Absolutely brilliant! This is what TV should be all about, entertaining AND informing.
During the 60s and 70s the "PLay for today" and "Wednesday Play" series' were a big subject of discussion in the workplace and in the pub. People discussed relationships, politics, religion, homelessness and I think TV at that time actually changed society for the better.

Now its all about self promotion, violence and tits and bums.
(Dont mind the tits and bums)...Ake

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull
Date: 11 Jan 05 - 05:28 PM

oh.

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: Folkiedave
Date: 11 Jan 05 - 05:25 PM

Er.....Germain Greer is not gay!!

Dave

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: DougR
Date: 11 Jan 05 - 05:22 PM

From what I saw, during the three weeks I was in the British Isles, I would have to agree with John from Hull. TV there sucks.

DougR

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull
Date: 11 Jan 05 - 05:11 PM

There now doing a celeberity Big Brother, were they put a dozen famous people in a house, and see waht tyey do.
There is John Mcrick [a weird hairy bloke off Channel 4 Racing, that dresses like sherlock Holmes], and Jermaine Geerer [a famous old lesbian], i've no idea who the rest of them are.
It was on at work on Saturday night, and John Mcririck was going mental because there was no lemonade, "I want some fizzy pop, I'm damn well entitled to it"! Loony!

I've not watched it since saturday, so not sure waht esle they did, i reckon they should lock them in there forever, and never let them out, that would teach them!

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: Davetnova
Date: 03 Sep 04 - 03:34 AM

I am glad to say I have just taken the plunge and my house is now a TV free zone.

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 02 Sep 04 - 07:49 PM

PS, for those who can take larger MP3s (this one is 1.7MB), the recording I enjoyed is here on the TV Cream Website.

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 02 Sep 04 - 07:37 PM

To drift completely... On one my ventures into "tv as it was"/nostalgia, I bumped into the Pot Black (snooker) theme - whole tune called the "Black and White Rag". The player, Winifred Atwell is unknown to me but cleary had an abundance of talent. Any reccomendations to a recording she made? (I could listen to a CD of this type of music [ragtime] all night)

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 02 Sep 04 - 07:04 PM

Well the Belgians and the Americans have my sympathies if their tv really is as bad as ours.

Basically however I think you are just being competitive. we say our tv is rubbish and you say yours is worse.

I can't see how you back up such a formidable claim. Many people in England watch the shopping channel for the dramatic build up to see if they will sell all those necklaces. Our situation is desperate and the firearms and supplies of hard drugs that would make armed insurrection possible are not widely available.

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: Little Hawk
Date: 02 Sep 04 - 04:23 PM

What are you on about now, jOhn? More rubbish? Well, I have to agree...television IS rubbish! This is true everywhere, not just in the UK.

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: GUEST,MMario
Date: 02 Sep 04 - 01:41 PM

jon said some of your news is in no way presented objectively or even honestly

I would schange "some" to MOST -

or more accurately - virtually none of our news is presented objectively or even honestly. Hasn't been as long as I can remember.

"news" is and has been for a long time presented with the aim of

1) increasing revenue
2) increasing revenue
3) increasing revenue
4) increasing revenue

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: frogprince
Date: 02 Sep 04 - 01:27 PM

Is a word from a Yank acceptable here? Everything you have described sounds just like American tv. Those "reality" shows which have some element of actual reality are in a bottomless rut: making over the house, making over someones wardrobe, or masking over someones bodily tissue, hour after hour, channel after channel. Prime time "reality" consists of putting people in the most degrading situations anyone can dream up, of baiting them into the most appallingly manipulative behaviour to win the bucks, or both. When we do turn the thing on, we watch a high % of history or discovery channel (although the discovery is sliding into its own "reality" rut with countless hours of a bickering clan building extreme motorcycles), pick out the rare decent series, and give thanks for some of the vintage comedy series from your side of the pond. In a word, tv sucks just about everywhere.

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: Mrs.Duck
Date: 02 Sep 04 - 12:41 PM

One of my gripes about TV in the UK is the habit they now have of scheduling dramas over two or three consecutive nights instead of the same night for two or three weeks. I always find that I end up not being able to watch all the parts and lose half the plot. Even more annoying is when I don't find out that the programme will be a two parter until the end of the first one. Even if we're in we don't necessarily want to watch the same thing three nights running.

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull
Date: 02 Sep 04 - 03:55 AM

I didn't bother, sorry!

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: Big Tim
Date: 02 Sep 04 - 02:34 AM

PS Anyone watch to see waht wos in Elvis's coffin?

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: Big Tim
Date: 02 Sep 04 - 02:31 AM

Irma Kurtz in Jerusalem and Egypt on BBC4 last night was very watchable. Generally though UK tv is awful: we've got over 50 channels and seldom see anything interesting. Hardly even bother to look at the listings for the 4 main terrestrial channels anymore. NEVER look at BBC1 (except for Newsline Northern Ireland on digi) and ITV. Think I still miss Ena Sharples!

I think I could live in America, if it weren't for the god-awful telly they have.

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 01 Sep 04 - 07:03 PM

hmm Greg, I'm inclinded to agree with your tactful comment.

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: greg stephens
Date: 01 Sep 04 - 12:44 PM

Monty Don is a great gardening progamme man (and writer). About Charlie Dimmock, all one can say(tactfully) is that she is extraordinarily watchable, but not for reasons wholly connected with gardening.
    Calling in the support of John Humphreys to criticise TV dumbing down is a bit weird, when you see what he's done to debase Today on Radio 4 from a news programme into part gladiator show/part propaganda machine.

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: ThreeSheds
Date: 01 Sep 04 - 11:49 AM

Just to keep a proper perspective I've thought for a while that TV is like a donner kebab both seem a good idea when youre too pissed for anything else

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 01 Sep 04 - 07:16 AM

"changing gardens"

Now that leads me on to another thought. Pip did call me through to watch a bit of "Gardener's World" a week or so back. It was presented by someone I belive was called "Monty Don". He was going throgh his veg plot (something of interest to me even though in all truth Pip is our gardner - I just enjoy helping with harvesting :-)) He seemed to present it in an honest manner, admitting to failures as well as successes. I'd watch it again.

On the other hand, clever as they may be, I just don't get the one that Charley Dimmock (?sp?)does for example. I doubt half the time the owners would even have the first clue as to how to keep thier newly created garden (which I do admit can look nice) maintained, and the races against time to surprise someone all seem so horribly false...

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: CharleyR
Date: 01 Sep 04 - 06:53 AM

I have watched a fair bit of European TV (purely for the benefit of my foreign language skills) and I reckon it makes British TV seem high quality by comparison. The good thing about Belgian cable TV (I lived there for a few months) is that even if there's nothing worth watching, there's 40-odd channels so you can fill up half an hour just flicking through them all before you decide there's nothing on.

I don't have a TV myself, there was one in the house when I moved in but it was broken and the landlady said we could either get it fixed or get rid of it - so we got rid of it and bought a mandolin with the money we would have spent on a TV licence. Much more entertaining.

Charley

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: Jeanie
Date: 01 Sep 04 - 05:51 AM

I couldn't agree more. Far too many so-called "reality shows" - which are anything BUT real.

What I miss most are the one-off TV plays that used to be shown. Interestingly, BBC radio still has plenty on offer every week, but they are sadly lacking on TV. Most of the programmes billed as "TV dramas" are in the soap style (e.g. Holby City, Casualty) but there are exceptions. I love "Foyle's War", for instance - brilliantly done.

Here's hoping this will all change. Here's a quote from the Radio Times by one of the writers of the new series of 3 one-off plays, "Trapped", due to start next week:

"Twenty years ago, people were used to watching plays on TV, but now it's as if the audience has started to believe that a play isn't for them, that it's too intellectually rarefied. I wanted to bring it back and say,'Actually, this is for everybody.' "

- jeanie

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: mooman
Date: 01 Sep 04 - 04:52 AM

I live in Belgium which is totally cabled and we get 40+ channels. Almost all are much worse than BBC1 and BBC2 except that a couple of the Dutch and Flemish stations have fairly recent and good films quite often. One of the Flemish channels, however, has a variant of Big Brother called "The Bus" where the annoying occupants of the live-in bus regularly get thrown off (I'm not sure whether it is moving at the time!).

Having said that, on any given day, even BBC1 and BBC2 have about threequarters rubbish and they have definitely been "dumbed down" over the past few years. Some evenings, by switching, you can get a whole evening of "changing rooms" or "changing gardens" programmes and even one teams presenters doing the other team's show sometimes. That is, if you want to (which I don't!). The limit for me was when they did a makeover on a warship a couple of years ago. The fashion now seems to be programmes about joyriders and the police who chase them and programmes about the less interesting workings of airports. Ene the hoispital programmes seem to have become glorified bonkoriums.

Having sais that, I tend to agree with John Humphries that the few good programmes that there are are even better these days.

So, in more words, I largely agree with Sir jOhn. Too much rubbish and not enough of the good stuff.

Still, it has an upside. Since I hardly watch the telly these days, I play a lot more and have widened my repertoire a lot!

Peace

moo

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 01 Sep 04 - 04:04 AM

With so much going on musically in Hull (plus all those travelling clubs!)who in Hull has time to watch telly??!!

RtS
(switch it off and sling a record/cassete/CD on, read a book, learn a song, play the washboard...ooops, breaching my ASBO there!)

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull
Date: 01 Sep 04 - 03:02 AM

I've just realised i'm starting to sound like my grandad!

When there was rubbish stuff on telly when my grandad was alive, he would say "If they don't put some decent programmes on soon, I'm sending that bloody thing back"!
[He used to rent a tv set from radio rentals].

Seriously though, it really is getting crapper all the time, I read the John Humphreys article, and agree with him.
Whats the current obsession whith celebrity ie people from big brother been in the papers etc "So and so, from big brother gives a celebrity interview", and rubbish like that.
They have done absolutely nothing to be proud of, just lived in a house with TV cameras in it for 3 months, anybody can do that, now they are famous!

I think maybe the problem is there are too many channels?

On sky TV it is possible to recieve over 200 tv channels, but they just fill them up with rubbish, it would be better to have just a few, but with good programmes on them.

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: jacqui.c
Date: 31 Aug 04 - 05:24 PM

I agree with Kevin here - there is the occasional good programme on but not very many. I think there are about six hours of TV this week that I really would like to watch. Luckily my time is mostly taken up with other activities so I don't have a lot of time for the box but when I do I wnat to be entertained or educated, not to see the inside of someone else's house or watch a bunch of what seem like misfits try to get the better of each other in Big Brother. This really has become lowest common denominator viewing.

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: MBSLynne
Date: 31 Aug 04 - 04:08 PM

Don't watch telly....

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 31 Aug 04 - 10:37 AM

McGrath, thanks for the link to what both Pip and I feel is an excellent but at times worrying article.

MMario, I've never been to the US and don't know the balance you get. The most disturbing thing to me has been reading reports of Fox TV (I think). Maybe I'm wrong but I get the impression that some of your news is in no way presented objectively or even honestly.

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: GUEST,MMario
Date: 31 Aug 04 - 08:37 AM

it's still better then TV in the states!

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 31 Aug 04 - 07:36 AM

As I said there - "there's some good stuff, but it's drowned by a mass of stuff that isn't just not worth watching, it could do you serious injury if you did watch it."

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull
Date: 31 Aug 04 - 06:24 AM

Mr McGrath-waht you think about uk telly then?
you think its really good quality broadcasting, or is it just rubbish?

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 31 Aug 04 - 06:13 AM

Maybe Sir jOhn is really John Humphrys - Junk television damages our society.

Though sir jOhn gets his point across with a lot fewer words. But saying essentially the same - there's some good stuff, but it's drowned by a mass of stuff that isn't just not worth watching, it could do you serious injury if you did watch it.

The really worrying thing is that when people say that the UK has the best TV in the world, they are very probably quite right.

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull
Date: 31 Aug 04 - 05:16 AM

Jon-I agree there is some good stuff on telly., but most of it is rubbish, ie =there is absolotely nothing that would make me stay at home and watch my telly, on my night off, and my video is broken, but there is hardly anything worth taping anyeay, its all rubbish.

and weve got sky tv at work, and thats rubbish as well,
we've got "basic package" or wahtevernits called, no films or spotrs, we get sky one etc, but its all shit.

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: GUEST,H
Date: 31 Aug 04 - 05:02 AM

It's true,

Moved house in march & bothered to properly tune in the tv/video yet.
The other half watches the cricket sometimes,

But - I see sky tv at night quite often, in over a year - there's been ONE good film on.

.... I'm finding I'm reading more than I used to :)

H

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 31 Aug 04 - 04:59 AM

Yes and no John...

I would agree that the volume of crap seems to increase and I don't understand the mentality of what I would assume is the majority of the Brittish public.

On the other hand, at least for those of us lucky enough to be able to receive digital, I think there are some positive signs, one being BBC4's attempt at covering folk. I didn't see it, but as an example I have read a couple of very positive reports on their coverage of Sidmouth and also on the BBC4 music board a couple of people who appear to be taking an interest in folk as a new found area of musical interest - that has to be good for all of us!

Another channel on the freeview system (when I can get on it - trying to sort it out on my PC as well as main tv) is UKHistory I've watched some very interesting stuff there, one that springs to my mind was about a female pharaoh (Princesses of the Nile?).

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 31 Aug 04 - 03:58 AM

add my name to the petition - if you get anything going. the monopoly and exclusivity these companies enjoy does give them some sort of responsibility to the public - which they don't honour very well.

Subject: RE: BS: UK telly=Rubbish!
From: Wolfgang
Date: 31 Aug 04 - 03:16 AM

People moan too much, [npot all pf them, just a few] (John from Hull)