2 reasons why mainstream "telly" will deteriorate further

[SeanMacGabhann]

More ad breaks - yay!

and

They hate you really you know

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Since MM has good taste in films, perhaps we should all go to his and abandon the TV altogether.

[Marmora Man]

On my own tonight - so after a light supper (crab / chilli linguine), salad & wine intend to choose between:

The Departed

Casablanca

Destry Rides Again

Vertigo

Mystic River

Fistful of Dollars

Billion Dollar Brain

Get Carter

Once Upon a Time in the West

Choices / choices / choices

Personally - to get back on topic I find Virgin + (or presumably Sky+) the best thing invented to improve TV. Set it to record obscure films from TCM or Sky or Ch 4 at odd times of day / night and watch at your leisure. The occasional good series (usually a US import) is automatically recorded straight on to hard disc. You can fast forward thru' the advert breaks - excellent.

[SteveT]

Whilst ever they employ overwhelming numbers of talentless no hopers, rather than investing in the creative, imaginative and possibly risque, it will decline into ultimate obscurity, in my not so humble opinion.

Then Sky will have free rein over the industry, depressingly predictable.

[Huguenot]

I know this'll sound a little contrary, but I think TV probably needs to undergo some sort of funding revolution.

Fragmentation in other media, particularly t'interweb, is driving down cost of reach for advertisers. This means that with fixed ad break durations TV companies are making less money than they need to make programs. Word on the street is that ITV's revenues will be down 18% year-on-year. With no end in sight, that's enough to shut the boogers down unless they handle it correctly.

Whilst these network stations have a mandate for original programming others don't.

Are we happy to move to a subscription model if that's what it takes? (The TV license goes to the BBC not other independent networks).

[mamafeelgood]

nothing but bbc loving here. i really can't complain, yes panorama is not what it used to be but my reception is screwed in certain rooms and i can only pick up the bbc channels which rarely let me down. television at its best. however, i so rarely watch any of the commercial channels i couldn't comment on them except imported high end drama and the odd doc on 4.

my dad made one of the first docs to look at multi channel television back in the 80's when berlusconi was a mere media magnate. looking at the foreign models i realised that we should cherish our (what was then) 4 trick pony, but as ever market forces were apparently necessary. fair play, murdoch was right with sky sports, get people to pay for what they get free. god bless him... my mates who now live in NY find it hilarious that we get to see all these HBO series for free on english telly yet they all pay, but for how long?

so long as product placement doesn't interfere with free comment and is never involved in docs then i don't care. film crews are damn expensive things and if BMW, for example think they are selling more cars by placing them for millions then so be it. what gets me with the pre pay channels is that you still get the ads. so bless freeview, iplayer and all who sail in the good ship british television.

[*Bob*]

After getting the upmteenth brief of the year to write and record music for a new show, "Wash My Pet" to be presented by Penelope BigTits (runner-up on Big Brother 5) on a budget of 50p (tbc), I can definitely confirm that TV is indeed getting shitter and shitter.

[HonaloochieB]

What channel is it going to be on *Bob*?

I always thought that Pennie had more going for her than most BB inmates.

Nice to see her doing something worthwhile for our dumb chums.

[*Bob*]

Well, Living TV are on a push to increase their audience share, so it'll probably end-up on there, along with Richard & Judy.

[giggirl]

I don't have a TV; haven't had one for years. Every minute you spend in front of the box is a wasted minute. TV is rubbish and it's getting worse. If you're wondering where your licence fee is going let me tell you that the BBC has spent a small fortune trying to get me to buy a licence. Go figure. They just won't accept that I not everyone has a frigging telly.

[*Bob*]

giggirl Wrote:

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> I don't have a TV; haven't had one for years... TV is rubbish and it's getting worse.

How would you know?

[giggirl]

I spent last Thursday night in a hotel and I had a little tour of the telly with the remote whilst I was there. Granted I was drunk at the time but I saw nothing but 57 channels and nothin' on.

[HonaloochieB]

I think Bruce should write more songs about naturist TV addicts myself.

[giggirl]

Bruce walks on water and can do whatever he wants. I've just come back from a week in New York. Don't even get me started on American TV. OK then - "infomercials" - WTF?

[*Bob*]

I'd be amongst the first to diss the growing amount of dross on TV, but to say 'every minute you spend in front of the box is a wasted minute' is quite a statement. Unless you have absolutely no interest in anything whatsoever (music, film, art, documentary, biography, literature, news).

Turning on the telly to see what's on is not the way to do it though. Just like anything else these days you have to sift through the cack to find the gold.

I'd challenge anyone - armed with a full programme schedule and a PVR recorder equipped with freeview - to fail to find at least ten hours of top-notch programming every week, ready to watch at their convenience.

[giggirl]

I daresay that there might possibly be 10 hours decent viewing in a week. But the prospect of trawling through all the dross to find it is enough to make me want to open up a vein. Truly.

[*Bob*]

That's nonsense.

When you to the theatre or the cinema or to watch a band, do you go and see every play, film or band in the hope you'll chance across something you'll like?

Of course not. You read reviews. You get recommendations. You trawl through the dross and try to avoid it. It's exactly the same.

[giggirl]

Yes I'm highly selective about what I listen to, what I read etc. TV is more intrusive. For example, if you watch something on C4 you get plugs for Big Brother in all the ad breaks whether you want them or not. You don't just get what you want; you get the ad breaks and the trailers and the plugs. Whereas, if you buy an Elbow CD you just get Elbow.

[*Bob*]

Hence: a PVR recorder (cheap, records what you want, watch it when you want to, no subscription to Murdoch etc, skip through commercial breaks in two seconds). Fill it up with a couple of hundred hours of good stuff and save it for a rainy day.

You're running out of excuses and missing some really good TV all at the same time.

[louisiana]

I never watch live TV any more; I just forward through the ads if there are any. I really couldn't say what the big TV advertising campaigns of 2008, 2007, 2006... were.

Mt favourite is BBC4, with odd sprinklings from other channels.

Film 4 has a Bergman season on at the mo'.

Foe example

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050986/

[giggirl]

My problem with TV is that it?s dumbed right down to lowest-common-denominator level. If there is anything on there which might be deemed ?good? then it goes to DVD and I do watch the occasional DVD on my laptop.

[*Bob*]

My problem with music is that it's dumbed right down to lowest-common-denominator level.

Do you agree?

[giggirl]

Yes I do agree. A few years ago the "business" was manufacturing boy and girl bands right left and centre. They were easy to spot; you could see them coming and get out of the way. Right now there are so many manufactured (to my mind) indie bands. One band is interchangeable with another. Instantly forgettable.

[mockney piers]

Doesn't mean there isn't plenty of good stuff being produced.

Although admittedly not much of it is coming out of the uk at them moment. Well, in terms of rock/indie at any rate.

[PeckhamRose]

My school was crap.

TV was my education.

And continues to be so.

But yes drama output is down considerably because it is so expensive to produce.

In the days of the Wednesday play people had little else to do, or chose to do little else...

But now to invest in a new drama even by an established writer is such a risk it's barely done. Even one off dramas tend to be written by very well known writers. And let's face it now there is little else worthy of watching other than intelligent dramas, great comedies, and of course TopGear.

Oh, and documentaries.

We still make good documentaries.

Oh and cartoons.

giggirl Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I don't have a TV; haven't had one for years.

> Every minute you spend in front of the box is a

> wasted minute. TV is rubbish and it's getting

> worse. If you're wondering where your licence fee

> is going let me tell you that the BBC has spent a

> small fortune trying to get me to buy a licence.

> Go figure. They just won't accept that I not

> everyone has a frigging telly.