Quote: Aaron @ July 9 2013, 7:11 PM BSTUnderstandable news, but a shame all the same.
https://www.comedy.co.uk/news/story/000001195/bbc_comedy_axed_wright_way_getting_on_heading_out/
A shame great vey
The Wright Way Page 27
Quote: Aaron @ July 9 2013, 7:11 PM BSTUnderstandable news, but a shame all the same.
https://www.comedy.co.uk/news/story/000001195/bbc_comedy_axed_wright_way_getting_on_heading_out/
"They see what happened to The Wright Way or Vicious. They see that things can get slaughtered quite quickly. Comedy provokes massive reactions."
I hope ITV won't axe Vicious.
Quote: Gordon Bennett @ July 9 2013, 7:17 PM BSTI hope ITV won't axe Vicious.
I feel exactly the same too, I really want it to return for a second series after the Christmas special. Shame about The Wright Way though as well as I really enjoyed that.
I'm not surprised by this but I think Ben Elton was let down somewhat by the director and some of the casting. The writing was old fashioned but did have some merit.
Absolutely horrendous - and I went in with no expectations at all. Script wasn't great, but direction was absolutely appalling. I couldn't stand it 10 minutes into the show. Unbearable.
Quote: Nick @ July 11 2013, 3:14 AM BSTI'm not surprised by this but I think Ben Elton was let down somewhat by the director and some of the casting. The writing was old fashioned but did have some merit.
I doubt that anyone foisted on Elton several people from The Thin Blue Line or his mates' daughter in one of the supporting roles. And I doubt that any prospective script-editor would have got very far with the proposal that some of it needed rewriting, and I doubt that Elton was taking notes from the director. The whole thing was folie de grandeur: Elton thought he could design, build and row the whole boat based solely on his unmatched talent. He clearly can't.
The trouble with axing The Wright Way is it was a proper studio sitcom made with the intention of making people laugh. It did that, it made many cringe as well, it made me do both, but 3 plus million viewers isn't bad! It's much more than their safe sitcom-dramas like Rev get. 3 odd m viewers a show and the controller listens to the hysterical critics! He even blames them for being way too critical and yet he gives in to them. Odd behaviour.
And it means there is inconsistency in BBC's decisions now, if this goes after one series, as did The Royal Bodyguard, why didn't Citizen Khan, which had older jokes than both of them, not as many viewers and copped just as much flak?
And then he says Heading Out came to a natural end, but SP has many more projects for them. Er, hang on, is that wise? It got .6ish m viewers, surely she should be dropped as a sitcom writer now? He says they'd use her and Elton again, and that's the big problem with their rubbish commissioning, they are welded to existing names, even when they fail, and don't give new writers much of a look in.
To be fair, Citizen Khan wasn't nearly as criticised - and half of its criticism was on religious rather than comedic grounds.
Quote: Alfred J Kipper @ July 11 2013, 8:52 AM BSTthe controller listens to the hysterical critics! He even blames them for being way too critical and yet he gives in to them. Odd behaviour.
Much as I will not mourn the passing of The Wright Way, it's this element of the process that scares the shit out of me.
They know it's wrong, yet they do it - pressure from elsewhere I guess?
But, if we are to only get programming that trends well on Twitter then we are doomed to the vacuous and shallow.
Bring back Lord Reith - don't give them what they want, give them what they need.
Quote: Lazzard @ July 11 2013, 11:46 AM BSTMuch as I will not mourn the passing of The Wright Way, it's this element of the process that scares the shit out of me.
They know it's wrong, yet they do it - pressure from elsewhere I guess?
It could be PR bluster of course, but if you read the news report, it hints that Elton was the one who ended the show, not primarily Allen.
Quote: Lazzard @ July 11 2013, 11:46 AM BSTBut, if we are to only get programming that trends well on Twitter then we are doomed to the vacuous and shallow.
Bring back Lord Reith - don't give them what they want, give them what they need.
Quite.
Quote: Lazzard @ July 11 2013, 11:46 AM BSTBring back Lord Reith - don't give them what they want, give them what they need.
Reith was a man who knew how to manage an organisation, and took management tips from the best. For example: "I really admire the way Hitler has cleaned up what looked like an incipient revolt."
I claim my 'Godwin' prize!
One problem I noted with the set up was Mayor Yoda coming downstairs to see Gerald Wright. As the comic underdog shouldn't he have had to go to the Mayor?
Quote: William Purry @ July 11 2013, 6:03 PM BSTAs the comic underdog shouldn't he have had to go to the Mayor?
Quote: Pingl @ 3rd June 2013, 3:13 PM BSTSome might say Ben Elton is a talented man, Blackadder, Young Ones, Thin Blue Line?
Cook wrote individually, whereas Elton was part of a team on most of those shows you list.