Ghosts - Series 1 Page 5

Quote: Lazzard @ 26th April 2019, 8:10 AM

Undoubtedly so.
The quality of commissioners is so poor, it's all they have to go on.
It's called "pre-existing" franchise.
They need some sort of 'proof' that something will be a success without having to trust there own taste - most of which has been beaten out of them on the way up when it's all about minimising risk and not dropping your immediate superior in the shit by recommending a lemon.
That 'proof' can take the form of a well-known star, a stand-up/panel show favourite (they MUST be funny, surely),a previously successful writer no matter how off the boil they are (yes I'm talking to you, Dick & Ian), something from an outside ProdCo with a good record or, the dreaded re-boot/re-make.
It's never about personal judgement - therefore people with good judgement tend not to thrive at the big broadcasters - they're all at the Indy ProdCos.
When the Beeb (in particular) farmed out the production, they farmed out the talent.
Watch 'W1A'.
It really is like that.

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Frame this post and give it to the head of comedy commissioning at your next cheese and wine party at BH Aaron.

Back to Ghosts, I'll watch one and give my appraisal. I never saw Horrible Histories but understand it was highly rated. But on the tick box diversity thing, surely a cast choice has to reflect reality in some way. How many black guys in real life inherit an English country mansion?

Oh sweet Jesus.

Quote: Alfred J Kipper @ 27th April 2019, 9:07 AM

Frame this post and give it to the head of comedy commissioning at your next cheese and wine party at BH Aaron.

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Take my name of it first, though, eh?

Quote: Alfred J Kipper @ 27th April 2019, 9:07 AM

Back to Ghosts, I'll watch one and give my appraisal. I never saw Horrible Histories but understand it was highly rated. But on the tick box diversity thing, surely a cast choice has to reflect reality in some way. How many black guys in real life inherit an English country mansion?

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A white woman inherited it.

Yes but without wanting to labour the point too much, how many white women of the class generally needed to belong to for actually inheriting a country pile would be attached to a black man, in real life? It's a long shot, if not impossible.

Let's be honest, the silliness of the show's subject itself has afforded the prods the ideal chance to throw in a token bame character to get their diversity quota score up without causing too much fuss.

Quote: Alfred J Kipper @ 28th April 2019, 3:29 AM

Let's be honest, the silliness of the show's subject itself has afforded the prods the ideal chance to throw in a token bame character to get their diversity quota score up without causing too much fuss.

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I can see where Alf is coming from with this. It is certainly more noticeable in all areas of the media now.

Quote: Alfred J Kipper @ 28th April 2019, 3:29 AM

Yes but without wanting to labour the point too much, how many white women of the class generally needed to belong to for actually inheriting a country pile would be attached to a black man, in real life? It's a long shot, if not impossible.

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Plus ghosts.
Do they even exist?
It's like it's a made-up story.

Quote: Alfred J Kipper @ 28th April 2019, 3:29 AM

Yes but without wanting to labour the point too much, how many white women of the class generally needed to belong to for actually inheriting a country pile would be attached to a black man, in real life? It's a long shot, if not impossible.

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...but it was a long shot. She's a VERY distant relative. When the lawyer pointed to her name on the huge family tree, she was right on the edge. Geez...hang on...I can't believe I'm even giving precious brain power to trying to make sense of the ancestry dilemma...when the entire series was always destined to be utter nonsense from start to finish.

The most puzzling thing for me, regarding the regular performers, is that my youngest really (and I mean REALLY) had no idea they were playing multiple parts...both in Yonderland and Ghosts...until recently. Even Simon Farnaby wasn't recognized as his different characters! It's so obvious, isn't it?? She's like this with The League of Gentlemen. To be fair, the make-up techniques in LoG and Psychoville are way more advanced than those used in Yonderland/Ghosts, so I can kind of forgive her for that, but the Yonderland actors aren't trying to convince us they're different characters...which makes it even more baffling. That said, the obviousness makes it more amusing for me (only, it seems).

My older daughter was the same with Angry Boys...and she's nineteen! I can't work it out. Something missing in their brains...not enough fruit when I was pregnant...I dunno.

It is definitely true that black characters are shoehorned into productions of all varieties and can stick out like a sore thumb. But that doesn't scan for Ghosts. Which Alfred might understand if he'd watched it and seen the set-up before complaining about how the set-up doesn't work.

When people are regularly pointing out the 'addition' of actors from non-white backgrounds, I feel it devalues that actor's talent...to the point their role could be considered a simple formality to 'make up the numbers'...before they've even had a chance to prove why they were really chosen.

I just don't understand why there is still this level of scrutiny. I feel very strongly about this subject...and I'd love to put my point across more fully, but I won't...because it will be seen as an accusation of racism...and, for the record, as far as I'm concerned, nobody is being racist, here. What they are doing is pointing out how makers of TV are now more committed to the inclusion of all races in casts to reflect real life. That's a good thing...but the fact some are still mindful of this inclusion, and the subject still sparks discussion, means we've a long way to go before it's accepted that all actors are chosen because they are right for the part...and add something special that only they can bring as an individual.

It's not racism on anyone's part. I think there's just been SO much emphasis on the actual need for inclusion over the years, it's made it harder for audiences to resist, if you like, inspecting a cast to ensure it's happening. It's more noticeable to older viewers, because a lot of earlier shows were centred on white families and friendship groups. That's how they were written...so specific actors were chosen to play the characters as those writers saw them.

Younger writers have the luxury of having lived in a society where diversity has flourished. They are not choosing certain actors to appear more PC, they are choosing them to better represent the characters they're creating from their own experiences of how real life is for them. Older writers, I'm sure, are also enjoying the freedom to write for a more plausible set of characters. It's all relative.

We all have friends and/or family of other races. That's real life. It's not racist for someone to compare how TV used to be to how it is now. It's just observation.

It's not often these days you can sit down and watch a comedy with your kids and I can with this. It's harmless fun. I haven't watched any new comedy in ages especially on the crap BBC network but with this I've got into it. It's funny and friendly and as for some of the comments on here about colour, who cares? Can you not enjoy programmes with people of a different origin to you? It's really sad seeing some of these posts. Anyway back to the show: it's got a thumbs up from me.