Comparing TV Schedules 1970s & Now Page 4

Quote: Dolly Dagger @ May 13 2009, 1:14 PM BST

Well for starters we are all of African descent. Secondly there were people living in England from far flung nations at that time; sometimes as a result of the Crusades to the Middle East.

And as someone pointed out there's also artistic licence and interpretation. Robin Hood probably didn't even exist and the show is an adventure drama, not a historical reconstruction.

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Exactly what the Wife says, doesn't work for me, I much prefer the trippy 1980s version, men were more men in that version, not like this watered down rubbish IMO.

Quote: Dolly Dagger @ May 13 2009, 1:14 PM BST

Robin Hood probably didn't even exist

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He almost certainly did - but not the romanticised socialist version we know today.

I bet you wouldn't have cared if one of the actors playing a role had had the 'wrong' colour hair so why the hell is what shade his skin is such a big deal?

Ya bunch of freaks.

Quote: zooo @ May 13 2009, 2:45 PM BST

I bet you wouldn't have cared if one of the actors playing a role had had the 'wrong' colour hair so why the hell is what shade his skin is such a big deal?

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Realism. Skin colour is a bit more apparent than hair colour.

Maybe if they suddenly made every character Indian or something.

But complaining bitterly because they have the odd black actor in amongst an ensemble cast is crazy.

It stinks of tokenism.

Do the BBC have a rule whereby x% of every cast must be of an ethnic minority? That would be more reasonable in some modern dramas, but does look a bit out of place in something like Robin Hood.

When I watch US shows, the casts often contain a handful of whites, a handful of blacks and one or two asians. That seems as if that's what America is like, a melting pot of races. It feels right.

However, in many areas Britain isn't quite like that, so sometimes it's a bit odd when minorities crop up where they probably wouldn't in reality, e.g. Dr Who's visits to Shakespeare, 1950s etc., and Robin Hood. Torchwood is the most amusing, where characters in the background in exterior scenes are absolutely stuffed with mixed-race couples.

You can't shout tokenism every single time a black person happens to get a job.

I'm not even talking about Friar Tuck anymore btw. More addressing maidenpriest's bizarre views. There WERE black people in this country back then, and before that. Why the hell shouldn't they be on screen?

Like I said, crazy.

Quote: zooo @ May 13 2009, 3:10 PM BST

You can't shout tokenism every single time a black person happens to get a job.

I'm not even talking about Friar Tuck anymore btw. More addressing maidenpriest's bizarre views. There WERE black people in this country back then, and before that. Why the hell shouldn't they be on screen?

Like I said, crazy.

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Although it makes me feel dirty and ashamed, I agree with zooo. So there's a black guy in the cast? Big deal. Grow up. It's not as if the show's aiming for documentary realism anyway.

Quote: chipolata @ May 13 2009, 3:29 PM BST

Although it makes me feel dirty and ashamed, I agree with zooo. So there's a black guy in the cast? Big deal. Grow up. It's not as if the show's aiming for documentary realism anyway.

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That's pretty what I said. We are the moral consensus!

Quote: john lucas 101 @ May 13 2009, 3:34 PM BST

That's pretty what I said. We are the moral consensus!

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The Smile TV 2 Boys are back!!

Quote: Bad dog @ May 13 2009, 3:09 PM BST

However, in many areas Britain isn't quite like that, so sometimes it's a bit odd when minorities crop up where they probably wouldn't in reality, e.g. Dr Who's visits to Shakespeare, 1950s etc., and Robin Hood. Torchwood is the most amusing, where characters in the background in exterior scenes are absolutely stuffed with mixed-race couples.

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Maybe casting directors should take DNA samples of local populaces and then replicate that in their choice of actors and background artists when filming in a certain location?

Quote: PhilSug @ May 11 2009, 6:16 PM BST

Is that even a real BBC schedule from 1975?

I only ask because as far as I recall 'This is Your Life' was an ITV show during the 70s and 80s.

I also don't recall either Dad's Army or Steptoe airing on a Saturday night (certainly not for first run episodes). And didn't Steptoe end in 1974?

And wasn't The Two Ronnies a 50 minute show?

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Yeah, from my memory Dixon was a longer show; Steptoe was on late at night (and not necessarily on Saturdays); Two Rons was 45/50 mins; This is Your Life was on ITV in the seventies (Wednesday 7pm I think, followed by Corrie and the Benny Hill Show).

Quote: zooo @ May 13 2009, 3:10 PM BST

I'm not even talking about Friar Tuck anymore btw. More addressing maidenpriest's bizarre views. There WERE black people in this country back then, and before that. Why the hell shouldn't they be on screen?

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I am a Medievalist by training, and while I cannot say definitively that there were no black people in early thirteenth century England, they would certainly have been as rare as hen's teeth, and as exotic. They would not have been Abbesses or Barons, as depicted in the series.

The series is of course stuffed with anachronisms, and complete tosh, and largely intended to be taken as such, but even so rewriting history to make it more politically acceptable seems peculiarly patronising and socially manipulative.

I do see your point.
But if you can't say definitively there weren't any, then you can't really say they are rewriting history either.

If Queen Elizabeth was cast as a black woman or something, or as a fat blonde woman, or as a man, then yes, that would be rather silly.
And if a show is going over the top actively seeking out an exact ratio of black/whites to make the crowd scenes nice and PC then yes that's silly too, and patronising.

But complaining every time there's a non white visible in a fun Saturday night historical drama is just mean spirited, to me.