Quote: Dolly Dagger @ July 10 2009, 8:34 AM BSTTesco was always the inferior supermarket, with Sainsbury's seen as more luxurious. That's still pretty much true but now there's Lidl and Aldi right at the bottom end of the market.
Correct.
BBC Talent wage cut Page 3
From what I understand, ITV, Channel 4, etc. are suffering really badly at the moment making the Beeb the only game in town when it comes to UK television broadcasting.
That was a brilliant letter from the Writers Guild, but it will be ignored by the BBC as the majority of their output doesn't even need writers - most of the stuff is ad libbed by D grade celebrities and naive plebs telling us how much they enjoy cooking, dancing, building ferrets, etc.
The big American cable networks are a bit like the BBC in that they rely on subscribers rather then advertisers and have produced some of the most amazing comedy and drama I've ever seen. Wish it could be the same system here.
And looking at the BBC One Autumn schedule little is changing.
Oh great, a new Austen adaptation. How many meetings did it take to come up with that f**king ground-breaking idea?
Quote: Tim Walker @ July 10 2009, 1:30 PM BSTOh great, a new Austen adaptation. How many meetings did it take to come up with that f**king ground-breaking idea?
I know! How many programmes about Stone Cold Steve Austen are we going to stomach before we say enough is enough!
Is too much Austen on TV a minor complaint?
Stone Cold Jane Austen. I like that.
Quote: Griff @ July 10 2009, 1:54 PM BSTOh and I meant to say, not enough Doctors. It should be twice daily and on at the weekends as well.
Doctors can be a bit of a Cardinal's egg.
Quote: Marc P @ July 10 2009, 1:44 PM BSTIs too much Austen on TV a minor complaint?
No. It's unambitious chocolate-box television.
Austen is mightily over-rated as anything other than a good example of accomplished technical novel writing. Her work never aspires to, nor achieves any exploration of shared human experience.
Perhaps having had to write numerous essays on 'Pride And Prejudice' for my A Level all those years ago turned me against her work, but time doesn't make me view her novels as much more than skilfully crafted middle-class morality tales.
"Nostalgia is the opium of the age" - Sir Billy Bragg.
Quote: Tim Walker @ July 10 2009, 1:57 PM BSTNo. It's unambitious chocolate-box television.
It's not an Austen Minor then!
Quote: Tim Walker @ July 10 2009, 1:57 PM BST"Nostalgia is the opium of the age" - Sir Billy Bragg.
I rate Bobby Bragg higher.
It's a fair cop.
Quote: Griff @ July 10 2009, 1:54 PM BSTOh and I meant to say, not enough Doctors. It should be twice daily and on at the weekends as well.
It feels like it's on that much already! And I hear this Wednesday there's one of the worst episodes ever!
Quote: Griff @ July 10 2009, 2:00 PM BSTWell maybe (I would disagree). But perhaps better to have technically accomplished novels on our telly than other BBC classics like Single Mum's Mansion or Kirsten's Topless Ambition?
Endlessly adapting classic novels to use as your "flagship" dramas is, to my mind, a disgraceful waste of money.
TV is a medium of its own. Novels rarely benefit from being adapted. I don't buy the idea that the Beeb (or ITV) is bringing literature to the masses. No-one goes out and reads novels on the basis of an watching an Austen or Dicken's adaptation. The adaptations usually take the bare bones of the story of the novel and (by their nature) cannot translate the writing which elevates a simple story to a great novel.
What we still fail to learn in this country is that original TV drama is a whole different beast to the novel. The novel is seen as the higher art form in this country compared with TV; and TV drama is marketed as literary gossip for the masses. HBO and the US networks have always known (and have re-discovered) the concept of TV drama as a way of telling a big story quite distinct from both the novel and of movies.
Original drama has, with a few brave exceptions, been woeful in this country in over a decade.
Quote: Tim Walker @ July 10 2009, 2:11 PM BSTNo-one goes out and reads novels on the basis of an watching an Austen or Dicken's adaptation.
I agree with the thrust of your argument, but on the above point I think you're wrong. Lots of people read the novel because they've seen it on TV.
Quote: chipolata @ July 10 2009, 2:16 PM BSTI agree with the thrust of your argument, but on the above point I think you're wrong. Lots of people read the novel because they've seen it on TV.
Quote: Griff @ July 10 2009, 2:17 PM BSTNovels sell by the bucketload after being shown on TV. Middlemarch went back to the top of the bestseller list for weeks on end.
But I take your broader point that original TV drama is generally more satisfying than even the best adaptation. (Although some adaptations are marvellous eg Jeeves and Wooster).
What they said.