Do3 - Repeats

[french frank]

It looks as if we're going through a repeats season at the moment:

May 1: I'm Still the Same Paul (play about Paul Robeson) by Annie Caulfield, featuring Lenny Henry, discussed here on the old boards.

May 8: La princesse de Clèves by Mme de Lafayette, discussed here on the old boards.

In case anyone missed them first time ...

[french frank]

And more forthcoming repeats are Sarah & Ken (15th May) and Giovanni's Room (22nd).

[aeolium]

I thought we used to get the repeat season later into the summer but as with the bluebells etc it's come earlier this year

I wish they would stagger repeats so that no drama is repeated until say 4 years have elapsed.

Shakespeare seems to have gone out of fashion - have we had one of his plays broadcast in the last 18 months? Perhaps I just missed it.

[french frank]

I wonder if there's some contractual reason for repeating so quickly, sometimes within 12 months of the first broadcast? No, I don't think there has been any Bard for a while - though there have been some quite enterprising classic choices in his absence.

I feel a letter to the Controller coming on, to enquire about a few things

[Russ]

It's no consolation, but R4 won't repeat anything older than about 3 years, because that is pre-digitalisation. The repeat cycle on R4 was originally about 2 years, but then it came down to about 18 months, and now it can be less than a year. R4X has dumped all its long drama.

Russ

[french frank]

R4X has dumped all its long drama.

Really? Is there any on R4 now? If they're cutting back it could mean the R4(X) repertoire shifting over to R3

[Guest]

All the Smileys coming up already on R4.

[Russ]

Really? Is there any on R4 now? If they're cutting back it could mean the R4(X) repertoire shifting over to R3

R4X is undergoing a contentious period of change, with the management trying to move it more to "a stronger speech service for older children and their families". Whilst R4X did start off with a few 60-plus minuters (a couple of Shaws, Ayckborn), it has intentionally dropped anything above 60 minutes as a general rule. Certainly it shows no signs of digitalising anything over 60 minutes if it isn't already 'in the system'. All the material is very 'safe' and non-demanding. The execrable Ambridge Extra currently takes up nearly 6 hours a week in the R4X schedule. R4X's current diet of 60 minuters are repeats of R4 Classic Serials, and is pumping out the higher profile ones now (Smileys, no surprise there Dracs, although these are 90-minuters) with R4 trails as a come-on to R4X to increase the R4X audience and helping the Beeb's chances of ameliorating their crippling DAB obligations. For a longer excursion into R4X's current direction, go to the blog.

Anything over 60 minutes is now very rare on R4.

I get the impression that the Beeb's much vaunted archive project is floundering, and certainly there is no sign that it has any intention of unearthing much if any pre-digitalisation drama material. I guess, for R3, there isn't any money (or authority) to do the conversion of pre-digitalisation material, so pressing a repeat button for something recent is the lazy and easy alternative.

Russ

[french frank]

Thanks, Russ. I think we should keep a very close look on R3's drama output - and start asking polite questions if things seem to be moving in the wrong direction. Abigail Appleton moved from R3 last year, so some sort of change may be perceptible before too long.

[Russ]

Abigail Appleton moved from R3 last year, so some sort of change may be perceptible before too long.

Oh, I didn't know that. Could be bad news. R4's drama dept is a headless chicken, and has been for some time, although Jeremy Howe might have drifted back from his 9-month secondment by now. Nothing has been heard of Alison Hindell since she moved to Wales.

Is anyone holding the fort at R3 on the drama side at the moment?

Russ

[french frank]

Is anyone holding the fort at R3 on the drama side at the moment?

Someone was appointed Acting(?) Head of Speech & Drama when AA left, but I've forgotten his name. I'm also not certain he kept that title or whether there isn't some sort of overall drama supremo now. I'll potter round the website for a clue.

[french frank]

Someone was appointed Acting(?) Head of Speech & Drama when AA left, but I've forgotten his name. I'm also not certain he kept that title or whether there isn't some sort of overall drama supremo now. I'll potter round the website for a clue.

Matthew Dodd is now Head of Speech Programming and Presentation, Radio 3.

Responsible for: Speech Programming and Presentation - No mention of drama, then.

[aeolium]

Isn't Jeremy Mortimer still involved in R3 Drama - I'm not sure in what position exactly? He has been around for a long time.

[Russ]

Thanks ff. According to The Stage, Matthew Dodd's role gives him responsibility for commissioning the station's drama output. (He seems to have a good track record on Between The Ears.)

aeolium - Jeremy Mortimer is an Executive Producer, and I think he moves about a bit between R4 and R3.

Russ

[Norfolk Born]

Radio 4 Extra 14th May: The Complete Smiley:Call For The Dead 1600-1730
Radio 4 Extra 15th May: Ambridge Extra Omnibus (11-12/26) 1115-1145
Radio 4 Extra 17th May: Ambridge Extra (13/26) 1000-1015
Radio 4 Extra 19th May: Ambridge Extra (14/26) 1000-1015
Radio 4 Extra 20th May: Ambridge Extra Omnibus (13-14/26) 1030-1100.
Ambridge Extra total for the week including repeats: 1 hour 30 minutes.
The numbers in brackets suggest that this is a limited run.