W1A

[eighthobstruction]

upstart b 'crow.... pwrau jeezz....

....very many many useless unfun (think they are fun) offerings on R4 too in 1130 hours slot....twaaaaaaaa....shhhh.....what are we now; communications wise -12G....how come the writers are still using the telegraph....(satire=irony typee).....Zeeesh (expleeetive)....

....naa

[LMcD]

The one exception is the ever-reliable Mark Heap, who is for me the only reason to watch the thing (given that he is so unjustly neglected generally)

I agree with you about Mark Heap. It's just that I find one of his delicious asides funnier than a whole episode of W1A. (I hope we can agree to differ as regards the rest of the programme!)

[underthecountertenor]

The one exception is the ever-reliable Mark Heap, who is for me the only reason to watch the thing (given that he is so unjustly neglected generally)

I agree with you about Mark Heap. It's just that I find one of his delicious asides funnier than a whole episode of W1A. (I hope we can agree to differ as regards the rest of the programme!)

Happy with that!

[underthecountertenor]

I could not agree more (although even Mark Heap isn't enough to get me to wade through the remaining heap... Happy to wait for his sublime cameos with dog in Friday Night Dinner... )

For me, the funniest thing on at the moment (though extremely rude - Lat-Lit would hate it) is Back - also with David Mitchell - on C4. (Slight dip in form in Ep 3, but the first two were brilliant I thought)

I’ll give

OT: W1A improved slightly in Ep 2 imo.

Thanks Cali! And I’ll give Back a whirl, if only because my trust in your taste outweighs my slight aversion to David Mitchell.

[Nick Armstrong]

Thanks Cali! And I’ll give Back a whirl, if only because my trust in your taste outweighs my slight aversion to David Mitchell.

Happy to say that with episode 4, Back is back on form! It seems to me really well written to Mitchell's strengths.

Hilarious and invigoratingly un-PC!

[Nick Armstrong]

W1A Ep. 3 tackles the BBC orchestras... Enjoyed the "Less is More" rationalisation proposal of a move to two orchestras, BBC National Chamber Orchestra & BBC Celtic Sinfonietta

[pastoralguy]

W1A Ep. 3 tackles the BBC orchestras... Enjoyed the "Less is More" rationalisation proposal of a move to two orchestras, BBC National Chamber Orchestra & BBC Celtic Sinfonietta

Didn't the BBC try that in the 1970's?!

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

W1A Ep. 3 tackles the BBC orchestras... Enjoyed the "Less is More" rationalisation proposal of a move to two orchestras, BBC National Chamber Orchestra & BBC Celtic Sinfonietta

For all that some of the characters (Siobhan in particular) have become stuck in their own mannerisms, some of the satire in this series is as sharp, and depressingly hilarious as ever. The "instant" subtitle system for news reports was a masterpiece of insight into corporate bureaucracy.

And it's not just a satire on the BBC - there are Anna Ramptons in school Staff Rooms throughout the land! (Quite a few Neil Reids, too - but sadly all too few Lucy Freemans.)

[Nick Armstrong]

For all that some of the characters (Siobhan in particular) have become stuck in their own mannerisms, some of the satire in this series is as sharp, and depressingly hilarious as ever. The "instant" subtitle system for news reports was a masterpiece of insight into corporate bureaucracy.

And it's not just a satire on the BBC - there are Anna Ramptons in school Staff Rooms throughout the land! (Quite a few Neil Reids, too - but sadly all too few Lucy Freemans.)

Yes loved the subtitle bits.

And:

"We get it wrong we’re eating shit soup with no chopsticks here, right?" (Siobhan Sharp)

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

- and I loved last week's reference to The Department of Culture, Media, and also, for some reason, Sport"!

[Serial_Apologist]

No exactly yes.

Poor Anna! - I wonder if they'll all end up transformed into battery-operated robots!

[Nick Armstrong]

No exactly yes.

Poor Anna! - I wonder if they'll all end up transformed into battery-operated robots!

Brilliant

[jean]

...BBC Celtic Sinfonietta

Symphonieta, it was. An extra joke there!

[Barbirollians]

Episode 4 of W1A is available on iplayer . The interview scene with Hugh Bonneville and Will's attempts to get celebrity selfies are priceless.

[Nick Armstrong]

Symphonieta, it was. An extra joke there!

Indeed....



"It's just I'm not sure that's how you spell 'sinfonietta' anyway, is it?"



Also enjoyed the idea of joining music with gardening (shades of all those celeb gardeners on Essential Classics...)