Recommended Television Programmes

[Serial_Apologist]

Tonight, Talking Pictures TV is hosting an evening's tribute to Dora Bryan, including (I think) some sort of documentary (just now starting), including the celebrated A Taste of Hney, starring Rita Tushingham. What more can one say about Dory Bryan other than she was a-Dora-ble. My folks took me to see her in Whitehall farces as a child, though I forget the titles now.

I wouldn't be without Talking Pictures TV.

[cloughie]

Reportedly there are plans to produce a new musical that's designed to appeal to people who dislike Borodin and Shakespeare equally, with the working title 'Kismet Kate'.

It will probably involve Gary Barlow and Madonna, who I dislike - ideal, as Herman sang ‘A must to avoid’ - at the time I thought he sang ‘She’s a muscular boy - a complete impossibility’ which was possibly true then - but after ‘Lola’ ....

Actually my raison d’etre for looking at this thread was to say I am enjoying some Saturday night escapism watching Peter Davidson and Christopher Timothy on their trips in a Morgan on Channel 4’s ‘Great British Car Journeys’.

[LMcD]

It will probably involve Gary Barlow and Madonna, who I dislike - ideal, as Herman sang ‘A must to avoid’ - at the time I thought he sang ‘She’s a muscular boy - a complete impossibility’ which was possibly true then - but after ‘Lola’ ....

Actually my raison d’etre for looking at this thread was to say I am enjoying some Saturday night escapism watching Peter Davidson and Christopher Timothy on their trips in a Morgan on Channel 4’s ‘Great British Car Journeys’.

If you need a little more escapism, Timmy and Pru are back on the canal on C4 tonight, although I think there will be more than a tinge of sadness given her state of health.

[jayne lee wilson]

Two episodes in, and The Name of the Rose (BBC2) is fairly compelling. Not just because I love John Turturro, his apprentice (Damian Hardung as Adso) is also a magnetic screen presence in a visually gorgeous and dramatically gripping production. At last a new drama to look forward to... (I keep up with World on Fire but it goes the other way so far.....underwhelming, lacks vision or spectacle or close involvement....too many 2D stereotypes...)....

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Two episodes in, and The Name of the Rose (BBC2) is fairly compelling.

- a good telly adaptation of one of my favourite novels. Plenty of "intervention": the backstory of the treatment of Cathars/Gnostics - the making obvious of Gui's villainy, which emerges more insidiously in the book - and the corresponding "goodie"-ness of William's character (sharing his food with the poor): Eco's character is a much more cerebral individual, seeking truth dispassionately and with scant regard for the feelings of those he comes into contact with - it is his lack of passion for the Inquisitional cause that raises the emotionally-involved Gui's hatred and suspicions - Adso's home life - and the backstory of "the girl", as a foresight of what's going to happen to her, and to keep the viewer onside when this happens (Eco raises the reader's outrage more subtly by keeping her in the background: what happens to her is repellent because of the motives of others, not because he's built up our sympathy for the character).

But as telly in its own terms it is very good: superb photography, excellent performances from everybody involved - and Eco's "detective story" element is kept untouched. Splendid stuff.

[Dave2002]

Actually my raison d’etre for looking at this thread was to say I am enjoying some Saturday night escapism watching Peter Davidson and Christopher Timothy on their trips in a Morgan on Channel 4’s ‘Great British Car Journeys’.

Having recently had guests with a Morgan, I should probably seek this one out.

[LezLee]

Very enjoyable programme but quite odd to hear 'strong language' from these two!

[Serial_Apologist]

A somewhat belated plug, if I may, for Ep. 5 of London Transport: Then and Now on Channel 5 last Tusday (Oct 22). Not sure how I managed to miss earlier episodes, but this particular one was probably the best of the numerous programmes which have been transmitted over the years, containing wonderful clear vintage footage going back to the 1920s and even as far back as the late Victorian period showing bustling thoroughfares crammed with horse-drawn buses and offering information on subjects such as when the first traffic light was introduced, and the year of the very first omnibus - 1829! - horse-drawn, of course: they'd abolished slavery by that point! The introduction of the petrol-driven omnibus came partly as a result of the authorities not knowing what to do about the growing (ahem) quantities of horse manure deposits as London's burgeoning population was being catered for with the provision of more and more buses. Incidentally, that first-ever traffic light - a 20 metre-high edifice with outstretched arms that were raised to provide semaphore-like signals to accompany the central gaslight beam - turned out not only to be unopopular - one newspaper offering a satanic cartoon impression of the light beaming threateningly at the viewer like an evil eye through dense London smog - but a technological failure, and follow-up iniitiatives had to wait until 1923. The one surprising omission in the programme was trams.

[Dave2002]

Went back to C5 to watch the last of the Building British Canals series - the Kennet and Avon canal. Interesting, but a few problems.

Firstly, water is not sucked up at the Crofton pumping station as the depth is too great and atmostpheric pressure would not allow a heavy column of water to be moved that way. As I recall, it's actually pushed upwards by a special "bucket" and valve arrangement.

Secondly, there is another pumping station on the canal - at Claverton. I'm not sure if the same lifting mechanism is used there, but I did notice that the film makers re-used a section of video material which is common to the two pumping stations. Sneaky and shoddy I think.

Despite this, it was quite an interesting programme, though I do wish programmes like this could be produced properly, and checked for factual errors.

Another way of raising water up significant heights is to do it in several stages. I really don't know, or remember, exactly how it's done in these two pumping stations.

[oddoneout]

A wildlife programme about the weasel family on BBC2, https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0009mvb, contained much interesting material, but I got pretty fed up with the presenter's voice and style(shades of EC criticisms) and the intrusion of some pointless(slow-mo) and repetitive camera action, and intrusive/unnecessary 'music' content, and dubious scientific proof/tests. I think the producers could have tried living dangerously and pitched it at secondary school level rather than primary... Reminds me why I tend not to watch such things anymore; I'm becoming too intolerant of decent material being lost in the dumbing down process.
Despite the above negativity there was some delightful and worthwhile footage, including stoats playing on a trampoline, and seeing off a family of owls, and a honey badger using ever more creative methods to escape from his enclosure, so I'm glad I stuck with it.

[LMcD]

I like uncompromising TV dramas that help - or force - us to confront issues that we might otherwise wish to ignore. The excellent 'World On Fire' (BBC1 Sundays) has now been joined by 'The Accident' (Channel 4 Thursdays) in which the portrayal of events and characters is all the more powerful and convincing for being almost underplayed. Sarah Lancashire is on top form again!

[Serial_Apologist]

There doesn't seem to be a thread titled "Television programmes you're looking forward to", so I'd like to give a plug here for "Memories of Lindsay Anderson", an interesting-looking documentary on Talking Pictures TV (Channel 81) this afternoon at 4.20 about the great radical British film director, visionary (in my view) and the dad I never had.

[LMcD]

There doesn't seem to be a thread titled "Television programmes you're looking forward to", so I'd like to give a plug here for "Memories of Lindsay Anderson", an interesting-looking documentary on Talking Pictures TV (Channel 81) this afternoon at 4.20 about the great radical British film director, visionary (in my view) and the dad I never had.

Perhaps the title of this thread could be changed to 'Recommended TV Programmes', so as to cover both recently viewed and upcoming programmes?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Perhaps the title of this thread could be changed to 'Recommended TV Programmes', so as to cover both recently viewed and upcoming programmes?

Sounds good to me - I was going to add, "but I'd have to check with the Forumista who started the Thread, to see if they didn't mind", but then I saw who it was!

Consider it done.

[Serial_Apologist]

Sounds good to me - I was going to add, "but I'd have to check with the Forumista who started the Thread, to see if they didn't mind", but then I saw who it was!

Consider it done.

Thanks very much indeed ferney. Oh, and LMcD of course!