Sean: a Celebration

[LMcD]

Nothing like that series I’m afraid. Life at the top is very brutal. The top jobs are very demanding and very political .That series makes it look like a joke. There are ( or I should say were ten years ago ) plenty of non jobs though.

Well, either way it doesn't sound or look like Paddy's sort of thing. I think my tongue-in-cheek suggestion was prompted by some of the comments about Sean Rafferty's last programme and the reports of Zoe Ball's tearful departure from the Radio 2 Breakfast programme. Nick Robinson also went a bit OTT the other day as 'Today' braced itself for Mishal Husain's departure. I can clearly remember Michael Aspel's final news bulletin, which he ended by shuffling his papers and quietly saying something along the lines of 'Well, that's about it, then'.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Well, either way it doesn't sound or look like Paddy's sort of thing. I think my tongue-in-cheek suggestion was prompted by some of the comments about Sean Rafferty's last programme and the reports of Zoe Ball's tearful departure from the Radio 2 Breakfast programme. Nick Robinson also went a bit OTT the other day as 'Today' braced itself for Mishal Husain's departure. I can clearly remember Michael Aspel's final news bulletin, which he ended by shuffling his papers and quietly saying something along the lines of 'Well, that's about it, then'.

It’s always about presenters isn’t it ? The thousands of (often more talented ) production and technical staff who’ve left never get a mention.

[LMcD]

It’s always about presenters isn’t it ? The thousands of (often more talented ) production and technical staff who’ve left never get a mention.

In olden times, the final appearance of a popular broadcaster wasn't turned into a vehicle for an outpouring of national grief.

[Old Grumpy]

No, but in olden times there weren't social meeja. In this case too there was the factor of the way in which this departure was handled.

[Ein Heldenleben]

In olden times, the final appearance of a popular broadcaster wasn't turned into a vehicle for an outpouring of national grief.

Yes though in the case of Sean it’s arguably merited. Though the tone of this thread is more outrage than grief.

It’s nothing compared to the death of characters in TV and Radio soaps. People actually send letters of condolence even ,I’m told , death threats to scriptwriters which is really weird as writing the letter implicitly acknowledges they are fictional. So a fictional death becomes emotionally more real than a genuine one . Didn’t Plato have something to say about that ?

[LMcD]

Yes though in the case of Sean it’s arguably merited. Though the tone of this thread is more outrage than grief.

It’s nothing compared to the death of characters in TV and Radio soaps. People actually send letters of condolence even ,I’m told , death threats to scriptwriters which is really weird as writing the letter implicitly acknowledges they are fictional. So a fictional death becomes emotionally more real than a genuine one . Didn’t Plato have something to say about that ?

A couple of examples come to mind.
When Archers gamekeeper Tom Forrest fell foul of the law, one clearly incensed listener sent him a noose via BBC Birmingham.
The shooting of the villainous main character in an imported US soap opera was followed by a BBC News bulletin which began: 'Well - who did it? Who shot JR?'

[french frank]

It’s always about presenters isn’t it ?

Celebrity culture, personalities, fame. People lap it up. Junk food addiction.

The thousands of (often more talented ) production and technical staff who’ve left never get a mention.

Exactly - but that's life: people are given the push from their jobs, pensioned off, made redundant all the time. The people behind mass media entertainment have a lot to answer for, no less at the BBC than elsewhere. They gorge on people's weaknesses.

[kernelbogey]

It’s always about presenters isn’t it ? The thousands of (often more talented ) production and technical staff who’ve left never get a mention.

To be generous to the late Saturday Breakfast presenter EA, she made a habit of naming her technical team at the beginning of her programmes.

[Ein Heldenleben]

To be generous to the late Saturday Breakfast presenter EA, she made a habit of naming her technical team at the beginning of her programmes.

Yes and I remembered one technical person who retired recently also got a mention on Essential Classics. That’s very rare. To be honest I’m a bit of a purist and wouldn’t have anything other than the briefest of presenter farewells unless they really of “national treasure “ status.
I just remember the list of dead news people that used to be read at a news awards ceremony I went to most years . The overwhelming majority had Arabic or African names and were , no doubt , freelance tv camera people and journalists in their twenties , thirties and forties with young families - all would have been working in war zones . Given that weeping when your show ends is a bit self indulgent isn’t it ?

[french frank]

Given that weeping when your show ends is a bit self indulgent isn’t it ?

But people do weep a lot more than they used to .

[Ein Heldenleben]

But people do weep a lot more than they used to .

Do they ? Or is that just the impression we get from endless clips of people crying on TV. BBC One and ITV must have half a dozen people crying per hour. Can’t say I’m not guilty though. In my current affairs days I hit a whole string of interviewees crying . After a few months I started wishing they wouldn’t. Or (perhaps cynically) just got to the edge and held back.

[LMcD]

But people do weep a lot more than they used to .

Is this - if it's true - a consequence of what happened in the Alma Tunnel and the way the media encouraged us to react to it?

[kernelbogey]

Is this - if it's true - a consequence of what happened in the Alma Tunnel and the way the media encouraged us to react to it?

There's been a huge advance in emotional intelligence in the last forty or so years - and a consequent increase in willingness to express emotion.

[Ein Heldenleben]

There's been a huge advance in emotional intelligence in the last forty or so years - and a consequent increase in willingness to express emotion.

What’s the evidence for either assertion ? And why is a willingness to express emotion a sign of emotional intelligence? It might be completely the reverse. Do people cry more than they used to ? We just don’t know.

[vinteuil]

But people do weep a lot more than they used to .

... I think in the 18th century (the age of sentiment : Sterne's 'caged starling' and all that) there was a lot of weeping going on. And the Victorians! Lickle Nell and all that Dickensian sentimentality. Perhaps the Great War chilled things for a bit...