The South Bank Show is coming back!!

[Mr Pee]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15967441

[johnb]

That's fine ...

But only if you subscribe to Sky or Virgin.

[Serial_Apologist]

That's fine ...

But only if you subscribe to Sky or Virgin.

Not upon thine Eleanor...

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

SBS was excellent for Literary and Visual Arts, but I always found its Music programmes rather dull. I remember an hour-long "Promo" for Cecilia Bartoli as the sole "classical" feature of one season at a time when Ligeti was being featured over a series of concerts at ... ahem ... the South Bank. Sir Mel just doesn't feel comfortable with Music, witness the unmissable In Our Time: dozens of programmes in the archive, only IIRC one composer (Beethoven).

No, this news does not make me want to subscribe to the Murdoch or Branson empires either.

[Flosshilde]

No, this news does not make me want to subscribe to the Murdoch or Branson empires either.

But you have to remember that Mr P is an eager promoter of Sky.

The later series of the SBS were, I felt, more like puff-pieces linked to a new novel, exhibition, etc, with MB gushing over the subject, than the earlier ones, & I think the format had become somewhat moribund. It would be better to have a different concept, perhaps with different presenters - people who had some more in-depth knowledge of the subject they are talking about.

[Mr Pee]

But you have to remember that Mr P is an eager promoter of Sky.

Indeed I am, because it provides a first-class product, in the Arts as well as many other areas. The link below is interesting for what Melvyn Bragg has to say about the "buzz" at Sky Arts, comparing it to Lime Grove in the 60s, as well as the news that Sky is to triple its Arts budget next year- and this at a time when the BBC are going in the opposite direction.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/30/south-bank-show-return-sky-arts

And from next March- a dedicated Formula One Channel, in High Definition!! As Murray Walker might have said- "FAAANTASTIC"!!



And for those of you who do not appreciate the delights of this amazing sport, the news also means that there will be less of it on the BBC. (Although they will still show some of the races live, and highlights from the others.)

[Serial_Apologist]

And from next March- a dedicated Formula One Channel, in High Definition!!

(Provided you're a decent distance from all the noise)

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Sir Mel

?!

My apologies to Lord Bragg of Wigton for this!

[old khayyam]

The South Bank Show is coming back!!

Great. Theyve had Iggy Pop, Debbie Harry, Annie Lennox. Looking forward to George Michael, Mick Hucknall, Paul Weller.

Nigel kennedy if youre lucky.

[Chris Newman]

I refuse to have an advertisement for Droopy Roopy stuck up on my front wall. It is as degrading as buying the Sun or the Times. And I would not have one on the back of the house either, before you mention it!

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Droopy Roopy

[amateur51]

I refuse to have an advertisement for Droopy Roopy stuck up on my front wall. It is as degrading as buying the Sun or the Times. And I would not have one on the back of the house either, before you mention it!

[Flosshilde]

Indeed I am, because it provides a first-class product, in the Arts as well as many other areas.

I wonder what degree of criminality & venality Mr Pee would be prepared to overlook in the quest for a 'first-class product'?

[Mr Pee]

I wonder what degree of criminality & venality Mr Pee would be prepared to overlook in the quest for a 'first-class product'?

You must be confusing me with a News of The World reader. I believe that is where the problem was.

I think I bought a copy in about 1978, but not since.

Meanwhile, I'll continue to enjoy Sky's superb Classical music and Arts programmes.

You don't know what you're missing.

[Mr Pee]

http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/32565/producers-welcome-skys-boost-for-tv-drama