Patrick Moore.
But what he said about women ruining TV is spot on.
There’s no doubt TV in Britain has gone down hill over the years and it’s no coincidence that it has done so by being female led and now totally aimed at women.
He’s right about the news, it’s all bloody “celeb” gossip, how many hours were taken up with some inbred ginger dumping his girlfriend recently. How many hours taken up with Jade Goody or Kate Moss over the last few months. Natasha Kerplunk or what ever her name is are the type he’s on about air heads using the news to get presenting jobs elsewhere, no problems with the likes of Anna Ford, news reporters not presenters.
Soaps, everything becomes a soap these days. What starts of as a cop drama becomes a soap. There’s always at least on PC Plod who is having marital difficulties and so shagging a WPC, chasing crims nah that’s not what the viewers want.
Medical dramas used to be about waiting to see the idiot climb the tree with a chainsaw, fall and slice off some part of their anatomy and then see how the docs & nurses would deal with it. Now the patients are an afterthought it’s just another soap about which doc/nurse couple are arguing between each other or shagging each other.
His comment about the BBC flag ship soap is priceless
I was in hospital once and I watched a whole episode of Eastenders. I suppose it’s true to life. But so is diarrhoea – and I don’t want to see that on television. Sir Patrick Moore
Just following the US lead, ER is unwatchable, NYPD Blue went that way and CSI (the original Vegas one, other two were shite to begin with) is heading that way. Where as Law & Order you don’t have to get into the main characters private lives, it’s not bogged down in becoming a soap, cops investigate the case, lawyers deal with the courtroom stuff program ends, no faffing around with their “personal issues”.
From sports to adverts it’s all aimed at one section of the viewing audience and all run to the same formula. The formula that would mean the classics like “Porridge” or “Steptoe & Son” wouldn’t get past a production meeting these days. No female characters that have to “get the upper hand and win in the end” equals no show today.
Adverts where a woman eats something she likes so therefore a man has to take a red hot poker in the eye, or a woman gets her husband to undress in front of her friend so his clothes can be washed – I doubt we’ll see those roles reversed anytime on TV soon.
When was the last time you saw a BBC sports report fronted by a bloke? It’s OK when it’s someone like Clare Balding talking about horses, you know she’s not there because of her looks but the fact it’s a subject she knows a bit about but Gabby Logan brings to the TV what her father brought to the football pitch and her husband to the rugby field – ie not much – christ even ITV figured she wasn’t up to much when they sidelined her.
All the “controversy” about a woman, Jacqui Oatley, doing a match on MoTD, I really couldn’t give a damn what gender the commentator is if they’re any good, unfortunately I had to sit through one of her Five Live matches and christ it was dire, if you’re going to pick one at least pick a decent one. It just seems a case of get the woman in no matter how bad she is.
Added to that as Patrick says is all the “reality” shows, make over shows, cooking shows (that’s what is seriously wrong with this country we’ve elevated fat tongued cooks to some sort of status), those talk shows where they try and sort out chavs problems, we used to laugh at Jerry Springer etc. They’re only aimed at one section of the audience.
So I’m with Sir Patrick one channel for them and one for us the Blokes Broadcasting Corporation or the Bints Broadcasting Corporation.