No more Heroes
Thursday, September 10th, 2009 12:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
caddymanWell done to the chattering classes who have it in for the BBC. Most of them have it in for BBC news, because depending upon your political views, it is either pro-Tory or pro-Labour; too PC, or not PC enough, too trendy or too staid. Most people seem to quite like Dear Old Auntie, but they are just the poor shmucks who pay the licence fee, watch the TV programmes and listen to the radio shows.
The ones who complain are the politicos and do-gooders who feel that a public corporation should follow their world view exclusively. I tend to the view that if the Liberals, the Tories and Labour all complain that the corporation is biased against them; the BBC must be doing something right.
Over the past few years, the BBC license fee has come under increasing criticism. It’s not that bad. The whole of the BBC is funded by the annual fee of £142.50 plus anything it makes from its world-wide marketing. It is not allowed to raise cash by advertising. Anyway, the complainers will soon have something to complain about. The relentless cost cutting the BBC is imposing to show that it is listening to its critics means that they are dropping such fare as Heroes and The Wire. Soon, you will only be able to watch them on DVD, satellite or cable. At least with DVD you get to keep them. How many weeks’ TV do you get on satellite or cable for £142.50? So if you don’t have satellite or cable, it means that download is all that is left if you want to stay current. But that’s illegal, too. Not that broadband outside the main cities is anything to write home about, so downloading isn’t always an option anyway.
Maybe if these gob-shites actually did something useful instead of simply complaining all the time and interfering where they are not wanted, we might get somewhere.
I’m not saying the BBC is perfect and I’m not saying that it shouldn’t do some restructuring and rethinking, but it really does get out of hand. Ninety per cent of TV is already rubbish, now it’s going to be more of such fare as Strictly Come X Talent Get Me Out of Big Brother.
And endless fekking soaps. Always endless fekking soaps.
The ones who complain are the politicos and do-gooders who feel that a public corporation should follow their world view exclusively. I tend to the view that if the Liberals, the Tories and Labour all complain that the corporation is biased against them; the BBC must be doing something right.
Over the past few years, the BBC license fee has come under increasing criticism. It’s not that bad. The whole of the BBC is funded by the annual fee of £142.50 plus anything it makes from its world-wide marketing. It is not allowed to raise cash by advertising. Anyway, the complainers will soon have something to complain about. The relentless cost cutting the BBC is imposing to show that it is listening to its critics means that they are dropping such fare as Heroes and The Wire. Soon, you will only be able to watch them on DVD, satellite or cable. At least with DVD you get to keep them. How many weeks’ TV do you get on satellite or cable for £142.50? So if you don’t have satellite or cable, it means that download is all that is left if you want to stay current. But that’s illegal, too. Not that broadband outside the main cities is anything to write home about, so downloading isn’t always an option anyway.
Maybe if these gob-shites actually did something useful instead of simply complaining all the time and interfering where they are not wanted, we might get somewhere.
I’m not saying the BBC is perfect and I’m not saying that it shouldn’t do some restructuring and rethinking, but it really does get out of hand. Ninety per cent of TV is already rubbish, now it’s going to be more of such fare as Strictly Come X Talent Get Me Out of Big Brother.
And endless fekking soaps. Always endless fekking soaps.
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(no subject)
Date: 2009-09-10 11:28 am (UTC)The most right wing of the bunch is very anti the Beeb for its rampant left wing/liberal agenda but backs this up by having worked for them for three or four years (in IT I guess). A couple of us were pro Beeb because of what you get for your money, or more to the point what you avoid because it exists and a couple were of the 'classic' but I don't want what they sell, why do I have to pay for it anyway bunch. I always find this group the most difficult to understand, do people really not interact with any BBC output, not TV, not radio, not web, nothing, for the whole of their life...
Naturally no actual progress was made in any direction.
Personally I think that when the Beeb disappears, because eventually the bean counters will get their way and it will, that people will suddenly realise what they had and really wish they could have it back, at which point it will be too late because once these things are killed off they are never resuscitated.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-09-10 03:19 pm (UTC)It's sad when people, often the ones who bang on and on about Dear Ol' Blighty constantly try and tear down the very things we should be most proud of.
I *wish* YouTube had the Fry and Laurie 'Bomb in a Restaurant' sketch, it makes a fine point on just this issue.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-09-10 12:48 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-09-10 03:20 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-09-10 03:15 pm (UTC)That said 'Strictly Come XXX Talent' sounds good...sorry is that what you said ?