Big mistakes in television history

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  • F1KenF1Ken Posts: 4,229
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    Killing of Victor Meldrew was a horrendous thing to do. If the sotcom had a few years to "rest" the possibilities for a 2012 Christmas special would have been endless.

    With Tories back in power, heating bills, kids with even less respect, customer service worse than ever, and new technology such as Nintendo Wii.

    :cry:

    As sad as it was killing off Victor it ment that they could never bring the show back. Which I belive is a good thing. Remember the rubbish OFAH episodes from 2001-2003. They were the worst episodes,

    At least with OFITG I will always remember it as my favourite sitcom ever.

    Ken
  • lundavralundavra Posts: 31,790
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    Mr Jazzman wrote: »
    BBC not giving Seinfeld a chance.

    That was the US comedy of the 90's, not Friends.
    TBH neither of the were that good
    Mr Jazzman wrote: »
    Look at the viewing figures in the USA. Better than British comedy of the same era in terms of quality.

    Being popular in the US is no proof of it being quality or funny to British audiences. Apart from early Cheers I have not seen anything funny from the US since MASH. But others might have their own opinions.
  • Richard1960Richard1960 Posts: 20,336
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    Breaking up the ITV regions an act of vandalism.:mad:
  • BMRBMR Posts: 4,351
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    Going for a fifth analogue channel and ON digital, instead of going straight to Freeview.

    Hindsight is a wonderful thing, I know, but all the time and effort put into the channel 5 retune could have been better spent launching a freeview service for all.
  • Joe_ZelJoe_Zel Posts: 20,832
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    So, it's basically just a "Things I Hate" thread.
  • James FrederickJames Frederick Posts: 53,184
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    Joe_Zel wrote: »
    So, it's basically just a "Things I Hate" thread.

    Not so much you may like something but admit there have been mistakes

    I love Only Fools & Horses and while I liked the 2nd trilogy and thought it had some great moments I think it should have been left when them becoming millionaires
  • Joe_ZelJoe_Zel Posts: 20,832
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    Not so much you may like something but admit there have been mistakes

    I love Only Fools & Horses and while I liked the 2nd trilogy and thought it had some great moments I think it should have been left when them becoming millionaires

    That is true, but there's an awful lot of "I've never liked this, so it's a mistake etc".
  • PretzelPretzel Posts: 7,858
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    Despite enjoying Big Brother in the early series and more recently I'm a Celebrity I'm going to say the 1970s show The Family and some years later MTVs The Real World. I'm a hypocrite because I loved both of them and as I said I don't mind the odd reality TV show from today, but they and others like them heralded the wall to wall reality schedules that we have today.

    From singing competitions, game shows, documentaries about their lives/work/issues, dinner parties, cooking competitions with ridiculously hyped tension, to the worst- scripted reality shows- on any major channel about 75% of the prime time output is filled with shows about 'real'' people. Primarily because they are relatively cheap to make, and I for one am bored of it.
  • peter_sharp1ukpeter_sharp1uk Posts: 1,653
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    ITV Play
  • craigymcraigym Posts: 1,164
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    ftv wrote: »
    Well if Grantham hadn't been pleasuring himself in his dressing room live on the Internet they probably wouldn't have killed him off again:eek:
    A fairly small incident in comparison to the revelation that he had done time for murder and when that broke in the 80s they didnt feel the need to sack him!
  • craigymcraigym Posts: 1,164
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    Glenn A wrote: »
    Hear, hear, the BBC unfairly killed Survivors off and then let Doctor Who, even though the stories were improving, die against Coronation St. However, I'm not as convinced about ITV being full of reality shows, maybe five or six years ago, but now there's only really I'm A Celeb and the Peter Andre stuff on ITV2.

    And BGT and X Factor.
  • ilovenicnacsilovenicnacs Posts: 43,363
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    Bulletguy1 wrote: »
    Errrm.........so did Tony Blackburn, David Hamilton, Alan Freeman, Kenny Everett, Ed Stewart, David Hamilton, Dave Lee Travis, Simon Dee, Mike Read, Noel Edmonds, John Peel.....with apologies to the many more I must have missed.

    Dave Lee Travis questioned by Police, John Peel had affair with 15 year old girl.
  • ilovenicnacsilovenicnacs Posts: 43,363
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    tiggerpooh wrote: »
    Me and Mrs Jones was a hit back in the 70s. I think you're thinking of the Mr and Mrs game show.

    Think you mean Miss Jones and Son, Paula wotsit from Man about the House was in it.:)
  • Glenn AGlenn A Posts: 23,794
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    craigym wrote: »
    And BGT and X Factor.

    They're talent contests. Yet if you look around the five main channels, there are only two celebreality shows left now and this genre seems to have fizzled out at the end of the noughties. Go back to about 2006 you had Love Island every night in the summer, Soapstar Superstar every night in the winter, Hell's Kitchen every night in the spring, as well as Celebrity Big Brother and I'm A Celebrity.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 527
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    biggest mistake is giving fearne cotton a job on tv.and alan carr.
  • MiresiaVertetaMiresiaVerteta Posts: 1,242
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    Failing to give "Pulling" a third series - I do fear "Some Girls" might be in the predicament next year = a show very popular, yet the comissioners say no.

    BBC comissioning the likes of Wilfred (did BBC give Elijah Wood all the licence fee takings to take part, even he looked bored), Impractical Jokers, and A.N other unfunny BBC1 comedies.

    The rise of Reality TV, and the likes of Celebrity this and that on ITV - I doubt any of these celebs care about their charity, and it's just a cheap way to fill programming holes.

    TOWIE, Kardashians and their ilk - famous for being famous.

    Setanta - now that is a horror story.

    I do agree about the Channel 5 retune...perhaps going into OnDigital/Freeview then CH5 would have put Freeview in a healthy state as opposed to each new channel being a tits and shopping channel :rolleyes:
  • ilovenicnacsilovenicnacs Posts: 43,363
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    pedrok wrote: »
    The name Maddie and chemistry with her partner takes me to Maddie Hayes and the chemistry with David Addison, one of tv's great partnerships.

    Hayes and Addison were of course Cybil Sheperd and Bruce Willis in Moonlighting, a programme that at its best was as good as anything in the last 30 years, but when it allowed huge egos to take over, crashed and burnt badly.

    So to bring it back on topic, a series,such as Moonlighting, where the magic has ended, but still continues with at least one or two series too many.

    Agree, the last series was just :eek::sleep::confused:
  • Glenn AGlenn A Posts: 23,794
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    Failing to give "Pulling" a third series - I do fear "Some Girls" might be in the predicament next year = a show very popular, yet the comissioners say no.

    BBC comissioning the likes of Wilfred (did BBC give Elijah Wood all the licence fee takings to take part, even he looked bored), Impractical Jokers, and A.N other unfunny BBC1 comedies.

    The rise of Reality TV, and the likes of Celebrity this and that on ITV - I doubt any of these celebs care about their charity, and it's just a cheap way to fill programming holes.

    TOWIE, Kardashians and their ilk - famous for being famous.

    Setanta - now that is a horror story.

    I do agree about the Channel 5 retune...perhaps going into OnDigital/Freeview then CH5 would have put Freeview in a healthy state as opposed to each new channel being a tits and shopping channel :rolleyes:

    The whole reality boom of the noughties produced little of merit and created celebrities who were famous for being in reality shows rather than any other merit.
  • James FrederickJames Frederick Posts: 53,184
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    I must admit I think it's funny when people think reality well talent shows are all new when they were doing them as far back as the 50's with Opportunity Knocks maybe even before that.

    I myself recall watching New Faces in the mid 80's
  • MiresiaVertetaMiresiaVerteta Posts: 1,242
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    Glenn A wrote: »
    The whole reality boom of the noughties produced little of merit and created celebrities who were famous for being in reality shows rather than any other merit.

    Agreed. To me it was TV producers running low on ideas and wanting to make a fast buck.

    As soon as X-Factor is over, it's Celeb Big Brother and the odious Dancing on Ice...then The Voice in which money could have been spent on dramas then BGT!!

    Surely scrapping these could fund a decent drama?
  • ilovenicnacsilovenicnacs Posts: 43,363
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    codeblue wrote: »
    Changing the focus of seeing the dancers and professionals in training on SCD, to the most unfunny comedy sketches imaginable.Who on earth thought this was a good idea?

    Trying to make Dara Obrein into a science presenter, and the show similar to top gear.

    S4C, not even the welsh watch it.

    Any sitcom with Frank Skinner.

    Miranda Hart.

    That Anthony Cotton Show

    He has a Degree in Mathematical and Theoretical Physics from Dublin University.

    Agree about Anthony Cotton though.:D
  • CoriakinCoriakin Posts: 112
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    Here are four example but I can think of more:

    1. Big Brother.
    The series that ruined the Channel 4 that I used to know and love in 80s, and has, along with "Popstars" had a toxic effect on the rest of the television by clogging much of the schedules with 'reality' television.


    2. The treatment of Doctor Who by the BBC in the 80s and 90s.
    It started by moving it from Saturdays to weekdays in 1982 but things got worse Michael Grade wanted to give us wall-to-wall Wogan and then BBC discovered soap opera...

    3. The BBC axing Nationwide.
    (One of the best news analysis and current affairs magazine programmes the BBC has ever produced. There was more to it than skate-boarding ducks. It launched Watchdog and that was only one its its internal seires. Some of its spirit lives on in programmes like The One Show but only some it.

    A knock-on effect of the cancellation of Nationwide (and its short-lived unloved successor 60 Minutes) a replacing them with the Six O'Clock News was that it opened up a gap between the end of the children's programmes early evening news (which used to be at 5.45). This gap was eventually filled by Neighbours but it meant we lost those delightful little 5 or 10 minutes programmes which used finish off the children's programmes on BBC1 such as The Magic Roundabout, Ivor the Engine, Paddington, Hector's House, Wilo-the-Wisp etc.


    4. The end of Ceefax and teletext.
    It might have been old technology but it was superior to the supposed digital text replacement is much more intrusive to use. The range of subjects covered seems to have declined since the run-up to the final digital switch-off.

    5. The coming of the Drone.
    Many programmes seem to have introduced a low, and sometimes not so low, drone of music underneath speech or diaogue. This competes with the speech. Mastermind and University Challange have run for years without the need for a drone underneath the questions so why do Eggheads or the Chase have it? It is not just in quiz shows but they are the examples at the top of my mind. It makes it difficult for people with hearing problems.
  • BrekkieBrekkie Posts: 23,981
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    BMR wrote: »
    Going for a fifth analogue channel and ON digital, instead of going straight to Freeview.

    Hindsight is a wonderful thing, I know, but all the time and effort put into the channel 5 retune could have been better spent launching a freeview service for all.
    It does seem odd looking back, though I think C5 was delayed a few years. In hindsight I'd have had C5 launch on Freeview exclusively, with space reserved on Freeview for the launch of a "C6" closer to digital switchover. I think ITV should also have been forced to use one of their digital channels for regional content too rather than OFCOM just believing the ridiculous myth we'd no longer care about regional content come 2012.
  • lundavralundavra Posts: 31,790
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    BMR wrote: »
    Going for a fifth analogue channel and ON digital, instead of going straight to Freeview.

    Hindsight is a wonderful thing, I know, but all the time and effort put into the channel 5 retune could have been better spent launching a freeview service for all.

    I don't think it made much difference, there were a lot of standards etc to be established before there could be the changeover to DTT and hence Freeview. Channel 5 and the retune was the responsibility of Channel 5 and it's contractors. I think they used separate antenna at many (most?) sites.
  • Glenn AGlenn A Posts: 23,794
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    Whoever decided Sam Fox and Mick Fleetwood could present the BRIT awards?
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