The Sky at Night - Monday 7 Jan 2013, BBC1

2456789

Comments

  • stargazer61stargazer61 Posts: 70,882
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    He still tours - recently with Kerry Ellis and both of them are heavily involved with We Will Rock You their Queen musical. They do the auditioning and turn up to it for special dates.There's a global tour on this year of the musical.

    On the other hand the linking bits might not take that long?

    You would imagine the BBC would know better than to lose the show. However they have neglected science more and more as teh years have gone on with serious shows like Horizon becoming rare and the peak time shows vanishing. Channel 4 managed the heinous crime of scrapping TimeTeam and seem to have got away with it, so dumbing down seems in full flow.

    I think the BBC could have a team of 4 or 5 'presenters' who could take turns to present or contribute to TSAN according to their own commitments. The programme is so short that a regular presenter is not really essential and, anyway, Sir P is utterly irreplaceable. The names mentioned so far were all friends of Sir P; he would trust them to continue his legacy.

    Ad for Time Team..............grrrrrrrrrrrrr

    Just watched the first prog of the last series........and it was excellent....no silly fluffies....just good solid archaeology! Time Team as it was....and as it should be!
  • stargazer61stargazer61 Posts: 70,882
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    Rich Tea. wrote: »
    You mention a female presenter and one who immediately springs to mind who used to have a higher profile a few years ago than nowadays is Heather Couper who I always found an engaging character who knew her stuff.

    Another female who would tick two PC aspects for the BBC, being a woman, and black, not to mention very clever, and who I have discovered only relatively recently and enjoyed is Dr Maggie Aderin Pocock, who has presented some astronomy items, clearly qualified and would in no way be a token gesture, or case of positive discrimination.

    Sir Patrick clearly looked like he had been grooming Chris Lintott for a number of years with a view to succeeding him, but for me I cannot see him as "the presenter".

    Gawd, I shouldn't laugh but in this day and age, you might wish to re-phrase that!

    I met Chris at Sir P's home, and they certainly had huge respect for each other and paternal affection
  • Rich Tea.Rich Tea. Posts: 22,048
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Gawd, I shouldn't laugh but in this day and age, you might wish to re-phrase that!

    I met Chris at Sir P's home, and they certainly had huge respect for each other and paternal affection

    There you go, I've changed it to "training" instead of "grooming". I must admit that your thinking crossed my mind as I wrote that out, but I thought I'd get away with it on a highbrow discussion of mutual respect! ;)

    Certainly watching it has been clear that Lintott was in awe of Sir Patrick, I think having met him at a young age I believe, and subsequently Sir Patrick repaid his enthusiasm with regular and ever more frequent appearances. But main presenter? Not for me, but that is just my opinion.
  • stargazer61stargazer61 Posts: 70,882
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    Rich Tea. wrote: »
    There you go, I've changed it to "training" instead of "grooming". I must admit that your thinking crossed my mind as I wrote that out, but I thought I'd get away with it on a highbrow discussion of mutual respect! ;)

    Certainly watching it has been clear that Lintott was in awe of Sir Patrick, I think having met him at a young age I believe, and subsequently Sir Patrick repaid his enthusiasm with regular and ever more frequent appearances. But main presenter? Not for me, but that is just my opinion.

    Chris is a lovely man with the same generosity of spirit as Sir P but I think I agree that perhaps he is not quite strong(?) enough as a main presenter - he is quite laid back
  • Rich Tea.Rich Tea. Posts: 22,048
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Chris is a lovely man with the same generosity of spirit as Sir P but I think I agree that perhaps he is not quite strong(?) enough as a main presenter - he is quite laid back

    Needs to let his personality come through on screen I think in that case. Can seem a bit wooden in front of camera, but hey, he is not meant to be a TV star is he! Mind you, the other young Chris, North has become very frequent too and seems to have a personality that shines through, but he almost looks like a schoolboy still. But as the saying goes, if you are good enough, you're old enough.
  • stargazer61stargazer61 Posts: 70,882
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    Rich Tea. wrote: »
    Needs to let his personality come through on screen I think in that case. Can seem a bit wooden in front of camera, but hey, he is not meant to be a TV star is he! Mind you, the other young Chris, North has become very frequent too and seems to have a personality that shines through, but he almost looks like a schoolboy still. But as the saying goes, if you are good enough, you're old enough.

    Well, we will know soon enough given that Sir P's health was so fragile over the last couple of years so the BBC must have drawn up some plan for the coming months at least.
  • StrakerStraker Posts: 79,550
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    I don’t understand the logic of doing an hour-long tribute show to him and airing it at a sensible time and then his last ever SAN gets thrown out at midnight in it’s abbreviated version like a piece of rubbish. Hardly joined-up thinking is it but then this is the BBC and as we can see, they’re already readying the ground to cancel it so the new DG can afford to have a nice Burmese teak inlay and a solid gold inkpot on his new desk instead.
  • johnloonyjohnloony Posts: 6,110
    Forum Member
    I thought that was very well pitched. It looked like it was all set up as usual for recording, but PM was in hospital. Then he came out with no prospect of recovery, so they filmed the bookends

    There have been many episodes over several years in which Sir Patrick Moore only did the minimal intro/outtro pieces, with other presenters doing the main part of the programme.
  • Rodney McKayRodney McKay Posts: 8,143
    Forum Member
    If the show does continue it will be interesting to see where they do it from. Moving to a BBC studio would make sense I guess from a production point of view, but you then lose the ability to have Pete and Paul going outside and doing some practical stuff. I guess they could film that elsewhere if studio based.
  • ftvftv Posts: 31,668
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    If the show does continue it will be interesting to see where they do it from. Moving to a BBC studio would make sense I guess from a production point of view, but you then lose the ability to have Pete and Paul going outside and doing some practical stuff. I guess they could film that elsewhere if studio based.

    On the studio roof perhaps ?
  • stargazer61stargazer61 Posts: 70,882
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    If the show does continue it will be interesting to see where they do it from. Moving to a BBC studio would make sense I guess from a production point of view, but you then lose the ability to have Pete and Paul going outside and doing some practical stuff. I guess they could film that elsewhere if studio based.

    IIRC it was usually mainly studio based but the recording of Sir P's part was moved to Farthings as his health declined. Possibly it could also depend on what happens to Farthings; if it b ecomes a museum then it could still be used
  • BeethovensPianoBeethovensPiano Posts: 11,689
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    Straker wrote: »
    I don’t understand the logic of doing an hour-long tribute show to him and airing it at a sensible time and then his last ever SAN gets thrown out at midnight in it’s abbreviated version like a piece of rubbish.

    I thought that a strange decision too. :confused:
  • stargazer61stargazer61 Posts: 70,882
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    ftv wrote: »
    On the studio roof perhaps ?

    studios are generally in towns/cities......need a rural location for dark skies
  • SpotSpot Posts: 25,118
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    A longer version of the programme will be on BBC4 on Thursday at 7.30, and it will also be on BBC2 on Saturday morning, so I don't think it's fair to criticise the BBC for showing the BBC1 version so late. Those of us with long memories will recall that there was a time when it was a valid complaint, with so many younger enthusiasts wanting to watch but being unable to stay up, which is why there has been a BBC2 repeat for (at a guess) well over 30 years now, and the extended BBC4 edition has expanded the reach of the show still further. If people want to see it, they will get a chance later in the week.
  • Andy2Andy2 Posts: 11,928
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    Watched this last night and it was obvious that Patrick was not capable of doing much more than getting a few words out. The rest of the programme was filled with the beginners' class and old clips.
    It would be a massive mistake to dump it now. It won't be the same without the Old Man, but there are a handful opf people who could do a good job.

    Edit. Oh God, I've just had an awful thought - given the way the BBC thinks nowadays, are we going to get one of their 'team' programmes, with 'lively' young people (with a carefully-picked ethnic mix) getting all bright and enthusiastic, rushing around and doing experiments that look like they've come from a schools programme?
  • lundavralundavra Posts: 31,790
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    I'm watching it now and there's very little Patrick Moore in it at all.

    The bit about helping people to use telescopes - and the other sorts of things they do in this vein - helps to bring in more viewers than the studio-based discussions (which are really a relic of the limitations of 1950s television when TSAN began).

    I don't really see that an intelligent discussion about astronomy should be considered a relic. Perhaps they need it presented by a "comedian" and using celebrities, oooops that has already been thought of!

    People complained in the past about it being moved to a late time but that could perhaps help it survive. As suggested, it must be cheap to make and the BBC will know that if they drop the programme then they will accused of cumbing down.
  • areneanarenean Posts: 21
    Forum Member
    I heard that each show cost £20K to make, with a crew of only 2 or 3. I think I heard the CGI graphics were provided free of charge by a graphic artist who was a fan of the show.
  • petelypetely Posts: 2,994
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    If the show does continue it will be interesting to see where they do it from. Moving to a BBC studio would make sense I guess from a production point of view, but you then lose the ability to have Pete and Paul going outside and doing some practical stuff. I guess they could film that elsewhere if studio based.

    Sadly, I can't see the programme surviving. The BBC famously don't "do" science and the only thing that kept S@N going was Sir Patrick Moore, who was extremely well connected within the BBC establishment and amongst all the "national treasures" - who would have kicked up a fuss. On that basis, it was cheaper to let the programme run, in a dead-end slot once a month than for the BBC to hang yet another Kick Me sign on it's arse.

    However, now that SPM is no more, the Beeb will roll out their well choreographed programme-killer methods. Change the presenters, change the format, dumb it down, make the time-slot even less accessible (or put it up against some popular competition). Then they'll claim "falling audiences" to cancel it. Possibly promising that Stargazing Live will continue to run and "take over" the torch for educating newbies (although it hasn't provided any education in any of the 3-night runs it's had to date, maybe they'll rush something into this week's programmes as a sop).
  • Rodney McKayRodney McKay Posts: 8,143
    Forum Member
    I didn't have a problem with the time it went out last night, just that the BBC failed to mention that it was his last ever show (you think that might have been worth a mention at the very least) even though he was only in it for a few moments.

    I really do hope the BBC doesn't 'Blue Peterise' it with dumbed down idiot presenters for the 'youff' market.

    Of course Pete Lawrence is the only amateur on the team at the others are all really professional scientists.

    Doing it from Selsey would probably make sense but I have no idea what will happen to the house, I understand that Brian May actually bought it for Patrick, which I thought was odd as the house had been in the family for years, unless it was rented or something?
  • Rodney McKayRodney McKay Posts: 8,143
    Forum Member
    studios are generally in towns/cities......need a rural location for dark skies

    I'm not sure where Pete and Paul are based, Pete I think lives on the south coast?
  • balthasarbalthasar Posts: 2,824
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    I always thought Sir Patrick Moore wanted TSAN to continue, but please no revamps.!
  • stargazer61stargazer61 Posts: 70,882
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    I didn't have a problem with the time it went out last night, just that the BBC failed to mention that it was his last ever show (you think that might have been worth a mention at the very least) even though he was only in it for a few moments.

    I really do hope the BBC doesn't 'Blue Peterise' it with dumbed down idiot presenters for the 'youff' market.

    Of course Pete Lawrence is the only amateur on the team at the others are all really professional scientists.

    Doing it from Selsey would probably make sense but I have no idea what will happen to the house, I understand that Brian May actually bought it for Patrick, which I thought was odd as the house had been in the family for years, unless it was rented or something?


    Sir P did own the house but seems to have been very generous in giving away his money (and he did not appear to be a big earner)to others. I think Brian bought the house so that Sir P had money available to keep his home going (bills/repairs) and possibly to help pay for his carers. Despite seeing him on SAN in a suit he was very much chairbound for the last couple of years and was very frail thus needing 24hour care:(
  • stargazer61stargazer61 Posts: 70,882
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    I'm not sure where Pete and Paul are based, Pete I think lives on the south coast?

    He does. Thought he lived near Sir P but could be wrong
  • StrakerStraker Posts: 79,550
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Spot wrote: »
    A longer version of the programme will be on BBC4 on Thursday at 7.30, and it will also be on BBC2 on Saturday morning, so I don't think it's fair to criticise the BBC for showing the BBC1 version so late. Those of us with long memories will recall that there was a time when it was a valid complaint, with so many younger enthusiasts wanting to watch but being unable to stay up, which is why there has been a BBC2 repeat for (at a guess) well over 30 years now, and the extended BBC4 edition has expanded the reach of the show still further. If people want to see it, they will get a chance later in the week.

    The BBC2 repeat is the short version shown at midnight and you could argue the half hour showing (why in God’s name this can’t be the only version aired is a mystery - Why is there a short version at all?!?!?) is on a minority channel and does attract a consequently lower audience.

    Regardless, it’s an ignominious end to a programme that’s gone 50 years plus fronted by the same person. Would it have killed the BBC to make a bit of a fuss just this once?
  • petelypetely Posts: 2,994
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Straker wrote: »
    Regardless, it’s an ignominious end to a programme that’s gone 50 years plus fronted by the same person. Would it have killed the BBC to make a bit of a fuss just this once?
    But perfectly rational behaviour if they wished to erase the programme from the popular memory. The less fuss and publicity about it, the better it serves their purpose. (Although with the Beeb, cockup is far more likely than conspiracy)

    You'd normally expect a broadcaster that had a programme with S@N's history and legacy to be celebrating the fact and to build on its success. But the BBC attitude seems to be a combination of "who? - oh ... astrology! meh!" and "the quicker we can put this past us, the sooner we can fill the slot with another game show". :mad:
Sign In or Register to comment.