Clydebuilt: The Ships That Made the Commonwealth : BBC4
Doghouse Riley
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At one time you could rely on BBC4 for "adult" documentaries, sadly not any more.
This one was pitched at "Blue Peter/The One Show level" and presented by the "constantly in your face" Scottish actor David Hayman.
I gave up after ten fifteen minutes as it was so dumbed down and laboured.
This one was pitched at "Blue Peter/The One Show level" and presented by the "constantly in your face" Scottish actor David Hayman.
I gave up after ten fifteen minutes as it was so dumbed down and laboured.
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Hayman enthuses a wee bit too hard for my liking, and being from BBC Scotland it's designed for home consumption so the facts are a bit skewed to swell the chests of proud Scots who long for the glory days of Rickets, Impetigo and Slums.
I'm sure the good folk of Belfast, Tyneside, Liverpool and Southhampton would argue that they also made lots of ships that "Made the Commonwealth"
Not dumbed down at all. Each of the four episodes offered a new perspective on the usual cliches about the subject matter.
Aye, but they didn't make THE ships! The most famous non-Clyde built ship is the Titanic, and look what happened to that...
That's entirely subjective.
I'm never impressed when they use actors to act as a presenter.
Much of it had been covered in other documentaries. But if you enjoyed it, that's really all that matters, isn't it?
Because as 'we' all know everybody's seen Coast.
Anyway I enjoyed the Cable layer episode, bit laboured and over emotional in places, but interesting enough.
Caught the Cutty Sark episode, also interesting enough, should have been as oddly enough, I knew virtually buggerall about the Cutty Sark before.
Seeing as Coast seem to be on a constant loop, I would have thought everyone's seen it at least a dozen times.:D
We got chapter and verse about Cutty Sark after the fire that nearly destroyed it in 2007.
There has also been a documentary about "The Great Eastern," which included an account of the trans-Atlantic cable she laid.
Harland and Wolfe built the Canberra that did not do too badly
They did not build the City of Adelaide but just left it to rot until the Australians came to its rescue.
I am always sceptical about the claims for the superiority of Clydebuilt ships after reading a book by a RN officer who watched his future ship being built on the Clyde during WWII and was amazed at the shoddy workmanship because of shortcuts being taken by the workers.
Southampton? Lol. None of the above, whilst no doubt were illustrious shipyard towns, could come close to the Clyde. As for the above post, why, then, did orders keep pouring in to the Clyde yards during its heyday?
Clyde built = Best built.
One thing in the programme maddened me though. They specifically introduced Gilly Johnston as "the living descendant of Sidney Goodwin". How the hell can a child that sadly died at sea at the age of two have produced issue such as to have descendants? You hear this quite often on programmes with a genealogical aspect e.g. "Who do you think you are?". Someone who's merely co-laterally related i.e. shares an ancestor with the subject, is identified as a "descendant" of the subject. I suppose the programme makers inject this nonsense for dramatic effect but to someone who knows how families work it's just so damned silly.
The problem these days is that there's very little archive footage of "anything" that hasn't been seen at one time in one documentary or another.
So we tend to get a lot of those types of programme presented by actors, comedians (and even failed apprentice welders who became ballroom dancers for cryin' out loud), in an attempt to stimulate some interest in old film footage.
Of course there will be some bits not seen before, but often not enough to hold everyone's attention.
Often a problem when they have Actors (with a capital 'A') doing the presentation, they do tend to be fond of their own voice.
That's exactly my point, (or one of them).
In the first ten minutes I was constantly thinking "Get on with it!" That's why I eventually gave up. But then they had to fill a one hour programme, didn't they?
As I believe they say in Belfast: 'she was alright when she left here...'
Not to mention Hayman's championing of the 'man with roll-ups and Special Brew on park bench' look.
Now, now, but you're right, he does look like he needs a bath
And what's wrong with having a new documentary in the same subject? It's rare that no new light can be shed on something.
Err..
Did you miss the bit where I said;
"But often not enough to hold everyone's attention?"
I pass my opinions on programmes,
I really don't mind if this particular style of presentation is to yours or for that matter anyone's taste. Why should I?
He's probably watched a lot of episodes of Coast with Neil Oliver and tried to achieve "the same look."