Utterly pathetic. They KNOW that this is a popular, once a year strand and still they refuse to do the right thing... what do we have instead on Christmas Eve?... a couple of crappy movies, endless editions of American Dad and a load of Doris Day rubbish. American drivel.
Give us gothic British ghost stories, you swines!!
Whistle and I'll Come to you is on BBC HD tonight at 10:40pm
It’s the utterly dire John Hurt version. To be avoided at all costs.
......
Christopher Lee is reading some ghost stories on R4extra. Starts next week IIRC. Possibly repeats from a few years back.
About time the Beeb got their DVD arm 2Entertain to release a box set of all the ghost stories they’ve done. Some have been out individually, all are now out of print so the market is there for a full set.
Utterly pathetic. They KNOW that this is a popular, once a year strand and still they refuse to do the right thing... what do we have instead on Christmas Eve?... a couple of crappy movies, endless editions of American Dad and a load of Doris Day rubbish. American drivel.
Give us gothic British ghost stories, you swines!!
Oi! Some of us like "American Dad" !
A bit disappointing they're not doing one, though-it
would be nice to have a ghost story at this time of
year. However, it might be nice to have an
adaptation of a writer other than M. R. James-
how about Algernon Blackwood or William Hope Hodgson?
....it might be nice to have an
adaptation of a writer other than M. R. James-
how about Algernon Blackwood or William Hope Hodgson?
Radio4extra recently aired a very good version of The Night Land. It was so well done it even managed to conjure up some scares at 6.30pm while it was still light! It’s not hard to see why Lovecraft was a fan of Hodgson’s.
Radio4extra recently aired a very good version of The Night Land. It was so well done it even managed to conjure up some scares at 6.30pm while it was still light! It’s not hard to see why Lovecraft was a fan of Hodgson’s.
One ghost story per year doesn't exactly seem much to ask; another case of those in charge thinking that something isn't worth the effort and expense because something else that's easier and cheaper will get a similar or larger audience, which isn't really the point- the BBC, in particular, is there to provide range.
In the long run, not providing range can have dangers. ITV, for instance, has focused so much on soaps that, occasionally, when they do provide a really good drama, for instance, there just aren't the numbers watching that there should be because a lot of people now think that ITV isn't for them. It's a long way back to change such a perception and I would hope that the BBC is never in a similarly hamstrung and self-defeating position.
I also hope it hasn't passed BBC TV executives by that soaps- the focus of pre-watershed prime-time- are watched by about a third less than they were about a decade ago, while most other BBC programmes have retained their audience or seen it grow.
A shame that they haven't done a new ghost story for this year. Mark Gatiss's 3-part 'Crooked House' was great last year. Very much in the spirit of a Christmas ghost story.
A shame that they haven't done a new ghost story for this year. Mark Gatiss's 3-part 'Crooked House' was great last year. Very much in the spirit of a Christmas ghost story.
A few decent scenes but overall it was lacklustre and Gatiss is too much of a genre ham to convince in any of the stuff he shoehorns himself into. He unbalances the scenes in Sherlock in the same way as well.
A few decent scenes but overall it was lacklustre and Gatiss is too much of a genre ham to convince in any of the stuff he shoehorns himself into. He unbalances the scenes in Sherlock in the same way as well.
Preferred Number 13 from a few years back myself.
Well, I liked it very much, if that's OK..............
A shame that they haven't done a new ghost story for this year. Mark Gatiss's 3-part 'Crooked House' was great last year. Very much in the spirit of a Christmas ghost story.
I have some sympathy with Straker's view of Mark's appearances, but, yes, overall, I thought it was a tremendously worthwhile production.
It's a great shame that more attempts haven't been allowed- I really enjoyed it, especially the last section.
Oh, and Crooked House was first shown 3 years ago- yes, these productions have been that sparse.
I have some sympathy with Straker's view of Mark's appearances, but, yes, overall, I thought it was a tremendously worthwhile production.
It's a great shame that more attempts haven't been allowed.
Oh, and Crooked House was first shown 3 years ago- yes, these productions have been that sparse.
Now that you mention it, yes, last year was a repeat. I think it was first shown two years ago, rather than three, but well-remembered, and point made!
EDIT: No, you're right. It was three years ago: December 2008.
I actually think that a really atmospheric adaptation of 'The Hound Of The Baskervilles' would make a good Christmas ghost story..............even though it's not really a ghost story.
Of course, we'll be getting the 'Sherlock' version of the story courtesy of Mark Gatiss in the New Year.
I wanted them to show the BBC tv adaptation of Charles Dickens' The Signalman starring Denholm Eliot. That's a creepy one for Christmas. But no luck this year:(
A Warning to the Curious by M R James is also a good one. Well, it was a BBC ghost story for Christmas. 1972! I can't find the dvd for any cheaper than £33. I'd also like to see the original Whistle and I'll Come Tou You again. We rarely get anything ghostly on nowadays. As someone said Crooked House was 2008 so it's about time we had something else. I'm surprised BBC4 hasn't got anything lined up for Christmas/New Year.
Havent spotted an airing of "The Signalman" this year. Anyone watching it might just say its poor film quality, but its that that gives it a unique atmosphere.
I wanted them to show the BBC tv adaptation of Charles Dickens' The Signalman starring Denholm Eliot. That's a creepy one for Christmas. But no luck this year:(
A Warning to the Curious by M R James is also a good one. Well, it was a BBC ghost story for Christmas. 1972! I can't find the dvd for any cheaper than £33. I'd also like to see the original Whistle and I'll Come Tou You again. We rarely get anything ghostly on nowadays. As someone said Crooked House was 2008 so it's about time we had something else. I'm surprised BBC4 hasn't got anything lined up for Christmas/New Year.
The Beeb also did an adaptation of a Dennis Wheatley
story, "The Haunted Airman" in 2006. There was a
sudden resurgence of interest in it a few years later
because it starred Robert Pattinson, whom I believe is
popular with the young ladies nowadays.
A rerun of Susan Hill's The Woman in Black would be nice. It would tie in nicely with the film version coming out early 2012 with Daniel Radcliffe starring.
Havent spotted an airing of "The Signalman" this year. Anyone watching it might just say its poor film quality, but its that that gives it a unique atmosphere.
A rerun of Susan Hill's The Woman in Black would be nice. It would tie in nicely with the film version coming out early 2012 with Daniel Radcliffe starring.
The original is blocked by the company doing the Radcliffe version.
Radio4extra recently aired a very good version of The Night Land. It was so well done it even managed to conjure up some scares at 6.30pm while it was still light!
Really? The Night Land is a massive fantasy novel written in a faux-antique style. How did they adapt it for radio?
Comments
Nothing unfortunately. They haven't even bothered to schedule a repeat of any of the old ones either.
Give us gothic British ghost stories, you swines!!
be one on.
A bit of M.R.James or Le Fanu never goes amiss at this time of year.
You can watch M.R.James Whistle and I'll Come to you on youtube - it's the Jonathan Miller adaption from 1968
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyMAqI5qyi0
Whistle and I'll Come to you is on BBC HD tonight at 10:40pm
It’s the utterly dire John Hurt version. To be avoided at all costs.
......
Christopher Lee is reading some ghost stories on R4extra. Starts next week IIRC. Possibly repeats from a few years back.
About time the Beeb got their DVD arm 2Entertain to release a box set of all the ghost stories they’ve done. Some have been out individually, all are now out of print so the market is there for a full set.
Oi! Some of us like "American Dad" !
A bit disappointing they're not doing one, though-it
would be nice to have a ghost story at this time of
year. However, it might be nice to have an
adaptation of a writer other than M. R. James-
how about Algernon Blackwood or William Hope Hodgson?
Radio4extra recently aired a very good version of The Night Land. It was so well done it even managed to conjure up some scares at 6.30pm while it was still light! It’s not hard to see why Lovecraft was a fan of Hodgson’s.
Oh, thanks for that! I'll look out for it. :cool:
In the long run, not providing range can have dangers. ITV, for instance, has focused so much on soaps that, occasionally, when they do provide a really good drama, for instance, there just aren't the numbers watching that there should be because a lot of people now think that ITV isn't for them. It's a long way back to change such a perception and I would hope that the BBC is never in a similarly hamstrung and self-defeating position.
I also hope it hasn't passed BBC TV executives by that soaps- the focus of pre-watershed prime-time- are watched by about a third less than they were about a decade ago, while most other BBC programmes have retained their audience or seen it grow.
A few decent scenes but overall it was lacklustre and Gatiss is too much of a genre ham to convince in any of the stuff he shoehorns himself into. He unbalances the scenes in Sherlock in the same way as well.
Preferred Number 13 from a few years back myself.
Well, I liked it very much, if that's OK..............
It scared the bejesus outta me just reading it.
I have some sympathy with Straker's view of Mark's appearances, but, yes, overall, I thought it was a tremendously worthwhile production.
It's a great shame that more attempts haven't been allowed- I really enjoyed it, especially the last section.
Oh, and Crooked House was first shown 3 years ago- yes, these productions have been that sparse.
Now that you mention it, yes, last year was a repeat. I think it was first shown two years ago, rather than three, but well-remembered, and point made!
EDIT: No, you're right. It was three years ago: December 2008.
I agree. Wonderful story, a real classic. For this time of year, how about someone adapting 'The Old Nurse's Story'?
I liked the quite recent adaptation of James's 'A View from a Hill', with Mark Letheren.
Of course, we'll be getting the 'Sherlock' version of the story courtesy of Mark Gatiss in the New Year.
A Warning to the Curious by M R James is also a good one. Well, it was a BBC ghost story for Christmas. 1972! I can't find the dvd for any cheaper than £33. I'd also like to see the original Whistle and I'll Come Tou You again. We rarely get anything ghostly on nowadays. As someone said Crooked House was 2008 so it's about time we had something else. I'm surprised BBC4 hasn't got anything lined up for Christmas/New Year.
The Beeb also did an adaptation of a Dennis Wheatley
story, "The Haunted Airman" in 2006. There was a
sudden resurgence of interest in it a few years later
because it starred Robert Pattinson, whom I believe is
popular with the young ladies nowadays.
That's also on Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c06WUYsI0ic
The original is blocked by the company doing the Radcliffe version.