Trevor Eve slams BBC 'Who' focus

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  • davey_waveydavey_wavey Posts: 27,406
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    I agree with Trevor Eve. The BBC do seem to pay a lot of attention to Doctor Who and whilst it's popular, not everyone who watches the BBC watches Doctor Who.

    Waking The Dead is as popular as Doctor Who, but you don't see that getting flogged to death.

    I don't think it's anything to do with Trevor Eve being bitter. He's a highly popular and successful actor, and alongside that he's honest with his opinions.

    I think the BBC should lay off the Doctor Who hype a bit and concentrate more on their other stuff.

    I personally think Merlin is way better than Doctor Who...but it's very underrated by the BBC.
  • TouristaTourista Posts: 14,338
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    I personally think Merlin is way better than Doctor Who...but it's very underrated by the BBC.

    How is Merlin "underrated", as it is just about to start series 3 fgs!.

    Hardly a case of underrating a show.

    As for Trevor Eve's comments, frankly as much as I liked WtD it is well past its prime, and should be killed off. And if WtD had the broad based appeal of DW Eve might have a point. What the beeb decide to replace it with if the next series trully is its last hurrah is another matter, and not pertinent to this thread.
  • stripedcatstripedcat Posts: 6,689
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    I admit it is ironic when you considered how the Beeb treated the old Doctor Who. When did that get advertised(rarely)? It was pretty badly treated at the end of its run.

    It is staggering the amount of coverage that the Beeb gives it nowadays.

    I accept it makes the BBC a lot of money, but then so did the old series.
  • davidsevendavidseven Posts: 3,336
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    I have to agree with him. Who, Merlin and the other similar shows are characterised by a formulaic approach and I do find them childish and poorly written. In fact lack of good writing is the most noticeable problem these days.
    The Deep being the latest in dramas that someone,somewhere should have flagged the poor quality of the script before proceeding, rather than shove some more CGI in and hope the visuals will make up for it.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 11,934
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    "All they are interested in are spinoffs from Doctor Who and [shows similar to] Doctor Who, like Sherlock," he claimed.

    Just how is Sherlock a show similar to Doctor Who? I've tried to think of a link, and the best I can come up with is that they are both popular dramas with a certain element of humour.

    Silly man.

    Maybe it's because he's just done some really "serious" drama on ITV. I haven't seen the new Bouquet yet, but I'm hoping that it'll be as unrelentingly grim as the original.
  • Platinum BobPlatinum Bob Posts: 88
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    I'm amazed how many people fall for this old publicity trick time after time. When you really want to raise the profile of whatever product you're flogging, you just have to say something highly controversial in the promotional interviews and it'll get instantly plastered across the media. Putting the boot into a sacred cow works every time.

    Michael O'Leary, the CEO of Ryanair, has this down to a fine art. Standing seats? Stewardesses taking over the co-pilot's role in an emergency? Neither of these were remotely going to happen but it certainly brought the airline loads of free publicity.
  • AlbacomAlbacom Posts: 34,578
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    He's right, though. The argument that Doctor Who is popular and makes a lot of money isn't relevant, given that the BBC aren't a commercial channel. Instead of producing more shows like that - Robin Hood, Merlin, Sherlock etc. - the Beeb should put some of that revenue towards better shows.

    What like Spooks, Lark Rise to Candleford, Secret Britain, The No1 Ladies Detective Agency,. New Tricks, Waking The Dead (which Eve stars in), Outnumbered, Silent Witness, Luther, The Apprentice, Strictly Come Dancing, Casualty, Waterloo Road, The Antiques Roadshow, Who Do You Think You Are, Five Daughters, The Silence, Outcasts, The Deep, Tonights The Night, Bang Goes The Theory, Upstairs Downstairs, Cranford, ........etc. etc.

    All those hugely popular programmes don't even ever mention Doctor Who AND are all successes (or likely to be a success) or have been a success without any aid from Simon Cowell!!

    I think the BBC still, in this modern age, do a fantastic job at commissioning a strong, varied and informative line up of programmes, of which Doctor Who is just one!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 437
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    Her's right to a point, but Dr Who makes plenty of money, far outweighs the outlay on it. How many other programmes can say that? I would assume profits made from DW would be used to fund other shows, such as ones Trevor Eve appears in...
  • AlbacomAlbacom Posts: 34,578
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    stripedcat wrote: »
    I admit it is ironic when you considered how the Beeb treated the old Doctor Who. When did that get advertised(rarely)? It was pretty badly treated at the end of its run.

    It is staggering the amount of coverage that the Beeb gives it nowadays.

    I accept it makes the BBC a lot of money, but then so did the old series.

    Excessive trailing of a programme is still a relatively new thing, In the old days, we wouldn't get so many trails after a show had ended, but holding slides were more commonplace.

    A big evening rundown menu would launch the evenings schedule which was phased out in 2002 with the dancers idents. If the trails were as big in those days as they were now, Doctor Who certainly would have been promoted, but with just three or four channels then, most people pretty much knew what was on and when as schedules were very robust and familiar. If Doctor Who was at 5.45pm on Saturdays for the first week, you could pretty much assume it would stay in that slot for the whole run.
  • stateofgameplaystateofgameplay Posts: 3,578
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    I'd rather them concentrate on interesting and fun shows like Doctor Who, Merlin and Sherlock then the boring morose guff he has been in like Waking the Dead.
  • stateofgameplaystateofgameplay Posts: 3,578
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    wizzywick wrote: »
    What like Spooks, Lark Rise to Candleford, Secret Britain, The No1 Ladies Detective Agency,. New Tricks, Waking The Dead (which Eve stars in), Outnumbered, Silent Witness, Luther, The Apprentice, Strictly Come Dancing, Casualty, Waterloo Road, The Antiques Roadshow, Who Do You Think You Are, Five Daughters, The Silence, Outcasts, The Deep, Tonights The Night, Bang Goes The Theory, Upstairs Downstairs, Cranford, ........etc. etc.

    All those hugely popular programmes don't even ever mention Doctor Who AND are all successes (or likely to be a success) or have been a success without any aid from Simon Cowell!!

    I think the BBC still, in this modern age, do a fantastic job at commissioning a strong, varied and informative line up of programmes, of which Doctor Who is just one!

    Oh now come on, don't you get dismissing someone else's opinion with actual FACTS!!! :D
  • AlbacomAlbacom Posts: 34,578
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    Oh now come on, don't you get dismissing someone else's opinion with actual FACTS!!! :D

    Sorry! Won't do it again.:)
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 930
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    wizzywick wrote: »
    What like Spooks, Lark Rise to Candleford, Secret Britain, The No1 Ladies Detective Agency,. New Tricks, Waking The Dead (which Eve stars in), Outnumbered, Silent Witness, Luther, The Apprentice, Strictly Come Dancing, Casualty, Waterloo Road, The Antiques Roadshow, Who Do You Think You Are, Five Daughters, The Silence, Outcasts, The Deep, Tonights The Night, Bang Goes The Theory, Upstairs Downstairs, Cranford, ........etc. etc.

    All those hugely popular programmes don't even ever mention Doctor Who AND are all successes (or likely to be a success) or have been a success without any aid from Simon Cowell!!

    I think the BBC still, in this modern age, do a fantastic job at commissioning a strong, varied and informative line up of programmes, of which Doctor Who is just one!

    Quite. And if there is promotion of Doctor Who, surely it's only because Who - whether one loves it or loathes it - is one of the few television programmes to more than pay its own way. Any business - and the BBC has to act like one lest it be accused of squandering public money - highlights its most profitable product. Not to do so would just be perverse.

    On a side note, isn't it pathetic how some posters can't just say they don't like a show but have to resort to name-calling? Thus, on this thread, we have nonsense bandied about that Who is "the biggest pile of rubbish ever commissioned by the BBC" or "it insults the intelligence of ten year olds", the inference being that if one is older and enjoys it, one is somehow retarded. Well, I'm an out and proud 48 year fan of Doctor Who who, gasp!, has a responsible job and an active social life - I also adore shows like Mad Men, for the record. And, as a licence payer, I would certainly prefer the BBC to promote one of their most successful shows, if only because it means they have a bit more in the pot to make the shows Mr. Eve craves. If others don't like Doctor Who, fine. There are other channels. As far as I'm aware, press gangs aren't roaming the streets forcing them to watch.
  • chuffnobblerchuffnobbler Posts: 10,771
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    I can see that the success of DW has inspired a whole strand of programmes like Merlin, Robin Hood and Torchwood. None of those would have happened without the success of DW. I'm not sure that these shows dominate, but it has skewed the BBC's output towards those types of shows.

    There's less "blue light" drama than there used to be on the Beeb, but the soapification of Casualty and Holby has made a big impact on the BBC's schedule. Hustle, Spooks and other shows are now very long running (as are Waking the Dead and New Tricks) ... the BBC's drama output is less distinctive than it used to be. I have some empathy with Trevor Eve's viewpoint.

    (I wish they'd release Shoestring on DVD)
  • IggymanIggyman Posts: 8,021
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    Looking at 'the big picture', I'd say that the BBC lacks imagination and creativity. Stephen Fry sums it up nicely:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11200974
  • be more pacificbe more pacific Posts: 19,061
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    Let's face it, in the years before Doctor Who came back, conventional wisdom dictated that high-quality and family-oriented British Fantasy shows could never be mainstream hits. It's seems a bit churlish of Eve to bemoan the BBC's investment in a genre which has been sadly neglected in the past. Particularly when ITV produces hardly anything in this genre.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 11,934
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    Iggyman wrote: »
    Looking at 'the big picture', I'd say that the BBC lacks imagination and creativity. Stephen Fry sums it up nicely:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11200974

    I'm sorry, but for the star of Kingdom to complain about the BBC's blandness is the ultimate in cheek.
  • doom&gloomdoom&gloom Posts: 9,051
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    Political correctness, focus groups, diversity advisers, any BBC drama is watered down so much it is worthless by the time it gets on screen, we need an HBO, Showtime or AMC and talented producer creators who are given creative freedom.
  • be more pacificbe more pacific Posts: 19,061
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    doom&gloom wrote: »
    Political correctness, focus groups, diversity advisers, any BBC drama is watered down so much it is worthless by the time it gets on screen, we need an HBO, Showtime or AMC and talented producer creators who are given creative freedom.
    Can you cite some specific examples of BBC dramas which you know for a fact have been watered down due to focus groups and diversity advisers?
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 11,934
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    doom&gloom wrote: »
    Political correctness, focus groups, diversity advisers, any BBC drama is watered down so much it is worthless by the time it gets on screen, we need an HBO, Showtime or AMC and talented producer creators who are given creative freedom.

    Add to that the fact that often programmes are made with one eye on foreign markets. There are far too many costume dramas for my liking. They wouldn't be so bad, but I can't help feel that the costume is more important to them than the drama, so you end up with programmes which are more memorable for their hats and quaint rustic accents than anything else.
  • mossy2103mossy2103 Posts: 84,307
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    doom&gloom wrote: »
    Political correctness, focus groups, diversity advisers, any BBC drama is watered down so much it is worthless by the time it gets on screen, we need an HBO, Showtime or AMC and talented producer creators who are given creative freedom.

    Did you happen to watch any of these:

    A Short Stay in Switzerland

    Bodies

    Spooks (especially the last few series)

    Being Human


    Just a few dramas not suffering from political correctness, nor suffering from being watered down, and no real evidence of focus groups and the like.

    Yes, thoughtful, quality drama is there .... if you wish to see it.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 11,934
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    mossy2103 wrote: »
    Did you happen to watch any of these:

    A Short Stay in Switzerland

    Bodies

    Spooks (especially the last few series)

    Being Human


    Just a few dramas not suffering from political correctness, nor suffering from being watered down, and no real evidence of focus groups and the like.

    Yes, thoughtful, quality drama is there .... if you wish to see it.

    I didn't see the later series of Spooks, but the earlier ones were brimming with political correctness.

    Bodies and Being Human were good though.
  • JohnFlawbodJohnFlawbod Posts: 4,667
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    Traynor wrote: »
    Trevor Eve has blasted the BBC for focusing its resources on Doctor Who.

    The actor told The Sunday Times that the corporation is neglecting other series in favour of the popular sci-fi drama.

    "All they are interested in are spinoffs from Doctor Who and [shows similar to] Doctor Who, like Sherlock," he claimed.

    The Waking The Dead star complained that Who was receiving "all the budget and all the attention"

    http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/cult/s7/doctor-who/news/a273589/trevor-eve-slams-bbc-who-focus.html

    I think he may well have a point.

    If he's got a point, how come he is currently filming a brand new series of "Waking the Dead" for the BBC...doesn't that kind of prove that the BBC does in fact make other types of Drama?

    Just off the top of my head: Cranford, Spooks, Holby, Eastenders, Waterloo Road, Wallander, Lark Rise to Candleford, Bleak House, Casualty, Silent Witness, The Deep, Waking the Dead not to mention the BBC4 one off's such as Fantabulosa and Hattie!, the BBC2 one off's such as Maxwell and then there's "A Short Stay in Switzerland", Hawking...yeah, I'd definitely say Trevor's right when he says the BBC concentrates on DW too much :rolleyes:
  • mikwmikw Posts: 48,715
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    Iggyman wrote: »
    Looking at 'the big picture', I'd say that the BBC lacks imagination and creativity. Stephen Fry sums it up nicely:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11200974

    I think you'll find Fry is actually having a go at the Daily Mail and the usual BBC bashing media.
  • lady_xanaxlady_xanax Posts: 5,662
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    flobadob wrote: »
    "All they are interested in are spinoffs from Doctor Who and [shows similar to] Doctor Who, like Sherlock," he claimed.

    Just how is Sherlock a show similar to Doctor Who? I've tried to think of a link, and the best I can come up with is that they are both popular dramas with a certain element of humour.

    Sherlock is a lot like the Doctor and there's a similar writing style. Moriarty is a bit like John Sim's Master too.
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