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Has Celebrity Fame Academy done enough to save the FA format?


 
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Old 09-03-2005, 12:21
ArtyAttack
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Last nights show was watched by over 8 million viewers. I know the BBC are not meant to be chasing ratings but that sort of audience should not be ignored. Maybe an intense two week Fame Academy series is the way forward with the acts having to sing every night for survival.
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Old 09-03-2005, 12:40
khane
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If only arty, but under the new guidelines, FA is seen as a copycat show and so not inkeeping with teh new rules.
If nothing else I hope they keep it going on comic relief with celebs.
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Old 09-03-2005, 12:44
Tezzer
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Originally Posted by ArtyAttack
Last nights show was watched by over 8 million viewers. I know the BBC are not meant to be chasing ratings but that sort of audience should not be ignored. Maybe an intense two week Fame Academy series is the way forward with the acts having to sing every night for survival.
Good point on an intense two week Fame Academy series
making it 'Event' TV.

8 million viewers for a BBC1 audience or ITV1 audience these days is very good!

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Old 09-03-2005, 12:46
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I love the gradual build up of getting to know contestants and see them really develop as singers BUT if thats the only way we can have the programme then I'd settle for 2 weeks.
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Old 09-03-2005, 12:50
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950,000 votes and 8 million viewers last night!

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Old 09-03-2005, 13:06
Mike Teevee
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Originally Posted by Stewing
I so disagree with you..there was excellent talent in FA, and who voted for David Sneddon if not you the public..???? Like now you will all vote for Kim who sounds like any number of Girls Aloud and Kylie pop budgies, instead of Edith who has real potential in more serious rock.... public tastes..boo...
I never said I didn't agree there wasn't talent in FA, personally I felt Lemar was the most talented but the general public didn't and so he finished 3rd.

I don't agree that FA is/was more credible than Pop Idol/Stars, ITV never claimed to be looking for the next Elton John or Beatles - just a POPular chart act

I also don't slate the British people choices as not everybody has to agree with my opinions, well not until I've built my mind control machine

re: last night viewers saving FA, people should bear in mind that 8 millon people are tuning in to see celebrities perform and not total strangers. I believe Saturday's show got more viewer than final of FA1.

I don't know if people have noticed that apart from Pop Idol/Stars ITV mainly goes for 'Celebrity' based reality shows. This means viewers are quicker to form opinions on contestants because they know them from elsewhere.

Hence IMO Celebrity FA is proving to be a very big hit, I don't reckon the same would apply to regular series (especially as contestants would be singing new songs, that may be hard to judge fairly)
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Old 09-03-2005, 13:22
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I'm not so sure that a lot of the public didn't think Lemar had talent, he clearly did. I think it was more a mixture of the teachers attitude towards him and the other students being so different. I also think some people realised that he didn't need to win, to gain a good recording contract.
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Old 09-03-2005, 13:24
ArtyAttack
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8 million viewers is also more than most shows in the last series of X-Factor on ITV. The BBC should really reconsider and the money brought in by phonecalls can be used for young musicians. I really believe a two week "event" series once a year might be the best possible solution.
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Old 09-03-2005, 13:26
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Originally Posted by Mirage
I'm not so sure that a lot of the public didn't think Lemar had talent, he clearly did. I think it was more a mixture of the teachers attitude towards him and the other students being so different. I also think some people realised that he didn't need to win, to gain a good recording contract.
I think the other problem was that in the 1st series only 3 of them had to 'sing for survival' in each show, so people got used to voting to keep those ones. So Lemar was really at a disadvantage because of that.
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Old 09-03-2005, 13:27
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Originally Posted by Mirage
I'm not so sure that a lot of the public didn't think Lemar had talent, he clearly did. I think it was more a mixture of the teachers attitude towards him and the other students being so different. I also think some people realised that he didn't need to win, to gain a good recording contract.
if I remember correctly wasn't the rumour that no matter won out of the final 3 they where all going to be offered contracts
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Old 09-03-2005, 13:36
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All the last 5 (6?) in the first series got contracts offered...but that was then and this is now. I think it's highly unlikely that would recur. In any case, there's no doubt that the contract offered to the winner was superior.

IIRC Lemar refused his offer, and got picked up (or was already signed, if you like the conspiracy theories!) by someone else. I think history shows who did the right thing there!

As for the change in format: the first series when only three were "singing for survival" had a much better 'mood' in the house (at least as percieved by me from watching the streaming). I can't help thinking that the change was determined by Endemol for their own reasons, and not for the interests of the students by building up of fan bases.

In case you haven't noticed, I preferred the format of the first series...

Steve.
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Old 09-03-2005, 13:59
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I don't know the ins and outs of the new guidelines but to just cut and ban all programmes of the FA or Ground Force genre is stifling creativity just as much as having schedules full of these sorts of shows. Why do they have to be so extreme? Grrrr!

I love the Fame Academy format. It entertains with the live shows, it educates with the teaching and it informs with the insight we get into the music industry. OK so it is not a highbrow "worthy" topic but there is room on our screens for popular culture as well as more "intellectual" pursuits.

Rant over!
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Old 09-03-2005, 14:02
jacko12
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Originally Posted by Steveh11
All the last 5 (6?) in the first series got contracts offered...but that was then and this is now. I think it's highly unlikely that would recur. In any case, there's no doubt that the contract offered to the winner was superior.

IIRC Lemar refused his offer, and got picked up (or was already signed, if you like the conspiracy theories!) by someone else. I think history shows who did the right thing there!

As for the change in format: the first series when only three were "singing for survival" had a much better 'mood' in the house (at least as percieved by me from watching the streaming). I can't help thinking that the change was determined by Endemol for their own reasons, and not for the interests of the students by building up of fan bases.

In case you haven't noticed, I preferred the format of the first series...

Steve.
agree the format of the first series was better but would prefer it if carrie and david stayed as they are now, and they got rid of richard parks.
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Old 09-03-2005, 14:10
Mirage
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Is it purely (not my opinion) the copy cat format they dislike? The genre of music they sing? I was wondering if the academy were teaching classical or opera singing, would they still dislike it? What if instead of guitars and song writing, the students had a cello, violin etc and were learning to write classical pieces of music. Would they still look down on it as rubbish RTV?

I love FA and it saddens me to think we are going to lose this show.
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Old 09-03-2005, 14:17
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I don't understand the argument that it is a copycat show. With the exception of Big Brother, which doesn't as far as I remember have any musical theme to it, which of the other Reality shows has all day and all night coverage of the participants, showing how they interact, have fun, train, sing, keep fit, get taught? All the others have is a ten minute highlight on a once weekly show which has heats, and eliminations of the contestants. How therefore does Fame Academy "copy" someone else's format?
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Old 09-03-2005, 14:24
Mike Teevee
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Originally Posted by Mirage
Is it purely (not my opinion) the copy cat format they dislike? The genre of music they sing? I was wondering if the academy were teaching classical or opera singing, would they still dislike it? What if instead of guitars and song writing, the students had a cello, violin etc and were learning to write classical pieces of music. Would they still look down on it as rubbish RTV?

I love FA and it saddens me to think we are going to lose this show.
not that I speak for the Culture Secretary or that department, but it's not just FA that's being singled out.

like I said earlier in basic terms the USP of FA is to give a new singing talent a recording contract, which is basically the same premise as Pop Idol. Seeing as ITV is first and foremost a commercial company that has to make profit as well as programmes for public, FA is incrouching on it's territory. FA students playing musical instruments, singing their own songs is (for want of a better phrase) 'added extras'. Adding on the Big Brother element also makes it look familar to existing programming.

Essentially we are all taxed to watch tv, regardless of whether we want to watch BBC or not. The idea goes that if the public are being forced to pay for a £2 billion plus service they should expect to get innovative programming.

FA may be better for some people than Pop Idol (they're roughly equal to me), but it is very similar programming.

To go off on a tangent the recent Auschwitz documentary on BBC2 was different to programming you'd expect to see on the commerical channels (and it proved to be very popular). The BBC has to balance it's public service obligations equally with it's needs to be popular (otherwise people will stop paying their £120ish licence fees)
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Old 09-03-2005, 14:27
Newcastle
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Originally Posted by flicker
I don't understand the argument that it is a copycat show. With the exception of Big Brother, which doesn't as far as I remember have any musical theme to it, which of the other Reality shows has all day and all night coverage of the participants, showing how they interact, have fun, train, sing, keep fit, get taught? All the others have is a ten minute highlight on a once weekly show which has heats, and eliminations of the contestants. How therefore does Fame Academy "copy" someone else's format?
I think the point is that its always been billed as a mix of BB and Pop Idol.
And
For anyone that doesn't have digital tv (about half the country) as far as they are concerned its exactly the same as pop idol.
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Old 09-03-2005, 14:39
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My mum loathes reality shows and is completely hooked on the celeb Fame Academy and now want to watch a full series! So it must be doing something right.
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Old 09-03-2005, 14:42
Newcastle
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Originally Posted by Evilredzebra
My mum loathes reality shows and is completely hooked on the celeb Fame Academy and now want to watch a full series! So it must be doing something right.
People have the same snobbery over Big Brother- but once they actually start watching it they begin to enjoy it, same with my family.
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Old 09-03-2005, 14:43
jacko12
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Originally Posted by Mike Teevee
not that I speak for the Culture Secretary or that department, but it's not just FA that's being singled out.

like I said earlier in basic terms the USP of FA is to give a new singing talent a recording contract, which is basically the same premise as Pop Idol. Seeing as ITV is first and foremost a commercial company that has to make profit as well as programmes for public, FA is incrouching on it's territory. FA students playing musical instruments, singing their own songs is (for want of a better phrase) 'added extras'. Adding on the Big Brother element also makes it look familar to existing programming.

Essentially we are all taxed to watch tv, regardless of whether we want to watch BBC or not. The idea goes that if the public are being forced to pay for a £2 billion plus service they should expect to get innovative programming.

FA may be better for some people than Pop Idol (they're roughly equal to me), but it is very similar programming.

To go off on a tangent the recent Auschwitz documentary on BBC2 was different to programming you'd expect to see on the commerical channels (and it proved to be very popular). The BBC has to balance it's public service obligations equally with it's needs to be popular (otherwise people will stop paying their £120ish licence fees)
how can FA be similar programming to pop idol when pop idol only has live shows, when do you actually see them learning the songs or how to write songs, as for the arguement about BB the whole element of BB is that the housemates do not have contact you cannot say that happens in FA, I mean daily dance classes singing lessons and then a live televised show where they have to sing live.
people are saying about Come Dancing been new wrong its just been rehashed from an old series that has been made popular by a celebrity version.
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Old 09-03-2005, 14:46
Newcastle
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Originally Posted by jacko12
how can FA be similar programming to pop idol when pop idol only has live shows, when do you actually see them learning the songs or how to write songs
Well you dont see them on Fame Academy any more, unless you have digital television.
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Old 09-03-2005, 14:49
jacko12
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Originally Posted by Newcastle
Well you dont see them on Fame Academy any more, unless you have digital television.
funny FA has always been interactive streaming
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Old 09-03-2005, 14:49
Mirage
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Originally Posted by Newcastle
People have the same snobbery over Big Brother- but once they actually start watching it they begin to enjoy it, same with my family.
Whenever I used to tell my mother I was watching BB, she would say in a very drawn out way, B..O..R..I..N..G. Then last year I finally maned to get her to look at it, after she saw some of the streaming for IACGMOOH and she was totally hooked on BB and voting. She can't wait for this years series to start.

She had seen a couple of FA shows, but not that bothered, but she is also hooked on CFA and for the first time tunes into the streaming for it.
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Old 09-03-2005, 14:51
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Originally Posted by jacko12
funny FA has always been interactive streaming
And unless you have digital tv you cant watch!!!
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Old 09-03-2005, 14:53
Mirage
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Originally Posted by Newcastle
And unless you have digital tv you cant watch!!!
I have never understood why it doesn't offer internet streaming. There are people who are willing to subscribe to it and it's a pity they are not catered for.
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