The BAFTA Pioneer Vote is underway with DOCTOR WHO up for your (multiple) vote to guarantee the Award.

The Pioneer Award sets out to honour programme-makers whose novel and bold approach has brought both critical praise and commercial success. The Pioneer Award shortlist is reached by a committee of national television critics and the winner is selected by the public.

It is the only Audience Award given out at the Awards.

You can TEXT or vote online at the Pioneer site.

http://www.pioneer.co.uk/uk/campaign/news/bafta.html

or more coverage at:

http://www.eyeofhorus.org.uk/content...3-march06.html

Done that. Hope it wins.

How the hell does desperate housewives get nominated?

The only thing about public votes is that they are not particularly fair. The programme that deserves to win doesn't as the real fanatical element submit so many entries that it isn't actually reflective on how the public would vote or how they truly feel. Of course I want Who to win but would rather it got the nod from the industry as we all know how fond the public are of it prior to it's return as well as with the new series.

The blurb asks you to vote for "the show that has helped define television in 2005, receiving critical acclaim through its original approach and capturing the public's imagination"

So, I voted for Jamie's School Dinners, as I feel it's far more worthy. Much though I'd like to see Who do well at the Baftas, any victory in a poll which can be influenced by a couple of hundred middle-aged virgins who still live with their mothers and can therefore afford to spend hours voting 953 times each evening is going to be a hollow one.

Quite!

Well said - I have to agree.

What I'd really like to see is DW nominated and winning in the categories voted for by the academy - then we'll see how well it's been received by non-fans.

Making it truly reflective of what the public really thinks rather than a handful of fans with their fingers glued to the submit button on the BAFTA site or texting their votes.

Which is exactly why I've just voted for Who. I can't think of another British show from last year that captured anyone's imagination in the same way, or felt quite so fresh and original, particularly in a prime time Saturday evening slot. It was THE defining hit of 2005, and thoroughly deserves all the accolades it will undoubtedly get.

We all agree with you but the point a lot of people are making is will it win because joe public agrees or will it be a hollow victory because a handful of obsessive fans keep voting for it.

No idea, but I'm not so sure it matters. Obsessive fans are TV viewers too, and if the programme has generated that kind of support then surely that should count for something? Why are fans of one show known as Joe Public, but fans of a popular Sci-fi show are deemed to be some kind of worthless sub-class?

In any case, given that the voting form requires a name and address, I personally doubt anyone is stabbing the submit button that repeatedly.

And it can't be that difficult to check for multiple occurences of the same IP address.

Multiple online and text votes are acceptable apparently. Check out the first post at the top of this page. Think you are missing the point my friend. I refer to Joe Public as the general audience who tune in with their kids and watch as a family rather than the hardcore fans whose lives are totally dominated by the series buying the merchandise, comics, duvet covers etc...

To me a greater victory would be if Who won fairly and squarely without the multiple entries from obsessive fans...it would be far more reflective of the country at large rather than the significant number of repeat votes from the same people.

If voted Who because it was the defining 2005 TV program for me - I wasn't really a fan of Doctor Who before March - I was interested, but not a fan - since, say, mid-airing time of the first series, i started buying old series DVDs - mainly Dalek ones, because they're my favourite villains (i mean, who CAN'T like them?).

Desperate Housewives? I mean, cmon - defining TV program of 2005? really! tut - it was just another American input - not really BRITISH because thats what the award is for, right?

I am not saying that Desperate Housewives was or is the defining TV moment of 2005. I do want Doctor Who to bag it and have placed my only vote for it. I just want it to win it fairly and squarely because everyone thinks the same as the diehard fans. If the fans keep submitting multiple entries either by text or online (using different email addresses) then it is hardly an accurate representation of what joe public might be thinking or voting for that matter.

Holy christ, if American shows are allowed in, how come desperate housewives is there and not LOST?

The thing talks about shows which have "defined television"; only to name a show which is just a parody of every other American drama ever to exist. And not even a great one at that. LOST mightn't be quite as succesful in terms of viewing figures or whatever, but at least there's a buzz about it; a sheer mass volume of discussion about it. People want to talk about it; want to share their own theories - be it in the pub, at work, or on the internet - it generates interaction more than almost any other TV show I've ever seen.

It's defined television as much as any of the other shows in that list, yet it's completely ignored. Baffling.

Makes perfect sense to me and I agree wholeheartedly.

Posters here are well aware of my fondness for Who and I would like nothing more than the programme to romp home in these awards.

I firmly believe the programme is strong enough to win on it's own merits; if it doesn't, then surely the producers will look at how they can make future series even better.

Either way, as fans we can't really lose, can we?

The Pioneer Audience Award for Best Programme of 2005 aims to honour the show that has helped define television in 2005, receiving critical acclaim through its original approach and capturing the public's imagination.

But wasn't Dr Who a rehash of an idea from decades ago? The programmes that are both original and that captured the public's imagination on that list are, I would say, Jamie's School Dinners and The Apprentice.

People placing multiple votes is not a guarantee that it will win if past experience is anything to go by. Whenever Who has been entered for other awards that involved text or postal votes it hasn't automatically won as many expected. I want it to win as it deserves to but I want it to win fair and squarely because the public want that too and not just us die hard fans!

As Den said it has won in many other ways in that it has captured the public interest again and the imagination of the kids which is very important given that they are not so easily pleased.

But wasn't The Apprentice based on a US show, or did the Sugar version come before Trump..?

Sorry, I can't agree with you. Jamie's School Dinners has had a massive impact. Schools across the country are now feeding their kids proper food instead of vile mechanically recovered slurry. Petitions have been sent to Number 10. Questions have been asked in Parliament. Children's health and diets have become a more prominent issue as a result of this show.

Don't get me wrong, I think Dr Who was certainly worthy enough to be nominated, I just don't think it deserves to win.

Yes, it should count for something, but it should only count once, not 953 times!


A tenner says they will be...

We're all entitled to our own opinion, and that's why this is a public vote! I'd simply argue that while School Dinners was a worthy documentary which successfully brought its subject under public scrutiny (as every documentary aspires to do) there was nothing particularly original or groundbreaking about it. I don't think it did capture the public's "imagination" but their concerned attention, which is a different thing, and the aim of any documentary. It may well be the best documentary of last year for that reason, but to suggest it beats Doctor Who because it got questions asked in Parliament is a bit like me saying Doctor Who beats School Dinners because it had better special effects - you're not comparing like with like.

There is no comparison but they will appeal to very different audiences. Think everyone should cast their single vote and let the best one win!

The Apprentice was not as good as it's US version, and some of the tasks in the british show were identical to ones already used in america, so I hardly think it was that original, or if it really captured the publics imagination with a 1st series rating high of 3.6 million.