Blyton References on TV

[John Pickup]

I watched it too and wasn't impressed. The presenters seem more intent on publicising themselves then providing us with any worthwhile information.
The scenery was lovely, of course, but apart from that the programme failed miserably.

[Barnard]

I don’t watch this kind of programme anymore. With few exceptions, they are awful.

[timv]

I shall have a look at episode 2 of the 'Martin and Mel' show to see if there's any improvement, but I doubt this - it seems to have been designed on the 'let's be jokey' theme, which very soon gets irritating. It would be nice to see ITV not waste an opportunity on a show like this, but they tend to be disappointing though they can do reasonable shows if they try. Their drama has been disappointing too in recent years - too many first-class if occasionally predictable series with a lot of outside filming in photogenic areas tend to be cancelled suddenly, presumably due to cost, from Stephen Fry's 'Kingdom' (currently being repeated on cable TV), set in N Norfolk, and 'Wild At Heart', set in South Africa, in the 2000s onwards. Not to mention the 'on off' saga of 'Foyle's War'.

[Boatbuilder]

I don’t think there is an episode 2 of that program. It appears to have been a one-off as nothing is scheduled for next week and there’s no indication that there will be another as there’s no ‘series record’ option on the Sky box for it.

[Moonraker]

I don’t watch this kind of programme anymore. With few exceptions, they are awful.

Couldn't agree more. Life is too short to get wound up unnecessarily.

[Moonraker]

Not to mention the 'on off' saga of 'Foyle's War'.

As O' level papers in the 60s asked, "Explain".

[Boatbuilder]

I don’t watch this kind of programme anymore. With few exceptions, they are awful.

Couldn't agree more. Life is too short to get wound up unnecessarily.

Which is what many on here seem to have done as the program never turned out to be what they wanted it to be. You can please some of the people.....etc., etc.

[Anita Bensoussane]

I don't mind trying a new programme that sounds promising, only to discover that I don't like it after all. That's life! Not everything will be my cup of tea, but I've found some real gems by giving things a chance. This programme had so little substance to it that I wouldn't be watching any further episodes if it were the first part of a series, but I don't regret trying it.

[Judith Crabb]

I agree Anita. By giving things a chance you get surprises of all kinds. I haven't had time to watch much television over the last fifty years - if I live long enough for residential care I'm sure I'll have plenty of opportunity to catch up.
The local library has regular book talks where authors and booksellers promote their recent publications. I tend to be very selective, only choosing talks about books which I'd at least consider reading. 'The Villain Edit' must be a book about publishing, I thought. I was surprised looking around the audience how young they all seemed - retirees but none of the regulars, plenty of mostly younger ones with a predictable sprinkling of bright hair, tatts and piercings. When the interview started it turned out that the author was recounting her experiences participating in a series of reality TV shows such as 'Bachelor'. By the time it finished I felt that I had been visiting another planet. Heads nodding in agreement, laughing at jokes I didn't get. A captivated audience. Fascinating.
But still not enough to make me want to watch an episode. Narcissism in real life is difficult enough to cope with, but to watch it on TV... ?

[timv]

On 'Foyle's War', the ITV World War Two detective drama set in Hastings (though its final series went on to early Cold War spy mysteries set in the late 1940s), I was referring to the mystery of why the show was cancelled despite having higher ratings and more favourable reviews than many police series which were kept on. It was then brought back after a popular campaign for this, bot only for a brief revival - though in that case the creator had apparently decided earlier on to have a limited run of episodes in any case so the short run of post-1945 stories was not really a second cancellation but fulfilling the original plan. (There was also a surprise cancellation of another WW2 drama, 'Home Front', a few years later , after only its second series and with high ratings - with suggestions that senior executives were not as interested in shows appealing to older audiences as in cheaper non-'costume drama' thrillers.) The general air of muddle seems to have been visible in the Mel and Martin trip to Dorset show , with no clear indication of it was meant to be a semi-serious look at locations with local interviews (as with the Portillo and Lumley tourist site trips), an indulgent enjoyment of the scenery and local tourist attractions like the Jane Macdonald tours, or just a jokey one-off by comedians/actors showcasing their interests amidst the 'merry quips'. Trying to do too many things at once ?

The 'first it's been cancelled despite high ratings, then it's back, then its cancelled (or at any rate ended) again' scenario in Foyle's War's run suggested a degree of either the programme controllers changing their minds several times or not really having any long-term plan, just juggling with what they would put on according to what money or actors/ production teams were available year by year. This sort of muddle and odd decisions that seems much more common nowadays than in the 1970s or 1980s and I find it intriguing when you look at the similar muddle in national governance too - though there was a number of incidents of apparent 'poaching' of top shows by rival channels back in the 1970s, eg Morecambe and Wise.

[Viv of Ginger Pop]

I quite enjoyed it, particularly the new views of familiar places from drone footage.

When it comes to programmes about Blyton I always listen out for the line "I loved Blyton as a child but it was a pity about the racism/transphobia etc and she wasn't a very nice person".

Instead we got the other sort of snobbery - by Clunes' mum, along with numerous librarians and teachers - that Blyton wasn't worth reading.

So Martin Clunes read a few opening sentences and commented "I want to know what happens next".

Didn't we all?

[Anita Bensoussane]

(There was also a surprise cancellation of another WW2 drama, 'Home Front', a few years later , after only its second series and with high ratings - with suggestions that senior executives were not as interested in shows appealing to older audiences as in cheaper non-'costume drama' thrillers.)

If that was Home Fires, it was an involving drama with wonderful characters. I was very sorry to see it go, especially as it ended with several main characters trapped in a fiercely-burning house!

[Colette]

There's a series of Home Fires books that (I think!) carry the story on

[Anita Bensoussane]

Thanks, Colette!

[Fiona1986]

Only Connect from this Monday (If you haven't see the ep yet it's up to you if you want to read this for a little clue!)

"Quentin" was on the connecting wall, along with the first names of three other fictional uncles. The team got the group and the connection, though Quentin was put in as a guess as it was a male name, Victoria had to tell them who he was.