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Sarah:

They will all be addressing the question: is television dead?

i honestly think that television is having trouble, but, i don't think that television is dead; just yet....although it is indeed of some reinventing to make it more relevant to the current generation of viewers....

~Dennis Junior~

we get the television we deserve...and that is our tragedy

Comic Relief tonight is a sad illustration of just how bad it's become.

I'm sorry but I hardly watch TV or even listen to Radio 4 anymore, I find it's not relevant to me. It's never describing my way of life, and it's all so much junk, I can't bare it. I'm sick to death of the minority view always on, what's happend to the indigenous point of view. I'm glad I can just switch off, and play a CD!!!

#3 Yes Jean and wouldn't it be interesting to see where all the millions given end up! I'm really surprised people here still have so much surplus money they can chuck it away, because some celebrity acts a fool.

CETERIS PARIBUS (clauses always needs to be checked)

ecolizzy (#5) After all the coverage of , and - in the current climate, this noisy emotional blackmail made depressing viewing.

Celebritism is a worrying manifestation of our culture's venal endorsement of in my view. Those involved usually can't see it, which is, perhaps both their charm and their problem?

#6 Yes Jean I heard about this woman Dambisa Moyo on the radio, she seems to speak a lot of sense.

I haven't got time at the moment to read and watch all this, but i will.

Watched the first few lines of the video, and yes why is there so much pretence around? Why do we ignore what is actually happening? The celebrity culture seems to endorse us pretending about everything, from the glories of war and violence, to anybody can do anything. Where will the slumdog children be in five years time?! And why do films have to be promoted by the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ on the news for goodness sake. It's just froth and fluff and of no importance.

bbc has 'no money' cause it spends it on tv presenter 'talent' and executive pay and pensions that would make a sultan blush?

Given every minute they write costs about 100k to turn into tv not one word on writing and writers who are the engines of change and success?

ecolizzy (#7) I say the more people who speak out against this predatory self-centredness, the better.

I don't think TV has really changed all that much over the years; todays "reality" TV is yesterday's Generation Game, The Golden Shot, Blankety Blank, Bullseye, .....

And people really did think it was real back then, with thousands of bereavement cards and messages of sympathy sent when characters like Ena Sharples, Albert Tatlock and Elsie Tanner "died" in Coronation Street.

People are much more knowing nowadays; for example, how many people do think that "The Apprentice" is "real"?

The vast majority accept these items as entertainment; it is debatable of course whether they are good or bad, but for every "Strictly Come Dancing" there is a "Sopranos", for every "Joseph" a "Madmen", for every "Generation Game" an "I, Claudius."

Plus ca change.......

Red Nose Day? Watch some DVDs instead and ask for a partial refund of your licence fee.

I did last year and surprisingly am still waiting for acknowledgement of receipt of my letter, let alone a reply.

Never mind, the arrogance of the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ ceased to trouble me a long time ago.

"such groundbreaking series as Spooks and Life on Mars"

Groundbreaking? Really?!
Spooks is very formulatic.
Life on Mars had a nice twist - a new point of view - but at it's heart it was still a cop drama.
I like both shows they are well-acted, entertaining flights of fancy - I don't ask for much more from a drama.

You highlight one of the big problems tv currently has - a complete inability to describe anything without going over the top.

I watched the RND Celebrity Dancing last night, not because I wanted to but because there were no good cop dramas on!

But I really enjoyed the dancing and was amazed by how much effort the contestants put in, and the extent to which the comedians were prepared to mock themselves/'convention' for a good cause.

However, I also wonder how much of the money gets through, and why the British are so amenable to giving what little they have away.

I hear our charity to the banking sector has also made its way abroad.

The Count (#11) "You highlight one of the big problems tv currently has - a complete inability to describe anything without going over the top."

That, I suggest, is because the media is dominated by feminised brains. It is also primarily marketed at feminised brains. Cosmetics, hyperbole, theatrics/spin is all part of the pernicious sales/merchandising/retail 'gathering' business which has come to define our Liberal-Democratic culture. Like it or not (and few dare criticise it for fear of shrieks and howls), that's what the promotion of equality has really been all about, i.e. increasing the number of undiscerning consumers with disposable incomes and growing the economy. It's why there's been such pressure on Islam ('war on terror') to secularise too as their high birth rate was a threat.

It sows the seeds of its own destruction in the end.

Television is a very competitive medium.

This means that costs must be kept to a minimum, as large audiences are hard to come by. Low cost, mass market television is the natural consequence. American imports are also common, as they can be purchased for less then making a British produced drama, and the American audience ratings provide a guide as to the likely audience in the UK. There is no language barrier with American programmes; so there are no costs of adding subtitles. I would like more imports from Europe, but the necessary subtitles seem to kill this idea.

The British costume dramas are expensive but are part funded by America, as there is a healthy market for "Masterpiece Theatre" in the USA.

It all comes down to money in the end......