No way to treat a Doctor
What really pisses me off about the Graham Norton trailer incident goes deeper than my feelings as the fan of a specific show. Fact is, as a British viewer I pay £150.00 a year so that I don't have to put up with a broadcasting service that values marketing above creativity and talent. Not that I get any choice in the matter, but frankly you do wonder why we end up having the worst of both worlds thrown in our faces.
I've no problem with the BBC advertising their latest tedious, overhyped, so-called entertainment show. I've no personal beef with Graham Norton. But I'm old-fashioned enough to care about the growing lack of courtesy and appreciation for the talented people who make what few intelligent, watchable TV shows we have left. It began with the assumption that credits were just boring old twaddle that nobody really wanted to read, at least nobody who wasn't a rabid fan who'd buy the DVD set eventually anyway. That's not the point. When people have worked hard they deserve to be recognised for it. Simple as that. Not running the credits is rude. It's also the thin end of a wedge that we now, predictably, see invading the content itself.
The BBC wants it both ways. They want to promote and milk DW as a cash-cow for all it's worth, but they don't want to show it any respect. They cut its budget, force it to make artistic decisions based primarily on marketing (multi-colour Daleks, anyone?) and now they can't even allow the people who have slaved for months to make the best programme they are capable of making to have it shown without corporate interference.
So, I'm delighted that the fannish outcry has embarrassed the POTB into at least making a response, but I hope it won't just be dismissed as the whining of a few obsessive geeks. It's a symptom of a lack of respect and courtesy that needs to be addressed in our society as a whole.
Oh, and while we're at it, could they stop messing about with the transmission time, as well? It hasn't been the same for two weeks running yet.
I've no problem with the BBC advertising their latest tedious, overhyped, so-called entertainment show. I've no personal beef with Graham Norton. But I'm old-fashioned enough to care about the growing lack of courtesy and appreciation for the talented people who make what few intelligent, watchable TV shows we have left. It began with the assumption that credits were just boring old twaddle that nobody really wanted to read, at least nobody who wasn't a rabid fan who'd buy the DVD set eventually anyway. That's not the point. When people have worked hard they deserve to be recognised for it. Simple as that. Not running the credits is rude. It's also the thin end of a wedge that we now, predictably, see invading the content itself.
The BBC wants it both ways. They want to promote and milk DW as a cash-cow for all it's worth, but they don't want to show it any respect. They cut its budget, force it to make artistic decisions based primarily on marketing (multi-colour Daleks, anyone?) and now they can't even allow the people who have slaved for months to make the best programme they are capable of making to have it shown without corporate interference.
So, I'm delighted that the fannish outcry has embarrassed the POTB into at least making a response, but I hope it won't just be dismissed as the whining of a few obsessive geeks. It's a symptom of a lack of respect and courtesy that needs to be addressed in our society as a whole.
Oh, and while we're at it, could they stop messing about with the transmission time, as well? It hasn't been the same for two weeks running yet.