The TV Thread

[Gerrumonside ref]

I like the New Year’s Day concert from Vienna as a nice relaxing entry into the New Year.

I don’t often put aside time to listen to classical music but I always do if possible on this day at this time.

Uplifting for the soul.

[Futtocks]

1 hour ago, Gerrumonside ref said:

I like the New Year’s Day concert from Vienna as a nice relaxing entry into the New Year.

I don’t often put aside time to listen to classical music but I always do if possible on this day at this time.

Uplifting for the soul.

Usually a feast for the eyes too, with all the beautiful settings they use.

[Futtocks]

Currently watching Yes, Prime Minister and Sir Humphrey has been caught on take inadvertently suggesting a solution to unemployment - a solution that was clearly written to sound utterly draconian and inhumane.

Which it probably was... back then.

[Ullman]

6 hours ago, Gerrumonside ref said:

I like the New Year’s Day concert from Vienna as a nice relaxing entry into the New Year.

I don’t often put aside time to listen to classical music but I always do if possible on this day at this time.

Uplifting for the soul.

Always reminds my of my dad. He wasn't a huge classical music fan but he loved it.

[EggFace]

The Winter King poor acting and miscast characters....not The Last Kingdom and ITV already ed up with Beowulf.

Edited January 3 by EggFace

[Midlands hobo]

Binged midnight mass on netflix. 

Recommended although a bit weird.

[Futtocks]

One caveat about the otherwise excellent Mr Bates versus the Post Office; the absence anywhere in the dramatisation of even a mention of Adam Crozier, the Royal Mail CEO at the time.

Nothing to do with him now being CEO of ITV, of course. Ooh, no.

Edited January 4 by Futtocks

[Moose]

2 hours ago, Futtocks said:

One caveat about the otherwise excellent Mr Bates versus the Post Office; the absence anywhere in the dramatisation of even a mention of Adam Crozier, the Royal Mail CEO at the time.

Nothing to do with him now being CEO of ITV, of course. Ooh, no.

He left ITV in 2017.

[gingerjon]

32 minutes ago, Moose said:

He left ITV in 2017.

His absence is still notable, as is the way the fury is being directed to one specific person (who has an OBE) as opposed to *everyone involved at every stage*.

[Futtocks]

1 hour ago, Moose said:

He left ITV in 2017.

Thanks; I'd missed his departure.

His absence from the TV drama, however, is still a question that seems unanswered so far.

[Futtocks]

Private Eye's special report: https://www.private-eye.co.uk/pictures/special_reports/justice-lost-in-the-post.pdf 

[Moose]

8 minutes ago, Futtocks said:

Thanks; I'd missed his departure.

His absence from the TV drama, however, is still a question that seems unanswered so far.

Absolutely. Although I remember the scandal from when it happened the TV drama showed how helpless individuals can feel when confronted with seemingly irrefutable evidence that they are guilty. 
I only hope that the people who are guilty of this crime are brought to justice.

I won’t hold my breath.

[Stirlin]

The Last Stand , Bob Monkhouse......recorded a few months before his death.

 

BBC iPlayer - Bob Monkhouse: The Last Stand

[Futtocks]

23 hours ago, Moose said:

Absolutely. Although I remember the scandal from when it happened the TV drama showed how helpless individuals can feel when confronted with seemingly irrefutable evidence that they are guilty. 
I only hope that the people who are guilty of this crime are brought to justice.

I won’t hold my breath.

Well, the reception this series has got has brought a few more of the Post Office's victims out of hiding, which is good news as as the search for justice goes on.

I also see that Rugby League's very own Neil Hudgell is representing some of them - good man!

[Damien]

While this news is most welcome it's disgusting it has taken a TV show to shame the Police into action:

 

[EggFace]

Missus is watching Grahem Norten (R.I.P.) and not to sure the singer is that awful Rag and Bone Man (should be a a Union fatty forward) or Joe Marler.

Teddy not happy

[Click]

4 hours ago, EggFace said:

Missus is watching Grahem Norten (R.I.P.) and not to sure the singer is that awful Rag and Bone Man (should be a a Union fatty forward) or Joe Marler.

Teddy not happy

I am very confused.. Unless I have missed something, he hasn't died?  (It's Graham Norton, by the way)

[Futtocks]

Following the increased scrutiny on the Post Office/Horizon scandal, Paula Vennells has just announced she'll be handing back her CBE.

[Stirlin]

Brothers Sun on Netflix , 3 episodes in and very good.

[JohnM]

On 05/01/2024 at 17:08, Futtocks said:

Well, the reception this series has got has brought a few more of the Post Office's victims out of hiding, which is good news as as the search for justice goes on.

I also see that Rugby League's very own Neil Hudgell is representing some of them - good man!

This post is about the power of broadcast schedued TV and radio, not about the rights and wrongs of the scandal. Its taken the ITV dramatisation to finally grab the attention of the media: ITV seems to have kicked the BBC into action, with their saturation coverage over the last few days, for example.

However, the statutory public enquiry (with powers to force witnesses to take part) has been going on for ages with the official live feed (and 271 video recordings thereof) avaiable on the enquiry's official YouTube channel. Watch any of these videos and you wil be shocked to the core by what you see.

For example, the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry Human Impact - Day 1 AM Live Stream (14 February 2022) was viewed a mere 3,700 times and the  Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry has only 4.87K subscribers‧though there are 231 videos of public hearings.  So everything is there for all to see, yet hardly anyone has been watching.

One specific and non-political comment about the scandal itself.  When Fujitsu is mentioned, its really what used to be ICL, the serially incompetent British Leyland of the computer industry and which Fujitsu rescued from almost certain failure in 1990.

[Futtocks]

1 minute ago, JohnM said:

One specific and non-political comment about the scandal itself.  When Fujitsu is mentioned, its really what used to be ICL, the serially incompetent British Leyland of the computer industry and which Fujitsu rescued from almost certain failure in 1990.

Also worth mentioning that, after it became clear that there were serious problems with Fujitsu/ICL's Horizon system, they kept on being awarded contracts for other major projects. It'd be interesting to find out why that was the case.

My stepmother, who volunteers at her village's community shop/PO, confirms that Horizon is still in use.

[JohnM]

Again, desperately trying to avoid even the faintest taint of politics outside of the politics sub forum, here's how it was all brought out into the open. My point being that there was a huge investigation going on starting 20 years ago, yet millions of people were taken back by what they saw on good old broadcast scheduled TV.  I think in any case, the real issue in not that Horizon did or did not work  (and I feel sure that it did work, but like all huge IT projects , it had faults) but that ICL Pathway as was, and the Post Office refused to believe it had faults and conspired to lie and victim-blame, with horrific consequences.

https://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Post-Office-Horizon-scandal-explained-everything-you-need-to-know

Anyway. back on topic, we've been belatedly watching The Traveller.  It might be Australia, they might have cars and phones etc, but at heart it's cowboys and indians, a Western by another name; eminently watchable.

 

Edited January 10 by JohnM

[Bedford Roughyed]

10 hours ago, JohnM said:

Its taken the ITV dramatisation to finally grab the attention of the media: ITV seems to have kicked the BBC into action, with their saturation coverage over the last few days, for example.

That’s the BBC that ran 2 x Panorama’s on it, covered it in national and local news and covered it extensively on Radio 4.

As for the ‘attention of the media’, the media has covered it also extensively.  That’s papers across the political spectrum.  

Edited January 11 by Bedford Roughyed

[JohnM]

There's no need to start an argument, especially as my point was not about the scandal but about the power that scheduled broadcast TV still has in these days of on-demand .

Saturation trumps extensive.

Edited January 11 by JohnM

[JonM]

6 minutes ago, JohnM said:

There's no need to start an argument, especially as my point was not about the scandal but about the power that scheduled broadcast TV still has in these days of on-demand .

Yes, it's been a real eye-opener/ reminder of the power of a tv drama. The basic facts have been in the public domain for over 15 years, there's been extensive newspaper and tv coverage, MPs from both parties campaigning on the issue since 2007/2008 and a proper ongoing public enquiry. But a fictionalised TV account with a famous actor is what it finally took to get the public engaged and the government to act.