Episode 17 Points of View

Good afternoon and welcome to Points Of View,

where it appears we have stumbled on the elixir of youth.

We've been inundated with mail from younger viewers this week,

and the young at heart who are watching teen shows even if,

like Margaret Parminter, they are slightly over that age now.

Why is BBC Three aimed at 16 to 24-year-olds? Is it really?

Because I thoroughly enjoyed The Fades

and I'm completely the wrong demographic to be watching it.

The Fades was a sort of gothic horror, good-versus-evil story,

but it went deeper than that if you chose to look deeper.

It was a really interesting explanation of relationships

and personalities and how they developed

and how people came to be what they were and who they were.

These dreams...I've been having.

(Mate, those are natural things. Beautiful things.)

Good people were the Angelics and bad people were the Fades.

The Angelics were the people who had the ability to see people

who had not yet ascended.

What ascension is is never explained, because everybody ascends,

be you good, bad or indifferent.

The main character is Paul. He is so shy it is almost debilitating.

People think I'm a freak.

I need someone new to make it all OK again, because... Please.

I'm really sorry, I... I can't.

At the beginning of each episode of the series,

Mac, Paul's best mate in the whole wide world,

did a little piece to camera where he explained about his relationship

with Paul and the story so far.

Each time, he signed off with, "Nanu, nanu..."

Nanu, nanu.

..which was a reference to Mork & Mindy, which I loved

when I was young, so if it really is aimed at the 16 to 24-year-olds,

quite how many of them would have got that reference I don't know.

I think that was in for the mums.

The controller of BBC Three, Zai Bennett,

will be in our hot seat in three weeks' time,

so he will be interested to hear about

his unexpectedly wide audience for The Fades

and tell us whether it will be re-commissioned and, indeed,

answer any other questions that you have for him.

Now, another drama aimed at children which is the guilty pleasure

of a surprising number of adults

in the teaching profession is Waterloo Road.

And perhaps it is only fitting that Jordan and Shannon

of Hayle Community School in Cornwall

decided to wear their uniforms

to film their feedback on this drama's autumn term.

-It's an amazingly cool show and it's so realistic.

-Yeah, definitely.

Even though it's on at 7.30pm until 8.30pm, I still find it

a lot more child-friendly than Hollyoaks, which is on at 6.30pm.

I totally agree and when it's not on, I rarely watch TV

and I can never wait till the new series.

So that's "tick, VG" for Waterloo Road.

But there's a black mark due for schedulers who are apparently

hiding great family viewing on the wrong side of the watershed.

Robert Tate is one of many viewers who feel new BBC One gems

like Frozen Planet and Young Apprentice are currently shown

way past the bedtime of their core audience.

Can someone in the BBC please explain the logic of putting

a programme aimed at a family audience after nine o'clock

and losing the opportunity and benefit of that programme?

The irritation was triggered by the Young Apprentice

coming at nine o'clock, after Panorama at 8.30pm,

and that, to me, makes no sense whatsoever.

By the time the programme's finished it's ten o'clock,

by the time we may have discussed it as a family

having been interested in the programme together,

it's getting too late.

One of the key benefits of such programmes is that young people,

kids, can talk the next morning with their friends in school

about the programme.

If they haven't seen it, they can't discuss it

and they're losing by it.

Lord Sugar started his career while still at school.

Now, he's on the hunt for his next Young Apprentice.

It's increasingly across the board

with the major natural history programmes and science programmes.

So Frozen Planet, Planet Dinosaur...

..Wonders Of The Universe, all these have come after nine o'clock.

The key is that they are fantastic educational programmes

for all people, young and old,

and it is a shame to miss out on that opportunity.

The repeats are not publicised at all on the BBC,

so it's not clear when they are, and normally they'll be

on Sunday afternoon, early evening, which is a very difficult

time for young people but the main issue is that you lose the immediacy

of having seen the programme, being able to discuss it the next morning

with people around you.

So youngsters do get a teatime repeat

but they miss out on the midweek premieres.

Now, Gareth Malone, Britain's most famous choirmaster,

began his TV odyssey with a school choir

but for his latest project,

the age range has moved up an octave

as he tutors the musical talents of military wives.

I think it's worth you knowing that every single person

who you're about to hear sing has a partner in the Forces.

Many of them at this very moment are in Afghanistan

and they do have a very hard time and they are incredibly stoic,

they just kind of get on with it.

# Our souls are raging on the rolling seas

# And on the highway of regret. #

Much praise for Gareth, proving that a single skill, singing,

can improve so many situations.

Sadly, it would seem that some viewers believe

the skill of Jon Culshaw

is not enough to sustain a cast of characters in The Impressions Show.

I've lost my big book of observations.

Only this morning, I made an observation that,

when there is a pregnant lady standing in front of you on the bus,

you never know whether to give your seat up for her

because she may just be fat.

Preggers or porky, preggers or porky, what to do, what to do?

Well, if they didn't before, you've told them now, David.

Now, Will It Snow? Ah, the weather!

Such a popular topic and it was a popular programme,

although not for all.

Annoyance that the programme was,

like so many forecasters, inconclusive.

So, what was the aim?

Will It Snow? was commissioned as a populist programme,

as an accessible programme presented by Kate Humble

and we really were trying to speak to a broad audience.

It was made on a topical schedule but even so, only around a quarter

of the footage is archive, obviously you need some archive in a programme

like this to be able to depict how bad winters have got in Britain.

In terms of rounding up the science of weather forecasting

and explaining the weather patterns

that lie behind the big freeze in Britain,

the programme did do that quite well and I think, hopefully,

that's reflected in the fact that it was a very popular programme.

Whilst we're on the subject of cold weather,

Panorama this week questioned what is fuelling your energy bill.

The programme described itself as "Tom Heap's investigation

"into claims that Government policy

"is contributing to rocketing energy bills".

It's become very clear to me that,

much as I dislike nuclear power,

if we don't replace our nuclear power stations,

we will have no option but to invest in more fossil fuel.

The Government is proposing a guaranteed price for nuclear.

It's a sweetener to encourage building

so they meet their carbon-cutting targets.

We'll pay for the sugar, but do we know that?

An accusation of "doing nothing to promote" would probably delight

a neutral journalistic programme, Jess, but not grasping the facts

and leaving people misinformed is, Matt, a serious charge.

Now, Land Girls made a comeback this week - not literally,

just in case you were hoping you could persuade some

to dig over your allotment.

The daytime drama has featured quite regularly with us in the past

for playing fast and loose

with historical accuracy in props and continuity,

but it seems they've listened to what you've said on this

and they have made changes for series three.

Blown the budget, Philap!

In these austere times, if that's happened,

we'd better take a look, hadn't we?

SCREAMING

SCREAMING

Land Girls, returning with a bang or three.

And whilst we're feeling nostalgic,

let us close with my Points Of View forebear, Sir Terry Wogan,

who was a guest on Celebrity Antiques Road Trip this week.

Partnered by actress Caroline Quentin,

Sir Tel undertook the challenge that the format demands

to auction antiques in aid of Children In Need, but of course,

saying "format" to Terry is a red rag to a bull.

Needless to say, he didn't follow the rules.

Sir Terry - look! He's trying to buy his own lot!

At £65, I'll give you one more. 70! 75! At £70, looking for 75.

-At £70, looking for 75.

-I think it's fantastic!

-At 75.

-Any more bids?

-80.

At £75, sir, do you want 80 there? 80 there, 85. Give me 85.

85, at 90 now.

I wouldn't say we were desperate or anything, but you know!

I'm sure Sir Terry would be delighted to see

nothing has changed around here - for every six who like a show...

-AS TERRY WOGAN:

-..there are half a dozen who don't.

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Goodbye.

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