Episode 19 Points of View

Good afternoon, and welcome to Points Of View.

And may we say, well done for finding us.

I don't know if you used Sat-nav or the old-fashioned Radio Times,

but congratulations, you found the programme

far from home, here on BBC Two.

From comments we have had,

it seems that transplanting shows is not always a good idea.

Did you see Strictly at Wembley?

# Hell is gone and heaven's here

# There's nothing left for you to fear

# Shake your ass, come over here

# Now scream... #

Actually, Fran, you don't sound grumpy at all.

You love the programme.

When we filmed in the Strictly studio a couple of weeks back,

I did find it a more intimate space than I expected,

so maybe Wembley blew it.

So, they did raise money,

but they may not go back to Wembley for a while.

Now to the elephant in the room.

Last Sunday, you reviewed Life's Too Short,

the latest Ricky Gervais comedy show.

And it was a 50-50 split on those who found it funny

and those who did not.

No surprise there.

But now people are focusing on the key issue,

which is that it uses a disability to get a laugh.

I want to tell him how to be a dwarf,

how to think like a dwarf, how to feel like a dwarf.

Then they'll use special effects to make him small like a dwarf.

And should you ever do that?

Well, it hasn't been ignored,

Kristina and the many others who wrote in this week.

You've been heard,

and this is the response.

It wasn't just discussion around the content.

The many trailers for Life's Too Short also ensured

it had plenty of pre-publicity.

But hearing lots about a programme before it is broadcast

isn't necessarily a bonus,

is it, Teresa Barker?

Just so irritating.

I just...came to say...

-Hello!

-I could stick around and...

-Enjoy the party.

-Hello!

It's the BBC programme trailers,

those adverts telling us what is coming up on the BBC

slotted before and after programmes,

that's making many of you want to reach for your remotes.

I could scream, I was just so fed up.

And I thought the BBC,

with their sort of monotonous regularity

of pumping these things out...

Wednesday at 9 on...

Tuesday at 9 on BBC Two...

Starts tonight at 10:30...

..Continues Thursday at 9 on BBC Four.

I don't remember, years back,

being quite so inundated by the BBC's trailers,

and they just get so irritating,

because you're watching the same thing over and over and over again.

The trailer is the same.

The content doesn't really seem to vary.

The Pan Am one sticks in my mind particularly,

you know, those blue wiggling bottoms drove me nuts.

I felt, if I see those again...

In actual fact, what it has done for me is,

I absolutely refuse to watch the programme.

It's turned me off totally.

I probably won't watch Garrow's Law either.

The repetition of the woman

whose son had been stolen, abducted or whatever it was.

He has stolen my son!

With modern technology,

we have access to so many ways of finding out what's on television.

Other people have the daily newspaper,

most people have a copy of something like the Radio Times,

you know, do we need to be subjected to this all the time?

And a radical suggestion from Teresa

for those BBC staff responsible for bombarding us with trailer overload?

Take off, dock, about £25 per trailer shown,

of the channel controller's salary at the end of that week,

and I think they could go home with quite a lot less money.

So Teresa is not keen on trailers,

and neither, it would appear, are BBC HD viewers in Scotland.

The HD channel is UK-wide,

but there's a basic problem here.

It trails programmes its own viewers can't see in Scotland,

where they have regional opt-outs.

Whoops.

I think viewers who have seen trails

for programmes that are not going out on BBC One Scotland

may have been watching on BBC One HD,

where we can't rebrand the trails.

Programmes like The Manor Reborn,

which is currently being trailed on BBC One HD for 9pm on a Thursday,

is actually being shown on a Sunday at 10:25 on BBC One Scotland.

So if you're watching BBC One Scotland

you would see it trailed as such,

but if you're watching BBC One HD, you would see the network trails.

Towards the end of 2012, BBC One Scotland will launch in HD,

so hopefully that will be the end of all those problems,

and when you see a trail for BBC One Scotland HD,

it'll be what you see in your listings

and what you see on the HD channel as well.

So far, we've been hearing lots

about how not to make or promote a programme.

Don't take it out of the studio,

don't exploit disability for humour,

and don't over-trail your output.

Shall we be just a weeny bit more positive?

What about a list of how-tos?

And here, we could take as our inspiration

the programme How To Build,

which seems to have nailed it on all fronts.

At this speed, the car would normally follow this line.

But using brake steer

allows it to follow this line,

holding the apex of the corner

and killing any understeer.

Ah yes, not having a numpty presenter,

a sure-fire ingredient of success.

Thank you Sue and "shilkman".

We now know what makes programmes work and what makes them fail.

If channel controllers still can't get it right,

they can always put out a load of repeats,

can't they, John Taylor?

In choosing what to repeat,

I think the BBC could show a bit more imagination.

The BBC's got a huge archive of fantastic programmes,

which people would love to see,

which are probably hidden away in a cupboard somewhere,

forgotten.

Ah, the BBC archives stretching back into the mists of time,

or as John would have it, the back of a dusty cupboard.

But I feel a light bulb coming on, John?

My great idea for repeats

is to let the viewers decide what they'd like to see.

Let viewers nominate programmes from the past which they've enjoyed,

and bring them to the attention of other people

who may not have seen them.

They could make a programme about the archive itself,

and look at extracts from archive programmes.

When people see them, they may say, "That looks an interesting programme,

"I never saw it, I'd like to see that."

Then they could vote in, either by the internet or phone,

to say, "I'd like to vote for this programme."

Tell me about the trial.

I think it were real handsome of you

to speak up for him.

Many wouldn't have done it.

He'd have been better off if I'd stayed at home.

I didn't do it right.

I should have...flattered them more,

talked of us gentlemen.

Of course, delving into the archive can be a complicated business,

and it usually boils down to money.

Obviously there'll be problems

for some programmes, with repeat fees, royalties and so on,

but there must be some way around

allowing older programmes to be shown.

-Morning, Frank.

-Morning.

One of the cylinders is spluttering.

Soot on the spark plug, I think. I had a look at it.

It's all right now.

It our BBC. We pay for it.

They've got programmes which a lot of us would like to see again,

so let the people choose what we're going to see repeated.

This week saw a new live studio show begin on BBC One.

It was called That's Britain,

and apparently, that's a shame.

On this show, your words count,

because this is our Word Wall. Too-doo-doo!

AUDIENCE COOS

Yes, we know it often feels as if you're talking to the wall.

On That's Britain, you are.

Money is still pouring in for Children In Need,

with a total edging £27 million,

and last week's extravaganza raised a record amount on the night.

A personal favourite for many

was when Lord Sugar entered the Dragons' Den.

What have you dragged me out here for, anyway?

Who has a business meeting

in a knackered old warehouse, chains everywhere?

Get a grip! This is not The Long Good Friday.

But it's Lord Sugar's current day job with Young Apprentice

that's going down well, with at least one young entrepreneur.

I believe The Apprentice is the best programme

the British Broadcasting Company has ever produced.

It's truly fantastic. Alan Sugar is absolutely amazing.

When it's time for the boardroom,

it's left me engrossed in the television, shrieking.

The programme has truly inspired me, and has left me...

..desperately wanting to fulfil my entrepreneurial dreams.

Even at this early stage, Jake,

I sense you may have caught Lord Sugar's eye.

To another viewer, Lex Harrison, who's done what I do, but better.

He sent us an e-mail headed "The Ups And Downs Of The BBC,"

and basically summed up the whole week's postbag for us.

Who would have thought you could have changed so many women's lives

by teaching us how to sing?

This has been an unforgettable experience,

which we are all so proud to be a part of.

So here is our thank-you to you, and we hope you enjoy it.

PIANO MUSIC

# You're nothing special

# In fact you're a bit of a bore

LAUGHTER

# You're just a bit of a bore, you know

# When you tell a joke

# We've probably heard it before... #

Yeah, that's fair.

# Must have heard it before, oh, yeah... #

Thank you, Lex.

Military Wives has undoubtedly been

one of the most appreciated programmes this autumn.

Now, next week, the controller of the BBC's naughty teenager,

officially known as BBC Three, is in our hot seat.

To put questions to him or draw our attention to anything else,

here's the address.

There's also an e-mail address,

and you can let rip on the messageboard.

Or give us a ring. Calls are charged at a local rate from a landline.

Here is the number for you.

Until next week, when we're back on BBC One, goodbye.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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