0:00:10 > 0:00:14Good afternoon, and welcome to a new series of Points Of View.
0:00:14 > 0:00:18Great to be back with you after, well, quite a summer for us all.
0:00:18 > 0:00:20It's been a "proud to be British" time,
0:00:20 > 0:00:22with the BBC in the midst of it.
0:00:22 > 0:00:24Sure, there was a bit of a patchy start.
0:00:24 > 0:00:27Dare I mention the Jubilee river pageant?
0:00:27 > 0:00:29Sounds of heads rolling upstairs.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32But then came Wimbledon, the test bed
0:00:32 > 0:00:35for whizzy, interactive, multi-platform programming
0:00:35 > 0:00:38that helped make the Olympics coverage the most watched ever.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41And it was good, wasn't it? So, at the end of it all,
0:00:41 > 0:00:43there was a chance for a big British knees-up,
0:00:43 > 0:00:45and the last event of the summer programme
0:00:45 > 0:00:48happened to present us with the perfect opportunity,
0:00:48 > 0:00:50the Last Night of the Proms.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53ALL: Rule Britannia!
0:00:53 > 0:00:57# Britannia rules the waves
0:00:57 > 0:01:01# Britons never, never, never
0:01:01 > 0:01:08# Shall be slaves. #
0:01:29 > 0:01:33Now, here's a thought - not mine, but Mike Taylor's.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36Mike is a viewer, but he's also a listener.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39He remembers when the American medical drama ER
0:01:39 > 0:01:42became the first to use "wobblecam",
0:01:42 > 0:01:45hoping the unsteady shots would lend the shoot
0:01:45 > 0:01:48an air of emergency, panic and spontaneity.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52And now he thinks sound men are becoming similarly unbalanced
0:01:52 > 0:01:55in an attempt to achieve the same effect.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57I contacted Points Of View
0:01:57 > 0:01:59essentially because I was getting exasperated
0:01:59 > 0:02:03at the quality of sound at the start of the Olympics.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10The presenters were terrific,
0:02:10 > 0:02:11the coverage was terrific,
0:02:11 > 0:02:14the athletes were terrific.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17I noticed very few false starts.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21But I noticed a lot of false starts with the sound.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23It would appear that it may be
0:02:23 > 0:02:25a conscious decision by the director
0:02:25 > 0:02:30to leave the general noise louder than the people
0:02:30 > 0:02:34speaking to camera, to create an environment.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37- LOUD CROWD NOISE - Representing Great Britain...
0:02:37 > 0:02:40Anthony Joshua!
0:02:40 > 0:02:43In real life, I'd walk away from that situation
0:02:43 > 0:02:45so that I could go somewhere I could hear.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47All I can do is switch it off or change channels
0:02:47 > 0:02:49or press the mute button.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53It would appear that, in order to create atmosphere on many programmes
0:02:53 > 0:02:56where there are large audiences,
0:02:56 > 0:03:01the director is happy to have the sound of the audience so loud
0:03:01 > 0:03:05that you cannot hear what is being said.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07LOUD CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:03:07 > 0:03:11Tonight, either Harry and Aliona, Jason and Kristina...
0:03:11 > 0:03:17And in fact, it would appear that the people who are speaking to camera
0:03:17 > 0:03:19are fully aware of that,
0:03:19 > 0:03:23and they will speak to camera over the sound of the audience,
0:03:23 > 0:03:25knowing that they're not being heard.
0:03:25 > 0:03:30I do believe that the directors are trying to, er,
0:03:30 > 0:03:36enhance the atmosphere and indeed, perhaps, hype it up.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39An interesting theory, Mike. So, the next live event,
0:03:39 > 0:03:43we shall press the Points Of View stethoscope to the loudspeaker.
0:03:43 > 0:03:45But back to the summer,
0:03:45 > 0:03:46and when we weren't jumping off the sofa
0:03:46 > 0:03:50to cheer on Hoy or Weir or Ennis or Farah,
0:03:50 > 0:03:53television drama had us glued to our seats.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56The out-and-out favourite with viewers was the Paralympic biopic
0:03:56 > 0:03:58The Best of Men,
0:03:58 > 0:04:01but Parade's End ticked the costume-drama box.
0:04:01 > 0:04:02Who are his people?
0:04:05 > 0:04:08His father was a shipping clerk in Edinburgh.
0:04:10 > 0:04:11Well!
0:04:11 > 0:04:16And The Accused provided a new spin on the justice system,
0:04:16 > 0:04:17as has the current Good Cop.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19In the act of doing good...
0:04:21 > 0:04:23..of doing his job...
0:04:25 > 0:04:27..his duty...
0:04:34 > 0:04:36..he was committed...
0:04:37 > 0:04:38..fearless...
0:04:40 > 0:04:42..and fair.
0:04:53 > 0:04:54This...
0:04:54 > 0:04:56is the man...
0:04:57 > 0:04:58..I will remember.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15BBC comedy has been making a splash recently with the controversy
0:05:15 > 0:05:17surrounding Citizen Khan,
0:05:17 > 0:05:19but while that may have captured the headlines,
0:05:19 > 0:05:23there have been plenty of other new and returning comic titles to watch.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27Last week alone saw The Thick Of It on BBC Two...
0:05:27 > 0:05:30I think I'd better end this call now in case I get a brain tumour.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33Precisely. I'd lose all my lovely, thick hair.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37..and BBC Three is attempting wall-to-wall laughs
0:05:37 > 0:05:41with The Revolution Will Be Televised and Bad Education.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43Why does everyone think I was bullied?
0:05:43 > 0:05:46- Your girlie run.- The way you throw. - Your Facebook wall.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49- I wasn't bullied, all right? - But are they hitting the spot?
0:06:15 > 0:06:19So not exactly thigh-slappingly good, then.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22And I employ that new adjective "thigh-slappingly"
0:06:22 > 0:06:26in honour of one of our message-boarders, WJR,
0:06:26 > 0:06:29who's created a new game for One Show viewers,
0:06:29 > 0:06:31which is Spot The Thigh Slap.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33You might enjoy this game. Start counting.
0:06:33 > 0:06:35Thanks ever so much.
0:06:35 > 0:06:40- Come on, then. Clear to go.- See? It all came from the flannel.- Bye-bye!
0:06:40 > 0:06:43We'll see you tomorrow at seven. Bye.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45Well, anyway, we'll move on.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47Right, let's dive headlong
0:06:47 > 0:06:51into what we might term Manliness And Mechanics.
0:06:51 > 0:06:52That is not its official title,
0:06:52 > 0:06:55but BBC Two certainly seemed to be conspiring
0:06:55 > 0:06:58to win viewers with a passion for looking under bonnets
0:06:58 > 0:07:01and risking life and limb, and preferably at the same time.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05It is a testosterone-fuelled line-up they've got on,
0:07:05 > 0:07:08one after the other on Sunday nights on BBC2.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10Richard Hammond tries his hand at lumberjacking,
0:07:10 > 0:07:14with the use of massive logging machines.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17I have chopped down a tree!
0:07:17 > 0:07:20This is nerve wracking, I cannot describe the feeling of...
0:07:21 > 0:07:25That is a whole tree above me there. Yes!
0:07:25 > 0:07:29China On Four Wheels investigates the effect that the booming
0:07:29 > 0:07:31motor industry is having.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02Enthusiasts: a wealth of knowledge on their favourite topic,
0:08:02 > 0:08:03and a passion to match.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07We love them here, because they keep programme makers straight.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09Just like the Whoists - Doctor Who fans
0:08:09 > 0:08:11have had a roller-coaster reaction
0:08:11 > 0:08:13to the treatment of the Timelord recently.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17The transition from David Tennant to Matt Smith was far from smooth,
0:08:17 > 0:08:20the writing has been slated for being both too simplistic
0:08:20 > 0:08:24and too clever, which is a worthy feat in itself.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28Although the new series launched to universal acclaim last week,
0:08:28 > 0:08:32it would appear the honeymoon period is already over.
0:08:32 > 0:08:33How do you start a triceratops?!
0:08:35 > 0:08:38- There they are. - I know, I saw them before you.
0:08:41 > 0:08:42Tricey, fetch!
0:08:44 > 0:08:46Ha-ha!
0:09:06 > 0:09:09Another series that has gone through something of a regeneration
0:09:09 > 0:09:11is Waterloo Road.
0:09:11 > 0:09:15The production of this school-room drama has moved from Rochdale
0:09:15 > 0:09:17to Greenock in Scotland,
0:09:17 > 0:09:20and some of the cast have stayed - including some of the pupils,
0:09:20 > 0:09:25but you spotted that 241 miles seems a bit generous for a catchment area.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31Waterloo Road is a street that exists in every town
0:09:31 > 0:09:37up and down the UK, so Rochdale was thought of as a confident home
0:09:37 > 0:09:41for Waterloo Road, because it could speak to everyone across the UK.
0:09:41 > 0:09:42There comes a point with every show
0:09:42 > 0:09:46when it has been going seven or eight years that it needs
0:09:46 > 0:09:50a shot of adrenaline, and I think a move can really provide that.
0:09:50 > 0:09:52Cheese!
0:09:52 > 0:09:56Moving Waterloo Road to Scotland was part of BBC's ongoing commitment
0:09:56 > 0:10:00to establishing a really strong production base in Scotland.
0:10:00 > 0:10:02235, take one.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05There was also a lot of editorial and creative opportunities,
0:10:05 > 0:10:09that we suddenly had new sets, like the schoolhouse.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17I thought that was a cracking idea, because it opens up
0:10:17 > 0:10:21all sorts of possibilities for Grantly and Maggie, and the kids.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25It is like an Aladdin's cave of stories in there. It's great.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28Why did I sign up for this?
0:10:28 > 0:10:30The writers have been very clever, the writers and producers,
0:10:30 > 0:10:37the way the story fits the move, and it's all dovetailed in very nicely.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40We already had storylines that the audience had invested in,
0:10:40 > 0:10:45with existing characters, and we felt really strongly we had to follow through on those.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49The head teacher is a teacher within our fictional Waterloo Road
0:10:49 > 0:10:53that will always go above and beyond for those kids that he feels
0:10:53 > 0:10:55a special responsibility to.
0:10:57 > 0:10:58Clean slate.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00I won't mess it up.
0:11:01 > 0:11:06It is a hugely imaginative story to bring those pupils up to Scotland
0:11:06 > 0:11:10under Michael's vision, but I think in terms of the reality
0:11:10 > 0:11:12of the situation, they are the minority.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17I think the drama has to have dramatic truth to it, and I think
0:11:17 > 0:11:22that we work hard on Waterloo Road to try to make sure the storylines
0:11:22 > 0:11:26do have a basis of truth, but if the story works emotionally
0:11:26 > 0:11:30for an audience and makes sense for those characters, there is a certain
0:11:30 > 0:11:34amount of flexibility in terms of what we will and won't believe.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46It is a leap of imagination,
0:11:46 > 0:11:49but I think it is one that we could say could happen,
0:11:49 > 0:11:53and I think that is what good drama is about, could it happen?
0:11:53 > 0:11:58Yes, it can. So why don't we try it?
0:11:58 > 0:12:03There has also been another move for Waterloo Road from Wednesday night to Thursday.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06Programme makers are a creative bunch.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08Dry statistics do not do it for them.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11For example, why would you say 180,000 people
0:12:11 > 0:12:15when you can say a crowd big enough to fill Wembley Stadium twice over?
0:12:15 > 0:12:20Why say 235 metres when you can say the height of Canary Wharf?
0:12:20 > 0:12:23Equivalent to 53 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25They weigh the same as a packet of crisps.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27It is the height of two double-decker buses
0:12:27 > 0:12:31and long enough to hold 21 double-deckers parked end-to-end.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33Each the size of a football pitch.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37Why? They do it, Rob Burdon, just to annoy you.
0:12:37 > 0:12:43Can they simply say it is so many metres, yards, long, wide or high?
0:12:43 > 0:12:47Or that it weighs so many pounds, kilos or tonnes?
0:12:48 > 0:12:53These methods of measure are standardised, Imperial or metric,
0:12:53 > 0:12:56and are amazingly easy to understand and visualise.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58At least with the Olympic commentary,
0:12:58 > 0:13:01no-one referred to the 100m race as being
0:13:01 > 0:13:05as long as so many double-decker buses, so there is hope.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08That film was shot by Rob himself and sent in.
0:13:08 > 0:13:10So much more fun than writing a letter.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12You can try that yourself for us.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16The old-fashioned methods are still available, just write to...
0:13:19 > 0:13:21You're also more than welcome to email us.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28Jump onto the message board, which is at...
0:13:30 > 0:13:31You can phone us.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35The number is charged as a local rate call from a landline.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41In two weeks' time, we'll be speaking to
0:13:41 > 0:13:43the chief policeman of the BBC,
0:13:43 > 0:13:46the chairman of the BBC trust, Lord Patten.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50Do get your questions in for him. Goodbye.