0:00:10 > 0:00:14Good afternoon and welcome to Points Of View in what has been
0:00:14 > 0:00:16a turbulent week for the BBC.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20Newsnight got itself into a real mess but elsewhere it's been
0:00:20 > 0:00:23David Attenborough who captured your attention.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26In his latest production, he becomes a modern day Noah with
0:00:26 > 0:00:30just ten places in his Ark to save endangered species.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35If, on my Ark, I am going to have space
0:00:35 > 0:00:43for the creatures that really need a berth to survive,
0:00:43 > 0:00:47the black lion tamarin is a very strong candidate.
0:00:50 > 0:00:51You've got a ticket!
0:01:22 > 0:01:26Sir David doesn't let us down, and what's more, he's British -
0:01:26 > 0:01:29don't worry, I haven't become hostile to other countries,
0:01:29 > 0:01:32just reflecting the views of many people who believe BBC
0:01:32 > 0:01:37science output is too heavily reliant on American experts.
0:01:37 > 0:01:42Could you please explain why, whenever I watch documentaries,
0:01:42 > 0:01:45mainly the excellent science ones that have been on lately,
0:01:45 > 0:01:50whenever they need a talking head to explain anything,
0:01:50 > 0:01:53they are invariably American.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56Chimpanzees, they do remarkable things with their feet and ankles.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00They can take the top of their foot and press it against their shin.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03What we do have, humans, is brains.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07You get a lot of stuff for free when you select against aggression.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11Have we not got any experts over here that can put it over
0:02:11 > 0:02:16just as well and probably cheaper?
0:02:16 > 0:02:21It is true that science is a very international business these days
0:02:21 > 0:02:23and there's a lot of expertise in America
0:02:23 > 0:02:28and other countries where they fund science very well.
0:02:28 > 0:02:34And we think it makes sense, budget allowing, to go to the places where
0:02:34 > 0:02:37the greatest expertise is located, in order to make sure
0:02:37 > 0:02:42we are giving our viewers the best possible perspective that we can
0:02:42 > 0:02:44on a given topic.
0:02:44 > 0:02:45Everything is in motion in space.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53Mars is moving around the Sun and the Earth is also moving
0:02:53 > 0:02:57around the Sun and their motion, relative to each other, is changing.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00I think if you look across the full range of our science
0:03:00 > 0:03:04output on BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Four you do see there are an awful lot
0:03:04 > 0:03:09of British voices, whether interviewees or expert presenters
0:03:09 > 0:03:13like Brian Cox, Ian Stewart, Alice Roberts, and many others.
0:03:13 > 0:03:15Great, this is a chimp.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18Washington University is at the heart of this new science.
0:03:18 > 0:03:23We do think it's always important to bring our viewers the best comment
0:03:23 > 0:03:28we possibly can on the given topic and as a result we do find ourselves
0:03:28 > 0:03:32going abroad for our interviewees a reasonable amount of the time.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35Well, Dara O'Briain is not American
0:03:35 > 0:03:39and he's been convening a science club on BBC Two.
0:03:39 > 0:03:44Has he managed the alchemy of combining science expertise
0:03:44 > 0:03:45with not being American?
0:03:45 > 0:03:47With all this talk of DNA,
0:03:47 > 0:03:49we shouldn't act like it's a mysterious thing.
0:03:49 > 0:03:55You can see your own DNA but what you might not know is you can extract it,
0:03:55 > 0:03:58using simple household ingredients.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01Assuming your house has a ready supply of super strength vodka.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05- What percentage?- 88%.- 88%.
0:04:18 > 0:04:23So, professionalism and personality is the sought-after compound.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26It was the personality of Adolf Hitler that preoccupied
0:04:26 > 0:04:29the makers of the latest documentary on the Nazis.
0:04:29 > 0:04:34The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler examined the flawed character
0:04:34 > 0:04:38who held vast crowds spellbound but couldn't talk to individuals.
0:04:39 > 0:04:40'When I first met him,
0:04:40 > 0:04:43'he was like a tired stray dog looking for a master.'
0:04:46 > 0:04:50But Mayer detected in Hitler qualities he could use.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57He decided to train Hitler as a propaganda agent.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04Hitler was sent on a short course at the University of Munich
0:05:04 > 0:05:08and then started giving right-wing speeches to his fellow soldiers.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30Dismissed as disappointing then,
0:05:30 > 0:05:33but some programmes are loved so much by viewers that they
0:05:33 > 0:05:36spill over from their timeslots and develop entirely separate
0:05:36 > 0:05:41background programmes to accommodate all the interest they generate.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43Unsprung, You're Fired, It Takes Two,
0:05:43 > 0:05:46the phenomenon of the spin-off has taken hold
0:05:46 > 0:05:48and it has taken hold tightly.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53Ever keen to reward fan loyalty, the BBC's programme
0:05:53 > 0:05:57about a programme concept has been around for at least seven years.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01Doctor Who's spin-off spun onto our screens in 2005
0:06:01 > 0:06:05when Simon Pegg divulged all things "Confidential."
0:06:05 > 0:06:07Then, a spin-off of a spin-off,
0:06:07 > 0:06:12the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood got its own "Declassified."
0:06:12 > 0:06:15The spellbinding fantasy Merlin's Secrets and Magic
0:06:15 > 0:06:19was also revelatory but regrettably even the BBC
0:06:19 > 0:06:21couldn't conjure up enough money to sustain this,
0:06:21 > 0:06:26so if you wanted more, you had to tweet and like and poke
0:06:26 > 0:06:30and generally hunt online to get your fix of behind-the-scenes gossip.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37Getting more bang for his buck, Lord Sugar's Apprentice diversified
0:06:37 > 0:06:42with You're Fired, although it seems the young apprentices
0:06:42 > 0:06:47are spared the enterprise that is Dara O'Briain's boardroom.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50And within the last month, Autumn Watch has Unsprung.
0:06:50 > 0:06:55The unsprungs are an extra for the viewers who are very engaged
0:06:55 > 0:06:56with the programme.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59But I think it also allows us an opportunity to do something which
0:06:59 > 0:07:04the main show doesn't do, which is actually to directly address people's
0:07:04 > 0:07:09questions and interactivity, and work to their agenda rather than our own.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12But sashaying to centre stage with more than two million viewers
0:07:12 > 0:07:17every week day is Strictly: It Takes Two.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20Watching It Takes Two, you become more acquainted with what
0:07:20 > 0:07:25the celebs are like, we have more time to find out how
0:07:25 > 0:07:28they really feel about how they are doing...
0:07:28 > 0:07:31It's so technical that I did really struggle.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34..and also get a little sneaky look at things
0:07:34 > 0:07:37that you are not going to see on Saturday night.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40This seems to be the most successful,
0:07:40 > 0:07:43you just can't get enough of the blood, sweat and sequins.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48Now, let's delve into daytime.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51Often criticised for delivering an unchanging diet of property
0:07:51 > 0:07:54and antique shows in the morning, and quizzes and cookery for tea,
0:07:54 > 0:07:59its latest title Watchdog Daily has a distinctly familiar
0:07:59 > 0:08:00peaktime ring to it.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03Following officers as they crack down on counterfeit crime...
0:08:03 > 0:08:05Van's gone.
0:08:05 > 0:08:07..we've been with them as they hunt for illicit alcohol.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11Is there any chance we can have the truth now, because you told us there was no more vodka in here?
0:08:11 > 0:08:16We've also discovered the shocking truth about the illegal jewellery trade.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19We are going through it, don't make it worse for yourself.
0:08:49 > 0:08:50And as if that wasn't enough,
0:08:50 > 0:08:55daytime drama has tried its hand at a Dickens adaptation with
0:08:55 > 0:08:58Nick Nickleby, and it looks like they've pulled it off.
0:09:01 > 0:09:03We find this kind of thing benefits
0:09:03 > 0:09:06the residents' mental, physical and spiritual well-being.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10They seem well, Mr Squeers.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13But I would like to speak to some of the residents in private.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15No trouble at all.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19Just make sure you ask them about the business with Nick Nickleby.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59Let's capture this moment, shall we? Praise for daytime.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01Will they be aiming for more?
0:10:01 > 0:10:03Well, we are not going back to Dickens again at the moment
0:10:03 > 0:10:06but we have more period dramas coming up in the New Year.
0:10:06 > 0:10:11We have one set around the last year of conscription called Privates
0:10:11 > 0:10:16and we've got a series of dramas around the GK Chesterton novels,
0:10:16 > 0:10:18Father Brown mysteries.
0:10:18 > 0:10:20So, that would be great to see, as well.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22Mark Williams is leading that one.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25With a big budget and constant trailing, The Hour
0:10:25 > 0:10:30is an example of a drama that's had the best of everything thrown at it,
0:10:30 > 0:10:33so is there a corresponding increase in appreciation
0:10:33 > 0:10:34for the end result?
0:10:34 > 0:10:37I have in my hand the minutes from a recent meeting to discuss
0:10:37 > 0:10:42the budgetary pressures on the Metropolitan Police.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44When asked why you are cutting Scotland Yard's budget
0:10:44 > 0:10:47and yet increasing defence's tenfold, you replied,
0:10:47 > 0:10:52"There will always be crime, but when faced with total annihilation
0:10:52 > 0:10:57"there is no need to waste our resources on the odd body here and there."
0:11:18 > 0:11:21Not necessarily for Annie-Lou, at least.
0:11:21 > 0:11:26One area BBC drama would do well to look at is adult science fiction.
0:11:26 > 0:11:30Last week we heard calls from George Matthews for some new grown-up sci-fi,
0:11:30 > 0:11:33as he's currently getting his fix from Doctor Who,
0:11:33 > 0:11:38and this week Porle Miller tells us CBBC's Wolf Blood has become
0:11:38 > 0:11:42cult viewing for shortchanged adult sci-fi fans.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45Congratulations, CBBC, for the superbly acted
0:11:45 > 0:11:47and produced new series Wolf Blood,
0:11:47 > 0:11:51that has gripped myself and friends for the last seven weeks.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03Thanks to excellent production values, a brilliant storyline,
0:12:03 > 0:12:06superb and plausible acting by the cast, and a gripping ending
0:12:06 > 0:12:10its no wonder this has been commissioned for a second series.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13So will any science fiction land from outer space
0:12:13 > 0:12:16or materialise in a lockdown lab any time soon?
0:12:37 > 0:12:41Now, Rod Stewart, of all people, has been popping up
0:12:41 > 0:12:42all over our inbox this week.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44Many felt he was an inappropriate performer
0:12:44 > 0:12:49for the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance last week,
0:12:49 > 0:12:52singing alternate lyrics to Auld Lang Syne.
0:12:52 > 0:12:58# And surely you will buy your cup
0:12:58 > 0:13:03# And surely I'll buy mine... #
0:13:03 > 0:13:08But far more people were irritated by his rather early launch
0:13:08 > 0:13:12of the festive season when he sang a Christmas song on Graham Norton.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33OK, that's awkward, ideally I would have wished you
0:13:33 > 0:13:36a Merry Christmas now, because this is the last in the current series
0:13:36 > 0:13:41of Points Of View, but actually you can continue to discuss TV -
0:13:41 > 0:13:45you can get a lively discussion on the messageboard.
0:13:47 > 0:13:53You can also e-mail us, even when the programme is off the air...
0:13:53 > 0:13:56Well, have a great... I won't say it!
0:13:56 > 0:13:58Until next spring, goodbye.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd