Episode 20 Points of View

Good afternoon and welcome to Points Of View in what has been

a turbulent week for the BBC.

Newsnight got itself into a real mess but elsewhere it's been

David Attenborough who captured your attention.

In his latest production, he becomes a modern day Noah with

just ten places in his Ark to save endangered species.

If, on my Ark, I am going to have space

for the creatures that really need a berth to survive,

the black lion tamarin is a very strong candidate.

You've got a ticket!

Sir David doesn't let us down, and what's more, he's British -

don't worry, I haven't become hostile to other countries,

just reflecting the views of many people who believe BBC

science output is too heavily reliant on American experts.

Could you please explain why, whenever I watch documentaries,

mainly the excellent science ones that have been on lately,

whenever they need a talking head to explain anything,

they are invariably American.

Chimpanzees, they do remarkable things with their feet and ankles.

They can take the top of their foot and press it against their shin.

What we do have, humans, is brains.

You get a lot of stuff for free when you select against aggression.

Have we not got any experts over here that can put it over

just as well and probably cheaper?

It is true that science is a very international business these days

and there's a lot of expertise in America

and other countries where they fund science very well.

And we think it makes sense, budget allowing, to go to the places where

the greatest expertise is located, in order to make sure

we are giving our viewers the best possible perspective that we can

on a given topic.

Everything is in motion in space.

Mars is moving around the Sun and the Earth is also moving

around the Sun and their motion, relative to each other, is changing.

I think if you look across the full range of our science

output on BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Four you do see there are an awful lot

of British voices, whether interviewees or expert presenters

like Brian Cox, Ian Stewart, Alice Roberts, and many others.

Great, this is a chimp.

Washington University is at the heart of this new science.

We do think it's always important to bring our viewers the best comment

we possibly can on the given topic and as a result we do find ourselves

going abroad for our interviewees a reasonable amount of the time.

Well, Dara O'Briain is not American

and he's been convening a science club on BBC Two.

Has he managed the alchemy of combining science expertise

with not being American?

With all this talk of DNA,

we shouldn't act like it's a mysterious thing.

You can see your own DNA but what you might not know is you can extract it,

using simple household ingredients.

Assuming your house has a ready supply of super strength vodka.

-What percentage?

-88%.

-88%.

So, professionalism and personality is the sought-after compound.

It was the personality of Adolf Hitler that preoccupied

the makers of the latest documentary on the Nazis.

The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler examined the flawed character

who held vast crowds spellbound but couldn't talk to individuals.

'When I first met him,

'he was like a tired stray dog looking for a master.'

But Mayer detected in Hitler qualities he could use.

He decided to train Hitler as a propaganda agent.

Hitler was sent on a short course at the University of Munich

and then started giving right-wing speeches to his fellow soldiers.

Dismissed as disappointing then,

but some programmes are loved so much by viewers that they

spill over from their timeslots and develop entirely separate

background programmes to accommodate all the interest they generate.

Unsprung, You're Fired, It Takes Two,

the phenomenon of the spin-off has taken hold

and it has taken hold tightly.

Ever keen to reward fan loyalty, the BBC's programme

about a programme concept has been around for at least seven years.

Doctor Who's spin-off spun onto our screens in 2005

when Simon Pegg divulged all things "Confidential."

Then, a spin-off of a spin-off,

the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood got its own "Declassified."

The spellbinding fantasy Merlin's Secrets and Magic

was also revelatory but regrettably even the BBC

couldn't conjure up enough money to sustain this,

so if you wanted more, you had to tweet and like and poke

and generally hunt online to get your fix of behind-the-scenes gossip.

Getting more bang for his buck, Lord Sugar's Apprentice diversified

with You're Fired, although it seems the young apprentices

are spared the enterprise that is Dara O'Briain's boardroom.

And within the last month, Autumn Watch has Unsprung.

The unsprungs are an extra for the viewers who are very engaged

with the programme.

But I think it also allows us an opportunity to do something which

the main show doesn't do, which is actually to directly address people's

questions and interactivity, and work to their agenda rather than our own.

But sashaying to centre stage with more than two million viewers

every week day is Strictly: It Takes Two.

Watching It Takes Two, you become more acquainted with what

the celebs are like, we have more time to find out how

they really feel about how they are doing...

It's so technical that I did really struggle.

..and also get a little sneaky look at things

that you are not going to see on Saturday night.

This seems to be the most successful,

you just can't get enough of the blood, sweat and sequins.

Now, let's delve into daytime.

Often criticised for delivering an unchanging diet of property

and antique shows in the morning, and quizzes and cookery for tea,

its latest title Watchdog Daily has a distinctly familiar

peaktime ring to it.

Following officers as they crack down on counterfeit crime...

Van's gone.

..we've been with them as they hunt for illicit alcohol.

Is there any chance we can have the truth now, because you told us there was no more vodka in here?

We've also discovered the shocking truth about the illegal jewellery trade.

We are going through it, don't make it worse for yourself.

And as if that wasn't enough,

daytime drama has tried its hand at a Dickens adaptation with

Nick Nickleby, and it looks like they've pulled it off.

We find this kind of thing benefits

the residents' mental, physical and spiritual well-being.

They seem well, Mr Squeers.

But I would like to speak to some of the residents in private.

No trouble at all.

Just make sure you ask them about the business with Nick Nickleby.

Let's capture this moment, shall we? Praise for daytime.

Will they be aiming for more?

Well, we are not going back to Dickens again at the moment

but we have more period dramas coming up in the New Year.

We have one set around the last year of conscription called Privates

and we've got a series of dramas around the GK Chesterton novels,

Father Brown mysteries.

So, that would be great to see, as well.

Mark Williams is leading that one.

With a big budget and constant trailing, The Hour

is an example of a drama that's had the best of everything thrown at it,

so is there a corresponding increase in appreciation

for the end result?

I have in my hand the minutes from a recent meeting to discuss

the budgetary pressures on the Metropolitan Police.

When asked why you are cutting Scotland Yard's budget

and yet increasing defence's tenfold, you replied,

"There will always be crime, but when faced with total annihilation

"there is no need to waste our resources on the odd body here and there."

Not necessarily for Annie-Lou, at least.

One area BBC drama would do well to look at is adult science fiction.

Last week we heard calls from George Matthews for some new grown-up sci-fi,

as he's currently getting his fix from Doctor Who,

and this week Porle Miller tells us CBBC's Wolf Blood has become

cult viewing for shortchanged adult sci-fi fans.

Congratulations, CBBC, for the superbly acted

and produced new series Wolf Blood,

that has gripped myself and friends for the last seven weeks.

Thanks to excellent production values, a brilliant storyline,

superb and plausible acting by the cast, and a gripping ending

its no wonder this has been commissioned for a second series.

So will any science fiction land from outer space

or materialise in a lockdown lab any time soon?

Now, Rod Stewart, of all people, has been popping up

all over our inbox this week.

Many felt he was an inappropriate performer

for the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance last week,

singing alternate lyrics to Auld Lang Syne.

# And surely you will buy your cup

# And surely I'll buy mine... #

But far more people were irritated by his rather early launch

of the festive season when he sang a Christmas song on Graham Norton.

OK, that's awkward, ideally I would have wished you

a Merry Christmas now, because this is the last in the current series

of Points Of View, but actually you can continue to discuss TV -

you can get a lively discussion on the messageboard.

You can also e-mail us, even when the programme is off the air...

Well, have a great... I won't say it!

Until next spring, goodbye.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd