Episode 19 Points of View

JAMES BOND THEME

The name is Vine, Jeremy Vine.

Well, if everyone else is doing it, why can't I?

Jumping on the Bondwagon. Has the BBC gone too far?

Welcome to your Points of View.

But before we get to Bond, we start with the other big story

leaving you shaken and stirred this week.

It is a brand-new police series on Wednesday night on BBC One.

This is Kilo 220. Show us State Five to that call, please.

Set among the piers and beaches of Brighton,

Cuffs is a gritty portrayal of modern day policing.

Donna, what's your position?

Control, heading north...

I am on Gardner, heading north. Eyes on.

With a suicide, a stabbing, a considerable amount of blood

and a bundle of bad language, to name but a few offenders, for some,

this one was just too gritty for the pre-watershed slot of eight o'clock.

My wife and I watched Cuffs on Wednesday night

and this episode included a stabbing of a youth, child abduction,

a man who had hanged himself an attempted suicide, prostitution,

gratuitous violence, everything on at 8pm before the watershed.

What were the BBC thinking, putting it on at 8pm?

I enjoyed Cuffs, I enjoyed watching it.

I think it is going to be a good series.

But it was not suitable for the eight o'clock slot.

I'm afraid the language was very adult,

the content was very adult and it should have been after nine o'clock.

It was very good but it included the use of bad language,

three swear words were used during the programme

and these swear words would not be allowed on at any other time,

any other programme at 8pm.

If these swear words were used in Doctor Who or EastEnders,

for example, there would be uproar.

Either move Cuffs to 9pm or remove the bad language. We don't need it.

And it wasn't just the audience that were surprised by the early slot.

Appearing on The One Show, actress Amanda Abbington,

who plays DC Jo Moffat, seemed to be taken aback too.

I didn't know it was pre-watershed until a couple months into it.

It's on at eight! I didn't know that, though.

We were told by the producer Trevor,

he said this will be on at eight, and I said, "What?!"

So what is the score here?

ITV have been having their own issues with a drama, Jekyll And Hyde,

being shown before the nine o'clock watershed, so is

the BBC saying, "Anything they can do, we can do better"?

The drama department told us...

They say they took great care to make viewers aware of the content

through on-air trails and pre-publicity,

but for those who complained, this obviously wasn't enough.

You say that it mimics real life.

Well, if that is real life,

I don't want to be seeing that with my 10 and 11-year-old grandchildren.

I just would like you to put the programme to after

nine o'clock at night.

And it is not just the drama department who were forced to

apologise for a breach of the watershed guidelines this week.

Bruno Tonioli left Strictly's hosts red-faced after his rather

rude slip-up on last Saturday's Strictly Come Dancing.

I was standing not far away at the time.

The Italian judge, no stranger to PASSION on the show,

overstepping the mark with his reference to a bull's private parts.

Yes, those are the bull's...

MOOING

With Bruno seemingly unaware of his, let's stick to slip-up,

it was left to host Tess Daly to apologise.

I would just like to apologise for Bruno's language there.

He got a little overexcited.

Sorry, I didn't realise.

He certainly didn't mean any offence by that.

The BBC also apologised on social media

but the pre-watershed swear word was a step too far for some.

I was really angry and upset.

This is a family programme,

shown well before the watershed at prime time on Saturday night.

Bruno, come on, clean up your act, you're spoiling the programme.

I think Bruno needs to remember that Strictly is a family show

and you cannot just say and do whatever he wants

because his behaviour last Saturday was really inappropriate.

Well, Sandie, we did ask but we were given a polite no.

It seems Signore Tonioli wishes in this instance to remain silent.

MOOING

From Bruno to Bond, at last,

and you would need to have been stuck in an underground bunker over

the past two weeks to not have known a new Bond movie has been released.

Come on, we have got to talk about James Bond. Bond is back.

He famously said he won't play James Bond again. Bond hurts.

That's nice, isn't it?

The latest in a long line of brilliant Bond villains,

please welcome Christoph Waltz.

Miss Moneypenny, it's Naomie Harris.

Daniel Craig!

CHEERING

From the news to The One Show,

from Graham Norton to a special Bond night on BBC Four,

so widespread has the coverage for Spectre been that

some of you are asking

if the corporation has been licensed to sell free promotion for the film.

On the Points Of View message board, one poster, Polemicist, says...

But Hanger Lane - where do they get these names from? - disagrees...

In praise of BBC Four's Premium Bond tribute to the secret agent,

Chris Rogers says...

From one international man of mystery to another.

Alan Yentob was in Venice for the return of the highbrow arts

series Imagine on BBC Two.

For his latest novel, Jacobson has agreed to retell

the story of the most odious Jew that literature ever spawned.

The cruel and merciless Shylock,

from Shakespeare's most performed play, The Merchant of Venice.

With the help of some very knowledgeable academics,

the BBC's man of the arts set about exploding the belief that

Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice was anti-Semitic.

I am a Jew.

Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions?

I don't think the play, in and of itself, bears hatred.

Despite its late-night slot,

literary fans were wide awake enjoying this one.

On Twitter, Anna Maria Barry really enjoyed it and said it was...

And Ariane describes Shylock's ghost as...

I loved that they didn't try to give easy answers to difficult questions.

They drew out the play's ambiguity.

So having watched the programme, I am still not really sure what

I think about Shylock but I am happy that I don't know what I think.

For me, that is a mark of a great arts programme.

Now, BBC Three had a very personal and moving

documentary on Tuesday night which saw the rapper, Professor Green,

uncover the truth behind his father's suicide seven years ago.

We look happy. You do, yeah. Well, you was.

We saw the star, whose real name is Stephen Manderson,

open up to his family for the first time about his estrangement

from his father in this exploration into why

so many young men take their own lives each year.

Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 45, which is

something not a lot of people are aware of.

It is so important for mental health problems to be televised

and talked about like this.

I think it is really important for celebrities

and people with profile within the media to show their experiences.

I think Professor Green's experience will encourage others to talk

and seek help.

A real powerful and quite raw insight to what happens to

those of us who are left behind after suicide.

Thank you for raising awareness of suicide

and sharing your story with us.

Thanks to all of you who got in touch to comment on that programme

and all the others this week.

If you are watching something on the BBC and you would like to have

your say, there are a number of ways to get in touch,

as I'm sure you know...

You can join us on our Facebook page, find us on Twitter.

Just look for Points Of View.

For a full list of our contact details and a link to the

message board forum, log on to our programme page,

that's bbc.co.uk/pointsofview.

One complaint that comes up time and again at Points Of View HQ is

that of presenters who, well, maybe do too much presenting.

Some viewers feel the same faces appear across too many

programmes and they want the BBC to give others a chance.

Matt Baker, why is he on so many programmes?

I have nothing against the guy

but you get fed up of seeing the same presenters on every show.

The One Show... Hello, and welcome. ..Countryfile...

Now, mussels make a naturally nutritious meal. ..Big Blue Live...

Timing is absolutely impeccable. ..and now the gymnastics.

Let's start by talking about performing.

Surely with the talent you have,

you should use different people for different programmes.

It could only be one man. Matt Baker isn't an expert on everything.

Prepare to be amazed.

It was just the same

when Clare Balding was on all those programmes.

Again and again and again.

Should be more expertise shown by the BBC and less favouritism.

Recently, I've thought that Anita Rani had taken up

residence at the back of our television because it

scarcely seemed possible to turn the TV on without seeing her.

On The One Show... A global phenomenon.

..The World's Busiest Railway... It is just completely different.

..Countryfile... Look at the view. ..Who Do You Think You Are?

It is really important. And, of course, she is on Strictly as well.

Hopefully I will be able to wow everybody. Is she an entertainer?

Is she a presenter? Is she a serious journalist?

Welcome to the City of Joy! Also in the firing line, Sue Perkins.

She was on telly last Friday on The One Show.

She saw what a phenomenon it might become.

I turned it over to BBC Two, where she was on again.

On your marks... Get set... Bake.

I didn't turn the television on again

until nine o'clock so I could watch my favourite

panel show, Have I Got News For You. There she was again...

I am Sue Perkins. ..telling me the news that she had for me.

People get fed up of the same old faces on each programme.

I'm sure you can do better than this.

My short message to the BBC is, try much harder to

use your resources to bring on new, fresh faces.

It is boring seeing the same people all the time.

Please, you can do better than this. Thank you.

No! No, no.

No, get back.

Time for another quick TV cop moment.

It was the final episode in the Scandi-styled From Darkness.

A bit of light and shade in the response to this one.

It was very hard to follow, kept jumping from scene to scene

and the best bit about it was the ending, thank goodness it was over.

For the past month I have endured watching this show every

Sunday night at nine o'clock.

From episode one, two and three, instantly forgettable

and I held on for episode four,

waiting for something to happen and really nothing did.

There was long periods of silence, close-ups on the characters.

That's not tension, that's just irritating.

But worst of all was nothing was fully explained.

So disappointed with the programme. It had so many ridiculous plotlines.

Do the BBC think its viewers are complete idiots?

You must be Mrs Harding.

This is a lovely party, I am sure you are very proud. Thank you.

I don't believe we have met.

Fiona, I think we should get the guests seated.

Ladies and gentlemen, if you would all like to take your seats,

dinner will be served shortly.

Claire Church, Greater Manchester Police,

this is Detective Chief Inspector John Hind.

Your husband is being assisting us with our investigations.

Always good to hear from you, and that is it for this week.

Next Sunday is our last in the series

and we are on at the earlier time of 3pm so don't forget to let us

know your thoughts on what you're watching in the week to come.

Till then, goodbye.

Antony Gormley is the creator

of one of the most iconic sculptures in Britain.

We follow him through an extraordinary year,

and discover the influences that have shaped his life's work.