Episode 10 Points of View

Coming up, the BBC Two comeback

many of you felt definitely wasn't firing on all cylinders.

And landing on our screens this week, two new shows from our cousins

across the Channel, but are they French fancies or fanciful flops?

Welcome to your points of view.

It has been the talk of the tabloids for months and last Sunday

the return of one of the BBC's most valuable exports set Twitter alight.

THEME FROM TOP GEAR PLAYS

With anticipation having reached fever pitch, Top Gear was

back on BBC Two.

Chris Evans was in the driving seat, supported by

German racing driver Sabine Schmitz and American actor Matt Le Blanc.

The new series was filmed in nine countries over eight months.

Episode one followed a familiar format.

Funny!

Thing is about Matt, is because he's such a superstar

he actually looks cool in his stars-and-stripes Reliant.

Hey-hey!

Your considered comments coming up.

But first, we headed to a Cardiff garage to gauge

opinion on the show as it aired on Sunday night.

Please welcome Matt LeBlanc!

To be honest, I was quite disappointed.

I was expecting that family unit still, that group of banter.

And to me it just wasn't there, it was quite bland.

The old team, they could explain things more,

they're more...switched on.

I thought it was all right but they need to get more interesting cars.

People my age, we tend to get,

like, with the better-looking, sportier cars.

We don't really go back looking at old Reliants and...Land Rovers.

We've lost the battle.

But we can still...win the war.

I found it really enjoyable, you know, on the edge of the seat,

bit of laughter, bit of humour, and, you know, British against USA,

found it really good fun.

The only part I liked was the new track they've

got for the celebrities.

Oh, very nice, Gordon.

Chris was a good presenter tonight but he was a bit loud

and over the top.

Whoooooooaa!

And he just seemed to make everything about him.

And I preferred him on the radio.

Matt LeBlanc, er, I found him very boring.

HE YAWNS

I will be watching next week.

Definitely worth a go.

I don't think it's an improvement on the last series.

It all seems a bit forced and a bit loud and brash.

Yeah, I'll be watching it next week.

I will watch another episode at home if I'm home

but if I miss it I won't be worried about it.

-That's it.

-That's the problem.

Well, you didn't like it.

Most of you thought the wheels had come off a classic, with

producers wasting an opportunity to freshen up the format.

Top Gear? More like Flop Gear.

I mean, we were promised a show that wasn't just going to be

a copy or a rehash, we were promised something new and exciting.

Instead we ended up with a carcass of our old, beloved Top Gear,

liberally sprinkled with presenters that didn't really belong there

and were just big names.

Come on, BBC, you can do better than this.

Chris Evans and his team have been given a blank canvas

and they've failed miserably.

They're piggybacking off the last series

and they're using the same phrases, mannerisms and tones.

Hm! I'm sorry, but this was an opportunity to bring us

something new, fresh and exciting, but it was just a poor impression.

And by the SOUND of it,

one presenter in particular was driving you round the bend.

How about we now meet tonight's Star in a Reasonably Priced Car?

LAST WORDS ECHO

No matter how much Chris Evans shouts,

he can't bring a corpse back to life.

I suggest Top Gear is given a decent burial.

Out of the hundreds of messages we received in what must be

a Points Of View personal best,

positive feedback on the programme was in very short supply.

But there was some praise for PART of the presenting team.

Look at that face!

You know you've beaten us, don't you?

Overall, Top Gear not yet back in pole position to say the least.

Speaking of which...

You were "en garde" for the return of BBC One's swashbuckling series

last Saturday night.

The first in a ten-part third outing for dashing daredevils

The Musketeers saw D'Artagnan, Porthos

and Athos storm the fields of France, before being reunited

with an old friend who'd set down his sword to settle in a monastery.

-Show yourself!

-No, stop! Stop!

Not him!

-This is...

-Aramis. We know.

Definitely a case of one for all and all for one

when it came to this drama.

The costumes fitted the time period and setting wonderfully

and the new opening battle scene was just spectacular to watch.

Some swooning over the swordsmen

may just have played a part in your positivity.

But for some of you, delight at having the trio

back on our screens has been dampened by the knowledge that

after this series The Musketeers will be bowing out for good.

Now, are you going to try and tell me that you didn't enjoy that?

You can catch up with the series so far on the iPlayer.

Crossing the continent to Ancient Athens next,

and BBC One's staging of a Shakespearean classic.

Boasting 3D sound via the red button and CGI effects,

Bank Holiday Monday's adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream was

brought to us by former Dr Who supremo Russell T Davies.

Familiar faces Richard Wilson, Maxine Peake

and Matt Lucas were amongst the cast.

What angel wakes me from my flowery bed?

Good evening.

I pray thee, gentle mortal, sing again.

Oh...

You were captivated by this contemporary take on a classic.

A truly magical adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

I thought it was both hilarious and beautiful.

I especially enjoyed the wonderful finale.

It was colourful, exhilarating and hilarious by turns,

incredibly entertaining.

I'm sure Shakespeare would have approved.

But the course of true love never did run smooth, and

a familiar faux pas prevented it from being pitch-perfect for some.

Yet again, boisterous background music!

I spent the entire time with the remote in my hand turning

the volume down when there were background effects or music

and turning the volume up to hear the dialogue.

The bouncing Amazon!

Keeping it highbrow, from the Bard to Beethoven,

BBC Two this week exploring the story behind one of the classical

composer's most famous and recognisable works.

THEY PLAY THE FIFTH SYMPHONY

In The Secrets Of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony last Saturday night,

conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner revealed to Ian Hislop how the score

could feature radical messages tied to the French Revolution.

Beethoven's political beliefs went up and down

but at the time he was writing the symphony, in the early 1800s,

he was completely under the spell of the French Revolution.

Blending Beethoven's background with a study of his symphony meant

the documentary struck the right chord with you.

I would never have imagined Beethoven having

an interest in the French Revolution.

A wonderful mix of music and history

and to hear John Eliot Gardiner's feelings on the music was magical.

Wednesday night saw a sumptuous new period drama

arrive on our shores from France.

Ten-part Versailles follows the escapades of the country's

most famous monarch, Louis XIV.

With a predominantly English cast, episode one was packed

full of seduction, betrayal and political intrigue,

as the young king sought to stamp his authority on court and country.

I'm about to drag this country out of the darkness and into the light.

We must build our own destiny right here,

a new France will be born and this palace will be her mother.

No expense was spared on this one, with the French reportedly

spending in excess of £20 million on the show.

And it's already been recommissioned for a second series.

But judging by your feedback, that is perhaps a little premature.

Versailles had hit the headlines well before broadcast,

thanks to the series being peppered with violent and erotic scenes.

But, though episode one contained plenty of both,

at the end of the day that was not enough to save the show

from a script you felt just wasn't fit for a king.

Not to be left out, BBC Four was also getting in on the Gallic action

this week, with the launch of a French ten-part thriller.

Set in Lyon, The Disappearance unfolded last Saturday

with 17-year-old Lea vanishing without trace

on the morning of her birthday.

As the police investigation got under way,

family and friends quickly fell under suspicion.

So far, the series seems to have offered an original take

on a dark subject that has proved a well-trodden path for drama.

I actually really enjoyed The Disappearance on BBC.

I think TV in general have done quite a few

programmes about abduction and things like that, erm, not

many of which have been outstanding or impressive and I actually

thought this one was really gripping and I can't wait for episode three.

Finally this week, we are bidding a fond farewell to the Points Of View

message boards, which will close at noon on Monday 13th June.

We would like to thank everyone on the boards,

including, to name just a few,

Wolfie McWolfieface, Hollybeau, Tomcat Claret and Blue,

Mirandashell and GZ - or is that "G-zed"? -

for all the spirited discussion that's taken place

over the last 11 and a half years on the Points Of View message boards.

That's it for this series of Points Of View,

we'll be back in early September.

But do keep your thoughts on the BBC's TV coming -

we will read them all before we're back.

You can contact us at...

You can also send us a video, which we love.

See you in September, have a great summer.