Episode 10 Points of View

For one week only, we are in Glasgow, where, I'm sure you'll

be delighted to hear, I've been spending the week in there,

recording brand-new episodes of everyone's favourite quiz show,

Eggheads.

That is everyone's favourite quiz show, isn't it?

WIND BLOWING

Anyway, let's crack on with this show,

the one that lets you have your say on the week's television programmes.

Welcome to your points of view.

Nice to have a change of scenery every now and then.

First up this week, the battle for Saturday night viewers entered

a new era last weekend, as the BBC launched their latest singing show.

Pitch Battle sees rival vocal groups pitted against each other, fighting

to secure a place in the grand final and a shot at a £50,000 cash prize.

Last week, regular judges Gareth Malone and Kelis were joined

by Will Young, who revealed the series' first finalists during

a climatic battle round.

# We'll stay together

# Cos you're the one good reason

# You're the only one that I need... #

A smash hit for some.

I really enjoyed Pitch Battle on Saturday night.

I thought the choirs were really talented,

and I would hate to have to be a judge to choose the winner.

Yet, others felt Pitch Battle was top of the flops,

with the show suffering from poor production.

And several of you were dismayed to hear the majority of groups'

performances backed by a live band.

Well, we put that point to Pitch Battle's executive producer,

and this is her response.

Next, and already facing some battles of their own,

Albert Square's latest arrivals.

Are you all right? Karen Taylor.

Just moving in.

Rocking up in EastEnders the Thursday before last

were the Taylor family, led by loudmouth mum Karen.

Moving in with her were sons Chatham and Riley, played by

real-life brothers, and older offspring Keanu and Bernadette.

I suppose I'm sleeping on the floor.

As far as the council's concerned, you don't even live with us.

Well, it's not my fault I can't afford a place of my own.

Only way Chantelle was able to get her place was getting knocked up.

The executive producer of EastEnders has promised the Taylors will

have an explosive impact on the soap, but so far,

it's fair to say, you are not fans of this family.

That's "ruff", Elle!

You weren't impressed by the newcomers' acting abilities either.

It can, of course, often take newcomers to a long-running drama

time to bed in, so do let us know

if you change your tune on the Taylors.

Now, from Walford to Whitechapel.

This week, BBC Two was also getting in on some East End action.

Picking up where the previous series left off,

the fifth and last ever outing for Ripper Street began on

Monday night, with Detective Inspector Reid,

Captain Homer Jackson and Long Susan hot on the trail of the scoundrel

responsible for Inspector Drake's death.

What are we to do, then, Reid?

We go get our justice.

Or the heavens fall.

We did receive glowing reviews.

But we also heard from Ripper Street fans

who felt Monday's episode wasn't a patch on previous series.

And it wasn't just the picture that was the problem.

In fact, it was a familiar bugbear

that had you complaining the loudest.

Perhaps a tad extreme, Ian.

But you're right, Points Of View has featured similar complaints

about the series in the past.

The BBC told us they neither made nor commissioned the current

series of Ripper Street, only acquiring it for broadcast.

They pointed us in the direction of the production company,

and here's what the drama's executive producer had to say

about the show's soundtrack.

Hmm.

When faced with dialogue that's difficult to decipher,

the first thing many of us do is turn on subtitles, which are,

of course, also an invaluable service for the hard of hearing.

But it appears those captions aren't exactly trouble-free either.

Inaccurate subtitling appears to be

a particular problem during live programmes.

We found examples where "silence" appeared as "violence",

and "Ed Miliband" transformed into the "Ed Miller Band".

So, what is to blame for those subtitling slip-ups?

Scarlette Douglas visited the BBC's subtitling provider to find out.

Ali, we've heard from a few viewers,

saying they're quite frustrated by the inaccuracy of some of the subtitles.

Why does this happen?

Live subtitling is a very demanding job.

We cover 100% of the BBC's output, live and pre-recorded.

That's about 500 hours on an average week,

several thousand words per hour.

So, although most of our subtitles are accurate,

mistakes unfortunately do slip through sometimes.

So, how does it all work?

Most live subtitling is done using a technique called respeaking

with voice recognition software.

The subtitler has an audio feed of the programme.

They repeat everything they hear, adding in spoken punctuation.

The software turns their words into text,

and the broadcast software turns that text into subtitles.

Why don't you just type it?

Respeaking is actually faster and more accurate than typing,

-and we can do it with fewer people as well.

-Why do mistakes happen?

The software we use is very sophisticated,

but it's not perfect, and sometimes it just mishears what you say.

-Is it really that hard?

-It's very difficult.

Subtitlers have to stay on top of various processes at once,

thinking on their feet constantly.

And because it's live, you only get one chance to do anything.

-Can I have a go?

-Yeah, absolutely. Let's go and have a go, yeah.

-OK, come in. This is our subtitling booth. Have a seat.

-Thank you.

-OK.

-Ready to go?

-Yes, I think so.

-Once we start the clip, we can't stop,

so, if you lose the thread, pick it up again as quickly as you can.

OK, no pressure.

The Champions League final is happening right here tomorrow full stop.

Yellow macro. Well luckily comma I did have a few...free hours.

Patrick where are you I mean I did tell you the traffic would be bad full stop.

If my speaking there was going out live,

I think that would've been horrendous.

I think people would have struggled to understand those subtitles, I'm afraid to say.

Luckily comma I did have a few hours free this morning.

Put your hands together for the Right Honourable Lord Mayor of Cardiff comma...

I have to say that live subtitling is nowhere near as easy as it looks.

And the team here really do try their best to get their

subtitles as accurate as possible.

Yet they are at the mercy of speech recognition technology,

so hopefully, as that continues to improve,

the subtitles will continue to get better and better.

This week, BBC Two took us behind-the-scenes of one of

the UK's biggest and busiest NHS trusts once again, as the

documentary series Hospital returned.

In Tuesday night's episode,

cameras followed the staff at

London's St Mary's Hospital as they

battled to deal with the aftermath of the terror attack

on Westminster Bridge.

Resus Two.

We need to put what's called the chest drain in,

to let this air come out

and let his lung reinflate.

We need to put a tube... Do you understand?

A tube...in your chest.

You were full of admiration for the hard-working staff of St Mary's.

Hospital continues its four-part run on Tuesday night.

Paws were poised on buzzers this week as BBC Two launched

a new animal-based panel show.

Running on weekday evenings, Curious Creatures sees Kate Humble

quiz experts on their knowledge of the wildlife world.

In one round, panellists are tasked with identifying the origin

of some faeces. Er, you may want to look away if you're having dinner.

Silver service.

-Excellent.

-Quite a sweet smell to it.

-Bouquet.

It's not a bitter smell. Or indeed any way unpleasant.

A real howler, according to at least one of you, who felt the show

was better suited to another BBC channel.

But Curious Creatures did fit the bill for others when it comes

to weeknight entertainment.

Finally, this week, the unnatural habits of some BBC reporters

and presenters have been driving you to distraction.

# Hands up, baby Hands up

# Gimme your heart Gimme gimme your heart... #

And in a sure sign it's contagious,

the habit has also spread to Homes Under the Hammer.

The floor, open living.

Only a matter of time perhaps before this character is given

a regular reporting role.

That's it for this series of Points Of View, but fear not,

we will be back in September.

So please do keep your thoughts

on the BBC's television programmes coming.

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So, until September, have a great summer.