Stephen Fry on DW and the state of television

[Captain Shaw]

All I keep thinking is Was Kingdom exactly the height of adult, intelligent and ground breaking TV? I mean Stephen Fry starred in, executive produced and runs the production company, and it didn't seem to be really any of those things, dull, boring moving wallpaper type TV from what I've seen and heard.

I must admit I was surprise to see fry involved with kingdom then there is bones which is a ok show to chill out to but not really hard hitting drama.

Yeah, you'd think, considering the shows he's done, that he'd understand things don't necessarily need to be hard hitting or ground breaking to be fun, entertaining or even thought provoking.

Mr fry should write something I bet the BBC would bite his hand off to get the rights.
Reminds me of something Jeremy Clarkson said about how on Top gear their is stuff they could not do because people would not watch it. Yet he is in charge of the show he could give it a try if he wanted to.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

To be fair, I still think this is a storm in a teacup - there is no need to denigrate Fry or to rush to the defence of Doctor Who. Fry is a fan of the show, has fond memories of watching it as a child and feels that it continues a fine tradition. He also kinda, sorta has a point about television in general. Cut him some slack..

Not really having a go at him, having read his speech he doesn't really say that and even makes a point that unless he's 100% supportive the papers and people will turn it in to he slagged off the entire industry. I think he does have a good point about TV, the documentaries and the shows in general, it's just he is a producer, he is a writer, he could if he wanted try and get some of these things made...

Oh and

from Stephen himself on twitter

Phew! Me delivering The Annual #TVLecture @bafta http://bit.ly/TVLecture - proof I never called Dr Who infantile or childish

 

[Captain Pike]

Well, he has contributed, though it's not always golden, and it may not always be to everyone's taste.

I have yet to see Last Chance to See as it hasn't aired here yet, though I have always been a huge fan of the book by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine, but reading reviews of those who have some have compared it to those 'landmark' documentaries I mentioned earlier. His doccos on Living with AIDS and depression are both illuminating and confronting and (though it apparently has its detractors) I find QI to be one of the best shows on television today - hugely entertaining and (on the whole) very educational.

I agree with some here that Kingdom was a bit of a snooze fest, but so what. It's still better than a lot of stuff out there, and not every producer/writer/actor is 'on' all the time.

And speaking of comedy, there was this little thing called Blackadder a few years back. Some may even have liked his work on A bit of.. as well.

And who here wouldn't sell their step-mother to see his Doctor Who script? I know I would.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

^I agree with you, I only managed to catch 2 episodes of Last Chance to See, but they were good... and he suffered a badly broken arm while filming that. I admire a lot of his work, love QI and his documentaries... I'm just not sure where the complaint really is, beyond the fact there's a lot of rubbish on TV, which there always has been, even in the Golden Age he's talking about.

 

[Captain Pike]

While I agree that there has always been rubbish, I think in many ways its worse nowdays than it ever was, thanks to the modern fascination with 'reality' (what a misnomer!) shows.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

While I agree that there has always been rubbish, I think in many ways its worse nowdays than it ever was, thanks to the modern fascination with 'reality' (what a misnomer!) shows.

Not really. It's just we remember the classics of the past and forget the shite, unless it was really shite. TV was full of Game shows, had reality and fly on the wall shows as far back as the 80s, it's just they weren't called that then. And honestly if it wasn't for nostalgia the audience now wouldn't put up with a lot of "Classic" shows from the past if they were being made now in the same sort of style.

 

[Captain Shaw]

I think there is more rubbish on TV theses days because there are more channels but overall I think the quality on proper channels is no worst /better than it always been (well maybe ITV is going down the pan a bit)

 

[Captain Pike]

The 80's is only considered 'far back' to you young whippersnappers! And yes, that was when the rot started to settle in.

Anyway I disagree. For the cost of a new drama show, broadcasters can buy multiple reality shows with virtually guaranteed massive ratings. The commercial temptation to go with the pap must be huge, and imo is borne out by the mass produced, voyeuristic, homogenised rubbish we see contaminating the airways these days.

ETA - I think STK makes a good point as well.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

^I don't think reality shows are virtually guaranteed success though... there are quite a few failed and forgotten ones...
I think the thing with reality TV is they're formats that can be sold and make the indies a lot of money, so they're more likely to try them than others.

But yeah, you're right Serial Thread Killer has a point, ITV doesn't make the documentaries and take risks like they used to, they cancel successful shows quite often too.

 

[Captain Pike]

^I don't think reality shows are virtually guaranteed success though... there are quite a few failed and forgotten ones...
I think the thing with reality TV is they're formats that can be sold and make the indies a lot of money, so they're more likely to try them than others.

Exactly. They are relatively cheap to make, so even if the odd one doesn't go huge on a viral scale its still a more solid investment commercially than generating new drama.

 

[Cutter John]

In the US of course the biggest offenders seem to be on the cable networks. I can remember when channels like TLC, History, and Discovery Channel used to actually show worthwhile stuff, and would actually educate from time to time. Now it seems its all UFO's, hunting ghosts, bible prophecies, the day in the life of a lumberjack and other rubbish. Natuarally all in the quest for higher ratings.

Really, I'm sure 24/7 bikini model hot oil wrestling would bring in HUGE ratings. But really, is that the sort of stuff they should be racing towards the bottom for?

 

[Bob The Skutter]

In the US of course the biggest offenders seem to be on the cable networks. I can remember when channels like TLC, History, and Discovery Channel used to actually show worthwhile stuff, and would actually educate from time to time. Now it seems its all UFO's, hunting ghosts, bible prophecies, the day in the life of a lumberjack and other rubbish. Natuarally all in the quest for higher ratings.

Really, I'm sure 24/7 bikini model hot oil wrestling would bring in HUGE ratings. But really, is that the sort of stuff they should be racing towards the bottom for?

You know that's something that bugged me about the speech, he said Discovery and the like are learning how to make quality documentaries, but most of them are BBC Co-productions, and the rest of their stuff is either entertainment shows or rubbish.

 

[The]

Doctor Who (BBCA)
Sons of Anarchy (FX)
Cougar Town (ABC)
LOST (ABC)

Those are the shows I actively keep up with. Now that LOST is over, my choices have dwindled considerably. There's very little out there worth investing time and attention these days. As said above, I can always tune into the lastest 'End of the World' talking-heads filler on one of the cable channels. Or, I can watch whatever version of 'Extreme Rednecks 2010' that Discovery is running these days. But, overall, television is 90% commercials, 5% shock-fodder, 3% professional gossip-mongering, and 2% good, worthwhile television.

However, given Fry's stance, I would advise that television will never be books, no matter the level of depth he wants to add. But, I applaud his perspective, as he wants nothing more than to improve the situation. That's far better than just someone getting up there complaining...

 

[Cutter John]

Doctor Who (BBCA)
Sons of Anarchy (FX)
Cougar Town (ABC)
LOST (ABC)

Those are the shows I actively keep up with. Now that LOST is over, my choices have dwindled considerably. There's very little out there worth investing time and attention these days. As said above, I can always tune into the lastest 'End of the World' talking-heads filler on one of the cable channels. Or, I can watch whatever version of 'Extreme Rednecks 2010' that Discovery is running these days. But, overall, television is 90% commercials, 5% shock-fodder, 3% professional gossip-mongering, and 2% good, worthwhile television.

However, given Fry's stance, I would advise that television will never be books, no matter the level of depth he wants to add. But, I applaud his perspective, as he wants nothing more than to improve the situation. That's far better than just someone getting up there complaining...

Summed it up better than I could. I guess all we can do is support the 2% and avoid the crap as best we can. (or limit yourself. We still need a little dessert to go with our brainfood).

 

[The]

^Yeah, there's nothing wrong with watching worthless television sometimes (I personally like reruns of FRIENDS and the early years of M*A*S*H). But, it shouldn't be the primary diet.

I think once future generations accept that excess of something is what causes problems, no the existence itself, you will see a healthier society, and hopefully better television...

 

[Starkers]

I wish I had your optimism, sir!

 

[Captain Pike]

BTW, Stephen Fry has just announced he is doing one show in Melbourne (thanks to a campaign organised and orchestrated on Twitter by Melbournian fans) at the Regent Theatre on July 31. Tickets go on sale this Thursday 9am sharp.

I really hope I manage to get a ticket. I'll report back if I do..

 

[The]

I wish I had your optimism, sir!

All things move in cycles, my friend. Give it time.

 

[IndyJones]

To be fair, I still think this is a storm in a teacup - there is no need to denigrate Fry or to rush to the defence of Doctor Who. Fry is a fan of the show, has fond memories of watching it as a child and feels that it continues a fine tradition. He also kinda, sorta has a point about television in general. Cut him some slack..

I watched the whole video of Fry.


I love that he started his speech by saying that no matter how pro-tele his speech was, the papers would find one small comment in it that was anti-tele and spin a whole story off of that. So, what happened? Fry spoke for 45 minutes, and the papers found the one statement they needed to make a story...

 

[Captain Pike]

Wahey! Managed to get some tickets!