The point wasn't "Aren't Public information films funny." It was from being young TV has been there to scare us. Not solemnly explain dangers but actually scare you to suit the whims of the time and the media.
How TV Ruined Your Life
- Thread starter Captain Shaw
- Start date
The point wasn't "Aren't Public information films funny." It was from being young TV has been there to scare us. Not solemnly explain dangers but actually scare you to suit the whims of the time and the media.
So yeah, it ended up being a news-ish parody thingie? Although I guess we don't have "PIFs" here, other than the privately sponsored things like "don't drink and drive" and "smoking will kill you".
I'm glad, although it seems odd that he's basically being commissioned to do all these random shows. I know the British TV model is just different, but you'd think it'd be more productive to have him on all the time commenting on whatever is relevant at the moment.
I can't believe they showed a woman pissing herself on TV?! How terrifying!
I'm glad, although it seems odd that he's basically being commissioned to do all these random shows. I know the British TV model is just different, but you'd think it'd be more productive to have him on all the time commenting on whatever is relevant at the moment.
I can't believe they showed a woman pissing herself on TV?! How terrifying!
Last edited:
Yeah but in part that's because a majority of people, and especially kids, respond better to being scared than someone solemnly explaining the dangers. I agree some of those PIFs were a bit ridiculous, not to mention relating to unlikely scenarios, but is there really something wrong with trying to prevent kids being run over or people drink driving?
And he seems to be saying that drama shouldn't be so, er, dramatic? And he can't seem to make his mind up on crime drama, on the one hand it makes us scared by implying there's more horrible crime than there actually is, but then he complains that it all wraps things up too neatly and the villain is always caught...so it isn't scaring us enough?
And the issue of cause and effect needs to be addressed. Are these crime dramas made because of some nebulous dictat, or because they're popular and people like watching a gory murder or two every week? I suppose what I'm saying is, is TV leading us astray, or have we been leading TV astray?
Fair comment on Crimewatch however, and I admire Brooker's restraint in not playing Nick Ross's obligatory "don't have nightmares" comment.
And Threads, from what I recall, was a fairly accurate representation of what would happen if the bomb dropped, in fact if anything it probably wasn't scary or realistic enough.
Don't get me wrong, it was funny (I especially liked the murder expert on morning telly skit) but he didn't present any kind of shockingly new argument, and it seems quite a fallacy to be almost suggesting that this was a new phenomenon when it was going on way before TV. Head back to the early 1900s and books and newspapers were going out of their way to scare the shit out of people by implying the German army was on the brink of invading.
^The point of the series is to show how TV distorts your perceptions of reality, and I thought it was pretty well done. I mean it's a comedy show after all and not a serious debate on the good and bad of TV.
You said the point was that it wasn't supposed to be funny!
I know what you mean, and I can see how a lot of those PIFs skew reality (seriously how many kids were killed by kites and electricity pylons I wonder?) but I don't see how the films to stop kids being run over or drink driving are skewing reality.
I think he should have done a skit showing how dull crime drama would be if it was realistic. Couple comes home to discover they've been burgled, a crumpled detective played by David Tennant turns up, tyakes their statement then shrugs and says they'll never catch who did it. The end
I know what you mean, and I can see how a lot of those PIFs skew reality (seriously how many kids were killed by kites and electricity pylons I wonder?) but I don't see how the films to stop kids being run over or drink driving are skewing reality.
I think he should have done a skit showing how dull crime drama would be if it was realistic. Couple comes home to discover they've been burgled, a crumpled detective played by David Tennant turns up, tyakes their statement then shrugs and says they'll never catch who did it. The end
Looking forward to it.
You said the point was that it wasn't supposed to be funny!
I know what you mean, and I can see how a lot of those PIFs skew reality (seriously how many kids were killed by kites and electricity pylons I wonder?) but I don't see how the films to stop kids being run over or drink driving are skewing reality.
I think he should have done a skit showing how dull crime drama would be if it was realistic. Couple comes home to discover they've been burgled, a crumpled detective played by David Tennant turns up, tyakes their statement then shrugs and says they'll never catch who did it. The end
No, I said the point wasn't "Public information films are funny" I didn't mean the show wasn't meant to be funny, the show was showing how TV effects your expectations of life.
Well there's a difference between teaching kids to look before they cross and telling them they'll be hit by a drunk driver if they don't. Drink driving is a totally separate thing to not crossing the road without due care and attention.
Wow, teen programs there are outstandingly obnoxious: "Something Else" and "Whatever" are the best titles ever.
"I like pussy and I like my mom, but if you put the two together, I'll knock you out!"
"I like pussy and I like my mom, but if you put the two together, I'll knock you out!"
Ha, talking like they're the only seen programmes ever to come out of this great nation, but yeah, they're pretty shit. Ever see The Young Ones? I'm sure they took the piss out of Something Else on one episode.
Is it just me or is Charlie Brooker increasingly descending into madness? He looked even more like a homeless person than usually in the second episode.
Killing cats.........killing cats.......killing cats........killing cats.
That kid really wanted to get that in there, didn't he?
The first episode was okay, but I thought the second episode was fantastic. I especially loved his description of childbirth as being as visually appealing as a horse shitting out a wheelbarrow.
If I had to criticise the show for one thing it's that it goes over material that was already covered by Screenwipe, but that's not such a big deal as he gets to do an in-depth analysis on what's wrong with TV rather than 5-minute drive-bys.
If I had to criticise the show for one thing it's that it goes over material that was already covered by Screenwipe, but that's not such a big deal as he gets to do an in-depth analysis on what's wrong with TV rather than 5-minute drive-bys.
^Also this is primetime BBC 2 rather than hidden on BBC 4 so I guess it'll be the first time it's covered for a lot of viewers.
I want to play Nigel Slater's Coriander Panic! 
None more so than this week's episode - even the intro was a toned-down version of a very similar segment on aspirational TV in an early Screenwipe episode, complete with vagrants and a muddied-up Brooker and the same "enjoy dick and shoes" joke, only this time he had a whole half hour to go into depth on the subject.
None more so than this week's episode - even the intro was a toned-down version of a very similar segment on aspirational TV in an early Screenwipe episode, complete with vagrants and a muddied-up Brooker and the same "enjoy dick and shoes" joke, only this time he had a whole half hour to go into depth on the subject.
I want to play Nigel Slater's Coriander Panic!
None more so than this week's episode - even the intro was a toned-down version of a very similar segment on aspirational TV in an early Screenwipe episode, complete with vagrants and a muddied-up Brooker and the same "enjoy dick and shoes" joke, only this time he had a whole half hour to go into depth on the subject.
Middle class video games, a huge untapped market, they don't need ideas on that score.
I thought the same when I watched, still loved the episode though, possibly the best one yet.
Loved the the end bit, where they coped grand designs for homeless people.
Loved the the end bit, where they coped grand designs for homeless people.
Traditionally situated in alleyway surroundings, with discarded newspaper for insulation, it's fully recyclable in case they should both die in a cold snap
[yt]v=m10GYS9cunc[/yt]
I appreciate that this new show allows him to go into more detail on subjects like this, but I must admit that I prefer the shorter version from Screenwipe. It's probably my favourite thing he has done, aided greatly by the music which is arguably its most appropriate use since Requiem for a Dream itself.
It's a bit lazy that he copied so many jokes from that segment though.
I appreciate that this new show allows him to go into more detail on subjects like this, but I must admit that I prefer the shorter version from Screenwipe. It's probably my favourite thing he has done, aided greatly by the music which is arguably its most appropriate use since Requiem for a Dream itself.
It's a bit lazy that he copied so many jokes from that segment though.
This was a fantastic episode and Brooker was at full trot.......and i hope the BBC commission The underlings,it looked brilliant..."Send in their parents so i can have them strangled".
And what about the spoon and the doll...i almost fell off the chair.
He did reuse the sweet 16 bit before along with the same jokes but its such a train wreck of a clip that you can understand why, its gets his point across very succinctly.
And what about the spoon and the doll...i almost fell off the chair.
He did reuse the sweet 16 bit before along with the same jokes but its such a train wreck of a clip that you can understand why, its gets his point across very succinctly.
Similar threads
