BBC series Secret Army

[Rolf Steiner]

Have been having some long Youtube sessions with this (is there a DVD set??). Forgot how great this series was. It's high on the moral ambiguities, treats us to some fairly rounded characters on both sides (it's quite hard not to like Major Brandt for example, although he's out to nail the heroes, who in turn have to resort to some pretty brutal stuff to keep themselves in business), and Clifford Rose as Kessler is bloody terrifying... oh for some Brit TV of this calibre now...

[phylo_roadking]

oh for some Brit TV of this calibre now

Not a hope, the BBC are distancing themselves even further from drama this year Look at the pigs' abortion they made of Day Of The Triffids a few weeks ago, and the mess that Survivors is compared to then 1970s version.

What drama they ARE "doing" - "they" aren't, they're just commissioning and paying for independent companies to produce. I know this is the done thing nowadays - but in the case of the BBC it's abdicating a degree of responsibility for quality even further IIRC they even recenetly aired a drama series they'd paid an ITV company to make for them!!!

As a P.S. - keep your eyes open, the entire set regularly airs on satellite in the UK somewhere

[Rolf Steiner]

Ah yes, much as I try not to wallow in 'it were better when I were lad' sentiments, I have to admit contemporary Brit TV drama output is c*ck. There's a real cultural impasse going on here, and I'm not sure what it's going to take to shift it. I tend to think if you settle for a load of stupid b***cks, then TV companies will keep churning that out till that's all you're left with, or else you vote with your feet, storm the Big Brother house with flammenwerfers, whatever it takes. The only reason I've not binned off my set and saved myself 140 quid a year is the odd documentary that's still squeaking through... that Dimbleby one on the ages of Britain and the other one on British naval power are keeping me hanging in there.

[Richard Hargreaves]

Have been having some long Youtube sessions with this (is there a DVD set??). Forgot how great this series was. It's high on the moral ambiguities, treats us to some fairly rounded characters on both sides (it's quite hard not to like Major Brandt for example, although he's out to nail the heroes, who in turn have to resort to some pretty brutal stuff to keep themselves in business), and Clifford Rose as Kessler is bloody terrifying... oh for some Brit TV of this calibre now...

To answer the DVD question... yes, but not cheap.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Secret-Army-Com ... 090&sr=1-1

Funnily enough, I'm working my way through both series of Wings at present (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wings-1-2-DVD-T ... 161&sr=1-1). An excellent series, but what struck me was how slow it was, particularly 'on the ground'. A lot of it feels more like a stage play (the Flight Cdr is prone to lengthy soliloquy) and the bits in the sergeant pilot's home village really drag with long pauses and the like.

I think tastes have simply moved on, much like the style of newspaper writing or news reporting now is different from 35 years ago. But what's really striking is the length of series back then - Wings runs for about 13 episodes each series. These days a run in the UK is what? Six, eight shows. Anything beyond that and you're watching a soap opera.

Personally, I think we're long overdue a TV drama about the invasion of Poland or the defence of Normandy. I could provide a good solid base for source material.

PS. I actually enjoyed the Beeb version of the Triffids over Xmas. Mind you, I was zonked up on painkillers for a broken shoulder at the time...

[phylo_roadking]

PS. I actually enjoyed the Beeb version of the Triffids over Xmas. Mind you, I was zonked up on painkillers for a broken shoulder at the time...

You needed to be!

But what's really striking is the length of series back then - Wings runs for about 13 episodes each series. These days a run in the UK is what? Six, eight shows.

Richard - depends on the series Dr Who and (shudder) Robin Hood etc. run for 13...the 6-episode series are therefore a "half" season"

I have to admit contemporary Brit TV drama output is c*ck.

Rolf, why do I get the impression you're a Top Gear fan?

[Richard Hargreaves]

Everyone's a Top Gear fan, although we could do with the lass on the German series replacing RIchard Hammond...

13 episodes of Dr Who is 13 too many for me. Load of camp sci-fi twaddle. Did enjoy Life on Mars, because I'm a Manc, and Ashes to Ashes, because the lass was top totty.

[Rolf Steiner]

Woooahhh... less of that Top Gear talk. James May I can deal with, he did that televised ride in a U2 spyplane (which beats any association with the rock band in my book), I don't mind him. Hammond needs to stay away from the styling products and personal shoppers half his age, as for Clarkson... Victor Lewis Smith said everything that needs saying about him in the late 90s (see youtube, it's in poor taste, but you're made of stronger stuff than me if it doesn't make you laugh). Anyhow, I've never watched an episode. Petrol Heads Must Burn??!

[Rolf Steiner]

Oh dear... drunken ranting... sorry! On a more sober note, another reason to pay the license fee is that Andrew Marr history of Britain show. 'Charles', (does one have to be called Charles to be a butler?), 'Sir Oswald is leaving...' 'But I haven't finished my brandy!!!'