British TV Review 2009

Colour of money was a load of old crap wasn't it?

I can't say it was a good year for UK telly, ITV still manages to push reach rock bottom more? and making the The bill more US programmes does not help.

When will ITV start making better choices and stop relining so much on the soaps

Look - Boogie Beebies is for pre-school children.

I cannot fathom anything of less interest to teenagers, never mind the wider audience.

TV Forum isn't necessarily representative of all demographics in the UK, but by now you must have heard the almost unanimous sound of "urgh" every time you pitch this children's show for an adult audience.

In my opinion your taste is somewhat... unique - for a man of your years.

If that's not something you've realised on your own then it should by now be something you've gleaned from the reactions of forumers here.

Got that?

I hadn't heard of the TV programme "Colour of Money" until I read your note just now, so obviously I didn't watch it. Since reading your note, I've done a Google search for it and found this reference to it on Wikipedia. According to the article, it was a game show presented by Chris Tarrant, shown on ITV.

Amazing that this show could be such a flop when a previous ITV game show presented by Chris Tarrant, "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" was such a popular success from the start.

I meant on Red Nose Day night 2009, have one edition with Pete doing a dance for teenagers at 9:20pm, - have a group of teenagers on stage with him dancing to a song appropriate for teenagers. Then after midnight have a group of adults with him dancing to a song appropriate for adults. Same idea as the original pre-school show, but adapted for a different age group (different type of song).

Chris beat bob to doing the most number of Gameshow, Saying that alot of Gameshow by Chris were flops.

To many problems are still UK television with most dating back to 1993, I think its time there was an overhaul in the way UK tv is done this making sure our standards do not drop any more, starting with that 25% quote on ITV programmes being made by out side companies to be scraped.

I am aware of what you were proposing, I'm still saying I think your idea sucks.

I'm sorry, but I do.

PS: Good luck finding a pack of teenagers who want to participate in a "Boogie Beebies" session, unless they're being paid a fee and go to the Sylvia Young Theatre School.

Realistically no 14 year old is going to want to be "taught" Boogie Beebies teenage style. No song in the known universe will ever be suitable for it. Given half a chance they'd all be outside the pub rubbernecking illegally acquired booze, having it off with a teenager of the opposite sex (or not as the case may be), be at a dance, "chilling out", or doing anything other than being "taught" a dance by some weirdo on the telly.

Nothing changes the fact your listed schedule sucks, and if I saw that on Red Nose Day, I wouldn't watch it and neither, I think, would most other people. What is this obsession with Boogie Beebies and why are you so keen to get it in every half baked fabricated schedule you produce? Just because you like it doesn't mean everybody else does. I mean I like my car. Do I try and mention my car at every opportunity going? I hope not.

But we spent all of last year discussing last year's TV. This year we should be discussing this year's TV!


No I don't and I didn't need to

Okay, to remind you, here's the three instances of Boogie Beebies specials in my suggested line-up for RND09:

Before 7:30: Boogie Beebies with Pete Hillier doing a dance appropriate for 6-12 year olds (and have a group of 6-12 year olds on stage dancing with Pete).

9:20 Boogie Beebies with Pete Hillier doing a dance appropriate for teenagers (and have a group of teenagers on stage dancing with Pete)

After midnight: Boogie Beebies with Pete Hillier doing a dance appropriate for adults 18 and over (and have adults of all age groups: 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s on stage dancing with Pete).

So you've bragged on about the inclusion of Boogie Beebies specials aimed at alternative age groups in my suggested schedule for RND 09. What about the rest of the stuff I suggested should have been included?

As I said, a lot of what we had to suffer and endure was tortuous garbage. Take Smithy v The England Team . about as amusing as watching paint dry. You'd just as well as had a team of software engineers giving a lecture about object oriented programming in C++: developing software applications either for a standalone PC v client-server on a network. To non-computer professionals that would have been downright boring.

Saying it a third time is completely superfluous. You're not talking to children.

Now for heaven's sake - if you can't take negative feedback on your idea then you might consider keeping a diary instead.

Which, in essence, is how you tend to write.

Why bore others needlessly?

TT, I've said this before and I'll say it again... your obsession with a pre-school dancing programme disturbs me

Fair enough, so what's your verdict on everything else I suggested for RND 2009 other than my three Boogie Beebies specials, e.g. more music than they had, stand-up comics, etc?


Well my region (HTV West) didn't switch in 2009 either; it's due to switch in spring this year (stage 1 24 March 2010, stage 2 7 April 2010). When is your ITV region due to switch?

Did you go for a day trip, or a stayaway of one or more nights during 2009, in an area that had switched (or was due to switch later in the year)? Here's some examples of me doing just that:

April 2009: went to Blackpool for a weekend. The Granada region hadn't switched at the time, but I saw posters warning it was to switch towards the end of 2009.

June 2009: went for a long weekend in Torquay, and during that weekend visited various places around south Devon. I was in the part of the Westcountry region that had switched (though some parts of it had yet to switch at the time). The guest house where I was in Torquay was lucky enough to get an adequate strength signal from Beacon Hill (to have all 6 muxes) rather than relying on the Torquay relay (3 muxes).

Late September 2009: 4-night holiday to Cornwall, staying in St Austell, but I travelled to places well spread out each day. By then the entire Westcountry region had switched. Where I stayed in St Austell I could only get the channels on the 3 PSB muxes, so that guest house must have been getting the St Austell relay, rather than trying to get Caradon Hill directly.


Well what was wrong with the one-off specials aimed at different age groups. A special edition of Boogie Beebies after midnight with Pete Hillier doing a dance appropriate for adults would have been fun. Just imagine seeing adults of all age groups: 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s on stage dancing with Pete. Wouldn't that have been hilarious enough to make viewers laugh and pledge money (which is what RND is about really)?