ITV Discussion Thread

LOL. What are those figures based on - the ones ITV have been using show News at Ten both up on the 10pm slot and on the 10.30pm bulletin - so one of them has to be wrong, surely.

This Guilty Pleasures show coming soon looks rather good, but I won't be watching because of Kelly Osbournes rendition of Total Eclipse of the Heart, which is briefly played in the trailer I saw last night. Seriously, I wanted to puke after hearing it.

Interesting article on what others think ITV needs in the industry:


Mark Thompson [on Fincham's appointment]: "It is very good. We need a strong ITV, it is not healthy for the industry as it is now."

"One of the key issues for Fincham to decide, Thompson says, is how far ITV1 needs to move its programming upmarket, as BBC1 was gently doing while he was controller"

"It's simple. He must pick popular shows which people want to watch. While ITV is, of course, interested in quality programmes, in the end it is ultimately only about ratings. You can't make a jolly nice worthy programme for ITV and only get a million viewers," [Kevin] Lygo says.

"The managing director of the large independent producer All3Media, and a former ITV executive, is succinct. "Find two new perennial returning drama series, an inch left of the norm, not a yard.""

"He also counsels against launching shows on ITV1. Instead, Fincham should nurture new strands such as sitcoms on the digital channels, before moving them across."


Full article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/mar/03/itv.television1?gusrc=rss&feed=media

The more clips I see from Rock Rivals the more it seems like simply the worst. show. ever. It doesn't even look like it could be a guilty pleasure in a bad but good kind of way - It just looks genuinely excruciatingly bad.

I agree, apparently its an "interactive drama" where the viewer can actually vote for who they want to win at the end of the series (more cashing in then).

Honestly why don't ITV just return to their roots and leave the experimental ideas to Channel 4 or Sky. It clearly doesn't work for them.

I think there is kind of a knock on effect too with the upcoming batch of new drama sort of being tarnished by the first offerings pretty much flopping.


If the likes of Honest and The Palace had been out and out hits, I think we'd probably be more willing to give Rock Rivals and The Fixer a chance - but as it is we're not expecting very much from them.


One thing Rock RIvals might have going for it is it's made by Shed Productions - who somehow have a nack of getting people to watch bad drama.

That made me laugh out loud!

Well The Fixer looks superb. I'll tune in to Rock Rivals for trashy escapism but it better be good on that level or I'll stop.

Dont see how - they are completely different dramas. I didnt watch Honest, and gave up on the Palace after about episode 5 but im still going to watch both The Fixer and Rock Rivals. Whether I will stay with them to the end depends on what they are like but I will probabaly stick with Rock Rivals as I like trashy dramas like Footballers Wives, and Sean Gallagher is in it!

I'm weirdly enjoying Rock Rivals so far. Then again, I do find myself watching X Factor, etc. that this is based on, and everybody loves a bit of trash now and then.

This is classic TV trash, I love it!

Interesting quote I just found, on Wikipedia though:



Sounds like we are going to see who win's Rock Rivals. We're hardly hearing any singing though!

And as you type, we hear singing...

from the character who's just killed themself.... or maybe not!