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The quality of our drama series's on television is poor

Had enough of crap drama series's (September 2005)

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PF
PaulFox
Personally I would love to see the back of Footballers Wives and Bad Girls because they are utter trash and diabolically acted. I would also like to see Holby City and Doctors axed as well because they are suppose to be drama series's but they are like trashy soap operas and they have been trashy soap operas since the day they kicked off. What drama series or drama series's would everyone else on here like to see the back of?
BB
BBC LDN
I think it's grotesquely unfair to say that the quality of drama series is poor, especially considering the selection that you have isolated. The likes of Casualty, Holby City and The Bill are essentially soaps. Holby was originally designed to be a soap, but Casualty and The Bill have mutated from their original roles as pretty decent drama series to fairly run-of-the-mill soaps with occasional "explosive" episodes worth watching.

However, there are still drama series worth watching like Spooks and Waking The Dead. And to be honest, there is an abundance of exceptional one-off drama programmes which in some ways negate the need for drama serials. I personally think that there is plenty of room for excellent drama series like Waking The Dead, but I still have a lot of time for the abundance of exceptional drama programmes that pop-up occasionally, which quite happily fill a void which doesn't require me to remember to the set the video at the same time each week. ITV1 in particular is outstanding with many of its occasional dramas, and they're not all formulaic cop shows either.

While it may be true that some of our "old favourites" have lost something that they once had, there's still plenty of brilliant British drama on show, whether its in the form of an annual series or one-off, disjointed programmes showcasing exceptional scripts and often some very original ideas or challenging subjects.
GS
Gavin Scott Founding member
I think the innappropriate use of the apostrophe in the thread title is similarly grotesque.
MD
mdtauk
I say axe Footballer's Wives, but I am anti-Chav and anti-Celebrity. And I dont watch Bad Girls to judge.
LO
lovin_it
I dont know about you but I love Footballers Wives.. Hideously outrageous! And I'm looking forward to Mike Bassett: Football Manager too...
DU
Dunedin
Bodies.

That's all I've got to say- BBC Two Saturday 9:10pm, with the next episode on Three at 10:10.

The first series was outstanding and having seen the first episode of this series it's top notch too.

Drama that makes you stop and think; challenging drama from the BBC. It deserves every British drama award going, but no doubt they'll go to Footballer's wives or some other ludicrously safe ITV drama.
MD
mdtauk
Judge John Deed, Hustle and Waking the Dead, are my favourite dramas at the moment.
:-(
A former member
Gavin Scott posted:
I think the innappropriate use of the apostrophe in the thread title is similarly grotesque.


Unfortunate.
GS
Gavin Scott Founding member
jason posted:
Gavin Scott posted:
I think the innappropriate use of the apostrophe in the thread title is similarly grotesque.


Unfortunate.


I have Parkinson's disease which leads me to have shaky hands. I hope you are very proud.

Oh no wait, that was a lie.
SE
Square Eyes Founding member
I always find there to be a lot of misplaced snobbery around here, and mainly that other forum when it comes to popular drama.

Sometimes I Iike to come home from a hard day at work, disengage brain, switch on the TV and watch two middle aged cons blackmailing a fat prison cook for alcohol in exchange for cream cakes whilst the central character is murdered by an icicle stabbed into the neck. I also have a picture of the character Bodybag on my bedroom wall.

Don't get me wrong, I like to be challenged, and can happily sit through (and understand) an episode of Judge John Deed, Waking the Dead, 24, Lost etc (ok with Lost it's a struggle).

I don't subscribe to this misconception that 'quality drama' is only that which appeals to a tiny audience, and anything 'safe' and popular is necessarily not worthy of my time.

Oh, and the thing about Bodybag was a lie. Obviously.
PE
Pete Founding member
Exactly SE. I love difficult shows like Lost but at the same time enjoy meaningless trash that's purely there for entertainment such as Footballers Wives and Crossroads.
MD
mdtauk
I dont believe Footballer's Wives is bad telly, but I believe it has a target deographic, which I dont fall in. I hate celebrity culture, magazines like Hello and OK, programes like Jordan and Peter, and entertainment tonight.

I watch TV for various reasons:

SOAPS
EastEnders, The Bill, Corrination Street, because it is like watching real life people going through emotions etc.

DRAMA
Judge John Deed, Waking the Dead, Poirot, Inspector Morse, Hustle etc, because it allows me to think and uses my brain.

SCI-FI
Star Trek mainly because I like to think how the future could be

DOCU-SOAPS / DOCU-DRAMAS
Programmes like Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares, Airport, Secret Policeman etc because I like to see real people doing real things.

But thats about all I watch, and when it comes to films, They have to have a big story, or be important, or else I take no interest

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