Which TV Shows To Axe?

[samkydd]

This is going to be difficult because there are so many awful programmes out there, so if we confine it to the UK terrestrial five channels, but if you were boss of all these channels which programmes do you think should be axed and why?



It would be far simpler to list ones that should stay, but even some of my former favourites have now become The Brand and have suffered because of it, cashing in on their original popularity but now delivering half hearted and lacklustre shadows of their former selves.



Inspector Frost is a good example of a once entertaining police drama which now suffers from poor writing, one dreary main plot and a feeble sub-plot and the feeling that it's just going through the motions. Years ago when it stayed true to R D Wingfield's stories, style and characters it was very enjoyable.



Others were unmissable like 24 for example, but I think it's time to call it a day! Having said that it's still a squillion times better than the Waking the Deads, Rebus and Taggarts of our TV world! From the US The Sopranos was excellent but the last series started to look a little tired so perhaps "quit while your ahead" should apply!



Programmes I can't stay in the same room as and would be chopped immediately are:



Eastenders

The Royal

Casualty

Holby City

Big Brother

Airline

Celebrity Whatever

Anything with that Anthony Fatbeardedchef

Anything with Jonathan Ross or Phil Jupitus

and many more

[DB7]

BBC1: The 10 O'Clock News. Move it back to 9 then the BBC might not fill the late evening schedule with repeats and lame films.

BBC2: Masterchef/Ready Steady Cook: These gits now have their own satellite channel so can't we do without their omnipresence on terrestial tv.

ITV: Tonight with Trevor McDonald, he's as dull as ditchwater and this is no substitute for the axed World in Action. (also, who decided to bring Supermarket Sweep back!) Also 'celebrity' Family Fortunes and anything with Simon Cowell.

CH4: Big Brother, thus forcing the channel to commision new programming rather than rely on cameras in a small house to occupy 1/3rd of their schedule.

CH5: Erm...

UK Gold: Only Fools and Horses. We've seen them all a billion times!

[Carmel]

All those horrible saturday evening shows celebrity dancing on ice, poker face Please give us back the old saturday nights with russ abbots mad house, house party beadles about, 321 dustie bin they were saturday nights.

[Wolfgang]

The Bill



Once gripping crime drama, it was impossible not to enjoy watching Burnside 'nicking slags', now it has fallen victim to TV's cross channel agenda of feminisation. I find it so nauseating now I cannot even passively watch it, I have to turn it off.

[samkydd]

name='Wolfgang']The Bill



Once gripping crime drama, it was impossible not to enjoy watching Burnside 'nicking slags', now it has fallen victim to TV's cross channel agenda of feminisation. I find it so nauseating now I cannot even passively watch it, I have to turn it off.

It's been so long since I watched it I'd forgotten how bad The Bill ended up. Another example of "hey guys let's pension off the proper actors and get some groovy young scowling airheads in to attract the kids, and a few ex-soapsters to attract Mum and Dad!"

[image45]

Just Torchwood please!

[marker]

I gave up watching the Bill over a year ago as it had gone so far downhill it was no longer credible,and Emmerdale is going the same way

[Harbottle]

name='samkydd']This is going to be difficult because there are so many awful programmes out there, so if we confine it to the UK terrestrial five channels, but if you were boss of all these channels which programmes do you think should be axed and why?



It would be far simpler to list ones that should stay, but even some of my former favourites have now become The Brand and have suffered because of it, cashing in on their original popularity but now delivering half hearted and lacklustre shadows of their former selves.



Inspector Frost is a good example of a once entertaining police drama which now suffers from poor writing, one dreary main plot and a feeble sub-plot and the feeling that it's just going through the motions. Years ago when it stayed true to R D Wingfield's stories, style and characters it was very enjoyable.



Others were unmissable like 24 for example, but I think it's time to call it a day! Having said that it's still a squillion times better than the Waking the Deads, Rebus and Taggarts of our TV world! From the US The Sopranos was excellent but the last series started to look a little tired so perhaps "quit while your ahead" should apply!



Programmes I can't stay in the same room as and would be chopped immediately are:



Eastenders

The Royal

Casualty

Holby City

Big Brother

Airline

Celebrity Whatever

Anything with that Anthony Fatbeardedchef

Anything with Jonathan Ross or Phil Jupitus

and many more

Other than Casualty I could not agree more. I watch Waking The Dozing even though I know it's not very good, invariably the "two parter’s" could easily be wrapped up in an hour (like last week's). We had already guessed that the brother had done it and that the lady trickcyclist was involved with the other brother before the first part ended! Oh and we were wondering would those “acid trip” sequences never end zzzzzzzzz



A couple of others:



A few more millionaires deciding whether Joe Blog’s idea deserves their “investment” or Auntie Doris deserves the cash to visit her 90 old cousin in Australia.



Ripping off the “vulnerable” with all these premium rate “Quiz” shows.

[Carmel]

i have to say if every Police station was as corupt as Sun Hill i wouldn't even go near the police if something went wrong, their story lines are unrealistic and awful.

[knobbykins]

I hardly watch any TV and haven't for years.It's all dreary depressing rubbish,endlessly recycled like a chickens diet!

Last week i actually watched 5 hours worth,but it was rugby so maybe it doesn't count.

Terminate all soaps and reality programmes,replace with films.It's that easy!



(Cor, i needed that!)

[Marky B]

Antiques programmes and auction shows (except for the daddy of them all The Antiques Road Show);

Cookery programmes (except Rachel Allen ,Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall and national treasure Ray Mears);

I like Jonathan Ross' show,but it needs less of love ins with Ricky Gervais and other over rated and unfunny comedians;

Makeover programmes;

Celebrity this that and the other;

Big Brother in any form;

Dancing on Ice,Strictly Come Dancing;

X Factor (mind ,Leoni was a worthy winner of the last show,but she deserved to do good anyway,without going through that crap and sharing screen time with Eddy Munster) and other wannabe starmaking programmes

Stupid quiz programmes during the night with the most blandest of presenters;

ITV drama one offs;

Any drama involving David Jason (great comedy actor,but through the straight face,all I can see is Del Boy and Granville);

A culling of police/detective dramas (ie:Inspector Lynely,the new Taggarts,Rebus,Waking the Dead,Marple PI - not a patch on Joan Hickson,Wire in the Blood {in fact anything with Robson Green};

Unfunny sitcoms (which could lead us with no sitcoms);

I am sure there is more.....

Ta ta

Marky B

[spinalman]

name='knobbykins']I hardly watch any TV and haven't for years.It's all dreary depressing rubbish,endlessly recycled like a chickens diet!

Last week i actually watched 5 hours worth,but it was rugby so maybe it doesn't count.

Terminate all soaps and reality programmes,replace with films.It's that easy!



(Cor, i needed that!)

Agreed.



My vote: Clear the channels and bring them back on merit. They don't get in the schedules if they are:



a poor clone of an original format -most BBC reality

socially dangerous and represent poor role models - Eastenders et al.

presenter based programmes unless the presenter has subject related talent over that of other presenters. (R winston, R mears yes, almost everyone else - no)

Celebrity based programmes where the celebs. agent is better at their job then the talent they represent

any programme that uses the phrase: "coming up...", "with only two weeks to complete...", " remember they need to get all the money..", and "bombshell".

Any news programme where a graphic obscures the image.

Any news programme where the presenter needs to "hand over"

Any news programme where the presenter states a fact that is repeated by a reporter within 12 seconds.

Any news programme that uses live links where more than 40% of the background image is black.

Any news programme that uses phrase "and you can see more of that on.."

Any programme where a pause for effect is inserted longer than 2 seconds.

Any Police / hospital drama where the principal lighting is NOT from flousrescent striplights.

Any drama which features Ireland against an arbitrary backdrop of "the troubles".

Any drama which sympatheically portrays a family as "salt of the earth" but in reality means feckless.



Any drama that features a typecast James Nesbitt, Sarah Lancashire or Robson Greene,

[tonewheel]

It' s recently occured to me after many years as a Sky subscriber what a complete waste of money the subscription is. Over the years I have trawled the menu looking for good old B&W British films only to come across a token offering tossed to us now and again by Sky to keep us oldies hooked. But now I believe I'm cured. Being rather slow on the uptake I've realised that for the cost of the Sky subscription I can now purchase a dvd of any film at any time of my choosing and still be in pocket. So for me they can cancel just about everything on the box including the likes of Ant @ Dec, Jonathon Ross, Billy Connolly, Ricky gervais, David jason , dale Winton and all the other non-entities who are embedded on our tv screens.

[dylan]

Anything billed as *Sci-Fi*. Let's have some real adult science fiction and fantasy by writers like Wyndham, Ballard, Priest and Aldiss.



(Life On Mars is ok, tho')



D.

[Carmel]

name='tonewheel']It' s recently occured to me after many years as a Sky subscriber what a complete waste of money the subscription is. Over the years I have trawled the menu looking for good old B&W British films only to come across a token offering tossed to us now and again by Sky to keep us oldies hooked. But now I believe I'm cured. Being rather slow on the uptake I've realised that for the cost of the Sky subscription I can now purchase a dvd of any film at any time of my choosing and still be in pocket. So for me they can cancel just about everything on the box including the likes of Ant @ Dec, Jonathon Ross, Billy Connolly, Ricky gervais, David jason , dale Winton and all the other non-entities who are embedded on our tv screens.

i too have subscribed to sky for years and pay for the full package to watch films that are repeated on every channel. what a waste of money i to will be giving up on sky and buy more dvd's and as you say and still be in pocket.

[djdave]

Anything with "Celebrity..." in the title.



Also, any copycat shows because they display a lazy and contemptuous attitude to programme-making and the audienece i.e. "Oh, the plebs LOVED Strictly Come Dancing, so lets give them something similar on ice skates..."

[Marky B]

You're right,Djdave - 24 hours of too many channels result in padding out with copycat shows.

Ta Ta

Marky B

[image45]

name='dylan']Anything billed as *Sci-Fi*. Let's have some real adult science fiction and fantasy by writers like Wyndham, Ballard, Priest and Aldiss.



(Life On Mars is ok, tho')



D.

writers like Wyndham, Ballard ~ you need to watch the remaining episodes of the 'Out of the Unknown' series then

[Carl Farrell]

Having read all the posts there doesn't seem a lot left!! For me it would be anything that could be called a "reality" TV show, basically anything you have to vote about. They are not reality and have taken TV to a marked new low

[Crimson]

All soaps and kill and bury the cast and writers so that they can't come back.

All reality TV and deal with them ditto.

Cooking and lifestyle shows.

Well now that we're left with the Test Card shall we beging again?