Daily Telegraph yesterday:
Children in their early teens are being ignored by television producers, according to Phil Redmond, the creator of GRANGE HILL.
The programme-maker, who also wrote the soap BROOKSIDE, will argue at the Royal Television Society's annual lecture on Wednesday that broadcasters are "playing it safe" and ignoring a key section of their audience.
He said yesterday: "British producers are doing some marvellous things, particularly for very young kids, but is any of it really relevant to anything?
"The broadcasters are concentrating on making shows for children who are under 11. They stick to what is safe and easy and, in the case of the BBC, it fits in with their family-viewing policy.
"Anthing shown before 10pm has to be suitable for everyone, so you get children watching TOP GEAR instead of programmes made for them."
Redmond said drama on television was not dealing with issues that relate to youth culture, such as binge-drinking and knife and gun ownership.
He believes that programmes aimed at teens will increasingly be made for an online audience.
I couldn't agree more. There used to be really excellent series and serials for early teens, who are now expected to jump straight from CBBC to Hollyoaks.
It all seems to have gone wrong when junk food ads were banned from childrens TV, so ITV just filled the timeslots up with clapped out repeats of Morse and Rosemary and Thyme. What the BBC's excuse is I have no idea.
When I was in my teens I absolutely could not miss Press Gang. Watching it on DVD recently I was impressed how well it holds up. If nothing else it could be worth showing again, but it's a shame there's nothing that speaks to teens in the same way these days.
Also, young Julia Sawalha was totally hot
She still looks pretty good now, and I loved Press Gang as well - I'll have to revisit it some time. With Steven Moffat taking over on Dr Who it might even get a re-run to capitalise on his high profile.
I can dream, anyway...
Yeah. That sort of thing is rife in my neighbourhood too. This is the guy who gives us Hollyoaks bimbos isn't it? Someone should stick a blade somewherename='Maurice']Redmond said drama on television was not dealing with issues that relate to youth culture, such as binge-drinking and knife and gun ownership.
Hollyoaks TV Show Exposed As High Class Prostitution Ring | Gubuwire
name='Maurice']
Redmond said drama on television was not dealing with issues that relate to youth culture, such as binge-drinking and knife and gun ownership.
My sons (now in their twenties) and their friends, while not being saints, never felt the need to indulge in the activities mentioned. Thank God I don't live in Mr Redmond's neighbourhood.
Well, that's what they told you!!name='alan gowdy']My sons (now in their twenties) and their friends, while not being saints, never felt the need to indulge in the activities mentioned. Thank God I don't live in Mr Redmond's neighbourhood.
I can't help but blame the BBC for creating a CBBC channel in direct competition with the likes of Cartoon Network on Sky.
Kids were always going to choose the brightly coloured, fast paced non stop cartoon channel arther the the rather lacklustre stuff the BBC had on offer.
Once upon a time, childrens programming ran from around 3pm to 6pm and went up in age as it progressed. Cartoons and small kids entertainemt first, then something for the older kids, then Newsround and Blue Peter and then something like Grange Hill for the 12 to 16 year olds.
Then it was straight into the evening news giving older kids an opportunity to catch up with current affairs, even if they only stayed for the headlines. It was organised to create a family environment which provided entertainment and eductaion at the same time. Most ofthe shows for older kids dealt with issues that were important to that age group. Even Take Hart with Morph provided "edutainment" in fine fashion.
Mind you, how many teenagers these days could be prised away from the new generation of electric babysitter, the XBox or PlayStation? I know if I asked my 15 yr old if he'd rather shoot his mates for 5 hours whilst chatting via a wireless headset or build a bunk for Action Man using a cereal packet, a couple of loo roll inners and some sticky back plastic then he'd tell me in no uncertain terms what I could do with Action Man and his bunk.
I don't really think that TV is failing teenagers, I think its parents. Todays 40 year olds were 20 when the Mega Drive hit the stores and so the next generation were brought up with this new, imagination unneccessary form of entertainment where a totally immersive environment is laid out in front of them and they have to complete preset tasks to progress through it. The 'free roaming' aspect of video gaming is a myth, you only free roam when you can't figure out what to do next.
Its the same with kids, they only start to use their imaginations when they are bored and, with video games and 200 channels of 24 hr TV, those moments simply aren't encouraged enough.
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