O/T BBC4 Where Did It All Go Wrong?

[Kev Mulrenan]

I used to watch this channel avidly for archive stuff.

I can't remember the last time I watched it.

It's nadir approaches; a play on Barbara Cartland!

Anyone else concur?

[Eric Lawton]

I agree Kevin.
Used to love getting the TV and Satellite Guide and highlighting some good old nostalgia to record on BBC 4. Now, theres hardly anything on. The odd programme on BBC 3 / 4 now.
I find SKY ARTS is quite a good channel for classic music. Some good concerts to be found.

[Koen Br]

There is (in my opinion) nothing wrong with doing a play about Barbara Cartland, as there's no reason why you couldn't make a decent piece of TV drama about someone simply because she's known for writing drivel.

I do have an issue with the overall tone of these biopics though, which, focusing on scandals and containing lots of factual errors (according to those who know more than myself, I hasten to add) seem to be the TV equivalent of tabloids. And yet they are promoted as high-brow drama!

There have been some interesting repeats in recent months. Going back to July in my dvd collection I've come across some Arenas, Design Classics, Dixon of Dock Green, Morning in the Streets, Tales of Twelv Cities, The Wednesday Play (Golden Vision), Play of the Week (Our Day Out), Z Cars, Sleepers, Takin' Over The Asylum, Ways of Seeing, Monitor, The Late Show, The Rock 'n Roll Years, Hindsight, Great Railway Journeys and Steam Days.

I admit many of these are either non-fiction or have been released/repeated in recent times, while what we're all waiting for round here is a 10-year drama season, including repeats of every single drama production from the 60s and 70s.

BBC4 isn't bad, but it could be a lot better, especially if it received some of the money now thrown away producing crap. I'm referring to masterpieces such as Real Rescues, Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is, Open House, Cash in the Attic, Bargain Hunt, Doctors, EastEnders, The Planners are Coming, Accidental Heroes or What to Eat Now. And that's just the rubbish on BBC1 for today...

[Andy Howells]

I agree with Koen, I have acquired quite a bit of archive tv myself from BBCFour this year, including various In Concerts, Z Cars, Dixon, Steptoe, Up pompeii, Marty feldman, Face To Face, Days that Shook The World, top Of the Pops, The Avengers, and Frost Report etc.

I dont think its actually in their remit to show lots of archive tv, but I dont think they do a bad job. I would like to see more complete runs of series akin to The Avengers, repeats or the complete first series of Steptoe that they did during The Curse Of Comedy season.

Say, a late night rerun of Z Cars or Dixon would be extremely welcome or even unearthing the occasional classic serial or more themed comedy seasons.

I'd particularly like to see more recovered archive stuff, but I also have a lot of time for compilation shows such as Guitar Heroes at the BBC which went out last week, these shows at least try to respect the clips they use a bit more (rather than idiotic TOTP2 voice overs which make you feel cheapened for actually liking a particular song, singer or clip).

[Peter Elliott]

BBC4 is for me the only channel worth watching but in more recent times, that's mainly down to the archive repeats. The newly made dramas... I can live without them... seen 2 or 3 of them and they just annoy me since if they can't be bothered to get their facts right, then I can't be bothered to watch them. Barbara Cartland? Good grief... whatever next? I much prefer the documentaries they make though.

I do think BBC4 could be much better in various ways... I too think they should have weekly spots for various series which would give us all the chance to see episodes we don't normally see, like Z Cars. Theres 2 o 3 hundred of those, and it's a shame they just sit there in the archive only for BBC4 to dig out episodes we've already seen or got in recent years.

It just p***** me off that BBC1 and BBC2 spam us with Strictly Come Dancing 7 days a week... the weekday programs are completely unnecessary and then there's the obnoxious Eggheads and even that now has a spin off... come on BBC... stop insulting us with this drivel! An archive repeat would be far more worthwhile.

[Joe Haynes]

I completely agree with you Peter. I really think that BBC 4 should have its Archive Night each week and show 5 series over the amount of weeks. Start with Classic Doctor Who, Followed by Some Top of the Pops,Z-Cars and then Maybe some Dixon of Doc Green. They need to make it a Routine, that way they will pull in the viewers.


To be honest i havent seen anything from 'The Archives' on BBC 4 yet which is a shame, i always seems to tune in to the boring stuff

[Peter Elliott]

Oct 23, 2008 21:28:18 GMT Joe Haynes said:

I completely agree with you Peter. I really think that BBC 4 should have its Archive Night each week and show 5 series over the amount of weeks. Start with Classic Doctor Who, Followed by Some Top of the Pops,Z-Cars and then Maybe some Dixon of Doc Green. They need to make it a Routine, that way they will pull in the viewers.

That would be wonderful! It offers so many permutations and would be an ideal way to allow us to see some more of this material that's in the archives. Fact is, we're all getting older and I'm certain even the actors or those involved in their production would welcome the opportunity to see it again. BBC1 and BBC2 have pretty much established that archive material (and b+w) is of no interest to them whereas it makes up the heart of BBC4 which has no qualms about b+w material.

It does need to establish some kind of routine to sit alongside their ever changing themed programming which I do greatly enjoy so giving one evening a week to a regular run of certain shows surely would be beneficial. If anything it would be the highlight of the week for many of us here and I'm sure elsewhere. My Gran is now 90... she loved Z Cars and I know she would love the chance to see those one last time instead of the drivel she is expected to watch to BBC1 and 2.

Let's what is left of the original audience who enjoyed these shows have the chance to see them once more whilst they can and allow us the chance to watch and enjoy shows from a more innocent time when TV had certain morals and standards severely lacking today.

[Kev Mulrenan]

I'm sure a decent archive night would be very popular and the Beeb would recoup costs by flogging extra dvds.

I just snapped when I saw the play about Barbara. I hope it is rubbish and flops completely.

The bbc4 controller is moving on thankfully although we better be careful what we wish for!

[Deleted]

I can't see what's wrong with ANY channel (BBC4 would be a good candidate though) devoting just one full evening per week to vintage programming of all genres; there are "classic" movie channels which devote themselves to showing purely these, so surely a single night of classic TV isn't too much to ask?!? Maybe a drama, play, comedy, documentary and music show to fill out a schedule. Just once a week (a couple of the items being ongoing repeat runs of those shows, the rest being one-offs). That way, we'd get the chance to view more archive TV (that cries out very loudly to be seen again) and it would also offer a fresh and different focus to one evening.

[Adrian Gregg]

one of the main reasons for the mass "junkings" was that to Re-Show a program would be a enormous red tape Mission, contacting everyone involved in the production etc tec..
Does this Still apply to Pre 1980 productions on bb4?
could this be the reason we don't get more archive stuff?

[Stuart Huggett]

It may be cheaper for these programmes to be streamed online, rather than re-broadcast?
Certainly the Archive area of www.bbc.co.uk and the TV Classics area of www.itv.com have expanded hugely over the past few months with streamable vintage programming, of all eras.
It's possible that petitioning for programmes to go up here, rather than for actual re-broadcast, may achieve a better result?

[John W King]

I've never quite understood what repeats are shown on which Channel. I've had Sky since they introduced UK Gold and Granada Plus many years and these 2 channels alone repeated some of the very best of TV with complete runs of Duchess of Duke Street, Onedin Line, Family at War, Sam and even the best years of Coronation Street. But in recent years it has got worse.
As some people have said BBC 4 has been quite good but they show the repeat once and that's it so if you miss it it's gone!
Anyway..........I have at times thought one solution to see old B & W programmes ought to be............ UK SILVER - a channel showing only B & W programmes
. Even if it only broadcast in the twilight hours it could open up the archives to lots of really old programmes.
It could include classic Doctor Who (Harnell and Troughton), Any surviving Z Cars, Dr Finlay, Original Forsyte Saga, Dixon, Early Coronation Street..................the Lone Ranger and other film series (as opposed to "video" TV). There must be enough in the archives to fill the schedules to be broadcast between say 01.00 and 06.00 - instead of Teleshopping!

[Peter Elliott]

A UK Silver channel would be fantastic and very useful.

Whilst we have been talking about BBC4 here which naturally helps open up the BBC archive a bit. we definitely need something for ITV channels too since there is tons of vintage commercial TV thats never been repeated. We see brief clips of some every once in a while but a chance to see vintage ABC, ATV, Redifussion and Granada (to name just a handful) shows would also be very welcome.

[Peter Chadwick]

BBC Four is about the only channel I bother with these days - always guaranteed a decent documentary and a sprinkling of archive shows; you certainly won't find them on any other channel. Indeed, I've recently cancelled my Sky subscription and just watch the free channels (predominantly Beeb four).