28 April 2007
POPSCENE
It's been a bad few weeks for the Popworld brand - first its spin-off magazine closes down after two issues, and now the series itself is being axed.
It could be said that this was inevitable after Simon Amstell and Miquita Oliver quit a year ago. However it's still enjoyable under the auspices of Alex Zane and Alexa Chung. Chung is particularly good at the comedy stuff, and is much funnier here than she is on Get A Grip (helped by the fact she actually gets to deliver some jokes on Popworld). Zane is perhaps more of an acquired taste, but he's watchable enough - his recent interview with Lemar, where questions included "Sum up your new album in a facial expression", "Can I be in your gang?", and "Promise you’ll never leave us ... EVER", was particularly amusing.
The general point, though, is that it's yet another pop show to disappear in the last 18 months or so. The ending of Top of the Pops was countered by the return of TOTP2 as a weekly series mixing the past and present, but after six months this has now returned to appearing only as occasional specials, which will obviously limit the appearance of new bands. Five's attempt to revive CD:UK has collapsed, while ITV1's replacement for that series has been abandoned due to an inability to find a sponsor.
In addition, for the first time in generations, there’s no live Saturday morning shows on the BBC or ITV, for so long a vital part of the publicity process for pop groups – the BBC are now stringing together pre-recorded shows as they do on weekdays, while ITV1 have stopped bothering completely. All you've got now is series like The Album Chart Show and Transmission, shown on Channel 4 in the middle of the night, and similarly nocturnal dadrock extravaganzas like Later with Jools Holland and Live From Abbey Road.
So if you're a pop group, what mainstream showcases are there for you to perform? There's Blue Peter, perhaps, the odd appearance between the programmes on T4, and maybe GMTV and This Morning. Maybe the prime slot now is acting as an intermission while the votes are counted on Strictly Come Dancing or Any Dream Will Do.
Hence, for the first time since, well, before The Beatles, maybe, pop music is relegated to filling the gaps on kids TV and variety. This is despite the fact the charts seem to have been revitalised in the past year or so, with the issues that were said to have spelt the end for the singles chart – records always entering at number one, tracks flying in and straight out again – no longer that common.
But now it seems to be YouTube and The Box all the way. Surely there's room for a half-hour show, with the sort of irreverent but enthusiastic approach of Popjustice or No Rock And Roll Fun, to bring the best of pop to a wider audience. And this is definitely not because knowing so little of what's in the chart is making me feel ancient.
It could be said that this was inevitable after Simon Amstell and Miquita Oliver quit a year ago. However it's still enjoyable under the auspices of Alex Zane and Alexa Chung. Chung is particularly good at the comedy stuff, and is much funnier here than she is on Get A Grip (helped by the fact she actually gets to deliver some jokes on Popworld). Zane is perhaps more of an acquired taste, but he's watchable enough - his recent interview with Lemar, where questions included "Sum up your new album in a facial expression", "Can I be in your gang?", and "Promise you’ll never leave us ... EVER", was particularly amusing.
The general point, though, is that it's yet another pop show to disappear in the last 18 months or so. The ending of Top of the Pops was countered by the return of TOTP2 as a weekly series mixing the past and present, but after six months this has now returned to appearing only as occasional specials, which will obviously limit the appearance of new bands. Five's attempt to revive CD:UK has collapsed, while ITV1's replacement for that series has been abandoned due to an inability to find a sponsor.
In addition, for the first time in generations, there’s no live Saturday morning shows on the BBC or ITV, for so long a vital part of the publicity process for pop groups – the BBC are now stringing together pre-recorded shows as they do on weekdays, while ITV1 have stopped bothering completely. All you've got now is series like The Album Chart Show and Transmission, shown on Channel 4 in the middle of the night, and similarly nocturnal dadrock extravaganzas like Later with Jools Holland and Live From Abbey Road.
So if you're a pop group, what mainstream showcases are there for you to perform? There's Blue Peter, perhaps, the odd appearance between the programmes on T4, and maybe GMTV and This Morning. Maybe the prime slot now is acting as an intermission while the votes are counted on Strictly Come Dancing or Any Dream Will Do.
Hence, for the first time since, well, before The Beatles, maybe, pop music is relegated to filling the gaps on kids TV and variety. This is despite the fact the charts seem to have been revitalised in the past year or so, with the issues that were said to have spelt the end for the singles chart – records always entering at number one, tracks flying in and straight out again – no longer that common.
But now it seems to be YouTube and The Box all the way. Surely there's room for a half-hour show, with the sort of irreverent but enthusiastic approach of Popjustice or No Rock And Roll Fun, to bring the best of pop to a wider audience. And this is definitely not because knowing so little of what's in the chart is making me feel ancient.
26 April 2007
FROZEN INDIGO ANGEL
Here's what appears to be a viral campaign-within-a viral campaign, and to reproduce any is really to allow myself to be duped but - hey! - I met Paul Denchfield over 10 years ago when he was working for Hewland International on Sky One's Games World, and then wrote about his onscreen involvement in C4's fantastic Wanted. Somehow, I feel compelled.
So, what follows is the email Paul sent OTT on Tuesday April 24. Afterwards, I'll be dropping in a few comments. See you at the bottom ...
Last word to Nick Gates from bothersbar.co.uk (hope you don't mind me quoting you, Nick): "I think we should force [Paul] to shave one of his eyebrows off".
So, what follows is the email Paul sent OTT on Tuesday April 24. Afterwards, I'll be dropping in a few comments. See you at the bottom ...
Dear OTT,So, clearly, this is all some big promotional strategy, particularly as friend of OTT, David Bodycombe, has pointed out, "It seems a bit suspicious that [Paul] registered www.frozenindigoangel.com on 19 April, exactly the day he got 'fired'." And, in all probability, I'll never find out what it's all about. I've not doubt there'll be a reveal, I'm just fairly confident it'll happen somewhere I never frequent, and it'll be about something I've got no interest in.
My name's Paul Denchfield, and I'm a freelance TV producer/director. I've made a few well known series (A Place in the Sun, Gordon Ramsay's Beyond Boiling Point ...) and I've been in the industry for about 15 years now. I'm also mentioned on OTT as a presenter of Wanted. I mention all this because I want you to know I'm not a crank.
I believe the BBC is deliberately defacing the work of its programme-makers, without permission or explanation, as part of some viral marketing campaign that they're covering up.
I've been working for the BBC recently, producing video podcasts for Radio One. I normally deliver a final cut which they then put online. But when I checked my latest Scott Mills vodcast, somebody had messed with it. A phrase - three words - had been superimposed on the title plate and throughout the video. The words were "FROZEN INDIGO ANGEL". I definitely didn't put those words there.
I called the BBC and told them about it. At first they ignored me, then they had a go at me. To be honest, they were bloody rude and I was royally pissed off.
Last week, I had a call telling me that my contract has been terminated. No official reason was given.
What's even weirder is that I've noticed these words again somewhere else. They were included in an Arctic Monkeys podcast, also produced by the BBC, and on the scrolling Radio One DAB text. I'm sure there have been other incidents.
Ariel, the BBC magazine, has already picked up on this and even they don't seem to know what's going on.
The BBC is a public organisation. It belongs to us. It should be held accountable for its actions - not only because of the effect they have on so many production staff, but also because we, the audience, deserve to to be told what we're getting. If this is some kind of campaign on behalf of the Arctic Monkeys (Arctic/Frozen?) we deserve to know.
Whatever this is, I think it's cost me my job, and I haven't had a decent explanation about what's going on.
That's why I'm writing to you and anyone else who might be able to help. I want to put some pressure on the BBC. I want to get some answers. I've been stonewalled so far, but if I can get some media pressure behind me, the BBC will have to listen and they'll have to talk.
I've put some more background and some clips on my blog: www.pauldenchfield.com. If you'd like to know more, drop me an email or try my mobile: [deleted]. I'm in an edit today, so I might have it switched off for a while.
Thanks,
Paul Denchfield
www.pauldenchfield.com
Last word to Nick Gates from bothersbar.co.uk (hope you don't mind me quoting you, Nick): "I think we should force [Paul] to shave one of his eyebrows off".
12 April 2007
HOSPITAL CORNERS
And so, it was to London's apt The Hospital nightspot for a press launch of the complete Cardiac Arrest on DVD (it's in the shops on Monday). An unusual affair indeed. The show - for all its brilliance - hardly has a huge profile, but it seems the cast themselves were clamouring to give it a big old push.
At the rather intimate press conference: the show's writer Jed Mercurio, Andrew Lancel (Dr Andrew Collin), Helen Baxendale (Dr Claire Maitland) and Jonathan Dow (Dr James Mortimer). All were clearly enthused and happy to talk about the series, busking well when a pair of old buffers broke in with: "Do you have a nice home?".
On Cardiac Arrest's creation, Mercurio said:
At the rather intimate press conference: the show's writer Jed Mercurio, Andrew Lancel (Dr Andrew Collin), Helen Baxendale (Dr Claire Maitland) and Jonathan Dow (Dr James Mortimer). All were clearly enthused and happy to talk about the series, busking well when a pair of old buffers broke in with: "Do you have a nice home?".
On Cardiac Arrest's creation, Mercurio said:
It was the first thing I ever wrote, really. Before that it had been rubbish sketches for the Medics' Revue. What happened was World Productions put an advert in the British Medical Journal. They were looking to recruit doctors to - I think - work on a show they had in development, which was a comedy or something. They didn't have a very specific idea, but they met some professionals, and I was one of the ones who'd responded.Rather neatly, he also spoke about why the programme finished after three series ...
I just started talking about what it was like to be a hospital doctor at that time - the early '90s. They thought it was something original that hadn't really been portrayed in medical drama. TV had traditionally taken quite an old fashioned view of what was happening in the NHS. And they called me back a couple of weeks later and asked me if I'd work that up into some kind of outline for a series. And, thereafter, I kind of worked very closely with the people at World to develop the show.
Usual reasons. The channel. The Controller of BBC1 changed. When a new Controller comes in, they always want to show they're a genius, and so they kill off all the programmes that they haven't commissioned. I can't remember who it was ... I think it was Michael Jackson. He cancels all the dramas that didn't get 10 million and then just kills off a whole load of things that were really promising and then pisses off to America six months later. So, well done, Michael.
11 April 2007
HYDE 2612 - NO RETURN
Well 2612 was just a room number and not "too sick, want to" as I thought for about 10 minutes during last night's final installment of Life On Mars. Hopefully I have an OTT Review forthcoming, but in the meantime scratching round the Internet today I have been surprised to see there is no real consensus on actually what happened in the end.
To me, I thought it was all very explicit - Sam woke up from his coma (he must have actually been awake as the series' creators needed him to document his experiences so that the upcoming lead character in Ashes To Ashes can read them before she too plunges into a coma). Upon realising that his "life" in 1973 was far more vivid and enjoyable than his real life, he decided to try and return to "1973" by jumping off the top of the Police Station.
The bit with the test card girl switching our telly off at the end was just a bit of extra fun, that didn't really have any bearing on the denouement as a whole.
Now is this correct, or is there anyone out there who thinks something different happened? And more importantly was this a good finale for Sam?
To me, I thought it was all very explicit - Sam woke up from his coma (he must have actually been awake as the series' creators needed him to document his experiences so that the upcoming lead character in Ashes To Ashes can read them before she too plunges into a coma). Upon realising that his "life" in 1973 was far more vivid and enjoyable than his real life, he decided to try and return to "1973" by jumping off the top of the Police Station.
The bit with the test card girl switching our telly off at the end was just a bit of extra fun, that didn't really have any bearing on the denouement as a whole.
Now is this correct, or is there anyone out there who thinks something different happened? And more importantly was this a good finale for Sam?
04 April 2007
REGENERATION GAME
UKTV Gold changes its onscreen idents tomorrow. Still the same logo, but now it's appearing on a load of space-hoppers to play up the channel's retro programming policy. Although, far be it from me to grumble about the network binning off its truly interesting archive programme in the early '90s for back-to-back Only Fools.
More interestingly, as revealed at their press launch this morning, they're unveiled the next show for the Now and Then treatment: The Generation Game.
"We'll be giving it the UKTV Gold treament," promised channel head James Newton, "revisiting games from the past, and creating new ones for today. And, even better than that, we've got Mr Generation Game himself, Bruce Forsyth to present it ... We haven't got anything to show you [today] because it's literally hot off the press. Unfortunately, Brucie can't be here with us, but he's sent a few words all the way from Puerto Rico. He says, 'I'm so looking forward to bringing back the wonderful memories and highlights of The Generation Game. It was always a good game, good game'."
At the moment, it sounds like the format is up for grabs, with Newton unable to confirm how the new elements will mix with the old. But there it is. Should be fun.
More interestingly, as revealed at their press launch this morning, they're unveiled the next show for the Now and Then treatment: The Generation Game.
"We'll be giving it the UKTV Gold treament," promised channel head James Newton, "revisiting games from the past, and creating new ones for today. And, even better than that, we've got Mr Generation Game himself, Bruce Forsyth to present it ... We haven't got anything to show you [today] because it's literally hot off the press. Unfortunately, Brucie can't be here with us, but he's sent a few words all the way from Puerto Rico. He says, 'I'm so looking forward to bringing back the wonderful memories and highlights of The Generation Game. It was always a good game, good game'."
At the moment, it sounds like the format is up for grabs, with Newton unable to confirm how the new elements will mix with the old. But there it is. Should be fun.