Oh Dear, How Sad, Never Mind....

 

The BBC has said it is facing “permanent and irreversible” trends that mean it cannot survive without a major overhaul, as it revealed a stark divergence between the number of people consuming its content and those paying the licence fee. In its opening response to government talks over its future, the corporation said 94% of people in the UK continued to use the BBC each month, but fewer than 80% of households contributed to the licence fee.

Farewell, then - you were once a beaon to the world, but like many a great British institution, you've outstayed your welcome, as Longrider points out.

It said the rise of streaming services and digital platforms such as YouTube had caused blurring and confusion around when the licence fee needed to be paid, suggesting there was “a mismatch” between TV licence rules – based on watching live TV – and the nation’s viewing habits.

Yes, there is - but mostly, it's because  we resent having to pay for you when we want to watch another channel which we have chosen to pay for. If I choose to drive to work, the tube doesn't get to stick their hands in my pocket and rummage around for my spare change; if it wants my custom back, it better be prepared to up its game and earn back my custom.

The BBC is also proposing to host the content of ITV, Channel 4 and other public service broadcasters on iPlayer in an attempt to create a British-based platform that can compete with the likes of Netflix and YouTube.

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, eh? Is this going to be instead of the licene fee, or on top of it?

Sunday Funnies...

 I don't watch very many documentaries on streaming, but maybe I should...

Is There No Escaping It, Ever?

If you’re like me, hearing that Martha Wells’ beloved Murderbot Diaries were going to be adapted into a TV show triggered both desire and dread. The books are hugely important to a lot of people, especially fans like me who are neurodivergent, on the nonbinary spectrum, or on the asexual or aromantic spectrums. So how did Apple TV+ do with the first two episodes? Is the show a brilliant success or utter failure?

Well, I for one really enjoyed it, but what does a professional reviewer think? 

I mean, they don't let anything distract them from the purity of sci-fi and fantasy, do they? They haven't been taken over by the relentless march of the progressives, have they? Let's see, eh, Reader?

I want to preface this by saying these episodic reviews won’t be a side-by-side comparison with the book, All Systems Red. My reviews of the TV show will try to examine it as its own thing, with some contextual analysis around the translation from text to screen.

I think what follows doesn't really meet the definition of 'contextual analysis', but is more of a 'how many times can I shoehorn progressive gender tropes into this article' ... 

When Gurathin forces Murderbot to make eye contact, the easy script choice would be to have Murderbot glare him down and intimidate him into backing off. But that misses this great little moment of character development. We see Murderbot’s, well, humanity. I think every neurodivergent person who struggles with eye contact has had an experience similar to what Gurathin put Murderbot through. You’re trying to make eye contact even though it makes you uncomfortable because someone else is forcing you to “be normal” so you end up counting how many seconds you hold eye contact and where else you can look where it seems like eye contact even though it’s not and when to look away then back and you’re running all these metrics and negotiations while trying to hold onto the thread of the conversation and also planning out how you’re going to reply and anticipating responses to half a dozen other possible paths the conversation might take and by the end of it you’re so fucking exhausted and stressed that you want to go hide in a dark, quiet corner somewhere to decompress.

Wait, there's more! 

Furthermore, Gurathin accusing Murderbot of being “wrong” gave me the same vibes as the experience of how every now and again how your masking slips and you misjudge a social situation or misinterpret an interaction and suddenly everyone else can see you’re not like them. I used to get that on three fronts, back before I had realized my identities: trying to act like a cis woman (I’m genderqueer), trying to act het (I’m asexual and aromantic), and trying to act neurotypical (I’m neurodivergent). You know deep down that you’re different but because you don’t have the vocabulary for it you think you’re broken.

A reviewer confessing they 'lack vocabulary' should be a red flag to an editor, but of course, there are no editors here. 

Okay, now for the elephant in the room: gender. Ratthi calls SecUnit a “handsome fella” and “buddy” in a way that sounds masculine-coded to me. Arada uses “he” and is quickly corrected by Gurathin. However, Gugu uses “it” almost like a slur, got that hard “T” at the end. Everyone else says “it” like they do any other pronouns. I keep changing my mind on how Murderbot’s lack of gender is handled. On one hand, I think the scene where Murderbot is interrogated by PresAux about the missing map sections is overt in a way that’s designed to help cis people get comfortable with nonbinary/agender identities, yet in doing so ends up othering and misgendering Murderbot. On the other hand, the way each character processes Murderbot’s gender identity is subtle in an intriguing way and tells me, a genderqueer person who uses they/them, a lot about their personalities.

Rather like this review tells me a lot about the reviewer's hang-ups, and not so much about the show? 

This push-pull also popped up for me in how we are repeatedly shown that Murderbot has no genitalia. It feels both invasive and hand-holding. It literally exposes Murderbot—and it has no choice in the matter because the repair cubicle offers it no privacy, although at least Mensah has the decency to look embarrassed after she goggles at it—which, in an era when some cis people are demanding to see trans and nonbinary people’s body parts before we can use a public bathroom or play sports, doesn’t feel great… but I also think that’s kind of the point. Murderbot feels safest in its armor and helmet and here’s Mensah seeing every inch of it and not able to hide her reaction. Yet it also forces cis audience members to reckon with that invasiveness while also reminding them that Murderbot does not have a gender, no matter what you think about its appearance.

I can't say that was something that crossed my mind as I watched a sci-fi tv show about a robot, but you do you... 

As an asexual who doesn’t really get “hot” and genderqueer person, I find this all both confusing and creepy. Why are y’all so obsessed with people’s genitals? It’s weird. Calm down.

We're obsessed? I'm reminded of the punchline to that story about the psychiatrist performing a Rorschach Test: 'Hey, you're the one showing me all the dirty pictures!' 

TV Review - 'Suspect: The Shooting Of Jean Charles De Menezes

I don't generally review things, but this show, which launched last night on Disney+, really deserves a mention. It's short at only four episodes, unlike some of the Netflix true-crime dramas, which seem to drag on and on, and it's by Jeff Pope who has an impressive record at this stuff.

It should win awards, and I would give it top spot in 'Documentary With The Most Moments That Cause The Viewer To Yell "You Lying Bastard!" At The Screen' if I could.

We Don’t Want To Watch Propaganda, That’s The Real Issue Facing Television

The UK’s television industry is being hit by a “perfect storm” that risks leading to British stories disappearing from the small screen, Elisabeth Murdoch has said.

Maybe part of that storm is down to the relentless drip, drip, drip of propaganda, when what we really want is entertainment?  

Murdoch, co-founder of the production company Sister, said that a crisis within British television was leading to an exodus of production talent – as well as a danger that British stories were struggling to be told. It follows warnings that cash-strapped British broadcasters are targeting their resources at dramas with international appeal. She said: “British producers are making excellent content for global platforms, with British talent, set in the UK – but those aren’t the same stories that the BBC or Channel 4 seek out. Those stories, from all corners of the British Isles, are struggling to be made in today’s economic reality. The BBC has projects that they have greenlit and provided foundational financing but the gap to budget remains unattainable.”

And of course, the answer is to stick their hands in other people's pockets: 

Some have suggested that tax breaks could be used to help the industry. Peter Kosminsky, the Bafta-winning television director behind Wolf Hall, has suggested a levy on the streamers to help fund local content.

Yes, of course, charge people more to watch the things they like and are happy to pay for in order to fund the things the luvvie mafia think we should watch instead!  

“The question is how much will be addressed by allowing market forces to work and where intervention could and should positively intervene to support all that is great and valuable in the UK TV industry.”

I'm in favour of market forces. Get your fingers off the scales and we'll see just what value you create.  

Entertainment Or Propaganda?

Stephen Graham has revealed the two harrowing real-life incidents that inspired his new Netflix hit Adolescence, recalling that they made his 'heart hurt'.As an executive producer on the show, which aired on Thursday, Stephen, 51, said the idea for the series came to him from looking at the epidemic of knife crime in the UK.

Did it really?  

'Look, it started when I read an article, and it was an article about a young boy who'd stabbed a young girl to death, and it just, you know, it made me feel cold.

'And then a couple of months later, there was a piece on the news, and it was about a young boy who'd stabbed a young girl to death, and if I'm really honest with you, they hurt my heart.

’Young boy’ is all the description of the perpetrator you’ll get. Note that. 

'And these two incidents were opposite ends of the country. And I just thought, "Why? Why is this happening?"'Not just because I'm a father, but I think any kind of human being with an ounce of moral compass can look at that kind of situation and think, "What's happening? What's going on with society today that we're in?"'

Well, it's certainly made him a few pennies. And the critics are raving about it.  

Co-stars and critics alike have praised Owen, 15, for his chilling performance, and Stephen was so impressed at the young British actor's first audition, that he's since revealed he turned to co-writer Jack Thorne when Owen left the room and said 'I think that's him'.

Strange then, because this is him: 

 So, why cast him? 

And yes, I've had a progressive idiot on FaceBook say he was cast so Graham could play his father, but I thought mixed race families were usually all the rage in TVland? 

So that feeble excuse hardly holds water, does it?

It’s as if Netflix decided to do a film on the brutal mauling death of Ian Price, and showed him being savaged by a pair of cocker spaniels…

Streaming TV: Slow Horses (Apple TV)

And so we reach the final offering, and it's this incredible adaptation of Mick Herron's novels.

This one has everything. Inspired casting (although Gary Oldman is not a good physical match for the obese Jackson Lamb, in all other respects he captures his cunning and seedy character perfectly), some great set pieces and a good cast of characters you can come to root for as the ultimate underdogs, it's a triumph. 

And that theme song! Superbly matched to the show's themes and with Mick Jagger's incomparable vocals!

It Appears We Do Have A Time Machine After All

George Gascón, the Los Angeles county district attorney, has recommended that the Menéndez brothers be resentenced for the 1989 killings of their parents, a step that is expected to lead to their release. Gascón said during a news conference on Thursday that the pair should be resentenced, and that life without the possibility of parole be removed, after the office reviewed new evidence in the case. They will be eligible for parole immediately because of their ages at the time of the murder, he said.

We can go back in time and re-sentence someone to what they should have been sentenced to, if only public sympathy they have now had been present at the time! 

The development is a major victory to the brothers and their supporters who said that they killed their parents in self-defense after years of sexual, physical and psychological abuse by their father. Prosecutors had argued that they were driven by greed and a desire to inherit a multimillion-dollar fortune.

But now there's a hit Netflix series, that modern addition to the legal process, changes have to be made. 

Gascón said he believed the brothers’ account of abuse.

“I do believe the brothers were subjected to a tremendous amount of dysfunction in the home, and molestation,” he said.

“They have been in prison for nearly 35 years. I believe that they have paid their debt to society.”

Whatever happened to 'It doesn't matter what I believe, what matters is what I can prove'..? Is the US legal profession beholden to Netflix ratings now?

Streaming TV: For All Mankind (Apple TV)

I do love the 'alternate history' genre, so I was delighted to see this when I got a free three months Apple TV with my new iPad and decided to give this a try. It's a great romp through history-not-as-we-know-it, with some great characters and casting. 

And although the hard science in it often leaves me baffled it's full of really human storylines, and unexpected (and often tragic) setpieces. It's very much a soap-opera rather than a drama, despite some really nail-biting scences of peril.  

Streaming TV: Ms Marvel (Disney+)

Not a character I ever really read much about, when the trailers for this one debuted I was 'What?! Really..?'

But it worked! It was such a difference from the other Marvel offerings, and it really did have a charm all of its own. It introduced a community that didn't seem to feature anywhere else in the genre too, parts of New York that didn't get much screen time, and above all, it was fun. 

Streaming TV: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount)

I didn't bother with Paramount, I had too many other services on the go, so I missed this first time around. But Apple TV offered the entire first season to buy and download, so I treated myself. And I was impressed!

If the 'Star Trek: Discovery' season 1 hadn't ended so badly (I really liked the direction it appeared to be taking, until that penultimate episode) this slot might well have been taken by that show instead. But they dropped the ball and Anson Mount's team picked it up and scored that touchdown in grand style. This is so very reminiscent of 'old' Trek, only with 2023 CGI.

Streaming TV: The Umbrella Academy (NetFlix)

A show based on comics I never read, and with a seriously odd premise, when this popped up I was somewhat dubious. It had alternate realities (which I love) and time paradoxes (which I don't!). 

The initial episode was pretty confusing, but I stuck with it, and I'n really glad I did. That dance sequence to 'Footloose' was the high point, without a doubt.

Streaming TV: The Falcon And The Winter Soldier (Disney+)

A Marvel show with two 'minor' characters on a buddy mission? Ugh! This shouldn't have worked!

But...it did, and a lot was to the credit of Sebastian Stan and Antony Mackie, whose chemistry together on screen turned what could have been a dull affair into a great show.

Streaming TV: Good Omens (Prime)

You can't really go wrong with a Neil Gaiman/Terry Pratchett team up, and when that's turned into a show with a David Tennant/Michael Sheen team up, how could you possibly lose? 

I'd never actually got around to reading the book, it was always on my 'To Be Read' list, so when the TV show was announced I thought I'd see that first. And what a show! I honestly believe it wouldn't have worked with any other pairing.

Streaming TV: Moon Knight (Disney+)

Disney+ has been an absolute powerhouse for Marvel, and clearly the back catalogue is vast, so I was a bit surprised they went with this particular character. 

I did at least know the character and some of the backstory this time, though it was never a series I read, as he turned up in lots of other comics I was reading at the time. But I was surprised at the choice. And the very first trailer - introducing us to Oscar Isaac's rather strange interpretation of an English accent - didn't really make me say 'Wow! Got to catch this one!'.

But of course, I did, and was hooked! The main protagonists worked well, and F Murray Abraham's Khonshu was a delight! And there were some inspired musical choices. I see a second season isn't on the cards, and that's a real pity.

Streaming TV: Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan (Prime)

After several films with different actors playing Clancy's titular hero, I was somewhat dubious about the prospects for a TV version. 

But I should have known Amazon hardly ever lets you down! John Krasinski was great in the role. The show was fast-paced and had some spectacular scenes, including one set in London.

Streaming TV: The Witcher (NetFlix)

Confession time: I loved the PC games. And I read the books, though didn't enjoy them quite as much. So when they said they were filming it, based on the novels, I wasn't expecting much. When they said they were casting Henry Cavill, even less, as I'd found him rather wooden in 'Superman'. 

But I was wrong! He was amazing in the role. So it was a sad day when the creators decided he wouldn't continue. 

Streaming TV: The Mandalorian (Disney+)

When I first saw a new Star Wars show announced on Disney+, and then saw what the title was, I was a little perplexed. 

Sure, we all knew Boba Fett (who later got his own show, though it didn't have the impact of this one!) but a show about a character whose defining feature is that he never takes off his helmet to show his face? And you cast Pedro Pascal? How will that work?

And it did! Thanks to a certain marketing goldmine in the form of 'Baby Yoda'. The second season couldn't quite match the first, but it was still far more watchable than anything on terrestrial TV. 

And the theme tune was pretty good too!

Streaming TV: The Crown (NetFlix)

There's no doubt that streaming TV has been the premier entertainment breakthrough of the...what are we calling that decade? Well, 2010 onwards, anyway. 

And NetFlix was orginally the brand leader here, and this one was the jewel in its, well, you get the drift!

I was a bit sceptical at first, despite the stellar casting, but long before the mid-season episode, I was hooked. I did wonder how they were going to deal with the passage of time, but I shouldn't have worried; each change of cast seems to have been spot on. 

And the stunning opening titles really set the scene.