What's happened to BBC dramas?

[Paulus]

Could it be that a lot of BBC drama's are now made by outside production companies these days? If that is the case the companies might be running on a budget, and the bright young things that produce the shows may have a generic idea of how a certain type of drama should look. So, all Police shows have a similar look/feel, the same as shows like Waking the dead/ Silent witness which are factually incorrect in parts have the same defects. Just a thought.

 

[Dayvo]

So, all Police shows have a similar look/feel, the same as shows like Waking the dead/ Silent witness which are factually incorrect in parts have the same defects. Just a thought.

Not sure I agree with that sentiment.

Not made by the Beeb, but westerns in the 70s (The Virginian, Bonanza, High Chaparal, Alias Smith & Jones, for example) were all very different from each other.

Regardless of the genre, if the story is sound and well written, and the acting is professional, then technology and special effects will have a minor role to play.

 

[Dayvo]

I watched (most of) The Boys From The Black Stuff over the weekend.

The chances of something like that being made nowadays is practically zero.

And there don't seem to be a lot of young Denis Potters around in the BBC either.

In a similar mould, The Likely Lads and The Return of the Likely Lads were two very good series.

This makes interesting, and nostalgic, reading:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_television_drama#The_.27golden_age.27_of_BBC_drama

 

[Dayvo]

And how many of these do you remember?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_television_programmes

 

[Danny]

Yes, there are some good US offerings but the best TV drama I've seen recently has been The Promise. No, not BBC, but certainly mostly British made and not American in the slightest.

I agree that The Promise was good, and it is unlikely that a drama that would be perceived to be anti-Israeli would ever get made in the US.

But unfortunately on past form it is likely to be the only good drama that C4 show all year.

 

[Tinuts]

I agree that The Promise was good, and it is unlikely that a drama that would be perceived to be anti-Israeli would ever get made in the US.

But unfortunately on past form it is likely to be the only good drama that C4 show all year.

Yes, there are certainly some heated discussions going on about this in various forums.