Taggert.

There are some series on television that have been running for many years which never get much publicity but are always popular and do well in the ratings.A bit like an old jumper really that you have worn for years,never take much notice of but would really miss if it wasn`t there. Taggert is one such series.
I can remember watching the first series starring the late Mark McManus and was a fan from the very start. Always well acted the stories are extremely well written and unlike many crime series nowadays it is always impossible to tell the murderer until the last few minutes of an episode. The series has such character and is unlike any other crime drama on television.In fact it was a trial blazer in that it was really one of the first crime drama`s that didn`t spare anything in trying to make the series realistic.
One of the fun aspects of the series as well is to spot the actors who have been in the series before. Because there is a limited amount of Scottish actors you do see many of the same actors cropping  up in the series time and time again playing different characters.
Although Taggert himself may have long passed onto the great detective graveyard in the sky I am sure that Taggert will be around for many more years entertaining us and making us cringe at the sight of some poor soul with a knife or other instrument poking out of there chest!

The Big Bang Theory!

Image via WikipediaJust watched the Channel Four comedy import from America The Big Bang Theory for the first time and was really impressed. Thought it was extremely funny and very original. Just loved the characters all of whom were very quirky and like able.Best new comedy I have seen from America since the hilarious Will and Grace.
The question has to be asked why can`t this country produce good comedies like this any more.All of our comedies now really seem to be nothing more than schoolboy humour.They all seem to think swearing and saying naughty words or referring to sex is the way to make people laugh and really I don`t think it is.It as to be said as well that when we do make an attempt to produce comedy for the whole family we can only manage remakes of old series like Reggie Perrin that are about as funny as rain in August!!!
Its a tragedy really that the country that produced such gems as Steptoe and Son, Till death do us part, Porridge, Dad`s Army just don`t seem to know how to make people laugh any more.Perhaps our comedy is a reflection on the sort of society and country we have become. Seedy, serious and lacking in ability!!

Whitechapel!

I have just had the misfortune to view the last episode on ITViplayer of the drama Whitechapel.This drama in my opinion was a new low for British television.The plot was about as far fetched as Bambi, the acting was on the whole poor and the violence seemed to be there to shock and grab ratings.
Whitechapel is a area of the east end of London with great character and shall we say an exotic history. It is an area that has all amount of possibilities for writers to dream up realistic and entertaining dramas. Sadly the writers of this load of utter tosh seemed to be unable to do that.

Related articles

• Last Night's TV - Whitechapel, ITV1; A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss, BBC4 (independent.co.uk)
• Whitechapel returns to take on the Krays (guardian.co.uk)

St.Elsewhere!

Image via WikipediaThe first medical drama I can ever remember watching was Marcus Welby MD way back in the sixties. Over the years I have watched many more enjoying them as they always are a microism of life, life, death, love, hate, joy, tragedy, pain, sickness, we could go on and on.Over the years they have changed from  dramas about single doctors like Marcus Welby and Doctor Kildaire to multi-character dramas like ER and Chicago Hope in America and Casualty and Holby City here in the UK.
My particular favourite medical drama that  was I think responsible for the change from the sort of drama we saw in Doctor Kildaire to the move to dramas like ER was St.Elsewhere.This was a drama by the same production company that produced the ground breaking Hill Street Blues that changed police dramas forever and had a large cast of great actors that combined both drama of the highest order and comedy.It treated its viewers with respect by having multi-story lines in each episode some of which run over many episodes and it tried to not just tell stories but to say to viewers this aspect of our country and the way we treat people is wrong and there should be a better way. Some people would say it preached I think it tried to make a difference.
One scene I remember very well which I remember to this day as if it happened yesterday when it was shown nearly thirty years ago now was when the doctors were trying to save a patient in the ER and suddenly the scene went totally black and all you heard was the voice of a doctor saying the time of death. This wasn`t just drama it was art!
I think we should be grateful to those who were responsible for St Elsewhere as it changed medical drama for the better and many series like ER who have gave so many people enjoyment over the years would never have been made if it wasn`t for the lead and innovation it showed back in the eighties.

Surgery School!

Image via WikipediaWatched ITV`s new reality series Surgery School last night and really enjoyed it.Normally with most ITV factual programmes because they are aimed at the young or downmarket we get lots of load music, talk about sex and swearing but this was a very well made programme that examined how would be surgeons are trained in the NHS in a very intelligent way that didn`t try to be over dramatic and catch the headlines.
It was interesting to watch the process of how doctors learn and also to find out how hard it is for them to find the time to practice  surgery in theatre..It was also moving to see so many young, likable caring and extremely talented people not just trying to become successful at their chosen profession but also how  they were prepared to sacrifice so much to help others. They were really an inspiration and an example to us all.
I am looking forward to watching the rest of the series and to see how the doctors develop and grow into fully fledged consultants

Emmerdale!

Image via WikipediaI remember being home from school one day in the seventies and watching the very first episode of Emmerdale, the photograph shows a scene from the first episode, at one thirty in the afternoon on ITV. It was part of ITV`s first venture into daytime television and it was very good.In those days it was called Emmerdale Farm and was well acted with good writing and some excellent characters like Annie and Joe Sugden, his brother Jack and Henry Wilks.It was a gritty realistic portrayal of rural life and as much a drama as a soap.Very different from today`s Emmerdale.In those days it was distinctive from a city or town drama, it was about the countryside and the distinctive problems that people have there.
Today`s Emmerdale could be set in any big city. The characters and the storylines are more Eastenders than the Emmerdale Farm of old.Seeing a sheep or a cow in Emmerdale is now about as likely as seeing one in Walford Square.I also think the writing and story lines are that much poorer. In the old days the stories came out of the location and the characters now they seem just to be put together for the greatest shock value to attract the ratings.
I think the change has been a great shame. We now have no drama or soap on television telling the story of country people and we have the nations two most prominent soaps having more in common than differences.It has devalued television drama and given the viewer less choice.
In Britain unlike America we sometimes let series run on after they have lost there shine and  run there time I think Emmerdale is now one such series. It has run aground and is now just a pale imitation of Eastenders. I think if ITV really want to make a new start with there channel as they say they do they should cut out the deadwood and send Emmerdale to that great soap opera grave yard in the sky to join the likes of Brookside, Crossroads and Eldorado!

Daytime Television on the BBC.

Image via WikipediaFirstly it has to be said that BBC daytime television is far better than ITV who provide their viewers with no variety and seem to think that all their viewers want is to watch chat shows all day.
The quality of the BBC programmes are excellent and I do think that in Doctors it produces a soap that has acting and writing as good if not better than the more popular soaps like Eastenders and Coronation Street.I also think shows like Heir Hunters, Animal 24/7 and Bargain Hunt are excellent and very well made. I think where the BBC do fall down sometimes is that it shows ancient American shows like Murder She Wrote far too often and for too long and it often doesn`t vary shows enough and goes through periods where the only subjects covered are homes and antiques.That said I do think the BBC do well and provide a valuable service to those at home in the daytime.