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.

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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.

The Weakest Link.

Image via WikipediaWhen the Weakest Link started ten years ago it was a pleasant way of sitting down and wasting half hour being entertained by a strange middle aged woman being rude to people but now that woman as changed into a younger version of herself and the series is on every weekday throughout the year this once entertaining series as become irratating and Anne Robinson as become like a robot going through the motions.
I think its one of those series that goes on for far to long and the BBC One should now put us out of our misery and axe it and find something fresher and more entertaining for its teatime slot.

John Thaw.

Image via WikipediaLast night I was watching a repeat of Kavanagh QC on ITViplayer and I couldn`t help but feel sad at the fact that we lost such a fine actor as John Thaw at such a relatively young age as we did. He had so much more to give.
He was a remarkable actor who was really under rated I think.His work had such a range from popular drama like The Sweeney and Kavanagh QC to more thoughtful drama like Morse and Uncle Silas to even comedy like Home to Roost.I think the man`s decency and idealism showed through in his worked and that is why people didn`t just like his worked they loved him as a person.
He as a fine legacy in his work that people will contine to enjoy but I think he is still missed and will continue to be missed for many years to come.

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Crossroads!

One of my earliest childhood memories was coming home from school and sitting down to watch the teatime serial Crossroads on ITV.Crossroads was the Eastenders of its day with massive ratings in its heyday.It was known for its poor acting and even poorer sets but everyone loved it and the characters and the actors and actresses who played them were household names.
The series started in 1964 as a five time a week show and was produced by Reg Watson who went onto create and produce Neighbours which was looked on in its early days as the Australian Crossroads.I think its appeal was that it had characters people could identify with and like and tackled stories that were about everyday life.Its standards of production were not the best but it did break new ground in trying to tackle issues that were not usually tackled on mainstream television in them days.It was the first soap to tackle racial abuse, rape and single parents. It was also the first to have black and Asian characters and to feature a gay character.Disablity was featured heavily with a regular disabled charcter and a storyline was featured about a Downs Syndrome character that actually lead to the formation of The Crossroads Caring for Carers Scheme now one of the world`s largest voluntary organisations.
I think the series was greatly under rated and really only ended in the end because ITV thought it knew the sort of programmes viewers should watch better than the viewers themselves. It was tragic really when the original series was axed in the eighties because it had under gone a revamp that had really made it one of the best dramas on television that had better writing and acting than any of the soaps we see today.
I still miss it as I don`t think anyone as really produced a better soap since.

Holby City.

Image via WikipediaOne of the most under rated drama`s on British televison must be Holby City.Its writing and acting rivals any seen in other drama`s on televison at present.
The cast is excellent with the superb Amanda Melling as Connie Beauchamp shown in the photograph, Hugh Quarshie as Ric Griffith and ex Eastender Paul Bradley as Elliot Hope who shows great skill at combining comedy and heart breaking drama.I also like Robert Powell who plays Mark Williams the character most viewers I suspect admire for his ideals and heart of gold.Two other members of cast I think deserve a mention is Emma Catherwood who plays FI Penny Valentine who as made the character true of any put upon junior doctor in any NHS hospital in the land and Rosie Marcel who plays hard nosed surgeon Jac Naylor who hides her caring side behind a wall of thick ice!
The cast as changed a lot over the years but the new characters who come into the series on a regular basis quickly make you forget about those that have departed and that is quite an achievement and although the number of episodes produced have increased greatly over the years the quality of the acting and writing as never faltered and that cannot be said of some series that have gone through a similar experience.
Personally I think the series is now the best medical drama on television and outstrips its sister series Casualty by a mile.

Eastenders!

Image via WikipediaI remember the very first episode of Eastenders twenty five years ago as if it was shown yesterday.It was the BBC`s first real effort to rival ITV`s Coronation Street and it was a revelation.It was as different to Coronation Street as you could possibly get and like nothing people had seen in a soap before.It was realistic with characters you could recognise in your own streets and neighbourhoods and with stories about situations you yourself, your friends or relatives had gone through in their everyday lives.This was a drama about real life with acting and writing as good as any you would see in a Shakespear play or an Oscar winning film.
Sadly times have changed. In the days of Julia Smith and Tony Holland who created the series and produced it in its early years ratings were not what the show was primarly about it was about telling stories about characters the audience could believe in.When the BBC decided to increase production to four episodes a week from the original two the programmes increased costs meant it had to follow the ratings and also the standard of acting and writing  declined because of the constraints of time and money.Now we see stories written not to tell a story but to create drama that attracts audiences.It is now ratings lead where it was character and story lead.Stories are now about as realistic as Bambi and characters stereotypes dreamed up to have the maximum impact on ratings.
The show now is not what it was and that is sad.The BBC should be producing quality realistic drama not trying to chase ratings with second class acting and writing.I think the series should be scaled back to its original two episodes a week and the BBC should employ producers and writers with the same ideals and aims that the original producers Julia Smith and Tony Holland shown in the photograph had when the programme was first created.

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