Belperpete
Established Member
- Joined
- 17 Aug 2018
- Messages
- 1,650
I have been catching up with old episodes of Foyle's war, Endeavour, Father Brown, Downton, etc. Most of these are all about to run out, so perhaps a sign that we need to be ending the lockdown?
While many of these are on ITV3, like a previous poster it has brought home to me that nothing currently on ITV is watchable (apart from Sunday's repeats of Maigret). Nowadays it is all just dumbed-down chat shows, game shows and talent shows. BBC1 isn't much better, but thank heavens for BBC2 and 4, and C4 and C5 documentaries.
One series that blew me away was Samira Ahmed's "Art of Persia". I am not normally too keen on BBC Arts programmes, but this was an eye-opener. It was as much about the history of Persia as about its art, and totally blew away many of my preconceptions about Iran. What a fantastically beautiful country, with so many outstanding historical sites. If it wasn't for its current regime, it would be top of my list of places to visit.
Having presenters that talk calmly and sensibly can make for very boring television. Having a presenter who is genuinely interested in the subject, such as Samira Ahmed, is far more important, and that is why I think Greg Wallace is right for Inside the Factory. Yes, he can go OTT sometimes, but he genuinely engages with the workers he is shadowing, and so gets far more out of them than a traditional dispassionate interviewer ever would. A bit of humour helps to leaven what could be a very stodgy mix otherwise.
While many of these are on ITV3, like a previous poster it has brought home to me that nothing currently on ITV is watchable (apart from Sunday's repeats of Maigret). Nowadays it is all just dumbed-down chat shows, game shows and talent shows. BBC1 isn't much better, but thank heavens for BBC2 and 4, and C4 and C5 documentaries.
One series that blew me away was Samira Ahmed's "Art of Persia". I am not normally too keen on BBC Arts programmes, but this was an eye-opener. It was as much about the history of Persia as about its art, and totally blew away many of my preconceptions about Iran. What a fantastically beautiful country, with so many outstanding historical sites. If it wasn't for its current regime, it would be top of my list of places to visit.
Having presenters that talk calmly and sensibly can make for very boring television. Having a presenter who is genuinely interested in the subject, such as Samira Ahmed, is far more important, and that is why I think Greg Wallace is right for Inside the Factory. Yes, he can go OTT sometimes, but he genuinely engages with the workers he is shadowing, and so gets far more out of them than a traditional dispassionate interviewer ever would. A bit of humour helps to leaven what could be a very stodgy mix otherwise.
