| R.B.3
2 A V I E W M A R C H 2 0 0 6 |
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1
IM 448199 |
| R.B.3
2 A V I E W M A R C H 2 0 0 6 |
|
1
IM 448199 |
=SUMMING UP=
February - March
2006
| A note on scoring:
Perennial weekly non-current affairs programming is not exempt from scoring, simply as a way to let Popworld in the charts. There's no contest between Ivan's selections and other telly, and he can rate repeats of programmes he's seen before without having to watch them again (the grey entries), though he can't rate a repeat of a programme he rated the week before, and he can only rate repeats on digital-only channels if he recommends them. Below a bar at the bottom of each chart is a list of programmes that Ivan has taped during the run of the experiment, but hasn't watched yet. As he gets round to looking at them, they will be processed into the scores of their broadcast week. Ivan scores the best programmes as "Keepers & Classics" (3pts), "Jolly Good" (2pts) and "Pretty Good" (1pt), with a running total of each per week. Anything considered "Missable" or lower is not scored. The results are divided into TV, Radio and Film, with the red figure being the sum. Ivan also calculates the best performing channels of the week. TV channels have a deliberate points advantage. B = BBC, R = BBC Radio, C = Channel, I = ITV. |
=SCORECARD=
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3 4 11 |
5 4 19 |
5 4 22 |
3 2 12 |
1 9 24 |
C5, 09 B1, 07 R3, 06 R4, 06 B2, 06 I4, 05 I3, 05 R2, 03 I1, 03 M4, 03 C4, 03 R5, 01 B7, 01 B3, 01 |
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R4, 01 B7, 01 B4, 01 R2, 01 I3, 01 I4, 01 C5, 01 - - |
R3, 03 I3, 03 R4, 01 R2, 01 I1, 01 M4, 01 B2, 01 C5, 01 B1, 01 |
C5, 03 R3, 02 B1, 02 B2, 02 R2, 01 R5, 01 R4, 01 I1, 01 - |
R4, 02 C4, 02 R3, 01 B3, 01 I1, 01 B2, 01 - - - |
I4, 04 C5, 04 M4, 02 B2, 02 R4, 01 I3, 01 C4, 01 - - |
| This year we're just doing five-week
runs, aiming to catch the change-overs of programming that occur at the
half-way point between major festivals. We've had some success in that
regard, with a few series ending and beginning, most noticeably on the
wireless. TV averaged a very variable 10pts
per week, which is down 4 on last year. Radio is also a point lower on
3.
Film scored 5, which is under-par really.
The overall average of 18pts was 2pts down
on this time last year, which isn't too good really, especially as films
were scored less vigilantly in those days.
There has been some good TV in this run. In fact every week I cheated to squeeze it all in. BBC4 gave us most of it, as can be seen by their monumental domination of the chart. Poliakof Season, Our Friends in the North, and Ripping Yarns were the key repeats on offer. Mark Steel started to scrape the barrel, but Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe was a great piece of TV criticism which deserves a full commission. Dekalog was an exciting addition in the last couple of weeks, though I've not watched it yet and it might be drivel. Radio also delivered in the first half of the survey, with a good run of plays on R3. News Quiz provided the only reliable comedy, and did well considering the loss of Linda Smith. Just a Minute was better than it has been of late too. Chain Reaction suffered from a sub-standard run of guests, but also did alright in the end. As I've already mentioned, many of the films featured in the run were old faithful retainers. Their presence is comforting, and I'd hate to see them pensioned off. Thankfully we also got a couple of rarer visitors which makes life all the more worthwhile. Nothing breathtaking; just odds and ends that it suits to say you've seen before you die. And now you have. Or you've taped them at least. Here then is this run's standings,
channel by channel:
B2 and C4 have really dropped quite a bit, haven't they. They're not trying after Christmas. C4's been busy with its Games and repeats of Green Wing. B2's equally occupied with The Apprentice and a slight cookery-show renaissance. C5 has benefited from House mainly, with some good films and the Poker adding extras. B4's good run of repeats has been its gain, and not its run of one-off dramas. We've had too major sporting events: The Winter Olympics and The Commonwealth Games. The latter seemed to have a lot more coverage than the former, especially where terrestrial was concerned. And yet it is a contest between members of a trading block, and most of the sports are seen regularly on our screens. The events of the Winter Olympics come to our tellies pretty much only once every four years (excluding the odd bit on C5 in the early hours of the morning, or on Transworld Sport, which still seems to be going). The coverage of the olympics on digital was fine except it wasn't scheduled in any way you could plan for if you wanted to tape something. There should've been far more on real telly. When snooker is on, they repeat stuff through the night for people who work. The same should've applied for the olympics. But there was nothing of a late evening. A fully international event that comes once every four years, and if you work you saw nothing. Yet you could watch the Commonwealth Games all weekend to your heart's content and see England win more gold than it can legally ship because all the other Great Powers are not invited. But that's a small moan. I could moan about rally coverage too, now that it's been done in the studio on the ultra-cheap. At least the F1 coverage is better across the board, which I suppose makes up for it. It's a funny sort of rally season anyway, what with the exit of the previously dominant French manufacturers. Enough moaning. Let us reaffirm the fact that we've had a good run for the post-Christmas lull, and despite a general slump, B4, at least, have more than delivered, with a good run of repeats and a couple of decent new productions. I'll be back some time after Easter. Until then, thanks for sharing, and happy viewing. |