Telly - opinions please!

[old_salt]

Hi ShipsWoofy. and thanks to bilbobaggins for your welcome shes a 1905 G.U.Laws designed Gaff Cutter "Mercia III" She has been around Dublin Bay and Liverpool 1913 to 1978.
we have worked A "full refit" on her now for some 12 years and we hope to get her back in the water some time next year with luck at Liverpool. You may remember I sent you a PM on the northern boat jumble adhesive problem you had.

 

[piper]

Never had a telly in my life. I see other peoples' now and again and it just confirms my belief that there's much more to life.
Having been hounded again by the TV licensing brigade I relpied, in answer to "Why haven't you got a TV license?"
I have something much better than a TV. It's called a life. Get one.

 

[tcm]

let's start again.

The consensus seems to be that they're quite poor, and although many wanted them to be better- they aren't "must see" programs at all. They're dull.

Some boaties even changed channels to watch the football which is fairly damning - it's unlikley that many ManU fans flipped over to watch the boat program.

Tom Cunliffe was good though - and no easty task given the uninspired work from behind the camera.

 

[oldharry]

The problem with Boaty programmes on Tv is that boating is not a spectator sport. Yacht races last far too long - just suppose the big match took 3 - 4 days to complete. Boat building is fascinating for those of us who want to build or mend our boats - but watching how some guy makes up his dowelled plugs, or measures up for a new companionway step is not exactly going to hit highs in the audience ratings except amongst those of us who actually are interested in such esoteric things.

All the succesful Tv series about boating have had to come ashore for their interest. Sandy Toskvigs excellent 'One Summers Grace' - the account of her families' round Britain trip had very little of them beating their way out, or the navigational issues and problems they faced: its success came from the accounts of the different places they visited
- in other words what they did when they were NOT sailing!

The more recent series 'Atlantic Britain' suceeded because it was about people and places - and the sailing bits in between hardly mentioned unless something unusual had happened.

No, to enjoy boats and sailing, you have to be there. I do quite a bit of amateur video filming. I learned very early on that that 'glorious sail across to Bembridge' made lousy Tv. The boat looked just the samne soon after crossing Chi Bar, as it did when we crossed the shipping channel - and those lovely shots when the breeze freshened iff St Helens look just the same on the small screen except the boat is tipped up a bit further..... yet for those of us who were there it was 'A Grand Day Out' . The only interesting thing in that particular effort is the bits about Chichester and Bembridge: even the close encounter with Pride of Portsmouth on one of her last trips has about the entertainment value of an encounter with an artic in the middle lane of the M25.

All the interesting sailing video I have made is - according to SWIAR - about the places and people we have visited. And I have to say I agree with her.

 

[ShipsWoofy]

[ QUOTE ]
The problem with Boaty programmes on Tv is that boating is not a spectator sport. Yacht races last far too long - just suppose the big match took 3 - 4 days to complete.

[/ QUOTE ]

Like a test match?

I get your point though. I like the series, I am easily pleased. I said the same on a SB thread, I could empathise with the boat owners, especially the etap guys, having come through a boat renovation myself.

I have also experienced the ups and downs, the feeling of nothing happening, rushing around trying to get spares and juggling work, spare time and the house.

If you have read parts of my website, I also had a timescale of a few months to have her back on the water. Had this series been made at the beginning of 2002 I might have thrown my name in the hat as long as they gave me some rights at the end to decide what was shown. Which I bet they don't!

This is a program about boat people and why they do it, not about the boats. I have no problem with that. The other one, Getting Afloat; is like new yankie workshop without the 200k workshop facilities to build a Wendy house. Excellent if you are the type who puts woodwork on your CV and work in a library, but generally dull as dishwater.

Each to their own.

 

[Wansworth]

Having not seen the program(iam in colonies) difficult to judge but gfoing by past veiwing experiences of "doing " programs they all seem a bit flat,The only onces that succeed are the "here I have one already done earlier" types.More interesting are the people and their philosophys.Personally I could watch bad film footage of Motissier,Hiscocketc ,basically because I am interested,not everyones cup of tea by a long way.

 

[Cactus]

Uh, it's a programme about a man fixing a boat. Not a critique on Tarantino's latest...

I think they should stick to making boating programmes for people who are into boats.

They should do one with that bloke, Mark Evan is it? who did the A xxx is Born series. Take it over 12 programmes, show a bit of technical detail. All the topics in that series were for the hardcore - I'm never going to build my own helicopter, but I enjoyed watching it.

 

[catmandoo]

Re: argument strand

As An observer I note a lot of hot air here with hackles and birses up . It is almost a punch up situation

I would therefore venture into the fray with trepidation with the comment that I personally only watch something if I can learn from it .

A lot of the programmes of the type being discussed are very basic indeed and the audience is constantly reminded after each commercial break of the basis of what went before as if the producers think our attention span was limited.

In reality I suspect that they only expect people to stay in for the time period between two commercial breaks so they have therefore to give viewers a summary after each commercial break

Unfortunately the type of information that most of us "boaties" crave would not as you say attact the audience figures that the sponsors demand .

One could also probably say the same about the magazines PBO and YM after a review of their yearly content with the same basic things coming up in rotation etc

 

[oldharry]

Like a test match?

My point precisely.....