Confidential, Cut Down

I've praised Doctor Who and the BBC in the fanzine for bringing us such an informative behind-the-scenes look at our favourite show, in the form of Doctor Who Confidential.  Educational for adults and children alike, it was the perfect companion for a show that has single-handily revived big budget family drama in the UK.  After watching an episode of DWC, with its detailed look at how an episode was made, how certain effects were done etc - how many people would learn off that? How many children would say how 'cool' it is, and then be inspired to be an actor/director/effects maker etc, after watching it?

But now its been axed.

Anyone who knows me will know how much I utterly despise reality shows that involve singing.  You've got corporations and networks spending millions, so that greedy record companies can leech off some kid for a year, before they move on to someone else to carry on their vampiric tendencies.  It doesn't inspire anybody, only brainwashing millions and producing some utterly shit music in the process.

Where am I going with this?  Read on...

The BBC have axed or cut budgets on a shedload of programmes.  Be it drama, comedy or educational.  Yet they still feel fit to pay an INITIAL £22,000,000 on reality show 'The Voice'.  To me, it just smacks of desperation, so they can compete in a 'my singing contest is better than your singing contest' dick-measuring competition with ITV.  I'm sorry, I thought the BBC was above all that.  Always at the forefront, always producing new and exciting things.  That's what DWC was.  It may have tired in recent years, but all that needed was a simple refreshing of the show, not axing it.  Where will children look for inspiration now?  Will their dream job be that of filling out an application form, so they'll be sold out by a nasty record company?  You just have to look around, hear people speak, to see how much television affects people these days.

This isn't even an argument about the demise of DWC anymore, it's about the state of television today.  Why is OUR BBC spending so much money on something that is tacky and doomed to fail (Fame Academy anyone?) and yet cutting budgets for everything else?  This is NOT what the people want, what we want is for the BBC to carry on being exciting, original and inspiring.  Buying a Dutch-made singing contest made big in America, isn't exciting, original or inspiring.  It's shit. A big white doggy piece at that.

However, this may not be the end of DWC.  You'll just have to put your hand in your pocket to pick it up on a DVD boxset.  How many 7 year-olds can afford to do that? I can't even afford to do that!

(This is just my POV btw...)