|
Post by Dirty Epic on Aug 19, 2019 9:00:05 GMT
Channel 5 aren't owned by Richard Desmond anymore they're owned by Viacom who have interests in MTV, Paramount Network, Nickleodeon etc.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_5_(UK)
With a few exceptions not much I'd be interested with on C5.
|
|
Sparky
Producer
Status? Would that be Credit or in Society?
Posts: 2,784
Online Status:
|
Post by Sparky on Aug 19, 2019 9:35:36 GMT
An ‘90’s Sweeney could’ve have worked with perhaps Dennis Waterman in a senior officer role, an new squad with a similar Regan & Carter dynamic and maybe John Thaw as Regan in most episodes as a behind the scenes player who’d left the force in 1978 and was more of a freelance private eye etc. This might have been a bit too similar to ITV’s Thief Takers which was around a few years before and had Ted Childs on board for the earlier series and as said it most likely would’ve ended up a similar way to C5’s Minder re-make or most likely The New Professionals which originally had the idea of Lewis Collins in the ‘Cowley’ type role but failed to secure him, didn’t get picked up by ITV and ended up with (the exception of Edward Woodward) a cast of unknowns with no real chemistry and shown on Sky which thought it would be a good idea to chop 10 minutes out of each episode for extra adverts… Interesting that Ian Kennedy Martin did propose a Sweeney re-make to a post-ITV Thames and when John and Dennis had a reunion in the late 90’s they both seemed very positive about the original show and maybe the idea of ‘working together again’. I do know IKM gave his blessing to Nick Love to do The Sweeney film which perhaps should have been left alone or maybe been done as something new/else – different title, characters, setting etc. which might have worked better. Being honest I’ve not really seen it in over 6 years and don’t really have much of an inclination to do so any time soon. On the whole I feel re-makes whether set in the past or contemporary don’t really work for me. I’d much sooner see film/TV come up with new ideas for things which even if they show reverence to past shows like Sweeney, Minder, The Pro’s etc. are moving in a new and different direction and don’t sabotage the legacy many of the original shows had! With remakes - I totally agree. Hollywood is currently going through an epidemic of "Reboots", "Remakes" and "Rehashes" of otherwise classic movies. Have all writers in Hollywood pack up working?
Though, in reality - once you were on the Flying Squad; you did a couple of years - and then were moved on to other squads (Regional Crime Squad etc). You can return to the Flying Squad, but normally in a higher rank. Detectives like Regan, would have been one of the few core detectives that stay with the squad for longer.
If it was me - as a backstory, I'd have had Carter do a couple of stints in Regional Crime Squads, Serious Crime Squads and then moved him back to the Flying Squad in (as has been said) a higher rank.
Regan, left in 1978 - and perhaps took a job in security for a bank (a link back to Stay Lucky Eh?), or even (if it was a more modern time) a Security company.
|
|
|
Post by Charles Bronson on Aug 19, 2019 14:18:09 GMT
Channel 5 aren't owned by Richard Desmond anymore they're owned by Viacom who have interests in MTV, Paramount Network, Nickleodeon etc.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_5_(UK)
With a few exceptions not much I'd be interested with on C5. Viacom ? I've heard of it of course. Its an American company isn't it? I'm not happy about an American company owning one of our terrestrial channels, but that's the way things have gone now. I believe they also have some of those 'Holy Roller' American channels on Freeview now. The guys preaching are usually multi millionaires thanks to the mugs who send their cash in. Charles.
|
|
Cartman
Producer
Posts: 4,024
Online Status:
|
Post by Cartman on Aug 19, 2019 14:57:00 GMT
Just about sums up the American attitude to religion. "Praise the lord and send me lots of money"
I'm going to have to have another rant about this eco stuff I'm afraid. I watched the BBC news at lunchtime, the national one and the North West one which follows it, and there were four items about climate change. It's becoming a total brainwashing session which is being force fed, like something from a dictatorial regime and I am sick to death of it!
|
|
Sparky
Producer
Status? Would that be Credit or in Society?
Posts: 2,784
Online Status:
|
Post by Sparky on Aug 19, 2019 16:41:21 GMT
Channel 5 aren't owned by Richard Desmond anymore they're owned by Viacom who have interests in MTV, Paramount Network, Nickleodeon etc.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_5_(UK)
With a few exceptions not much I'd be interested with on C5. Viacom ? I've heard of it of course. Its an American company isn't it? I'm not happy about an American company owning one of our terrestrial channels, but that's the way things have gone now. You've the "1990 Broadcasting Act" introduced by Mrs T's government to thank for that. Until then our TV was properly regulated - OK, some changes to move with the times should have been included - though on the whole, it was introduced to free up the market for various bigger fish companies to jump on the gravy train.
In particular, ITV - had it's 14 or so regional companies; each company earned it's own revenue via programme sales and advertising, each company paid a subscription to fund ITN, Channel 4 and fund the IBA to look after the transmitters. Companies were forbidden to use product placement, sponsorship and also - where larger companies had other media groups (Mirror Group, DC Thompson etc) tied in - they couldn't swallow up all the smaller fish to make one large company... After this bill was introduced, this was all relaxed - and any big fish with cash could buy in (As Carlton did) and strip assets.
This also included, giving permission to foreign producers to also buy in...
And we end up with what we have now...
BBC = Nothing more than a TV channel run by your local Council ITV1 =ITV Gone. Living off the ratings from Emmerdale & Coronation St and past successes - while trying to be the big US Producer - but without the budget.
|
|
Sparky
Producer
Status? Would that be Credit or in Society?
Posts: 2,784
Online Status:
|
Post by Sparky on Aug 19, 2019 16:48:44 GMT
Just about sums up the American attitude to religion. "Praise the lord and send me lots of money" I'm going to have to have another rant about this eco stuff I'm afraid. I watched the BBC news at lunchtime, the national one and the North West one which follows it, and there were four items about climate change. It's becoming a total brainwashing session which is being force fed, like something from a dictatorial regime and I am sick to death of it! I read somewhere recently that ITN or whoever produces the ITV news have also introduced a policy with News at 10, to ensure the first 10 or so minutes have Climate Change stories.... I am totally sick to death of hearing about it.
What I find really funny, is if you go back 100s of years to when weather records began, there has always been a history of very Cold Winters, Extremely Hot Summers, Freak Thunderstoms - that's the weather system. However - back then; it was seen as a freak weather incident. Today - it's blamed on Climate change.
As I said in a previous post - the BBC has turned into a PC/Nanny State broadcaster - thanks to the government doing away with the BBC Board and putting MPs in to run it. With MPs running a state broadcaster, they can put out what they like.
|
|
|
Post by Charles Bronson on Aug 19, 2019 17:27:57 GMT
That was a brilliant post on why our TV industry has declined Sparky.. People like Lew Grade would be pigsick if they were alive to see what ITV is like now.
One of the saddest things to me about it is how much ITN has deteriorated. It used to be one of the best news organisations in the world. I just don't recognise it now.
Charles.
|
|
Sparky
Producer
Status? Would that be Credit or in Society?
Posts: 2,784
Online Status:
|
Post by Sparky on Aug 19, 2019 17:57:14 GMT
That was a brilliant post on why our TV industry has declined Sparky.. People like Lew Grade would be pigsick if they were alive to see what ITV is like now. One of the saddest things to me about it is how much ITN has deteriorated. It used to be one of the best news organisations in the world. I just don't recognise it now. Charles. It saddens me that ITN has become what it is now. It was a very well respected news organisation - they even produced a number of features and documentaries too.
Funny you mention Lew Grade; Mrs T's government, and a humble few on the IBA board (Tory) didn't like Lew Grade, as they felt that he, the ACC and "ATV Group" (which was made up of various interests) had too much of an influence on the media - and tried to force him to stand down and split up ACC - and ATV Group to reduce it's size and power.
He was nothing in that respect compared to Rupert Murdoch.
Grade told them (in a nice way) to get lost. And so a year or two later - the goal posts for awarding the new IBA franchises were moved. ATV tendered for it's midlands contracts, based on it's success on ITV, it's programme sales around the globe, it's entire brand and influence to attract big stars, and in the money it brought in for the treasury through taxers - they won the Queens Award for Industry too.
The IBA would only award the contract to ATV if certain conditions were met:
1) Lew Grade had to stand down as Chairman of ATV-Network (the broadcasting arm) 2) Shares ACC/ATV Group had to be divested 3) DC Thompson and the Mirror Group had to get rid of their shares in ATV 4) Pye Records had to be seperated from ATV. 5) The Elstree studio had to close, and all 2000odd staff move to a smaller, new build in Nottingham 6) The name and brand - ATV had to go.
So;
Grade went into making feature films, an Australian chap brought up the remaining ATV shares, Carlton (again) were sniffing about too. Other shares were divested in the midlands.
ATV was renamed "Central Television" - with a nice new logo Central opened a new tempory East Midlands studio in Jan 1982 (which went off air 30seconds before the first broadcast - thanks to a strike) And the rest is history.
Once this batch of work is out of the way (mostly overnights and weekends), I will dig out the scanner and scan some more bits and pieces in and post them in the TV Studio bit. We'll be looking at a seperate ATV thread soon...!! I do have somewhere, a family tree of the ATV group of companies - you'd be surprised just who they did own.
For Me, Mrs T's government and the IBA board SHOULD go into Room 101 for getting rid of perhaps one of the best UK TV producers. If there's room, Rupert Murdoch can go in too - for... erm just being Rupert Murdoch!
|
|
Cartman
Producer
Posts: 4,024
Online Status:
|
Post by Cartman on Aug 19, 2019 18:06:57 GMT
Cheers Sparky for your insight into what happened to the once excellent ITV. Somehow it didn't surprise me that Thatchers government was behind messing up yet another British institution. Her and her government have been in my room 101for years. (sorry for the lurch into politics, won't do it again, promise! :-)
|
|
|
Post by Charles Bronson on Aug 19, 2019 18:32:37 GMT
Eye opening stuff Sparky.
Charles.
|
|