WTF can't they keep the time consistent two weeks in a row??
Simple. Because it is the unacceptable face of fantasy and genre television. They have fewer viewers than the acceptable face of fantasy such as soap operas and programmes that require your vote. And of course, fewer viewers than sports programmes.
For years the BBC has treated the genre and its fans with disdain, being prepared to cancel or postpone a programme in favour of the acceptable.
Yes, I admit I thought we were done with this nonsense.
Shifting the times around means people who are recording it, or who haven't checked the times before watching, miss either the beginning or the end, which helps to disengage them from the series. Easy to let Celebrity Home Makeover While Ballroom-Dancing In Diving Boots overrun a bit, or cut it short, because people readily assimilate the idea that a telly programme is some sort of natural event you can't control, rather than a tightly scheduled and rigidly budgeted job of work. People miss bits, they lose track, they stop trying to keep up, viewing figures fall off, oh dear how sad never mind, and it's gone.
I did think the BBC was squarely behind the revival, but clearly there are those in programming who still think scientifiction is (a) a passing fad, and/or (b) the work of the Divell.
God, I'm having horrible flashbacks to the way BBC Scotland treated the X-Files. For about 2 whole seasons, it wasn't on at the same time two weeks running. And it wasn't just 5 minutes difference either, sometimes it was on at 10, sometimes midnight.
The solution is to get a TiVO or TiVO-like device. It downloads the schedule so it always knows when your show is on... you just tell it what shows you want to watch.
The units here pick up the published schedules over the Internet. If what you're saying is happening (they publish a time, like 6 May at 7pm, and then don't show the show) how would anyone know the show was on? That doesn't sound like what Marcus is describing at all.
You can also get units that tie into the station's signal so that they can compensate for things like sporting events running long: that's fairly common over here during football season.
If they're using the same protocols etc as my digibox, I wouldn't trust them to get the right day: at the moment, my "currently showing" lags at least ten minutes behind actual programming...
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timeasmymeasure
Why?
Date: 2006-05-06 10:55 am (UTC)Simple.
Because it is the unacceptable face of fantasy and genre television.
They have fewer viewers than the acceptable face of fantasy such as soap operas and programmes that require your vote.
And of course, fewer viewers than sports programmes.
For years the BBC has treated the genre and its fans with disdain, being prepared to cancel or postpone a programme in favour of the acceptable.
Re: Why?
Date: 2006-05-06 11:20 am (UTC)Shifting the times around means people who are recording it, or who haven't checked the times before watching, miss either the beginning or the end, which helps to disengage them from the series. Easy to let Celebrity Home Makeover While Ballroom-Dancing In Diving Boots overrun a bit, or cut it short, because people readily assimilate the idea that a telly programme is some sort of natural event you can't control, rather than a tightly scheduled and rigidly budgeted job of work. People miss bits, they lose track, they stop trying to keep up, viewing figures fall off, oh dear how sad never mind, and it's gone.
I did think the BBC was squarely behind the revival, but clearly there are those in programming who still think scientifiction is (a) a passing fad, and/or (b) the work of the Divell.
Re: Why?
Date: 2006-05-06 12:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-06 11:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-06 01:42 pm (UTC)The solution is to get a TiVO or TiVO-like device. It downloads the schedule so it always knows when your show is on... you just tell it what shows you want to watch.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-06 07:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-06 09:40 pm (UTC)The units here pick up the published schedules over the Internet. If what you're saying is happening (they publish a time, like 6 May at 7pm, and then don't show the show) how would anyone know the show was on? That doesn't sound like what Marcus is describing at all.
You can also get units that tie into the station's signal so that they can compensate for things like sporting events running long: that's fairly common over here during football season.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-07 08:16 am (UTC)