Posts by Simon Bennett
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New Bowie now streaming on iTunes...
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Not to mention demanding something that it’s not within the power of the producer to offer. No single producer is able to agree to contract on the basis of ‘industry-wide contracts’ as s/he does not act for the industry as a whole.
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Hard News: A few (more) words on The Hobbit, in reply to Russell Brown,
The sanest summary of the situation yet, in my opinion.
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'fail' as in: 'epic fail'. And also 'my bad'. Hearing both of these everywhere, and they seem to reflect a climate of vague incompetence.
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Hard News: Irony Deficient, in reply to Sacha,
'Certainly heard that from comedians.'
So have I, and experienced it first hand.
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I suspect that satire, with its savagery and tendency to cause offence, tends to be worrying to TV networks with a purely commercial imperative.
By its very nature, commercial TV is risk-averse and satire by its very nature is risky. If any satire were to be programmed, I can see nervous commissioners insisting the 'funny' level be turned up to 11 - thereby rendering said programme unfunny and blatant.
I firmly believe that this issue of gatekeepers (whether producers or network execs), who have no actual expertise in the area, yet become arbiters as to what is or isn't funny, is one of the blights that has afflicted NZ TV comedy across the decades.
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A beautifully written tribute. So true. Thank you.
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And I posted the above as a viewer and a parent, rather than as a practitioner.
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I will miss TV that treated me as a citizen rather than a consumer. That challenged and stimulated my thinking as well as entertained me. That dealt with issues in more than sound-bite superficiality. That took media, politics, the arts and legal system seriously. That reflected a world I'm interested in, rather than the vacuous construct projected by most commercial TV.
TVNZ7 had come such a long way in its short lifespan and shown what was possible for a relatively modest amount of money.
Hoping against all likelihood that public service broadcasting will become an election issue and that we'll see some action in the next few years. However, a stand-alone entity that is separate from the TVNZ resources enjoyed by TVNZ7 would be a much more expensive proposition.
Until then, I'll be sticking with SoHo, the occasional show on Prime, DVD box sets and Media3.
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I'm really pleased. Congratulations!