I find the BBC knocking has turned into the Andy Gray scenario. Stay with me on this one.
When Gray was an analyst on Sky, the followers of the Sky four were all convinced that he hated their club and loved the other three - "Look at the stick he gave Terry/Gerrard/Giggs/Henry this week", they would bleat, "He loves Man Utd/Arsenal/Liverpool/Chelsea, and hates us". The point being that he actually was completely fair to all, gave out equal stick where it was deserved, but because they were so used to sycophancy and sucking up to their "big" cubs, they were unable to see the wood for the trees.
Now I see similar with the BBC, left wing friends describing them as government puppets and the British Bullshit Corporation, whilst the right wingers accuse them of lefty propaganda and hiding the truth about (for example) immigration. Because it isn't all tree hugging or all foreigner hating, it is apparently biased towards the other side.
Back to the main gist of the thread - yes some great drama and comedy recently, plus some decent quiz and game shows (and some toot) and documentaries on BBC4 to boot.
You are absolutely right mate. In the struggle to meet the remit of "balance" they get assailed from all sides, and inevitably sometimes retreat into the bunker.
The Olympic Stadium documentary is a case in point. The LLDC submitted a complaint about it. I was told that it was obvious they wanted to see people losing their jobs over it. In the end the BBC stood up to them, and when the complaint resolution is made public (any day now), I'm going to exact some revenge on those wankers at the LLDC, because their complaint included a defamatory lie about Steve and I.
If you enjoy and believe in the BBC, it needs to be actively defended.
Great to read this as a big BBC fan, not least because of the dramas @AFKABartram listed, I only watched he Night Manager. I'm locked into all the BBC4 Scandi stuff, which admittedly isn't their own work, but they brought it to us, together with Mad Men, never forget. the licence fee is the hands down the best value for money in the world of broadcasting. i just wish I could pay it instead of paying for a huge satellite dish and a VPN (mine is Zenmate, very happy with it, they also claim to encrypt all your data).
On the topic of Scandi stuff, have they brought "Occupied" (Norway) to the UK yet? Its on Netflix here in the states, I'm about halfway through and so far it's really, really good.
Had to look that one up, .(edit) Turns out bloody Sky picked up and put it on Sky Arts. Bastards.
This is from autumn when it originally aired in Norway. It says it was due to air on "Sky Arts" in "early 2016."
Also, in speaking to Norwegian friends (and as highlighted in the article), there is real fear about Russian incursion, and generally around the security of their oil reserves.
@Arsenetatters Not the Andy Gray reference I was expecting, but a good point. It's also worth pointing out that the BBC is unique in the English speaking world in that it is state funded but also one of the few remaining news outlets that still have stations and presence around the world. I've heard similar complaints about the BBC domestically, and obviously they've made some mistakes, but when you look at the entirety of the news agency it's one of incredibly high quality.
I love the BBC. I might be the only person who thought the 'Night Manager' was flawed but I liked it anyway. I also loved 'Dectectorists', more than 'Cradle to the Grave' which was anyway excellent too, and a shout out for London Spy. I also highly rate Channel 4 with 'Humans' a particular highlight.
Apparently Netflix collaborated on The Night Manager, which I've not seen but will look in to. I thought there was some collaboration on "Happy Valley," as it says "Netflix Original" here in the States. I've only seen the first couple episodes but it's brilliant.
I saw something in the UK this evening on Netflix which was billed as "Netflix Original" but had the BBC intro. I presume they're working together a bit at the moment.
I'm not sure what the Netflix offering is like over in the US* other than it being quite a bit bigger, but the amount of BBC content on it in the UK is brilliant. Old comedies and documentaries galore. It bugs me a bit as I still feel that stuff should be on iPlayer out of principle in the UK, but on the other hand I imagine it's a brilliant way of them using older content to generate new revenue.
(Not sure whether I can simply log in to my normal Netflix account with my VPN turned on to see what's available over there?)
Yeah if your VPN is through a US IP or you can make it appear that you're coming from a US IP you should be able to get the American version. When I was in the UK I had access to everything on UK Netflix.
Awesome! Cheers for the heads up.
I always imagined they'd have something more complex in place, perhaps falling back to your billing/account information. Great to hear that it's nothing so tricky though. I'm sadly quite excited to log in and have a browse now... (I probably need to get out more.)
No judgements from me mate. When I was in London I remember my friends and I spent like an hour going back and forth on things on the UK Netflix versus the US version.
Did you get through okay? I just realized it's been a year and a half since I did it (and a year and a half away from SE London) so they might have wised up.
Lastly, I think you work in software. No clue if it's your thing, but some of the stuff they put out on mega data and architecture is really, really interesting. They tend to be quite guarded with some of their algorithms (though I think that's changing a bit). I used to work with a couple guys who are there now, and if you follow their various blogs and stuff they post some interesting things (which I have to confess are technically a little above my head).
Not yet, today I accidentally ended up binging on the whole first series of the BBC's "Line of Duty" on Netflix UK. Thanks to the recommendations in this thread I decided to give the first episode a go, and got glued to the TV. I was thoroughly impressed with it actually!
I do work in software, and you're absolutely spot on about some of the Netflix stuff they put out online. I endured a few weeks of pain last year when a director at my previous company discovered a blog article about their "Chaos Monkey" tool - which disables random production instances to test fault tolerance. Within an hour of him discovering the Netflix blog I had a series of emails about how we've got everything wrong.. Fascinating reading though!
Netflix has really clamped down on using VPN after pressure from the studios and distributors. Doubt it will work anymore. The VPN I use to get the iPlayer from here no longer works with Netflix.
@Exiled_Addick - I'd say get a better VPN, Astrill had some problems for a week or two, since then they released an upgrade and it's been great for netflix.
Netflix has really clamped down on using VPN after pressure from the studios and distributors. Doubt it will work anymore. The VPN I use to get the iPlayer from here no longer works with Netflix.
I took @Stu_in_Kunming's advice and tried Astrill. It is good, so many different servers, and I can now get Netflix from Thailand, UK and USA.
If Line Of Duty was the one that the BBC chose to employ a Sweaty to play a Londoner in (because London actors are too few and far between these days I presume), my Mrs watched it and I gotta say that the shitness of it was confirmed by the ending, wtf was all that about, eh? I was gearing meself up for the woman to ruin the fella with stuff she had on him and then he sent that text HaHAHAahAahAHa. How would the only SO19 officer on that fellas side ever be stationed in exactly the right post to be able to 'spring' him at the drop of a text? lol and the less said about the 'Police Squad' type gun battle from one side of the road to the other, the better. And what about the the Range Rover going round and round the block until she shot the 'badie' IN THE NOGGIN in the short window of a streets width? You really couldn't make it up.....
.....btw, that was the same BBC durge that I mentioned in the General Things That Annoy you thread, which photoshopped Jimmy Savile into a photo with a couple of it's characters.
If Line Of Duty was the one that the BBC chose to employ a Sweaty to play a Londoner in (because London actors are too few and far between these days I presume), my Mrs watched it and I gotta say that the shitness of it was confirmed by the ending, wtf was all that about, eh? I was gearing meself up for the woman to ruin the fella with stuff she had on him and then he sent that text HaHAHAahAahAHa. How would the only SO19 officer on that fellas side ever be stationed in exactly the right post to be able to 'spring' him at the drop of a text? lol and the less said about the 'Police Squad' type gun battle from one side of the road to the other, the better. And what about the the Range Rover going round and round the block until she shot the 'badie' IN THE NOGGIN in the short window of a streets width? You really couldn't make it up.....
Pmsl MUST TRY HARDER BBC!!!
Who would you have replace Martin Compston? Danny Dyer?
If Line Of Duty was the one that the BBC chose to employ a Sweaty to play a Londoner in (because London actors are too few and far between these days I presume), my Mrs watched it and I gotta say that the shitness of it was confirmed by the ending, wtf was all that about, eh? I was gearing meself up for the woman to ruin the fella with stuff she had on him and then he sent that text HaHAHAahAahAHa. How would the only SO19 officer on that fellas side ever be stationed in exactly the right post to be able to 'spring' him at the drop of a text? lol and the less said about the 'Police Squad' type gun battle from one side of the road to the other, the better. And what about the the Range Rover going round and round the block until she shot the 'badie' IN THE NOGGIN in the short window of a streets width? You really couldn't make it up.....
Pmsl MUST TRY HARDER BBC!!!
Who would you have replace Martin Compston? Danny Dyer?
If Line Of Duty was the one that the BBC chose to employ a Sweaty to play a Londoner in (because London actors are too few and far between these days I presume), my Mrs watched it and I gotta say that the shitness of it was confirmed by the ending, wtf was all that about, eh? I was gearing meself up for the woman to ruin the fella with stuff she had on him and then he sent that text HaHAHAahAahAHa. How would the only SO19 officer on that fellas side ever be stationed in exactly the right post to be able to 'spring' him at the drop of a text? lol and the less said about the 'Police Squad' type gun battle from one side of the road to the other, the better. And what about the the Range Rover going round and round the block until she shot the 'badie' IN THE NOGGIN in the short window of a streets width? You really couldn't make it up.....
Pmsl MUST TRY HARDER BBC!!!
Who would you have replace Martin Compston? Danny Dyer?
Me
You do know he plays a police man not a shopkeeper don't you?
If Line Of Duty was the one that the BBC chose to employ a Sweaty to play a Londoner in (because London actors are too few and far between these days I presume), my Mrs watched it and I gotta say that the shitness of it was confirmed by the ending, wtf was all that about, eh? I was gearing meself up for the woman to ruin the fella with stuff she had on him and then he sent that text HaHAHAahAahAHa. How would the only SO19 officer on that fellas side ever be stationed in exactly the right post to be able to 'spring' him at the drop of a text? lol and the less said about the 'Police Squad' type gun battle from one side of the road to the other, the better. And what about the the Range Rover going round and round the block until she shot the 'badie' IN THE NOGGIN in the short window of a streets width? You really couldn't make it up.....
Pmsl MUST TRY HARDER BBC!!!
Who would you have replace Martin Compston? Danny Dyer?
Me
You do know he plays a police man not a shopkeeper don't you?
As a former shopkeeper, I could act a better copper than he does a London accent
If Line Of Duty was the one that the BBC chose to employ a Sweaty to play a Londoner in (because London actors are too few and far between these days I presume), my Mrs watched it and I gotta say that the shitness of it was confirmed by the ending, wtf was all that about, eh? I was gearing meself up for the woman to ruin the fella with stuff she had on him and then he sent that text HaHAHAahAahAHa. How would the only SO19 officer on that fellas side ever be stationed in exactly the right post to be able to 'spring' him at the drop of a text? lol and the less said about the 'Police Squad' type gun battle from one side of the road to the other, the better. And what about the the Range Rover going round and round the block until she shot the 'badie' IN THE NOGGIN in the short window of a streets width? You really couldn't make it up.....
Pmsl MUST TRY HARDER BBC!!!
Who would you have replace Martin Compston? Danny Dyer?
Me
You do know he plays a police man not a shopkeeper don't you?
If Line Of Duty was the one that the BBC chose to employ a Sweaty to play a Londoner in (because London actors are too few and far between these days I presume), my Mrs watched it and I gotta say that the shitness of it was confirmed by the ending, wtf was all that about, eh? I was gearing meself up for the woman to ruin the fella with stuff she had on him and then he sent that text HaHAHAahAahAHa. How would the only SO19 officer on that fellas side ever be stationed in exactly the right post to be able to 'spring' him at the drop of a text? lol and the less said about the 'Police Squad' type gun battle from one side of the road to the other, the better. And what about the the Range Rover going round and round the block until she shot the 'badie' IN THE NOGGIN in the short window of a streets width? You really couldn't make it up.....
Pmsl MUST TRY HARDER BBC!!!
And no-one went for a shit either. Unrealistic claptrap. Sack them all. Booooo....
If Line Of Duty was the one that the BBC chose to employ a Sweaty to play a Londoner in (because London actors are too few and far between these days I presume), my Mrs watched it and I gotta say that the shitness of it was confirmed by the ending, wtf was all that about, eh? I was gearing meself up for the woman to ruin the fella with stuff she had on him and then he sent that text HaHAHAahAahAHa. How would the only SO19 officer on that fellas side ever be stationed in exactly the right post to be able to 'spring' him at the drop of a text? lol and the less said about the 'Police Squad' type gun battle from one side of the road to the other, the better. And what about the the Range Rover going round and round the block until she shot the 'badie' IN THE NOGGIN in the short window of a streets width? You really couldn't make it up.....
Pmsl MUST TRY HARDER BBC!!!
And no-one went for a shit either. Unrealistic claptrap. Sack them all. Booooo....
They did, the baddie was doing a shit and flushed the sim card down the toilet, before he see an apparition of the Doris he shot. Yet more inconsistency from the Beeb
If Line Of Duty was the one that the BBC chose to employ a Sweaty to play a Londoner in (because London actors are too few and far between these days I presume), my Mrs watched it and I gotta say that the shitness of it was confirmed by the ending, wtf was all that about, eh? I was gearing meself up for the woman to ruin the fella with stuff she had on him and then he sent that text HaHAHAahAahAHa. How would the only SO19 officer on that fellas side ever be stationed in exactly the right post to be able to 'spring' him at the drop of a text? lol and the less said about the 'Police Squad' type gun battle from one side of the road to the other, the better. And what about the the Range Rover going round and round the block until she shot the 'badie' IN THE NOGGIN in the short window of a streets width? You really couldn't make it up.....
Pmsl MUST TRY HARDER BBC!!!
And no-one went for a shit either. Unrealistic claptrap. Sack them all. Booooo....
They did, the baddie was doing a shit and flushed the sim card down the toilet, before he see an apparition of the Doris he shot. Yet more inconsistency from the Beeb
Cheers for pointing that out AA
Where's the inconsistency there Rob? I was wrong about the shit, not the Beeb...
If Line Of Duty was the one that the BBC chose to employ a Sweaty to play a Londoner in (because London actors are too few and far between these days I presume), my Mrs watched it and I gotta say that the shitness of it was confirmed by the ending, wtf was all that about, eh? I was gearing meself up for the woman to ruin the fella with stuff she had on him and then he sent that text HaHAHAahAahAHa. How would the only SO19 officer on that fellas side ever be stationed in exactly the right post to be able to 'spring' him at the drop of a text? lol and the less said about the 'Police Squad' type gun battle from one side of the road to the other, the better. And what about the the Range Rover going round and round the block until she shot the 'badie' IN THE NOGGIN in the short window of a streets width? You really couldn't make it up.....
Pmsl MUST TRY HARDER BBC!!!
And no-one went for a shit either. Unrealistic claptrap. Sack them all. Booooo....
They did, the baddie was doing a shit and flushed the sim card down the toilet, before he see an apparition of the Doris he shot. Yet more inconsistency from the Beeb
Cheers for pointing that out AA
Where's the inconsistency there Rob? I was wrong about the shit, not the Beeb...
Coz they did, in fact, show em having a shit, but let emselves down in other areas as per usual
If Line Of Duty was the one that the BBC chose to employ a Sweaty to play a Londoner in (because London actors are too few and far between these days I presume), my Mrs watched it and I gotta say that the shitness of it was confirmed by the ending, wtf was all that about, eh? I was gearing meself up for the woman to ruin the fella with stuff she had on him and then he sent that text HaHAHAahAahAHa. How would the only SO19 officer on that fellas side ever be stationed in exactly the right post to be able to 'spring' him at the drop of a text? lol and the less said about the 'Police Squad' type gun battle from one side of the road to the other, the better. And what about the the Range Rover going round and round the block until she shot the 'badie' IN THE NOGGIN in the short window of a streets width? You really couldn't make it up.....
Pmsl MUST TRY HARDER BBC!!!
And no-one went for a shit either. Unrealistic claptrap. Sack them all. Booooo....
They did, the baddie was doing a shit and flushed the sim card down the toilet, before he see an apparition of the Doris he shot. Yet more inconsistency from the Beeb
Cheers for pointing that out AA
There was no evidence he was having a tom-tit, he may have been cracking one off for all we know.
**Edit - The head-shot in the Range Rover was totally unrealistic, with a weapon which would have blown the baddies head off, but he emerged with a bloodied scratch on his forehead and still breathing. Pedant over, still a good series apart from the last 15 minutes.**
If Line Of Duty was the one that the BBC chose to employ a Sweaty to play a Londoner in (because London actors are too few and far between these days I presume), my Mrs watched it and I gotta say that the shitness of it was confirmed by the ending, wtf was all that about, eh? I was gearing meself up for the woman to ruin the fella with stuff she had on him and then he sent that text HaHAHAahAahAHa. How would the only SO19 officer on that fellas side ever be stationed in exactly the right post to be able to 'spring' him at the drop of a text? lol and the less said about the 'Police Squad' type gun battle from one side of the road to the other, the better. And what about the the Range Rover going round and round the block until she shot the 'badie' IN THE NOGGIN in the short window of a streets width? You really couldn't make it up.....
Pmsl MUST TRY HARDER BBC!!!
And no-one went for a shit either. Unrealistic claptrap. Sack them all. Booooo....
They did, the baddie was doing a shit and flushed the sim card down the toilet, before he see an apparition of the Doris he shot. Yet more inconsistency from the Beeb
Cheers for pointing that out AA
There was no evidence he was having a tom-tit, he may have been cracking one off for all we know.
**Edit - The head-shot in the Range Rover was totally unrealistic, with a weapon which would have blown the baddies head off, but he emerged with a bloodied scratch on his forehead and still breathing. Pedant over, still a good series apart from the last 15 minutes.**
Perhaps his head was hit by flying glass? I see your pedantry and raise you one...
If Line Of Duty was the one that the BBC chose to employ a Sweaty to play a Londoner in (because London actors are too few and far between these days I presume), my Mrs watched it and I gotta say that the shitness of it was confirmed by the ending, wtf was all that about, eh? I was gearing meself up for the woman to ruin the fella with stuff she had on him and then he sent that text HaHAHAahAahAHa. How would the only SO19 officer on that fellas side ever be stationed in exactly the right post to be able to 'spring' him at the drop of a text? lol and the less said about the 'Police Squad' type gun battle from one side of the road to the other, the better. And what about the the Range Rover going round and round the block until she shot the 'badie' IN THE NOGGIN in the short window of a streets width? You really couldn't make it up.....
Pmsl MUST TRY HARDER BBC!!!
And no-one went for a shit either. Unrealistic claptrap. Sack them all. Booooo....
They did, the baddie was doing a shit and flushed the sim card down the toilet, before he see an apparition of the Doris he shot. Yet more inconsistency from the Beeb
Cheers for pointing that out AA
There was no evidence he was having a tom-tit, he may have been cracking one off for all we know.
**Edit - The head-shot in the Range Rover was totally unrealistic, with a weapon which would have blown the baddies head off, but he emerged with a bloodied scratch on his forehead and still breathing. Pedant over, still a good series apart from the last 15 minutes.**
Perhaps his head was hit by flying glass? I see your pedantry and raise you one...
The velocity would be such that the ordnance projected would make a clean hole, and therefore no shattered glass. One all.
However, so long as they keep showing Dad's Army on Saturday night, I'm happy to consider paying my licence fee.
I had to avoid this thread until tonight as I have only just managed to catch up with Line of Duty. What a gripping 90 mins for the last episode. As stated in the title, hats off to the BBC (not that I am wearing a hat)
If Line Of Duty was the one that the BBC chose to employ a Sweaty to play a Londoner in (because London actors are too few and far between these days I presume), my Mrs watched it and I gotta say that the shitness of it was confirmed by the ending, wtf was all that about, eh? I was gearing meself up for the woman to ruin the fella with stuff she had on him and then he sent that text HaHAHAahAahAHa. How would the only SO19 officer on that fellas side ever be stationed in exactly the right post to be able to 'spring' him at the drop of a text? lol and the less said about the 'Police Squad' type gun battle from one side of the road to the other, the better. And what about the the Range Rover going round and round the block until she shot the 'badie' IN THE NOGGIN in the short window of a streets width? You really couldn't make it up.....
Pmsl MUST TRY HARDER BBC!!!
And no-one went for a shit either. Unrealistic claptrap. Sack them all. Booooo....
They did, the baddie was doing a shit and flushed the sim card down the toilet, before he see an apparition of the Doris he shot. Yet more inconsistency from the Beeb
Cheers for pointing that out AA
There was no evidence he was having a tom-tit, he may have been cracking one off for all we know.
**Edit - The head-shot in the Range Rover was totally unrealistic, with a weapon which would have blown the baddies head off, but he emerged with a bloodied scratch on his forehead and still breathing. Pedant over, still a good series apart from the last 15 minutes.**
Perhaps his head was hit by flying glass? I see your pedantry and raise you one...
The velocity would be such that the ordnance projected would make a clean hole, and therefore no shattered glass. One all.
However, so long as they keep showing Dad's Army on Saturday night, I'm happy to consider paying my licence fee.
If Line Of Duty was the one that the BBC chose to employ a Sweaty to play a Londoner in (because London actors are too few and far between these days I presume), my Mrs watched it and I gotta say that the shitness of it was confirmed by the ending, wtf was all that about, eh? I was gearing meself up for the woman to ruin the fella with stuff she had on him and then he sent that text HaHAHAahAahAHa. How would the only SO19 officer on that fellas side ever be stationed in exactly the right post to be able to 'spring' him at the drop of a text? lol and the less said about the 'Police Squad' type gun battle from one side of the road to the other, the better. And what about the the Range Rover going round and round the block until she shot the 'badie' IN THE NOGGIN in the short window of a streets width? You really couldn't make it up.....
Pmsl MUST TRY HARDER BBC!!!
I assume you are referring to the Met Police SC&O19 unit? They wouldn't have anything to do with anything where Line of Duty is supposed to be set - in Birmingham. (Although filmed in Northern Ireland). And the West Midlands Police Firearms Unit would be much smaller and more close knit. But it was silly to show him being allowed to use his mobile during a taped interview. That said the taped interviews shown in the series were very good and managed to portray a much greater degree of realism than TV shows usually depict. The impressive thing being that they still got a good level of suspense during the interviews. A not inconsiderable feat as such interviews are invariably as dull as ditch water.
If Line Of Duty was the one that the BBC chose to employ a Sweaty to play a Londoner in (because London actors are too few and far between these days I presume), my Mrs watched it and I gotta say that the shitness of it was confirmed by the ending, wtf was all that about, eh? I was gearing meself up for the woman to ruin the fella with stuff she had on him and then he sent that text HaHAHAahAahAHa. How would the only SO19 officer on that fellas side ever be stationed in exactly the right post to be able to 'spring' him at the drop of a text? lol and the less said about the 'Police Squad' type gun battle from one side of the road to the other, the better. And what about the the Range Rover going round and round the block until she shot the 'badie' IN THE NOGGIN in the short window of a streets width? You really couldn't make it up.....
Pmsl MUST TRY HARDER BBC!!!
I assume you are referring to the Met Police SC&O19 unit? They wouldn't have anything to do with anything where Line of Duty is supposed to be set - in Birmingham. (Although filmed in Northern Ireland). And the West Midlands Police Firearms Unit would be much smaller and more close knit. But it was silly to show him being allowed to use his mobile during a taped interview. That said the taped interviews shown in the series were very good and managed to portray a much greater degree of realism than TV shows usually depict. The impressive thing being that they still got a good level of suspense during the interviews. A not inconsiderable feat as such interviews are invariably as dull as ditch water.
Typical BBC, setting their Police dramas up in the Midlands
Haven't watched the last episode of "The A Word" yet, thus far though I'm still not sure if I'm enjoying it, some elements have been brilliant and painfully accurate and some have been unrealistic and over dramatised. The mum in it annoys me immensely and I just want to slap some sense in her the teenage daughter and father are great and that little boy that plays Joe is one hell of an actor. He should win awards for that. It's hard to judge the actual portrayal of autism as its such a huge spectrum but the traits are portrayed well the parents reaction to it annoy me though and the fact they allow their five year old son (regardless of special needs) go missing every morning, surely any self respecting, responsible parent would take precautions after the first time it happens.
In regards to th OP though I agree the overall quality of the bbc has improved immensely of late, even the radio has. I think the criticism of the license fee has given them a kick up the butt.
If Line Of Duty was the one that the BBC chose to employ a Sweaty to play a Londoner in (because London actors are too few and far between these days I presume), my Mrs watched it and I gotta say that the shitness of it was confirmed by the ending, wtf was all that about, eh? I was gearing meself up for the woman to ruin the fella with stuff she had on him and then he sent that text HaHAHAahAahAHa. How would the only SO19 officer on that fellas side ever be stationed in exactly the right post to be able to 'spring' him at the drop of a text? lol and the less said about the 'Police Squad' type gun battle from one side of the road to the other, the better. And what about the the Range Rover going round and round the block until she shot the 'badie' IN THE NOGGIN in the short window of a streets width? You really couldn't make it up.....
Pmsl MUST TRY HARDER BBC!!!
I assume you are referring to the Met Police SC&O19 unit? They wouldn't have anything to do with anything where Line of Duty is supposed to be set - in Birmingham. (Although filmed in Northern Ireland). And the West Midlands Police Firearms Unit would be much smaller and more close knit. But it was silly to show him being allowed to use his mobile during a taped interview. That said the taped interviews shown in the series were very good and managed to portray a much greater degree of realism than TV shows usually depict. The impressive thing being that they still got a good level of suspense during the interviews. A not inconsiderable feat as such interviews are invariably as dull as ditch water.
Not Brum .. the force is the fictional 'East Midlands' force .. so the setting is non specific but somewhere in the east Midlands .. presumably
Comments
The Olympic Stadium documentary is a case in point. The LLDC submitted a complaint about it. I was told that it was obvious they wanted to see people losing their jobs over it. In the end the BBC stood up to them, and when the complaint resolution is made public (any day now), I'm going to exact some revenge on those wankers at the LLDC, because their complaint included a defamatory lie about Steve and I.
If you enjoy and believe in the BBC, it needs to be actively defended.
This is from autumn when it originally aired in Norway. It says it was due to air on "Sky Arts" in "early 2016."
Also, in speaking to Norwegian friends (and as highlighted in the article), there is real fear about Russian incursion, and generally around the security of their oil reserves.
@Arsenetatters Not the Andy Gray reference I was expecting, but a good point. It's also worth pointing out that the BBC is unique in the English speaking world in that it is state funded but also one of the few remaining news outlets that still have stations and presence around the world. I've heard similar complaints about the BBC domestically, and obviously they've made some mistakes, but when you look at the entirety of the news agency it's one of incredibly high quality.
I might be the only person who thought the 'Night Manager' was flawed but I liked it anyway.
I also loved 'Dectectorists', more than 'Cradle to the Grave' which was anyway excellent too, and a shout out for London Spy.
I also highly rate Channel 4 with 'Humans' a particular highlight.
I do work in software, and you're absolutely spot on about some of the Netflix stuff they put out online. I endured a few weeks of pain last year when a director at my previous company discovered a blog article about their "Chaos Monkey" tool - which disables random production instances to test fault tolerance. Within an hour of him discovering the Netflix blog I had a series of emails about how we've got everything wrong..
Pmsl MUST TRY HARDER BBC!!!
Cheers for pointing that out AA
**Edit - The head-shot in the Range Rover was totally unrealistic, with a weapon which would have blown the baddies head off, but he emerged with a bloodied scratch on his forehead and still breathing. Pedant over, still a good series apart from the last 15 minutes.**
However, so long as they keep showing Dad's Army on Saturday night, I'm happy to consider paying my licence fee.
They wouldn't have anything to do with anything where Line of Duty is supposed to be set - in Birmingham. (Although filmed in Northern Ireland). And the West Midlands Police Firearms Unit would be much smaller and more close knit.
But it was silly to show him being allowed to use his mobile during a taped interview. That said the taped interviews shown in the series were very good and managed to portray a much greater degree of realism than TV shows usually depict.
The impressive thing being that they still got a good level of suspense during the interviews. A not inconsiderable feat as such interviews are invariably as dull as ditch water.
In regards to th OP though I agree the overall quality of the bbc has improved immensely of late, even the radio has. I think the criticism of the license fee has given them a kick up the butt.