Certain formats should never be forgotten, 'Blind Date' for instance, because 'Britain's Got Talent' is really 'New Faces' or 'The Gong Show,' whilst we're basically 'Opportunity Knocks.'
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I think it's one of the Times' problems that they haven't made it clear to readers what various formats mean.
I think British audiences are accustomed to the 'boo' factor and pantomimes.
I realised that a television show on political lampoon was one genre that was missing.
British actors used to be scared of the multi-year options that U.S. TV shows demand. That has changed, because the same is now happening in the U.K.
What I would argue in my defence is that shows like 'Britain's Got Talent' and 'The X Factor' have actually got people more interested in music again and are sending more people into record stores.
I think it's important that we have a new batch of British film-makers that aren't doing the same old stuff. And that includes me.
We still have a tradition certainly in English television; it's faded a bit in the last five years, but we still have a tradition where the important thing is the quality and the challenging nature of the programming.
This genre of music seems to want to push people into a certain time slot, which is unfortunate.
As long as we are engaged in storytelling that moves the culture forward, it doesn't matter what format it is.
There's no tradition today except initials, 'CSI,' 'NCIS,' all the rest. Even with reruns today, people don't know there was a 'Dick Van Dyke Show,' or 'Andy Griffith,' or 'Cheers.'