On 2013-01-13 18:51:04 +0000, The Original Jake said:

On Sun, 13 Jan 2013 17:49:07 +0000, Janet Tweedy
wrote:

On 12/01/2013 11:55, The Original Jake wrote:
Given that the move "national" is in response to the programme's
popularity established through iPlayer and satellite, I would doubt
that Auntie would want to change a successful formula.


huh, they did with GW when Geoff died and having regrown to a successful
show (apart from the inane acting at the end with "communal cups of
coffee" and "pretending to be surprised the others were there") they
again changed it for the worse after AT retired.

I think there are three elements here that will militate against
destruction of the current format:

1) With one exception (a replacement) the presenters will be the same;
that replacement is either going to be Scottish or be someone who is
prepared to "become Scottish". Whoever it is will need to fit with a
team that gels - there is no "lead Monty" tying together self-standing
segments from the likes of Carol, Rachel and Joe;

2) The production company (Tern TV) will be the same and the base (the
Beechgrove Garden near Aberdeen) will be the same;

3) The programme is made for BBC Scotland. It is a popular format in
Scotland just as it is. BBC Scotland (and indeed BBC Wales) are no
pushovers to BBC HQ.

There may be a 4th factor - Auntie must be painfully aware that her
tinkering with the GW format has resulted in a haemorrhage of viewers.
I think she's testing the water. We'll see.

The other night a group of us were discussing gardening TV over the
proverbial pint. We remembered the likes of Percy Thrower, Clay Jones
and his good pea and so on. Giving age away!!!

Going around the table, all 9 of us used to almost worship the sainted
Geoff and were happy with Alan. We were put off by the
holier-than-thou preaching of Monty in incarnation 1 and thought that
Toby Buckland wasn't given a chance because some mandarin wanted a
tarty programme. We had high hopes of Monty2 but those hopes have been
dashed.

None of the nine now watches GW. We all watch Beechgrove and, after
30-40 years of gardening each, we all say we learn something from it.

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling from the East End of Swansea Bay where sometimes
it's raining and sometimes it's not.

We've simply given up on GW. Whatever one's personal preference,
Monty's attitude to organic being 'the only way' is simply wrong for a
public service programme. And that's what GW is or should be. People
are sufficiently adult to decide for themselves how to work their
gardens, imo. We thought Toby did a really good job but wasn't allowed
to develop his own approach far enough or long enough. We just don't
watch the programme any more. It's totally unconvincing in terms of
the work done, the amount of it and the bods involved.

It's a shame and imo, a disgrace, that at a time when more and more
people are wanting to grow their own food, the reality is not being
shown to them and they are being taught only one approach by one person
whose personal creed dominates the whole thing. The wrong people are
directing these gardening programmes and what is needed are people with
experience of gardening, not television. The camera angles, grinning
faces and lighting should be secondary to 'how to grow potatoes'. As I
say, we've given up watching - no point, no enjoyment.

--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk