Ask Andrew Harrison why BBC One is so important!

I can only think of Jonathan Ross on a Friday night (which we Skyplus and then fast forward through over the weekend moaning about how out of tune 4 poofs and a piano sing,) also that new Billy Connolly series on ITV1 (which really should be on the BBC like all his other tour shows, and it badly misses those mixed in live Billy comedy performances,) and oh yeah, Match of the Day. That's it for me from those channels.

and, cos it is so appalling, Mistresses is all that the TV is bothering us, chez Path, h at present. High hopes, tho', for Red Riding, as mentioned in the adjacent trashing of ITV.
Sky Arts is coming along nicely, tho', but, captured viewing a skyplus replay of Weld, I had forgotten how embarrassing Neil Young and the Horse can seem, to the sober and untutored eye. Even I felt uncomfortable watching the old codger flailing away, and I have seen him live since then, believing it to have been one of the most vital performances I have ever seen. With, no doubt, just as much flailing. Funny how important context can be........

On BBC1: the football

On ITV1: the football

last night's Taggart repeat on ITV and therefore also have high hopes for Red Riding.

Since the irritatingly addictive Masterchef finished there has been nothing on Beeb/ITV/4 except of course the usual Attenborough classic

My list:

BBC1: Dr Who,The One Show
ITV: sometimes Coronation Street

BBC1 - Match of The Day
ITV - football

On a less regular basis
BBC1 - Ross and the odd comedy - Outnumbered, Not Going Out, HIGNFY, QI
ITV - nothing

ITV1
You've Been Framed
Harry Hill's TV Burp
Champions League Football
Sunday night / Monday night drama (of which there has been some good stuff recently)

BBC1
Match of the Day
QI

Mind you, my BBC2 list wouldn't be much better.

but since returning from Italy six days ago I have found myself watching BBC1 a fair bit. This is because Italian television is like the worst of the weekend output of ITV, only spread across nearly every channel 7 days a week.

Beeb1 - MOTD, errrrrr
ITV 1 - The Bill, occasionally Corrie.

Beeb 4 - brilliant!

... for a survey, and was surprised to find my ITV1 viewing was actually zero (though to be fair it was a period when Harry Hill & X-Factor were offscreen.) From memory, the breakdown of terrestrial channels was:

Channel 4: 45%
BBC 2: 30%
Five: 15% (all films & US imports)
BBC1: 10% (HIGNFY, QI & films)
ITV: 0%

It would be skewed now by more Freeview channels, but the gist would still hold true. How strange that ITV can't seem to spot the connection between going relentlessly downmarket ("through the bottom of the barrel and now tunneling towards the Earth's core" as someone described it), and losing more and more viewers...

BBC1:

MoTd,
Have I Got News For You,
QI,
Question Time,
The One Show (it's the new "Nationwide"),
Who Do You Think You Are?
Antiques Roadshow,
The Six Nations Rugby,

ITV1:

The Championship,
Billy Connolly Journey..Edge..World,
Midsomer Murders,
Harry Hill's TV Burp.

I'm sure I'm missing some others but it's all I can think of.

Out of both channels...

Dr Who

The football seems to have lost its ways recently, as a sport and as a spectacle, so I've stopped being interested...

I'd never really thought about it before, but am rather shocked by those facts.

If it wasn't for 24 I'd stuff the SKY box altogether...

(though not to the point of getting a windows computer - come on Channel 4 online sort yourselves out ferchrissakes) it occurred to me that I have only watched 2 or 3 programmes on telly at all this year so far and they were just CSI/NCIS type no brainer vegging out after our tea type things.

BBC1
Doctor Who
QI (actually, that's not true. I watch the XL version from BBC2 on the iPlayer)

ITV1
Is Live at the Apollo on ITV1?

I consume quite a lot of stuff from BBC2 and loads of Radio 4 and the BBC website though.

BBC1 - fair bit. MOTD when I remember its on. QI, Masterchef. Doctor Who is big in our house (as is Robin Hood and similar family Saturday night slots).

ITV1 - Even the football doesn't get watched - coverage is poor. Only 2 programmes - TV Burp and You've Been Framed. Harry Hill is the crown jewels in the otherwise Elizabeth Dukeness of ITV1.

Current non BBC/ITV highlights are 24, Generation Kill (not started but sky+'d and ready to go)& Come Dine With Me.

Morning, day and night. It's, well, just unthinkable to watch it anywhere else. 'Cept on News 24.

That is if I can sneek it in past Mrs B, when the cooking channels are on. Hairy Bikers on the cover of The Word. Bet Fraser would go for that.

I think BBC1 worse, I don't even watch Dr Who on BBC1 usually catching it later in the week on BBC3 or I player.
My team is never on match of the day so I don't bother much with that.
The only time I see BBC is at Christmas at the rellies and it's an unremitting stream of misery and despair: eastenders followed by holby City followed by casuality followed by my family followed by eastenders. The local BBc news is dreadful full death and mock scandal. They've even taken the science out the nature programmes and replaced it by global market hd friendly visuals and glib daily mail animal cosiness .
I strongly support the BBC as an Idea as much as anything but my lack of interest in BBC1 does make me doubt my support at times.
Oh and it's were Jonathon Ross pops up most QED.

Doctor Who
QI (though this is starting to look a bit tired in the current series since it transferred)

Have not knowingly watched anything on ITV for years.

Just The Rugby. (Yeah! We beat the English on Saturday. Again!)

BBC4 is however, the best channel on the box.

when it's actually 'on'

QI, HIGNFY, Outnumbered, Charlie Booker, Not Going Out, Clarke & May on Iplayer when it suits me.

Now excuse me, I'm off to watch the Ocean Finance Channel...

Six Nations Rugby, QI, HIGNFY, Outnumbered, Charlie Booker,University Challenge and I do love a good frock series on Sunday nights so add Lark Rise

A channel that showed Doctor Who, QI, TV Burp, You've Been Framed, football, HIGNIFY, and Masterchef would clean up with our lot. Throw in The Daily Show and Colbert and you're laughing. Any venture capitalists on the board want to finance CHANNEL THE WORD?

(The channel I watch most now seems to be the criminally neglected FX).

I watch rugby, football, tennis and athletics when they're on BBC1. Regardless of the relative merits of the different presenters, sport on ITV is holed below the water by the ad breaks, and that's an advantage the Beeb will continue to have for the time being.

Also on BBC1: Who do you think you are?, Question Time, This Week

BBC2: University Challenge, QI occasionally, Later (but only on catch-up), the Culture Show, Late Review.

ITV: hardly anything apart from football; occasionally Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

C4: I would watch the 7 o'clock news except it doesn't fit in with the pattern of the day with a young daughter. ER, though I'm not that bothered about it these days. Otherwise nowt.

ITV = Zilch, except football if it's Spurs, ie not often

BBC
a few:
QI, HIGNFY
Question time
Outnumbered - genius
Hustle
Dr Who

Bad addiction:
Stenders

Most else is disposable except occasional docs like Around the world in 80 faiths

...and QI and Outnumbered. Fair enough but aren't these all shows that were started by the minority channels and then promoted to BBC1 when they were proven to be popular? They didn't come out of the mighty throbbing brain of the channel.

Compared to a few years back. It's rare I just slump on the sofa flicking channels (unless it's right at the end of the evening before bed). As my viewing tastes rarely coincide with the family (I don't especially enjoy watching other people cooking or decorating) I tend to Sky+ any programmes I particularly want to see.

On ITV1: Harry Hill. I probably might enjoy the Monday/Tuesday night dramas but generally forget they're on. Can't think of any other ITV programme I'd make an effort to watch. I sometimes Sky+ The Championship if Southampton have won (so not very often then) but skip through the coverage of other games.

On BBC1: QI, HIGNFY, Outnumbered, MOTD, Dr Who

Watch a fair amount of BBC2 and BBC4 (and ITV 3/4 for programmes made when ITV was good: Morse, Sweeney, Minder, Sherlock Holmes etc). Channel 4 less than I did now that it has become an electronic freak show.

BBC1
-Jonathan Ross (Flim Night / Friday Night)
-Hustle
-Doctor Who
-Robin Hood

ITV1
-Moving Wallpaper

That's pretty much it. Like previous voices, I watch Have I Got News For You and QI on the BBC2 extended versions.

The fact that they put the football, and various other sports events, on to the detrement of other shows is one of the things that puts me off. I'd say the ideal would be a free to air sports channel from each. They have several channels each anyway so I'm sure it could be done.

I really don't know what programmes I watch on BBC1 - I know I watch MOTD and Question of Sport because they've been on BBC1 since TOTP was as well and I think that's it but I really don't care what channel something is on, just about everything I watch, except live sport is watched from a PVR or DVD player and by that stage they're just programme names picked off a list. I will try and watch a series like Mad Men from a BBC2 recording because it won't have an irritating DOG in the corner but otherwise I would just set the recorder to grab the first airing.
There are too many channels available these days to look at the listings for all of them all of the time so we will all have our favourites but I don't really differentiate between the BBC group of channels (although I do tend to give BBC Parliament a miss) or the Channel 4 channels - the only way to know it's channel 4 not More 4, again, tends to be the DOG.

BBC 1
Strictly Come Dancing
EastEnders
QI
That amazing thing about sardines last night
Dr Who
Outnumbered

BBC2
QI XL
Mock The Week
Later
Newsnight Review
Heroes

ITV1
Coronation St (if at other half's)

C4
Desperate Housewives
Ugly Betty

Plus other on smaller variations:
Dexter
Pulling
Gavin & Stacey
Mad Men
Project Runway
Generation Kill
Being Human
Endless repeats of dinnerladies

I am the only person here who watches this show, currently broadcast on BBC1?
It's exceptonally contrived, but I think highly enjoyable. Glenn Close is excellent as the poisonous Patty Hewes. It's good to see Ted Danson playing someone who is so unlikeable too.
The trouble is, if you're not watching already there's probably too much backstory to start now.

BBC 1

Play School
the test card
Ceefax
Racing from Kempton
Grange Hill
The Wombles
Nationwide
Angels
It Ain't half hot mum
I Claudius
Nine o'clock news
The Rockford Files
Film: Something with Michael Sarrazin
Weather
National Anthem
Closedown

ITV

Pipkins
Afternoon Delight (or Plus)
Batman
News
Shine on Harvey Moon
Film: Something with Clint Eastwood
News at Ten
Midweek Sports Special
Thought for the day
Close

The rest is rubbish or on that weird BBC2.

The only thing on ITV is a programme whose sole purpose is to take the piss out of everything else (on ITV). Of course I watch that.

On BBC. Match of the Day is still "valid". QI has slowed almost to a halt and should be put out of its misery. Oh my god, I've just realised the only things I really want to watch are documentaries about motorways or people pretending to be victorian farmers. Memo to me - get a life.

ITV: Harry Hill, obviously
BBC: One Show, but not if they lose control, which they did with that bloke from "Joseph" - It was when the gardening "lady" started kicking off.
News at Ten, because the BBC have developed an extremely irritating habit of reporting minor stories "on site", so anything (no matter how trivial) to do with an airport is reported from Heathrow, beside the Bath Road.
Question Time, depending on the panel. Will Young? er, no. (or that nob from UKIP)
Footy.
Thats it.

I haven't been stalking you but...haven't I read you praising Who Do You Think You Are? And you must watch The News or HIGNFY now and again? I bet you at least tried Spooks or Life On Mars. And haven't you commented on pop-stars on Question Time? And what about things like The Brits, Sports Personality of The Year, British Comedy Awards.... All BBC1/ITV1 stuff.

I agree with the general tone that mainstream TV is pretty shite, but there's usually enough on to keep a family going.

Whenever I switch the telly on I look to the terrestrial channels first even though we`ve got the four thousand channels you get on Sky. I am particularly loyal to the BBC, I have to admit this. But Mr Hepworth has a point in that the best programmes on BBC1 evolved on lesser channels. I`m just going to pop downstairs to see whats on my planner...
BBC1 - Ross, QI XL, Not Going Out, Question of Sport, Mistresses
BBC2 - Top Gear repeats
ITV1 - Law & Order UK, Harry Hill, Taggart
C4 - Shameless, Free Agents, Red Riding, Ramsay
FX - Generation Kill
Other recent highlights would be Outnumbered, Dexter, HGINFY, Mock the Week, Almost any comedy on BBC2/ C4, Question Time, Gavin & Stacey, X Factor (yes, I know!), Six Nations Rugby, Charlie Brooker, Oz & James Drink To Britain, Margaret.

...I hadn't realised how little BBC1 we actually watch in our household. MotD, Outnumbered, JR - that's about it.

Mind you, ITV did improve last year with Al Murray's Chatshow (which I'll fight anyone over - it is genius TV) and the great Moving Wallpaper/Echo Beach combination - far too intellegent for ITV however, based on the ratings it got.

Mind you, the Al Murray sketch show was awful, so maybe ITV is off down the dumper again.

I'm surprised no-one has mentioned Ant'n'Dec. There must be some of the Massive who like them?

For one reason or another (mostly related to working antisocial evening shifts), my TV viewing has dropped to practically nil. Colleagues are obsessed with Heroes, Lost, Dr Who and their ilk, but I can't raise any enthusiasm for TV. I'm sure I'm missing fabulous, exciting, enlightening material, but for whatever reason (probably exhaustion) I'm not that bothered.

When I'm not working I'll either be watching a film on DVD, going to the cinema, reading or listening to a CD (my CD shopping has probably rocketed at the same rate as my TV watching has plummeted).

I could be old-fashioned and argue that TV is not as good as it used to be, as I'm sure every generation has done. But what's the point? Judging by the news of massive cuts at ITV, C4, C5 and the BBC, channel bosses will be looking for cheap, lowest-common-denominator drivel, and the days of the risky, expensive, quality programmes that stick out in the mind are long gone.

Glad that's off my chest. Now I'm off to a bus stop to moan about kids today/how life was better during the Blitz/they don't know they're born/etc...

Emmerdale?

I'm pretty sure I said something similar last year. I'm sure the BBC is not what it was, I'm equally sure that it is still a viable, and valuable, institution. Earlier in the thread somebody mentioned Italian TV, I'll throw in US TV to the mix as being, for the most part, pretty worthless (HBO excepted, home of Soprano's, Deadwood, The Wire etc.) Do you guys not know what you have in the BBC, is this a wood for the trees scenario? Of course its not what it was, what or who is? My view is that the BBC continues to put out top quality TV on a more than occasional basis, and, is comparably the best provider of TV programming in the world. Am I wrong?

ITV's output has been getting worse over the last 15 years, I can't think of the last "must see" TV programme they aired. The BBC by contrast is still a beacon in the sea of Sky twaddle and QVC.