From Borgen to The Fall, we're living through a golden age of television. David Dimbleby's proposal would leave no room for all these riches
As a committed fan of the Danish political drama Borgen, I'm excited by the news that in 2014 I will have more Danish TV goodies to binge on. Legacy – about the fallout from the 1968 generation – was purchased by the BBC even before it launched in Denmark this month. Set in a large Danish country house, the makers cite Downton Abbey, Festen and The Ice Storm as inspirations for the story about a famous artist, her liberal, hippy ideas about child-rearing, and her four adult children. It's the kind of drama that promises to examine the state of the nation with great characters and compelling plot twists. We will feel intelligent while being entertained. Perfect.
It pains me to disagree with David Dimbleby, but on the issue of BBC4 I must. How can he ask for the channel to be axed when it has just purchased at least two new Scandi dramas, a Belgian conspiracy thriller named Salamander and an Israeli one called Hostages (two more examples of small countries producing quality TV?).
The buzz this year around shows such as Borgen and Breaking Bad is testament to a growing demand for high-end TV drama. BBC4 has cleverly carved out a niche for itself in the past few years with Wallander, The Killing, The Bridge and Borgen. No other channel offers that. A scriptwriter friend of mine sends copies of Borgen to friends in the TV industry in LA because no US channel will broadcast anything with subtitles.
Dimbleby has suggested that BBC4 merge with BBC2 to improve the quality of that channel. But he is behind the times. In the past year BBC2 has produced excellent new British drama with series such as Peaky Blinders and The Fall (both re-commissioned for 2014). It's significant that a film director of the calibre of New Zealand's Jane Campion chose BBC2 with which to make her first foray into TV, Top of the Lake. That has just been nominated for the Golden Globe best mini-series award.
If – as Dimbleby suggested – BBC2 is merged with BBC4, there will not be room for all these riches. We licence-fee payers are a diverse bunch; we want choice. Fewer channels will mean the danger of programmes that appeal to the lowest common denominator.
This year saw the entry of several new players into the TV production business including Amazon and Xbox. Online video-on-demand sites such as Netflix, Hulu and LoveFilm are proliferating. This is an expanding global market. International sales of shows such as Doctor Who and Sherlock and 10 Golden Globe nominations this year prove the BBC is a global player. Cutting back its platforms will merely clip its wings, which isn't good for Britain. The United States has long recognised the useful role played by film and TV as an arm of American soft power. So should we.
Even the Treasury has recognised the importance of high-end drama. From April any TV drama with a budget of more than £1m per hour will be able to get a 25% rebate. That is a huge incentive to filming in the UK rather than eastern Europe, Ireland or South Africa. The HBO series Game of Thrones is filmed in Northern Ireland, at a cost of £3.7m per episode. This represents a huge injection of cash and jobs into the local economy.
A British agent who represents screenplay writers recently told me that there is "a gold rush on for high-end drama. TV executives are desperately searching for the next Breaking Bad." We are living in an age of TV drama that empowers writers and employs the best feature film talent. It's a model that was developed first by HBO and then taken up by Danish public TV to great effect.
I'm glad that foreign imports have raised the bar but we must not allow British broadcasters to cede the ground to US cable channels and online video providers. A small metropolitan elite may like binge viewing on their tablets but the vast majority of British viewers still watch scheduled TV as it goes out. The 10 million-plus audiences for Downton Abbey, Broadchurch and Call the Midwife put the audiences for Breaking Bad and Borgen in the shade. I watch all of them, some as they go out and some on box set or online. The point is, I can choose and that's wonderful.
• Kirsty Lang presents a Radio 4 Front Row special on Binge TV on New Year's Day Reported by guardian.co.uk 6 hours ago.
As a committed fan of the Danish political drama Borgen, I'm excited by the news that in 2014 I will have more Danish TV goodies to binge on. Legacy – about the fallout from the 1968 generation – was purchased by the BBC even before it launched in Denmark this month. Set in a large Danish country house, the makers cite Downton Abbey, Festen and The Ice Storm as inspirations for the story about a famous artist, her liberal, hippy ideas about child-rearing, and her four adult children. It's the kind of drama that promises to examine the state of the nation with great characters and compelling plot twists. We will feel intelligent while being entertained. Perfect.
It pains me to disagree with David Dimbleby, but on the issue of BBC4 I must. How can he ask for the channel to be axed when it has just purchased at least two new Scandi dramas, a Belgian conspiracy thriller named Salamander and an Israeli one called Hostages (two more examples of small countries producing quality TV?).
The buzz this year around shows such as Borgen and Breaking Bad is testament to a growing demand for high-end TV drama. BBC4 has cleverly carved out a niche for itself in the past few years with Wallander, The Killing, The Bridge and Borgen. No other channel offers that. A scriptwriter friend of mine sends copies of Borgen to friends in the TV industry in LA because no US channel will broadcast anything with subtitles.
Dimbleby has suggested that BBC4 merge with BBC2 to improve the quality of that channel. But he is behind the times. In the past year BBC2 has produced excellent new British drama with series such as Peaky Blinders and The Fall (both re-commissioned for 2014). It's significant that a film director of the calibre of New Zealand's Jane Campion chose BBC2 with which to make her first foray into TV, Top of the Lake. That has just been nominated for the Golden Globe best mini-series award.
If – as Dimbleby suggested – BBC2 is merged with BBC4, there will not be room for all these riches. We licence-fee payers are a diverse bunch; we want choice. Fewer channels will mean the danger of programmes that appeal to the lowest common denominator.
This year saw the entry of several new players into the TV production business including Amazon and Xbox. Online video-on-demand sites such as Netflix, Hulu and LoveFilm are proliferating. This is an expanding global market. International sales of shows such as Doctor Who and Sherlock and 10 Golden Globe nominations this year prove the BBC is a global player. Cutting back its platforms will merely clip its wings, which isn't good for Britain. The United States has long recognised the useful role played by film and TV as an arm of American soft power. So should we.
Even the Treasury has recognised the importance of high-end drama. From April any TV drama with a budget of more than £1m per hour will be able to get a 25% rebate. That is a huge incentive to filming in the UK rather than eastern Europe, Ireland or South Africa. The HBO series Game of Thrones is filmed in Northern Ireland, at a cost of £3.7m per episode. This represents a huge injection of cash and jobs into the local economy.
A British agent who represents screenplay writers recently told me that there is "a gold rush on for high-end drama. TV executives are desperately searching for the next Breaking Bad." We are living in an age of TV drama that empowers writers and employs the best feature film talent. It's a model that was developed first by HBO and then taken up by Danish public TV to great effect.
I'm glad that foreign imports have raised the bar but we must not allow British broadcasters to cede the ground to US cable channels and online video providers. A small metropolitan elite may like binge viewing on their tablets but the vast majority of British viewers still watch scheduled TV as it goes out. The 10 million-plus audiences for Downton Abbey, Broadchurch and Call the Midwife put the audiences for Breaking Bad and Borgen in the shade. I watch all of them, some as they go out and some on box set or online. The point is, I can choose and that's wonderful.
• Kirsty Lang presents a Radio 4 Front Row special on Binge TV on New Year's Day Reported by guardian.co.uk 6 hours ago.