Coastal Railways with Julie Walters starts 8pm 26 Nov, Channel 4

[Pacific231G]

I don't know what a 'Tivo' is, but I'm sure this is a good solution for you.

 

In the meantime, it remains a harmless piece of lightweight pleasure for many of the rest of us. I'm sorry I'm not as erudite and endowed with such critical faculties, but I just like that sort of stuff. It helps de-stress me and is an antidote to much of the genuine dross or almost sadistically stressful stuff (done in the name of 'realistic drama', no doubt) on TV these days.

Hi Captain

It's nothing to do with erudition. I've got some very happy memories of the West Highland Line and the region it serves and was really looking forward to this programme so my disappointment was correspondingly great. I wasn't expecting a programme aimed at railway enthusiasts but I was hoping for something interesting with a few real insights.Still, that's no reason why anyone else shouldn't enjoy it. and if you are that's great. 

Edited November 29, 2017 by Pacific231G

[F-UnitMad]

 

If the best thing anyone had found to say about one of my programmes was that it was "harmless" I'd have been mortified. 

Perhaps it should be updated to "Mostly Harmless"..??

 

/Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy Mode /OFF

[Mod4]

Perhaps it should be updated to "Mostly Harmless"..??

 

/Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy Mode /OFF

 

Oi! 

 

I've calculated your chance of survival, but I don't think you'll like it.

[Captain Kernow]

Hi Captain

It's nothing to do with erudition. I've got some very happy memories of the West Highland Line and the region it serves and was really looking forward to this programme so my disappointment was correspondingly great. I wasn't expecting a programme aimed at railway enthusiasts but I was hoping for something interesting with a few real insights.Still, that's no reason why anyone else shouldn't enjoy it. and if you are that's great. 

Perhaps it isn't realistic to expect others to match our own happy memories of places that have made that kind of impression on us.

[jacko]

Enjoyed last night's offering but I am a Northumbrian so only to be expected. High point was in the intercity cab - "has Michael Portillo been in here? I thought I could smell Lynx".  Shame she went to Barter books - did exactly the same "Keep calm and carry on" interview with Mary and Stuart Manley as Portillo!

I was surprised and pleased to see efforts are being made to open a steam excursion on the original Alnwick to Alnmouth branch. Will give me somewhere to take the grandkids in a few years.

[Pacific231G]

Enjoyed last night's offering but I am a Northumbrian so only to be expected. High point was in the intercity cab - "has Michael Portillo been in here? I thought I could smell Lynx".  Shame she went to Barter books - did exactly the same "Keep calm and carry on" interview with Mary and Stuart Manley as Portillo!

I was surprised and pleased to see efforts are being made to open a steam excursion on the original Alnwick to Alnmouth branch. Will give me somewhere to take the grandkids in a few years.

I actually enjoyed the second programme more than the first though it's not worth keeping. At least it had a theme of "trying out other people's lives" which gave it a hint of narrative. I hadn't seen the Portillo programme's item about Barter books, maybe the producers hadn't either, so I didn't know that the Manleys had discovered "Keep Calm and Carry On". I knew it came from the Ministry of Information in WW2 but not that it had hardly been used. It's been so overused that it's probably time for it to return to obscurity.  The Alnwick-Alnmouth branch preservation was interesting but the boat skipper was the best for me.  

Edited January 1, 2018 by Pacific231G

[multivac]

'Coffee table' scenic viewing lightweight but worth it if you like Julie Walters warm, slightly mad and funny comments. She even apologised to enthusiasts that the Skye bit would have no trains.

 

Definitely, however I suppose we must be grateful for programmes containing any railway at all.  With all the celebrity railway enthusiasts out there I'm surprised we haven't had more "hardcore" engineering based series or a "super modelling group" building an exhibition layout series.

[Pacific231G]

Definitely, however I suppose we must be grateful for programmes containing any railway at all.  With all the celebrity railway enthusiasts out there I'm surprised we haven't had more "hardcore" engineering based series or a "super modelling group" building an exhibition layout series.

 

Programmes containing or about railways are surely fairly thick on the ground now. In the past few months I've seen Paddington, Inside the Tube, several on Crossrail, the second programme in The Channel series devoted to the railway operation of the Channel Tunnel, Julie Walters in Coastal Railways, several with Portillo, Chris Tarrant's latest Extreme Railways series, the one about Tornado's 100MPH run and a few others I can't name. Just how far CAN you travel on Britain's railways these days without running into a TV crew filming it? 

 

The Ch 5 series series currently being reshown  Inside the Tube: going Underground is probably as hard core engineering as you're likely to get on television. Rob Bell has a Masters Degree in mechanical engineering from Bath and does try to actually explain the engineering rather than just going wow- though he does that too. I've just been watching a couple of his curent Great Bridges series and on the Severn Bridge programme in particular he did a pretty good job of explaining non vertical suspension in suspension bridges, aerodynamic box girders, resonance as in the wobbly Millenium Bridge and the Tacoma Rapids Narrows Bridge. He did a really good job of explaining the basic principle of the cantilever in the context of the collapse of two suspension bridges by the same designers as the Severn Bridge when they were under construction and the decks were being cantilevered out. In terms of giving ordinary viewers a degree of engineering literacy I couldn't fault it.  

Edited January 1, 2018 by Pacific231G

[eastwestdivide]

...Just how far CAN you travel on Britain's railways these days without running into a TV crew filming it? ...

And if it's not a TV crew, it'll be the epic YouTube All the Stations adventure of Geoff and Vicky, who also appeared on plenty of local TV news programmes as well as national breakfast TV. Worth a watch though.

Not complaining.

 

... Rob Bell ...

Ditto on Rob Bell - I do like his programmes. He's on again tonight, 2-parter on Brunel, after being on for the last few weeks with various landmark bridges.

Edited December 8, 2017 by eastwestdivide

[Captain Kernow]

I thought the second programme was fab.

[gwrrob]

I thought the second programme was fab.

 

Tonight's will be better.  

[MarkC]

Oi! 

 

I've calculated your chance of survival, but I don't think you'll like it.

Was that calculation powered by the Improbability Drive?

[Torper]

I like Julie Walters.  I like trains.  Unfortunately, I thought that the two combined in a completely unoriginal format just did not work.

 

DT

Edited December 12, 2017 by Torper

[Pacific231G]

I ike Julie Walters.  I like trains.  Unfortunately, I thought that the two combined in a completely unoriginal format just did not work.

 

DT

I agree, a false logic familiar to anyone who remembers this

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YT5kI3zJFmA

 

 

It became increasingly obvious in the West Country episode that, unlike Tarrant, Portillo and Bradbury,  Jule Walters has very little interest in railways past or present. Given that a major chunk of the programme was set in a village that has never had a railway, it would seem that the producer doesn't either.  

[Captain Kernow]

I agree, a false logic familiar to anyone who remembers this

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YT5kI3zJFmA

 

 

It became increasingly obvious in the West Country episode that, unlike Tarrant, Portillo and Bradbury,  Jule Walters has very little interest in railways past or present. Given that a major chunk of the programme was set in a village that has never had a railway, it would seem that the producer doesn't either.  

Well, I enjoyed it, anyway.

 

I thought that Episode 4 was the best, though, with all that lovely Welsh scenery to watch.

[wombatofludham]

At one time Channel4 had a sponsorship deal for Penny Keith's tribute to picturebox Britain "Hidden Villages" (which I maintain are to be archived so that if we do end up in a nuclear holocaust the National Wartime Broadcasting Service will beam the series out as morale boosting fodder) as "Escapism". Which is exactly what Julie Walter's series was. And, just as Penelope Keith isn't a member of the RTPI tasked with looking into the real problems and economic problems of British villages, Julie was never going to be presenting a hardcore rail enthusiast programme on a BROADcaster. That's what DVDs and BluRays are for.

[Pacific231G]

, Julie was never going to be presenting a hardcore rail enthusiast programme on a BROADcaster. That's what DVDs and BluRays are for.

I wouldn't expect it to be aimed at enthusiasts, that's not what programmes in this genre are for any more than Countryfile is for farmers.

 

There was nothing objectionable about the programmes, Julie Walters was a pleasant enough companion and there were moments when her own talents did add something but it was the producers' total lack of any spark of originality that riled me. They basically just "borrowed" a format that other producers had developed and added nothing to it. I actually enjoy well made escapist entertainment but good programmes in any genre do require creativity and imagination and to be a bit adventurous. This reminded me quite a lot of the regional programme quota fillers that local ITV companies used to churn out, often so and so's country walks or whatever.    

Edited December 26, 2017 by Pacific231G

[Captain Kernow]

I wouldn't expect it to be aimed at enthusiasts, that's not what programmes in this genre are for any more than Countryfile is for farmers.

 

But by the same token, anyone who hates and loathes trains isn't going to watch it.

 

Are you sure no farmers watch Countryfile? I thought there were a couple of 'em working on it as presenters.

[phil-b259]

But by the same token, anyone who hates and loathes trains isn't going to watch it.

 

Are you sure no farmers watch Countryfile? I thought there were a couple of 'em working on it as presenters.

Originally Countryfile was a programme written and produced for farmers etc and content that reflected that audience. Around a decade ago the BBC went and 'revamped' the programme in a bid to arrest its gradually declining audience figures - with most of the usefully farming stuff junked in favour of more 'lifestyle' content geared to middle class townies that liked the idea of living 'in the countryside'.

 

Unfortunately this revamp saw ratings figures increase significantly, with the basic ethos copied in numerous other programmes like Portillos railway series - which was less about railways and more about giving an opportunity to showcase various 'interesting people / places' that had nothing to do with rail transport.

 

The 2nd to last series of Time Team was also badly mucked around with - the late Mick Ashton is on record as saying he and the series producer were summoned to C4 by the new head of programmes who showed them a bit of the 'new style' Countryfile and said "that is what I want you to make"

 

As such Countryfile as a TV programme is about as much use to Farmers as a Chocolate teapot - sounds great but of little actual value when you want a hot cup of tea.

[Captain Kernow]

Originally Countryfile was a programme written and produced for farmers etc and content that reflected that audience. Around a decade ago the BBC went and 'revamped' the programme in a bid to arrest its gradually declining audience figures - with most of the usefully farming stuff junked in favour of more 'lifestyle' content geared to middle class townies that liked the idea of living 'in the countryside'.

 

Unfortunately this revamp saw ratings figures increase significantly, with the basic ethos copied in numerous other programmes like Portillos railway series - which was less about railways and more about giving an opportunity to showcase various 'interesting people / places' that had nothing to do with rail transport.

 

The 2nd to last series of Time Team was also badly mucked around with - the late Mick Ashton is on record as saying he and the series producer were summoned to C4 by the new head of programmes who showed them a bit of the 'new style' Countryfile and said "that is what I want you to make"

 

As such Countryfile as a TV programme is about as much use to Farmers as a Chocolate teapot - sounds great but of little actual value when you want a hot cup of tea.

But they are much less likely to make any programme containing railways if it isn't targeted at a more general audience. At least this way, the 'general public' gets to see some trains in a sympathetic light.

 

I know less about farming, of course, apart from what I glean from Farmers Weekly, but there is value in giving tourism in some of the places depicted a boost, otherwise these self-same townies wouldn't even know some of these places even exist.

As such Countryfile as a TV programme is about as much use to Farmers as a Chocolate teapot - sounds great but of little actual value when you want a hot cup of tea.

Actually, I'd derive significant utility from a chocolate teapot right now.

[melmerby]

It was called "Coastal Railways"

 

Why did they even need "Railways" in the title?

Coastal Journeys? Coastal? Coast? - Oh someone's done that!

 

Too much Julie (who I like) and not enough railway.

 

Keith

 

PS MP is back next week.

Edited December 26, 2017 by melmerby

[Pacific231G]

But by the same token, anyone who hates and loathes trains isn't going to watch it.

 

Are you sure no farmers watch Countryfile? I thought there were a couple of 'em working on it as presenters.t

 

I didn't say that no farmers watch Countryfile, that would be patently absurd, I said that it isn't made FOR them, In other words, unlike programmes like "On Your Farm" and "Farming Today" that ARE made primarily for farmers, they are not Countryfile's main target audience. It does nevertheless include quite a lot that I'd expect them to find relevant  including of course a weather forecast still biased towards farmers and growers.

 

I understand that one of the programme's original aims was to foster better understanding of the countryside and its economy amongst a mainly urban population and there has been some debate about how well it does that. Do you serve that aim better by making a programme aimed at a smaller audience who are very interested in country matters or one aimed at a larger audience whoser interest is rather vaguer?

Edited December 28, 2017 by Pacific231G

[Hroth]

 

The 2nd to last series of Time Team was also badly mucked around with - the late Mick Ashton is on record as saying he and the series producer were summoned to C4 by the new head of programmes who showed them a bit of the 'new style' Countryfile and said "that is what I want you to make"

 

 

That was when they brought in the second "presenter" to ask the dumb questions that Tony Robinson wouldn't ask, and started to elbow out the senior archaeologists in favour of eye candy.  That and the rubbish lifestyle/social history emphasis that was introduced.  No wonder it didn't last much longer!

 

As for JW and Coastal Railways, there's too much chat to colourful characters within a 10 mile radius of any particular railway and not enough railway.

[Captain Kernow]

 

I understand that one of the programme's original aims was to foster better understanding of the countryside and its economy amongst a mainly urban population and there has been some debate about how well it does that. Do you serve that aim better by making a programme aimed at a smaller audience who are very interested in country matters or one aimed at a larger audience whose interest is rather vaguer?

I think that the larger audience with the vaguer interests is the more relevant one in the case of Countryfile, as farmers do have, as you say, their own specialist programmes.

 

Perhaps one could consider the Julie Walters programme as more of a 'travel/holiday' show, where the mix between the various topics varies. I enjoyed it partly because I had no expectations that it would be a specialist programme for railway enthusiasts, as I always enjoy a bit of footage of trains in nice scenery.

[Pacific231G]

And if it's not a TV crew, it'll be the epic YouTube All the Stations adventure of Geoff and Vicky, who also appeared on plenty of local TV news programmes as well as national breakfast TV. Worth a watch though.

Not complaining.

 

Ditto on Rob Bell - I do like his programmes. He's on again tonight, 2-parter on Brunel, after being on for the last few weeks with various landmark bridges.

I've just seen a couple of Geoff and Vicky's videos after watching the one they did on Coombe Jct. They're a delightful couple and their enthusiasm is infectious. They'd be good value on any local TV show so I'm not surprised they've appeared on a few of them.