Radiation by Fiona Rae

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Radiation: Not funny

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  • Jackie Clark,

    Actually, it's not an issue anymore. I discovered that the Classic series starts on TV2 in the next couple of weeks, and I'd rather watch that.

    Mt Eden, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 3136 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    <i> I'm also hoping the backdoor pilot is going to be included on the DVD

    Interesting - what series did it spin-off from?</i>

    It didn't. Being Human is an example of the had a "backdoor" pilot.

    Danny Cohen, then controller of BBC3, commissioned four one-off dramas with an open-ended option to take them to series. (Actually used to be fairly common in the UK with sitcoms -- Porridge & Open All Hours can out of this series of self-contained plays starring Ronnie Barker. Comedy Playhouse was quite the incubator of British sitcoms, not least Last of the Summer Wine, whose 31st and final series wound up last month.)

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • Graeme Edgeler,

    It didn't. Being Human is an example of the had a "backdoor" pilot.

    Interesting that it's not used that way so much. I knew about Seven of One. Indeed, I've bought the DVD, but I didn't really think of any of them (even Open All Hours) as a backdoor pilot.

    A backdoor pilot is "supposed to be" an episode of another series they use to spin off something else. Like how NCIS: Los Angeles started as an episode of NCIS, which started as an episode of JAG. And how All Gorwn Up and Angelica and Susie's Pre-School Daze started as special episodes of Rugrats :-)

    Wellington, New Zealand • Since Nov 2006 • 3215 posts Report Reply

  • Matthew Littlewood,

    Just as an aside, hasn't the "fourth channel" had a bit of a weird cyclical history of branding and re-branding (even allowing for change of owners, etc)?

    At the start, it was TV4, and mainly used as a clearing house for hip British comedies (e.g. Shooting Stars, I'm Allan Partridge, Mrs Mehrton) finally making it to free-to-air NZ screens (sometimes shortly after its inception, sometimes two or three years after the fact). Oh, and South Park, and a real mixed bag of Sunday-night flicks that ranged from the cult to the truly dodgy. At the time, MTVNZ seemed to be its main competition for the "yoof" market, but that folded after a couple of years.

    Then in 2003, TV4 became C4, which, for a period of time, was almost entirely dedicated to music videos (and South Park), and then over the years, it became less and less focused on music videos and more on "flagship" programmes and some godawful reality television (and South Park)...now it's back to pretty much its original format (albeit with less British programming) and called Channel Four. Very strange indeed.

    Today, Tomorrow, Timaru • Since Jan 2007 • 449 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    Interesting - what series did it spin-off from?

    OK, let's try that again in coherent English. (And if someone could delete my last, my sense of shame will be your eternal bitch.)

    Being Human wasn't spun off from any show. Danny Cohen, who was then controller of BBC3, commissioned four one-off hour dramas with an option to take them to series. The ratings weren't spectacular, but along with positive reviews they were good enough to secure a series order. I have no idea why every part other than George was recast though.

    It's not done that much any more, but used to be pretty common with British sitcoms. Both Porridge and Open All Hours started out as episodes in a series of plays starring Ronnie Barker. And a long-running anthology series called Comedy Playhouse was quite the incubator for Brit-coms -- not least Are You Being Served? (which got a prime time slot under ghoulish circumstances; the cancellation of scheduled Olympics coverage due to the Munich massacre) and Last of the Summer Wine (whose 31st and final series screened this year).

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • Lucy Stewart,

    I'm also hoping the backdoor pilot is going to be included on the DVD -- Tovey is the only member of the central trio who made it from pilot to series, and the tone is considerably more gothic.

    It isn't. At least not the DVDs in the States. Who knows about the NZ edition, though (or any extended edition they're offering - I'm going by what I'm getting from Netflix.)

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2105 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    It isn't. At least not the DVDs in the States. Who knows about the NZ edition, though (or any extended edition they're offering - I'm going by what I'm getting from Netflix.)

    That's a bugger - the DVDs of Sherlock have the unaired pilot version of 'A Study in Pink' in the extras. (It's a standard TV hour, and the Beeb decided to shelve and re-shoot when they decided to commission three 90-minute episodes instead and, apparently, Sreven Moffat did such heavy re-writes there was basically nothing they could re-use.)

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • Lucy Stewart,

    That's a bugger - the DVDs of Sherlock have the unaired pilot version of 'A Study in Pink' in the extras. (It's a standard TV hour, and the Beeb decided to shelve and re-shoot when they decided to commission three 90-minute episodes instead and, apparently, Sreven Moffat did such heavy re-writes there was basically nothing they could re-use.)

    Sherlock starts airing on PBS this Sunday. SO EXCITED.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2105 posts Report Reply

  • uroskin,

    TV3 as the new TV1? Who cares. When are we getting some adult television stations in NZ? I don't always want to have to watch my own channel.

    Waiheke Island • Since Feb 2007 • 178 posts Report Reply

  • Conor Roberts,

    Can The Daily Show go back to C4 now please?

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 57 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha,

    +1 to that

    Conor, high praise for you over here.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

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