First ITV announced that the dark and brooding quasi-supernatural crime drama WHITECHAPEL was being cancelled after the end of its fourth series. Why the hell they have done this beggars belief. Oh yeah....cos according to ratings the plebs would rather be spoonfed endless series of "Im a washed up has been get me some attention" and Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz Factor.
Then the BBC followed with its announcement that the top line Victorian police drama RIPPER STREET was also being axed, much to the outrage of fans and critics alike. The fans responded by throwing egg at the BBC with an online petition to return the series that has so far garnered over 33,000 sigs, and voting RIPPER STREET the top drama of 2013 in a Radio Times poll....as well as over 90% condemning the decision in an online RT poll.
There is speculation that RIPPER STREET will be picked up by online streaming media company LoveFilm and then resold on an episode by episode basis back to the BBC. I hope the deal comes off and they make Auntie pay dearly for its stupidity.
Seems that quality drama that requires viewers to think is not popular with program schedulers at the BBC now, who chase ratings and seem content to piss budgets up the wall on endless celebrity sewing cooking and dancing on ice shows (with extra added Brucie), third rate talentless twonks warbling karaoke screech sessions like The Voice, and terminally unfunny sit coms that even 1970s audiences would find dumb and cliched.... but god forbid they spend cash on a quality drama series.....
Fingers crossed that the LoveFilm deal goes through, and then LoveFilm pick up the rights to WHITECHAPEL as well. Maybe this is a whole new trend in program delivery that will soon see all quality programming done via streaming media providers, while sad and shabby old terrestrial TV is left to the domain of windowlickers and mouthbreathers jaffing off over old copies of Hello while watching some desperate Z lister stuff pan fried kangaroo cock into their mouths.
