British television is in a terrible state! Michael Grade recently claimed TV to be no worse or better than in the supposed golden age but I think he’s wrong. Well, he’s been wrong before! There isn’t much that’s worth watching and when the powers-that-be secure a drama that is… what do they do with it? They throw it to the dogs before it’s barely been given a chance to attract a following. I’m talking about the new eight-part science fiction series “Outcasts”. Clearly, viewing figures must’ve fallen off sharply during broadcast of the first few episodes because the show has been shifted, after what seems like indecision, to a post-news slot on Sunday evenings. Initially, the programme was transmitted at 9pm on BBC One on Monday and Tuesday in the slots vacated by “Silent Witness”. This schedule lasted a fortnight. With four episodes released, “Outcasts” was already halfway through. With four left, surely the schedule would remain the same? No! Episode five went out in its Monday slot but, the following day, new legal-eagle drama “Silk” got underway. Glancing at the following week’s listings, there was no sign of “Outcasts” either on Monday or Tuesday! That’s because it had moved again… this time to Sunday at 10.25pm, or thereabouts (programmes following the news always start late), to a slot recently used for weekly repeats of “The Apprentice”!
The explanation for the turmoil surrounding the broadcast of “Outcasts” is simple. It’s science fiction. Nobody’s interested. It doesn’t matter. Even though, when the genre is at its best, science fiction can go a long way in explaining the human condition, programmes with a truly creative streak are still treated with utter contempt. And thus, so is the viewer. How ironic the corporation choose to advertise their online catch-up service with the slogan “Your Very Own BBC”! My very own BBC finished years ago… if it ever started. There is a pecking order of subjects where scheduling falls by the wayside if, for example, Andy Murray has an “important” tennis match (even when the outcome is a certainty) or when a rich, privileged, couple are to marry! I dare the BBC to broadcast repeats of William Hartnell episodes of “Doctor Who” at peak time on their primary channel. Or, at any time on any channel! Hell, sell them to Yesterday, like “Colditz”, if you’re never, ever, going to repeat them. Put the series on instead of the next General Election. People hate science fiction so much, there might be a better turn out at the polling stations! Of course, the BBC are never going to repeat classic “Doctor Who” when they can sell the thing on DVD at £20 a story.
So, what is “Outcasts” about and is it any good? Watch it and discover for yourself! Does the show deserve better treatment? Am I making a fuss about nothing? I’ve seen the series described as “Spooks” in space. That’s probably because Hermione Norris is in it and it’s made by the same company. Daniel Mays is in it too, so perhaps it’s “Ashes to Ashes” in space. It’s made by the same company! Ashley Walters is in it. “Hustle” in space? Jamie Bamber was in the first episode. “Law & Order: UK” in space? Both made by the same company. OK, you get the picture. Actually, “Outcasts” is more “Survivors” in space, which isn’t made by the same company. It’s not as good as “Survivors” and I’m comparing “Outcasts” with the remake. Where it does score is in the very fact that it isn’t a reworking like so many. “Doctor Who”, “Survivors”, “The Day of the Triffids”, “The Prisoner”… all tell us when the golden age of television was. “Outcasts” is something trying to be new although it contains little that wasn’t made on the cheap in “Genesis of the Daleks”… in 1975. “Genesis” is one of the best “Doctor Who” stories though. Well, it’s a little late to start following the much-more expensive, shot in South Africa, “Outcasts”, if you aren’t already, as the series finishes this Sunday and I doubt very much that it has been re-commissioned. “Outcasts” has been cast out!
The explanation for the turmoil surrounding the broadcast of “Outcasts” is simple. It’s science fiction. Nobody’s interested. It doesn’t matter. Even though, when the genre is at its best, science fiction can go a long way in explaining the human condition, programmes with a truly creative streak are still treated with utter contempt. And thus, so is the viewer. How ironic the corporation choose to advertise their online catch-up service with the slogan “Your Very Own BBC”! My very own BBC finished years ago… if it ever started. There is a pecking order of subjects where scheduling falls by the wayside if, for example, Andy Murray has an “important” tennis match (even when the outcome is a certainty) or when a rich, privileged, couple are to marry! I dare the BBC to broadcast repeats of William Hartnell episodes of “Doctor Who” at peak time on their primary channel. Or, at any time on any channel! Hell, sell them to Yesterday, like “Colditz”, if you’re never, ever, going to repeat them. Put the series on instead of the next General Election. People hate science fiction so much, there might be a better turn out at the polling stations! Of course, the BBC are never going to repeat classic “Doctor Who” when they can sell the thing on DVD at £20 a story.
So, what is “Outcasts” about and is it any good? Watch it and discover for yourself! Does the show deserve better treatment? Am I making a fuss about nothing? I’ve seen the series described as “Spooks” in space. That’s probably because Hermione Norris is in it and it’s made by the same company. Daniel Mays is in it too, so perhaps it’s “Ashes to Ashes” in space. It’s made by the same company! Ashley Walters is in it. “Hustle” in space? Jamie Bamber was in the first episode. “Law & Order: UK” in space? Both made by the same company. OK, you get the picture. Actually, “Outcasts” is more “Survivors” in space, which isn’t made by the same company. It’s not as good as “Survivors” and I’m comparing “Outcasts” with the remake. Where it does score is in the very fact that it isn’t a reworking like so many. “Doctor Who”, “Survivors”, “The Day of the Triffids”, “The Prisoner”… all tell us when the golden age of television was. “Outcasts” is something trying to be new although it contains little that wasn’t made on the cheap in “Genesis of the Daleks”… in 1975. “Genesis” is one of the best “Doctor Who” stories though. Well, it’s a little late to start following the much-more expensive, shot in South Africa, “Outcasts”, if you aren’t already, as the series finishes this Sunday and I doubt very much that it has been re-commissioned. “Outcasts” has been cast out!
