Comments | qthewetsprocket: Things I found out today

qthewetsprocket

Things I found out today

Dec 28, 2011 23:12

Matthew Graham and Ashley Pharoah seem to have deleted their Twitter account (MonasticProds). This makes me sad. Very likely it's because of the whole QuattroGate fiasco, and I just hope they didn't shut it down because of the fans getting as nasty as I suspect they were ( Read more... )

ian wylie, twitter, top gear, quattrogate, quattrow, philip glenister, matthew graham

Comments 14

oncelikeshari December 29 2011, 09:13:41 UTC

I recorded it last night.

They usually put the special on in the week leading up to Christmas or the Boxing Day or Bank Holiday. For some reason Weds night when people have all gone back to work was the prime evening to show it!

dorsetgirl December 29 2011, 12:11:59 UTC

I'm thinking that's the BBC being "sensitive" about all the people they've upset this year. Hiding it away in the dead time between Christmas and New Year isn't going to stop anybody watching it, but it makes it slightly lower profile in tabloid-world.

oncelikeshari December 29 2011, 10:49:29 UTC

http://www.filestube.com/source.html?token=bd65d377dbf9802803eb

qthewetsprocket December 29 2011, 17:54:43 UTC

Whoohoo! Many thanks; my other sources have so far failed me.

I do get slightly concerned for Top Gear, what with the Beeb's past history of treating its best shows like dirt (Doctor Who; Life on Mars). I was somewhat encouraged when they split up the seasons to avoid burnout or overexposure, but hiding a brand new special in the dead week between Christmas and New Year's does seem to indicate they're not too bothered about promoting it. :/

oncelikeshari December 29 2011, 18:00:41 UTC

It's been really strange on the Beeb this Christmas.

Apart from the Borrowers, the whole of Boxing Day BBC was repeats of Christmas Eve and Christmas day BBC.

I had to watch the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas show TWICE!

That was cruel and unusual treatment BBC! I demand Doctor Who Confidential back for doing that to me or no TV licence for you!

qthewetsprocket December 29 2011, 18:42:05 UTC

Yikes! *calling Amnesty International as we speak*

Btw, was The Borrowers worth watching? I tried watching The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff on the strength of the cast and didn't even make it halfway through, so I'm a bit wary of any other Christmas programming this year.

Thread 6

nostalgia_lj December 29 2011, 11:31:06 UTC

Wow that is pretty excellent dramas.

qthewetsprocket December 29 2011, 18:01:45 UTC

Yeah. Glenister did respond in a radio interview saying he was misquoted and it was a misunderstanding, and that's the last we heard. I hope they've managed to patch things up since, because it kind of taints the whole viewing experience to know that Uncle Matt and Uncle Phil are fighting behind the scenes.

dorsetgirl December 29 2011, 12:10:13 UTC

The Twitter went a long time ago. I posted about it on 28th September. The fans didn't get nasty - as far as I can see, no-one else got involved at all, it was just Matthew throwing a hissy fit. Phil said later he was misrepresented: what with his exceedingly dry sense of humour and Radio Times's new headline-seeking ethos, that's probably quite true.

Eternal Law starts 5th Jan. Thanks for reminding me about it - I'm quite hoping for a Crowley/Aziraphale sort of vibe!

The Top Gear special was OK. Not a classic - I watched because I've been to India, and most of it was very enjoyable, but if you have an embarassment squick you'll want to look away when they do the posh party in Delhi. But the bit with the winch is very funny indeed.

qthewetsprocket December 29 2011, 18:39:05 UTC

I'm of two minds about the whole Quattrow thing...on the one hand, I think the main thing that's clear to everyone is that Graham should have spoken to Glenister privately about it instead of spitting black bile at him via a medium he couldn't answer back on. On the other hand, though, you don't just suddenly blow up like that at someone who's previously been a friend without some kind of prior provocation. So I have to wonder what went on behind the scenes that led up to this. Clearly there was something already amiss in their relationship, or else Graham probably would have just called him up and gone, 'uh, mate? Not cool."

Also, Glenister has a bit of a history of putting his foot in his mouth in interviews: witness his infamous "dialect coach? I don't need no steenkin' dialect coach!") remarks in the press for Demons, before proceeding to blithely massacre his "generic American" accent to smithereens in that show. Also, actors tend to get automatic audience credit for making up the whole movie/tv show all by themselves anyway... ( ... )

dorsetgirl December 29 2011, 19:19:14 UTC

Who's James Moran? Was he the director, or the writer? Because Ianto dying, whatever one thinks of it as an idea, was entirely down to Russell. Perhaps this Moran bloke had had enough of taking the shit for something Russell had told him to put in. And, yes, Who fandom can be terrifying, I just watch and love the show and keep out of all that stuff.

qthewetsprocket December 29 2011, 20:24:23 UTC

Because Ianto dying, whatever one thinks of it as an idea, was entirely down to Russell. Perhaps this Moran bloke had had enough of taking the shit for something Russell had told him to put in.

Yep. Pretty much my take on it, too. I think Moran ended up being the target of (some of) the fans' wrath simply because he was a writer on Children of Earth, and RTD didn't have a blog where they could vent their spleen. Personally I wonder at how Moffat maintains his Twitter account at all, with all the abuse he must get.