Kitchen Garden Forum

Here in Wales we are force-fed @*!*$# rugby most Friday evenings so rarely get to watch GW.

I have just been watching a few of the topics on the Kitchen Garden TV (as advised by KGAdmin) - quite fun to see people actually moving and talking on screen, writing from a non-TV household. Looking forward to more subjects to be covered!

alan refail wrote:Here in Wales we are force-fed @*!*$# rugby most Friday evenings so rarely get to watch GW.

Care to swap?

Alternatively try BBC iPlayer.

I gave up watchinng GW some time ago.

Me too. The minute they started faffing around with building odd shaped stuff out of metal, wood and cement, I lost interest. The gardening content is minimal and vegetables almost non existent.

When Joe Swift took on his allotment last year (?) I started watching but gave up on that too, when he made those strange, space wasting, beds and had everything he needed on tap.

I find the presenters most irritating too.
Cheers.

ps. My audition for "Grumpy old women" is pending......

With regards to Gardeners World I suspect that it is not the presenters that are at fault but the Producers, Directors and those who plan the programmes who are at fault. It would appear that it matters not how qualified a presenter is he/she has to stick to what he/she is told to do.
Toby Buckland is very well qualified person but I suspect that he has very little or nothing to do with the content of the programme.
To my way of thinking it is about time that those who do plan the programme are summarily dismissed and a completely new team takes over. Then and only then will the credibility of the BBC and gardening programmes be restored to the era of Geoff Hamilton when GW actually meant something for all.
JB.

My feelings exactly Johnboy. Surely the producers of GW are aware of the slating it is getting? It is about time they sat up and took notice of what is being said about the content of the programme, before it reaches the point that the viewing figures plummet even further.
Cheers.

Elaine. Maybe like the present Government, they know best, or think they do.

Mind you if one of us strayed into an episode of "Coronation Street" we would say what a load of cr*p, needs to change and get in the real world, etc. - wouldn't we? I believe millions watch it - different audience.

Yes, I share Geoff's sentiments.

The BBC just chases the ratings when it should be there to inform and educate us. I'm sure that GW appeals to those who have only a shallow interest in gardening but does not inform or educate those with a greater interest in the subject. Of course this is yet another example of dumbing down of standards that is all too prevalent in these days of new Britain.

I confess that I still watching in forlorn hope.

Barney

I think that they have taken slight heed. I notice that the chatty bit in the shed and the awful "cool wall" have been curtailed.

Johnboy wrote:With regards to Gardeners World I suspect that it is not the presenters that are at fault but the Producers, Directors and those who plan the programmes who are at fault.

You're not wrong there, JB.

Toby Buckland is very well qualified person but I suspect that he has very little or nothing to do with the content of the programme.

And what a pity it is about his children's television style of presenting. It's all a bit Hale and Pace.

To my way of thinking it is about time that those who do plan the programme are summarily dismissed and a completely new team takes over.

GW has in recent years experienced several changes of producers and production companies, but clearly no good has come of it. Some years ago I had dealings with Catalyst, who presided over its initial failings soon after the Geoff years (when it was made in-house by the Beeb and not farmed out to contract). It was a thoroughly negative and obstructive experience.

Hi Felix,
Similarly the BBC with the Spring Watch made Kate Humble play silly buggers to be in line with Bill Oddie. Another very likable programme ruined. What is even worse is that Bill Oddie has now had to retire from the programme but they are still making Kate Humble act the fool.
I have the greatest respect for Kate because she is a very knowledgeable lass who is made to look foolish by these antics. Of course when this is pointed out to the BBC, as usual, Aunty Beeb always knows best. I beg to differ!
JB.

I don't know if they really do take a lot of note of criticism, but heck, at least it's theraputic.

There seems to be a tendency to take what worked in one programme, and assume the same can be done everywhere else. Like the "Top gear" cool wall idea. At least they seem to have got out of the worst trend - the hyperactive cameraman. It seemed to start with the young Jamie Oliver - it was like the camera HAD to pan, zoom or cut at least once per second. Worked well enough with his dynamic style, but made gardening awful to watch. No I don't need the cameraman to be peering out of the bushes at Carol Klein !

The current irritation is, as Johnboy notes, the trend to let focus drift to the people/presenters/celebrities larking around and forget what the programme is about. I got so fed up with seeing Rick Stein's dog on camera instead of his cookery that I wrote to the Beeb to tell them that I only wanted to see Rick's dog on the programme if he intended to cook it.

Whilst I'm in a grumpy mood ... my other irritation is that every pogramme needs to be made as long as is feasibly possible. I have for a while now held the view that there isn't enough quality material to fill more than 4 TV channels. Channel 5 kind of confirmed it, and the Freeview channels leave little room left for doubt.

Tony Hague wrote:Whilst I'm in a grumpy mood ... my other irritation is that every pogramme needs to be made as long as is feasibly possible.

At least now GW is back to its half-hour slot. They were really struggling to fill it, and it was a gruelling test for its audience.