#bbc store

[maryxglz]

@BBCStore: Too bloody perfect. @twhiddleston in #TheNightManager

[mariocki]

Classic TV round-up

*Simply Media have announced plans to release several early BBC adaptations of Charles Dickens’ novels. These include Great Expectations (1967) starring Gary Bond, Dombey & Son (1969) with John Carson as Dombey, and a 1958/9 version of Our Mutual Friend headed by Paul Daneman. More releases are expected to follow. Any release of early BBC material is exciting but the cast and crew of these shows make for a role-call of the very best of British talent from that era. (https://archivetvmusings.wordpress.com/2017/05/30/bbc/)

*Network have been quietly working away on a new range of DVDs, launching ‘Forgotten TV Drama’ last month to almost zero fanfare. Curated by a team at the University of London, the range celebrates neglected dramas from the ITV archive. The first release is the exciting sounding The Frighteners, a 13 episode series of individual plays around the theme of psychological horror. Not much has been announced for the future of the range but the next release, excitingly, is Nigel Kneale’s The Crunch, originally shown in 1964 and one of only a handful of single plays Kneale wrote that survives. (https://forgottentelevisiondrama.wordpress.com/2017/04/25/forgotten-tv-drama-dvd-range-launched-in-association-with-network-distributing-ltd/)

*In less happy news, the BBC have announced plans to close their BBC Store. Launched only 18 months ago, the Store was the BBC’s attempt to break into the ‘download to own’ market and provided huge amounts of the company’s archive to stream and download, many unseen in decades. From Doctor Who to early Dennis Potter plays, documentaries and interviews of historical significance, and that version of Our Mutual Friend I mentioned earlier, the wealth of material sounded pretty exciting - but the market is a tough one and the BBC were never going to compete with the likes of Netflix and Amazon. The site may be closing down but here’s hoping these shows aren’t just shunted back into storage. Simply Media’s range of Dickens releases provides some small hope. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/05/20/bbc-close-tv-download-store-18-months-streaming-dominates/)

*Finally, the World recently mourned the passing of Sir Roger Moore (14.10.1927 - 23.5.2017), movie star, but several news outlets neglected to celebrate the life of Roger Moore, star of classic TV. Beginning with Ivanhoe (1958 - 1959), Moore became a leading man and gleaned the experience he would need for his later career as a big screen Action Man. In the USA he starred in The Alaskans (1959 - 1960) and lent support to Maverick (1960 - 1961) before returning home and cementing his place as a TV icon, playing the definitive Simon Templar for seven years in The Saint (1962 - 1969). Although his film career was beginning to take off, a promise of one million pounds on a handshake from Lew Grade convinced Moore to take one more starring role for ITC. In The Persuaders! (1971 - 1972) Moore shared top billing with Hollywood heavyweight Tony Curtis. The two didn’t hit it off instantly and tensions behind the scenes, coupled with the expensive production and relatively disappointing overseas performance of the show, meant only one series was ever made. This more or less marked the end of Moore’s British TV work, but he would go on to even greater success as a film star, becoming the longest serving James Bond in cinema history. Roger Moore is survived by his wife, Kristina Tholstrup, and three children. (https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/may/23/roger-moore-saint-persuader-and-the-suavest-james-bond-dies-aged-89)

[aconitum-napellus]

Okay, so the BBC Store is closing in November. That means Our Mutual Friend (the David McCallum one) won’t be available to watch after that point, even if you’ve bought it (you get a refund). So someone damn well better invent a way of decrypting it or otherwise unlocking it, beacuse I don’t want to give up my pretty Dickens McCallum.

[captaingalaxyguy]

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[bexieid]

BBC Store question

Has anyone purchased any TV shows from the BBC Store?  There’s a option to download through their downloader app.  I was wondering if it was any good?  And can you watch them when you want?  Ideally i’d like to watch them on my TV via USB, but doubt you can do that!

[maryxglz]

@BBCStore: Happy Birthday, @twhiddleston. You're too perfect, have a biscuit 😜🍪

[thedoctorwhocompanion]

Could Doctor Who be Flagship Show in BBC/ITV/Channel 4 Streaming Service?

Could Doctor Who be Flagship Show in BBC/ITV/Channel 4 Streaming Service?

In another sign of the seemingly relentless pace of change in the television industry, the BBC has joined with ITV and Channel 4 to explore options for a British streaming service to compete with the likes of Netflix and Amazon.

Alarmed at research showing that people in the 16-24 age group spend more time on Netflix in an average week than on all of the BBC’s services combined, the corporation…

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[thedoctorwhocompanion]

BBC Store To Close: What Next For Animated Doctor Who?

BBC Store To Close: What Next For Animated Doctor Who?

The announcement on 25th April that BBC Store will be closing in November 2017 will have come as no surprise to many Doctor Who fans. Since its launch in late 2015, the service has failed to gain popularity, with subscription streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime (where many episodes of Doctor Who are available to access already) proving hard to beat. This was a very late attempt by…

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