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Little Britain removed from streaming services

Started by Fambo Number Mive, June 09, 2020, 05:31:38 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Ignatius_S

Quote from: Shit Good Nose on June 10, 2020, 11:04:44 AM...Talking Pictures TV channel have got it right - their catalogue is made up of TV shows and films made during the worst periods of modern history in terms of thinking, but instead of editing stuff or not bothering to show it at all, they always have tailored ratings/disclaimers at the beginning of each thing and at every ad break.  Obviously they don't show stuff like the Black and White Minstrel Show, but they have aired loads of variety shows from the archives and there's always at least one questionable thing in those.

Talking Pictures does edit content - sometimes jarringly so, but I've noticed some that are harder to spot and in some cases, suspect you would need to compare the original. My impression is that the approach is not always consistently applied in content and - as you say, some stuff is untouched.

A while ago, I watched For The Love of Ada in its entirety and there was at least one very obvious removal of dialogue, quite a run into the show but had also noticed less apparent ones (e.g.my first reaction there was something wrong with the quality of recording or my service provider than an edit). Afterwards, I wondered if there had been more that I hadn't picked up on.

Before the sitcom, Get Some In!, was shown on TP (and I think they're showing it now), I had watched it uncut on Forces TV. On TP language has been edited, particularly with Corporal Marsh's insults to Richardson (although the audience lap those up, for me, they emphasised how loathsome the Marsh character is) but IIRC, language like 'tit' also got muffled out.

There was an episode of Scotland Yard, where an complaint to OFCOM had been upheld and going from memory, they edited the scene in subsequent broadcasts - I had seen the original and pretty sure when watching again, realised that a slight cut had been made. I think it was a similar show where a black criminal is running away from the police but runs into a gang of young teddy boys, which he has to flee from as well; the dialogue of the gang was badly mangled through editing, but are obviously racially abusing him.

On occasions I've seen images pixelated. One in Sewers of Gold, a film with Ian McShane and Warren Clarke, which was sadly rather dull and had been shown at a time like two in the morning. A gang is drilling through as wall to rob a bank, when the leader shows them a picture of a naked woman - or presumably so, as it's so pixelated you can't see.

checkoutgirl

Quote from: j_u_d_a_s on June 10, 2020, 03:07:52 AM
why isn't all of Love Thy Neighbour on netflix?

Well, I'd guess that 99.99% of recorded entertainment is not on Netflix. I'd have no problem with Love Thy Neighbour being on the Flix. For educational purposes if nothing else. Look what we used to get away with kids. There's value in that I believe.

I watched Mind Your Language for sneery purposes a couple of years ago and was presently surprised. It wasn't bad.

El Unicornio, mang

Quote from: dissolute ocelot on June 10, 2020, 12:03:00 PM
Going beyond the current focus on anti-black racism, if you cancel all media for being sexist, homophobic, transphobic, anti-semitic, etc, you'll not only lose a lot of shitty white middle-class comedy, but also a lot of black culture and other minority culture, like Eddie Murphy, Blacksploitation, gangster rap, Tyler Perry (aww), a lot of reggae/dancehall, etc. Calls for censorship generally come from those in power (Daily Mail) and historically targeted black (rap), queer, working class (metal), or otherwise marginalised art forms, not Stuff Middle Class White People Like. There are good sociological and artistic reasons why marginalised cultures don't stick to polite middle-class rules, but if there's a war to censor as much as possible, it's not going to be the establishment that loses. (This doesn't alter the fact that it's absolutely fine to critique media we don't like, but don't ban it.)

And this is aside from the fact that Little Britain is about to become the alt-right's favourite TV show.

Yeah, I have some friends who are active in promoting LGBT and womens rights who still love the old Eddie Murphy stand-up videos despite the jokes about "faggots", AIDS, bitches, etc. Eddie Murphy himself has said that he cringes at it now though.

I rewatched all the Only Fools and Horses episodes recently, there was one scene where Uncle Albert used the word "p**i" three times, and it's littered throughout elsewhere, as well as some very homophobic and sexist stuff. I'd rather it remain untouched though, but possibly with a warning added.

Malcy


chveik

it's the slippery slope arguments week on cab, get em while they're fresh

Shit Good Nose

Quote from: Ignatius_S on June 10, 2020, 12:34:37 PM
Talking Pictures does edit content - sometimes jarringly so, but I've noticed some that are harder to spot and in some cases, suspect you would need to compare the original. My impression is that the approach is not always consistently applied in content and - as you say, some stuff is untouched.

A while ago, I watched For The Love of Ada in its entirety and there was at least one very obvious removal of dialogue, quite a run into the show but had also noticed less apparent ones (e.g.my first reaction there was something wrong with the quality of recording or my service provider than an edit). Afterwards, I wondered if there had been more that I hadn't picked up on.

Before the sitcom, Get Some In!, was shown on TP (and I think they're showing it now), I had watched it uncut on Forces TV. On TP language has been edited, particularly with Corporal Marsh's insults to Richardson (although the audience lap those up, for me, they emphasised how loathsome the Marsh character is) but IIRC, language like 'tit' also got muffled out.

There was an episode of Scotland Yard, where an complaint to OFCOM had been upheld and going from memory, they edited the scene in subsequent broadcasts - I had seen the original and pretty sure when watching again, realised that a slight cut had been made. I think it was a similar show where a black criminal is running away from the police but runs into a gang of young teddy boys, which he has to flee from as well; the dialogue of the gang was badly mangled through editing, but are obviously racially abusing him.

On occasions I've seen images pixelated. One in Sewers of Gold, a film with Ian McShane and Warren Clarke, which was sadly rather dull and had been shown at a time like two in the morning. A gang is drilling through as wall to rob a bank, when the leader shows them a picture of a naked woman - or presumably so, as it's so pixelated you can't see.

Actually, now you've said that of course you're right, but isn't that more to do with when they show stuff pre-watershed?  The Brinks Job for example - when they first showed that last year it was on in the afternoon, and the swear words were silenced and there were a couple of (as you said) jarring cuts here and there.  But when it was on late night more recently, it was fully intact.  Ditto for post-apocalyptic oddity Glen and Randa, which had all its nudity and sex scenes removed (which added up to several minutes of the film) when it was shown in the morning.  Then when they showed it late at night all the nudity and sex was back in, as were a couple of scenes featuring real animal cruelty/killing which would normally be cut by the BBFC (although that latter one almost certainly a case of accidental uncut showing - also cf. Cannibal Apocalypse when it was doing the rounds on other similar low budget film channels a couple of years ago, with the live rats on fire scenes left intact).

As for Sewers of Gold - been a long time since I've seen it so I can't recall the photo, but it might be that that's the state they received it in.  Going by how a lot of stuff on there is presented, I reckon at least 75% of their catalogue is old reels and video tapes saved from defunct TV channels, independent cinemas and video shops.

JamesTC

Quote from: El Unicornio, mang on June 10, 2020, 12:47:47 PM

I rewatched all the Only Fools and Horses episodes recently, there was one scene where Uncle Albert used the word "p**i" three times, and it's littered throughout elsewhere, as well as some very homophobic and sexist stuff. I'd rather it remain untouched though, but possibly with a warning added.

I imagine Only Fools has already been heavily edited. It had a daytime repeat run on BBC One a few years ago.

checkoutgirl

Quote from: SavageHedgehog on June 10, 2020, 10:32:05 AM
The Loretta scene in Life of Brian has got some heat recently.

Life of Brian was instantly one of the most controversial films ever made as soon as it came out. Protests, TV debates, parodies, the lot.

j_u_d_a_s

Quote from: checkoutgirl on June 10, 2020, 12:42:17 PM
Well, I'd guess that 99.99% of recorded entertainment is not on Netflix. I'd have no problem with Love Thy Neighbour being on the Flix. For educational purposes if nothing else. Look what we used to get away with kids. There's value in that I believe.

I watched Mind Your Language for sneery purposes a couple of years ago and was presently surprised. It wasn't bad.

I watched the first episode not too long ago as part of a "ho ho ho let's have a giggle at how racist it is" and it ends with Rudolph Walker in a tribal outfit and Jack Smethurst's character shouting "I hate nig-nogs" to the rapturous laughter of the studio audience. Its heart was in the right place, a prime time sitcom with two black leads who come out on top over their explicitly racist neighbour should be a positive move but the execution was Not Good.

At a time when the leader of the free world is repeating far right mantras, newspaper columnists calling refugees cockroaches loudly declaring they couldn't care less if they saw bodies floating in the water and the continued existence of Andrew Doyle, do we actually need to revisit old attitudes to race?

Tell you what would genuinely be better on netflix though, Desmonds.

El Unicornio, mang

Quote from: JamesTC on June 10, 2020, 12:52:17 PM
I imagine Only Fools has already been heavily edited. It had a daytime repeat run on BBC One a few years ago.

Yeah these were the DVDs but I figured UK Gold are cutting them. From the OFAH edits wiki page:

QuoteUK GOLD also show the above scenes in full but unfortunately they cut out the racist slurs (CHINKY & p**i) from the episode.

Quote from: kidsick5000 on June 10, 2020, 09:38:58 AM
Jimmy Fallon was called out for blackface recently.
Again, it was an older sketch from his SNL days about 20 years ago where he was playing Chris Rock.
Fallon has apologised while he's got an ally in Jamie Foxx who defended him.

"He was doing an impression of Chris Rock. It wasn't blackface. We comedians I know it's a tough time right now. But this one is a stretch"

When Vic and Bob first did Otis and Marvin, it felt dodgy. More so than Vic's Barry White. They must have been the first of our generation of comedians to dare to try it. But then it wasn't malicious and obviously silly. So it went by without much visible comment. But then it was pre-internet.
That said, in later instances they just did it with wigs and moustaches.

Apart from Hernia Hotline and the A Team skits on Shooting Stars. Around the millenium maybe if Self and Vegas are on it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oizYpTckDZ8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXEk3deCOm0

checkoutgirl

Desmonds is great. Although with the modern Twitter eye, some time on your hands and a magnifying glass I'm sure you could find some problematic stuff. Porkpie is a very stereotypical sounding Jamaican. The Peckham Prince is a very shady character who could be percieved to be a bad example to the youth and that "there is an old African saying" fella is a bit near the mark.

Don't scratch my soca...


Pink Gregory

Quote from: jobotic on June 10, 2020, 12:14:17 PM
They're not banned. They're nos 2 and 3 in Amazon's best-selling DVD sales, as we've been discussing.

Worth repeating.  Or do outraged people simply not like that platforms such as Netflix can host what they wish after all?

chveik

the thing is, we know very well that this particular event won't lead to the censorship of everything without any consideration. the show is still out there. it's better to discuss these things out in the open and listen to the people that are offended and directly affected by this type of stereotypes than the alternative.

I expect streaming services are mostly thinking about their revenue, and these are quite empty gestures, but still there's no need for hyperbolic hysteria about some woke strawmen

SavageHedgehog

I've seen a number of comments along the line of "Goodness Gracious Me will be next" which seems like an odd conclusion to jump to.

Shit Good Nose

Quote from: checkoutgirl on June 10, 2020, 01:05:47 PM
Desmonds is great. Although with the modern Twitter eye, some time on your hands and a magnifying glass I'm sure you could find some problematic stuff. Porkpie is a very stereotypical sounding Jamaican. The Peckham Prince is a very shady character who could be percieved to be a bad example to the youth and that "there is an old African saying" fella is a bit near the mark.

Don't scratch my soca...

I'm sure you're correct, and I'm sure you could do the same with pretty much any TV show, film and comedy act, BUT in the case of Porkpie, Ram John Holder was basically playing himself, and Trix Worrell based all of the characters and most of the situations from his experiences growing up as a young immigrant in London.  So whilst they may be stereotypes, they do at least have a real life basis and haven't come from the mind of a Nathan Barley type that's been given too much money and creative control.

Shit Good Nose

Quote from: SavageHedgehog on June 10, 2020, 01:14:57 PM
I've seen a number of comments along the line of "Goodness Gracious Me will be next" which seems like an odd conclusion to jump to.

Ditto, regarding the Going For An English sketch.  Which kind of misses the point of where that's coming from.

checkoutgirl

Quote from: NoSleep on June 10, 2020, 01:13:18 PM
Gone With The Wind has gone with the wind:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jun/10/gone-with-the-wind-dropped-from-hbo-max-over-depiction-of-slavery

I might torrent it today, see what all the fuss is about. If HBO somehow block my download I'll let you know.

If the police are reading, the above is a satirical point. I do not download illegally.

j_u_d_a_s

Quote from: Malcy on June 10, 2020, 12:49:11 PM
Seems to only apply to Little Britain for the moment according to the Beeb. Summer Heights High staying up.

https://metro.co.uk/2020/06/10/bbc-iplayer-keep-summer-heights-high-despite-chris-lilleys-blackface-little-britain-removed-12830962/

I'm reminded of this excellent piece from the Australian Tumbleweeds blog - https://blog.australiantumbleweeds.com/2017/10/ten-years-silence-around-summer-heights-high/

QuoteSo Summer Heights High remains untouchable, despite being as deeply problematic – and generally unfunny – as anything else Chris Lilley has done. It can't be celebrated, because all the problems in his later, more easily disparaged work are on full display. It can't be dismissed, because that would be saying that big, big audience was wrong to like it in the first place.

Quite.

Shit Good Nose

Quote from: checkoutgirl on June 10, 2020, 01:18:31 PM
I might torrent it today, see what all the fuss is about. If HBO somehow block my download I'll let you know.

If the police are reading, the above is a satirical point. I do not download illegally.

Ignoring everything that's questionable, it looks amazing and is a technical marvel, BUT it's deathly boring and the acting is EXTREMELY melodramatic, even for the time.

But you won't find that out, of course, as you won't download it...

j_u_d_a_s


Quote from: checkoutgirl on June 10, 2020, 01:05:47 PM
Desmonds is great. Although with the modern Twitter eye, some time on your hands and a magnifying glass I'm sure you could find some problematic stuff. Porkpie is a very stereotypical sounding Jamaican. The Peckham Prince is a very shady character who could be percieved to be a bad example to the youth and that "there is an old African saying" fella is a bit near the mark.

Don't scratch my soca...
Quote from: Shit Good Nose on June 10, 2020, 01:15:14 PM
I'm sure you're correct, and I'm sure you could do the same with pretty much any TV show, film and comedy act, BUT in the case of Porkpie, Ram John Holder was basically playing himself, and Trix Worrell based all of the characters and most of the situations from his experiences growing up as a young immigrant in London.  So whilst they may be stereotypes, they do at least have a real life basis and haven't come from the mind of a Nathan Barley type that's been given too much money and creative control.

Just to add to this, Desmond's two sons are a middle class bank manager and a good student who's preparing for university. That kind of depiction still goes against the grain. And when it comes to stereotypes they're being written from the POV of someone with lived experience rather than second or third hand observation. It's more damning however that we have to go 30 years (give or take) back to find a mainstream family sitcom written by and starring a predominantly black cast. The most recent one I can think of is Chewing Gum and another on BBC 2 back in the 00s that escapes me atm. So in our supposedly more enlightened days, we have less sitcoms featuring black families than we did in the bad old 70s which had the real racism.

Quote from: SavageHedgehog on June 10, 2020, 01:14:57 PM
I've seen a number of comments along the line of "Goodness Gracious Me will be next" which seems like an odd conclusion to jump to.

Never assume anyone saying that is doing so in good faith. They're just shifting the goalposts because they feel a little bit of guilt over buying the LB DVDs at full price once.

The Bumlord

Quote from: Paulie Walnuts on June 10, 2020, 09:04:00 AM


League of Gentlemen next to get cancelled hopefully


You'll be pleased to hear it's just been removed from Netflix.

Stoneage Dinosaurs

I probably wouldn't have ever wanted to watch Gone With The Wind, because it's an old film which means it's probably very long and boring. So the fact that it's also racist works quite well for me because I now have a more legitimate reason not to watch it.

Shit Good Nose

Quote from: j_u_d_a_s on June 10, 2020, 01:35:44 PM
It's more damning however that we have to go 30 years (give or take) back to find a mainstream family sitcom written by and starring a predominantly black cast. The most recent one I can think of is Chewing Gum and another on BBC 2 back in the 00s that escapes me atm. So in our supposedly more enlightened days, we have less sitcoms featuring black families than we did in the bad old 70s which had the real racism.

Not a sitcom, but brought to mind is one of my favourite sketch shows of the 90s The Real McCoy (well, the first two or three series anyway - the last couple were absolute dogshit).  IIRC, McCoy is also where the seeds of Goodness Gracious Me were sewn.


Quote from: Angrew Lloyg Wegger on June 10, 2020, 01:42:30 PM
I probably wouldn't have ever wanted to watch Gone With The Wind, because it's an old film which means it's probably very long and boring. So the fact that it's also racist works quite well for me because I now have a more legitimate reason not to watch it.

It is in colour if that sways you the other way.

JamesTC

They'll be calling Birth of a Nation racist next.

Stoneage Dinosaurs


Shit Good Nose

Quote from: Angrew Lloyg Wegger on June 10, 2020, 01:47:35 PM
I don't see colour :P

It was either that or "it's not in black and white".


Quote from: JamesTC on June 10, 2020, 01:46:17 PM
They'll be calling Birth of a Nation racist next.

Not even the best racist film in The Beatles.  Or summat.

Most films were fucking odd back then anyway - ten minute slapstick sequence with lots of mugging at the camera immediately cutting to a woman sat alone in a dark room holding her dead baby.

j_u_d_a_s

Quote from: Shit Good Nose on June 10, 2020, 01:43:25 PM
Not a sitcom, but brought to mind is one of my favourite sketch shows of the 90s The Real McCoy (well, the first two or three series anyway - the last couple were absolute dogshit).  IIRC, McCoy is also where the seeds of Goodness Gracious Me were sewn.

Good shout, actually surprised at how The Real McCoy has been largely forgotten. Anyway if we're talking sketch shows then we have to mention Famalam which is far more consistent, sillier, inventive and insightful than anything produced by the current crop of middle class white sketch groups but doesn't get the same kudos as Jamie Demetriou doing his one character but in a different context for some reason... Wonder why that could be...

checkoutgirl

There's a recent show about a big Indian guy with a beard. Man Like Mobeen. You have the Kumars, Citizen Khan, Goodness Gracious, Stath Lets Flats, Real McCoy, Spirit Warriors, The Indian Doctor, Strangers. Etc. It's not that bad.

Then you have dozens of black actors in the lead like Luke Cage, Black Lightening etc etc. Then you have white superhero characters portrayed as black like Nick Fury, Gambit, Electro.

I think there's been progress.