Jane Root - was she so bad?

[Virgo76]

I'm sure I've heard people describe the former controller of BBC2 as 'notorious' with a terrible record for cutting loads of great shows, specifically comedy ones.
Is there any truth in this or is it the usual sexism?  Or something else?

[vainsharpdad]

Ask Lee and Herring

[monkfromhavana]

Her assistant, Theresa Branch, was a bad influence.

[BlodwynPig]

"giving the customer what I want"

[Jake Thingray]

She was overly fond of Gervais and The Office, and hated and refused to repeat The Goodies, both of these were bad things in the opinion of former CaB posters, in my view only the former is a bad thing.

[pigamus]

"Une vache" - Jonathan Meades

[markburgle]

She did tell Stewart Lee to "have a listen to a show called On the Hour" so he could get a better idea of how to do comedy, not knowing he was one of the writers

[Brundle-Fly]

 I'm going to be vaguely discreet here so would rather not reveal the show in question. Sorry.

A writer friend had his sit-com commissioned by either Paul Jackson or Jon Plowman ages before Root's tenure started at BBC 2. The week before it was about to air, he got extremely frustrated that the show wasn't being trailed at all or even remotely promoted. The writer kept emailing the new execs in charge but got no response, so in the end, tried to call Root's office directly. He left messages with her assistant but again to no avail.

Eventually, the morning after the show went out, the poor bloke (allegedly) received a terse email from her saying something along the lines of: "I'd thank you to stop badgering my busy assistant. The reason your show has not been trailed or promoted is that quite frankly it is an embarrassment to my channel.". My channel. Ouch.

[dissolute ocelot]

Was she the one who turned BBC2 into a shitty middle-aged lifestyle channel with endless property shows and cancelled all the arts programming? Or was that another terrible BBC2 boss?

[lazyhour]

Stew Lee on Root's treatment of the excellent "Attention Scum":

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2001/mar/12/mondaymediasection.bbc

[thugler]

I can't tell if the problem with the BBC lies with the commissioners and chiefs or with the pressure they were put under to provide ratings winners and compete with entertainment guff on the other channels. Often this failed on both counts and just pissed money up the wall. There still seems to be a capability to make good programs here and there, but it simply doesn't seem to be the priority anymore. I think both are probably to blame but maybe the ones put in charge were a result of said pressure. That's not to mention the decline of their news coverage to the current pathetic state it's in. It should either be allowed to run freely and independently without any requirement to get ratings and with the original aims of the BBC in mind, or just got rid of at this point and all their archives put online for free.

[Phil_A]

Was she the one who turned BBC2 into a shitty middle-aged lifestyle channel with endless property shows and cancelled all the arts programming? Or was that another terrible BBC2 boss?

I think that may've been the one after her to be fair. At least during the Root era you still had Star Trek on in the evenings (and at one point ATV Morecambe & Wise episodes!).

She was pretty poor in a lot of respects. though. It felt like anything too arty and weird was given the cold shoulder under her regime(Attention Scum! being a case in point), and in retrospect it was the beginning of the process of the channel being homogenised into the blandfest it is now

[idunnosomename]

Was she the one who turned BBC2 into a shitty middle-aged lifestyle channel with endless property shows and cancelled all the arts programming? Or was that another terrible BBC2 boss?

Called the "high priestess of lifestyle television" in 2003

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1429549/Reality-but-not-as-we-know-it-on-the-BBC-of-the-future.html

if you REALLY want to read it
https://archive.md/7xC7M

[pigamus]

"Une vache" - Jonathan Meades

Found the link for that
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/jonathan-meades-i-have-saucisson-issues-997445.html

[vainsharpdad]

She did the same thing with not trailing TWRNJ - she's the textbook example of a disconnected BBC executive.

The type who has caused them to fail to engage with and lose an entire generation who can probably never be won back and will be the ones who don't back the BBC when it is inevitably killed off.

[Mobbd]

My partner and I were watching that World According to Jeff Goldblum show somewhat against our better judgement the other night but actually quite liking it. After a couple of episodes, I saw Jane Root's name come up as a producer and did a sort-of spit-take. I had to explain to my partner who she was (in relation to Lee and Herring who are important deities in our comedy pantheon) and how odd it was that she was involved in American streaming TV productions (though of course it's not really - my mind was just a long way from L&H while watching Jeff Goldblum).

Anyway, looking at Wikipedia now, it looks like she has a lot to answer for. She commissioned Coupling, The Weakest Link, Top Gear, What Not to Wear, Who Do You Think You Are?, and "audience vote" shows like the fuck-off patriotic Greatest Britons. Precisely the sort of thing they'd show (do show?) on a loop in Dystopia.

Fuck ROOT!

[Brundle-Fly]

From twenty years ago.

http://sotcaa.org/history/ukonline/comment/elitist_frame.html

[Virgo76]

She was overly fond of Gervais and The Office, and hated and refused to repeat The Goodies, both of these were bad things in the opinion of former CaB posters, in my view only the former is a bad thing.

I'm not about to launch a big defence of her. There do seem to be valid grounds for criticism here.
On the other hand:
I know it's a risky thing to say on here but (gulp), here goes:
I don't actually think commissioning The Office was in itself a bad decision.
There: I've said it.
And secondly, surely The Goodies hasn't been repeated much in the last thirty years by anyone anyway? It can't all be down to Root? (insert your own 'Root cause' joke here, readers!) Isn't there a racist bit in practically every episode?

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

I don't actually think commissioning The Office was in itself a bad decision.
There: I've said it.

Of course it wasn't a bad decision. The Office was great, and loads of people on here agree. There is no CaB consensus.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

Fuck ROOT!

Australian tautology.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Isn't there a racist bit in practically every episode?

No. Where on earth have you got that idea from? I'm no Goodies expert, but most of the stuff I've seen is utterly harmless.

[bgmnts]

Aren't all of these people pointless?

[Alternative Carpark]

And secondly, surely The Goodies hasn't been repeated much in the last thirty years by anyone anyway?

Depends what you mean by 'much'. Got a lot of repeats on UK Gold in the 90s, one episode on C5 in about 2004, another on BBC in 2006, eight episodes on BBC in 2010, and a further one on BBC in 2014. So, while not a massive amount, it's not been completely ignored.

Not that it matters much now when the whole lot have been brought out on DVD anyway.

[thugler]

She did the same thing with not trailing TWRNJ - she's the textbook example of a disconnected BBC executive.

Eh? I remember this getting advertised (2nd series at least), as well as being shown in both the original morning slot and repeated late at night. It was a bloody weird thing to have on on a sunday (I think) morning/lunchtime.

[thugler]

She commissioned Coupling, The Weakest Link, Top Gear, What Not to Wear, Who Do You Think You Are?, and "audience vote" shows like the fuck-off patriotic Greatest Britons.

I hate all of these, but they are the result of the BBC being forced to pursue ratings and ape other successful stuff. They were pretty much all hits as well. To my mind the BBC shouldn't be making any of that shit.

[vainsharpdad]

Eh? I remember this getting advertised (2nd series at least), as well as being shown in both the original morning slot and repeated late at night. It was a bloody weird thing to have on on a sunday (I think) morning/lunchtime.

Stewart Lee: "TMWRNJ2 wasn't trailed, ran for longer but over 13 weeks interrupted by sport, and the Friday night shows were usually cancelled"

http://www.richardherring.com/press/6019/interview_from_offthetellycouk_from_the_year_2000.html

[Phil_A]

I hate all of these, but they are the result of the BBC being forced to pursue ratings and ape other successful stuff. They were pretty much all hits as well. To my mind the BBC shouldn't be making any of that shit.

Am I missing something, why is Coupling as bad as all the other shows listed? It wasn't to everyone's tastes and a bit too blatant in it's attempts to do a "British Friends", but to put it in the same bracket as lifestyle shite like What Not To Wear just seems bizarre.

Also, The Weakest Link was fine. Perfectly passable early evening schedule filler.

[Brundle-Fly]

I'm not about to launch a big defence of her. There do seem to be valid grounds for criticism here.
On the other hand:
I know it's a risky thing to say on here but (gulp), here goes:
I don't actually think commissioning The Office was in itself a bad decision.
There: I've said it.
And secondly, surely The Goodies hasn't been repeated much in the last thirty years by anyone anyway? It can't all be down to Root? (insert your own 'Root cause' joke here, readers!) Isn't there a racist bit in practically every episode?

Jake did say former CaB posters didn't like The Office but they were in the minority but probably the loudest. No, The Goodies haven't been shown much on terrestrial TV in years and years but then neither has the Q series or Monty Python and most other comedy shows when you think about it. It's only OFAH, Dad's Army and a handful of others that have never been off our screens.

[idunnosomename]

Also, The Weakest Link was fine. Perfectly passable early evening schedule filler.

anne robinson was a needlessly horrible nasty cunt

https://twitter.com/A_Hess/status/1361326309117411331

never liked it because basically it was just a quiz show hosted by a cunt. that was its gimmick

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Aren't all of these people pointless?

Not if you're a member of a forum largely devoted to the discussion of comedy, television and popular culture generally, no.