Little Britain removed from streaming services

[BritishHobo]

I do think if they're dead serious about their regret for it, the better thing to do would be a round-table kind of thing with those who've made the decision - in this case Fey, other writers, directors, producers etc - where they discuss the issue. Why they chose to use blackface, what the intention was in the episode, why they've changed their mind on that decision, whether they feel the original intention still works or not, their thoughts on blackface in comedy then and now, and what is different in the cultures of the two times. Not in a half-arsed 'we're sorry' way, just a genuine, frank discussion. They could attach that to the episode in question on streaming services. If I was a young comedy fan I'd find that more interesting.

[thr0b]

Dominik Diamond innit - whose Wiki page reveals this gem:

He then went on to study drama at Bristol University, also attended by Little Britain star David Walliams. Walliams and Diamond were part of a comedy troupe called "David Icke and The Orphans of Jesus", in which they were also joined by Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz). Walliams and Diamond fell out after Walliams appeared as a guest on Diamond and his friend (and GamesMaster commentator) Kirk Ewing's[3] Paramount show "Dom'n'Kirk's Night O Plenty" - after which Diamond said that Walliams and co-Little Britain star Matt Lucas were "complete arseholes". Diamond has not spoken to Walliams since, yet still refers to him as a "comic genius".[4]

Worth noting (if not already) - Diamond was on a recent edition of the Retro Hour podcast, and confirmed they're very much not still friends. Proper interesting interview as well.

[dissolute ocelot]

It absolutely is a modern problem, but that makes it a pertinent problem - and one that I think might become more pronounced with the growing abandonment of physical ownership of entertainment. Sure, there will always be ways around it, but that's kind of like saying it's fine for a government to ban films since "you could always find a torrent". That's just not how most people consume media anymore, and it's beside the point anyway. The idea of effectively erasing parts of history (even in a microcosm like "televised comedy") is fucking horrible and creepy to me, and if it's not abhorrent to anyone else yet, it might eventually affect something you value too.

Fuckitpost.

Every book ever published in the UK sits in libraries in London, Cambridge, and Edinburgh, and you can access it in perpetuity for whatever purpose - academic study, historical research, or just to see it. This is incredibly valuable not just for stuff published last week, but how older texts offer insight into the past, and often academics are interested in stuff that seems marginal, stupid, or populist, rather than the great literary texts. Libraries have been wrestling with how to deal with other electronic media - many are archiving things in different ways, but issues like copyright, storage space, DRM/encryption, file formats, and specific hardware all causes problems. In 50 or 100 years, what will our knowledge of the past be? Will we think it was a paradise where nobody was racist or said or did anything dodgy?

[Brundle-Fly]

It would also be really interesting to hear a cross-section of black voices discussing blackface in comedy to properly hear their take on it. I have spoken about this many times with black friends, acquaintances, work colleagues of varying backgrounds and ages, and their opinions have wildly differed.

[Endicott]

Taking something off of a streaming platform is not erasing history. That idea was absurd in the statues thread, and it's no less absurd here.

[Chiefgango]

I think I might have come up with a way to save this show

https://twitter.com/tcandthc/status/1276076738901168128?s=20

[Pink Gregory]

Simply put, digital archiving isn't going to be a thing while DRM exists.

Really it's only games and music that have approached this, as well as smaller outfits like Go Faster Stripe that release downloadable, DRM free standup shows.

Hell even audiobooks and ebooks are tied to apps, largely.

[Shit Good Nose]

I do think if they're dead serious about their regret for it, the better thing to do would be a round-table kind of thing with those who've made the decision - in this case Fey, other writers, directors, producers etc - where they discuss the issue. Why they chose to use blackface, what the intention was in the episode, why they've changed their mind on that decision, whether they feel the original intention still works or not, their thoughts on blackface in comedy then and now, and what is different in the cultures of the two times. Not in a half-arsed 'we're sorry' way, just a genuine, frank discussion. They could attach that to the episode in question on streaming services. If I was a young comedy fan I'd find that more interesting.

This is, apparently, exactly what will accompany Gone With The Wind when it comes back.  Obviously everyone involved with that from a creative point of view must be dead by now, so it'll be critics, historians and biographers, etc.

It's a good idea, I think, and one that works regardless of what type of media or genre it is.

[Gurke and Hare]

If I'm a paying subscriber and I've paid for notion of having access to all 30 Rock and Always Sunny and they start removing specific episodes that make each of those series incomplete that is kind of them reneging on what made me subscribe in the first place.

Do any of the streaming services advertise that any particular third party show will be permanently available? If you have signed for a specific show, and some or all of it is removed - and let's not forget, there are reasons (such as rights expiring) why shows might be removed other than interfering far left SJW snowflakes rewriting history your remedy is to cease your subscription.

A more interesting point to me is the contractual basis for the removal between the creatives and the streaming service - presumably there's an agreement between Netflix(or whoever) and the rights holders, and I'd be interested to see the basis on which the rights holders have now gone back on that.

[evilcommiedictator]

Simply put, digital archiving isn't going to be a thing while DRM exists.

hahhhahahahahahahahahahahhahahah get your Da, he's out again.

[Shit Good Nose]

Do any of the streaming services advertise that any particular third party show will be permanently available? If you have signed for a specific show, and some or all of it is removed - and let's not forget, there are reasons (such as rights expiring) why shows might be removed other than interfering far left SJW snowflakes rewriting history your remedy is to cease your subscription.

A more interesting point to me is the contractual basis for the removal between the creatives and the streaming service - presumably there's an agreement between Netflix(or whoever) and the rights holders, and I'd be interested to see the basis on which the rights holders have now gone back on that.

VERY rare for in-perpetuity rights to be granted these days as the differing digital platforms are a much more tantalising financial prospect for the rights holder.  Digital streaming licenses tend to be sold to a third party on, typically, a 1 or 2 year basis, whilst physical media licenses are 5, 7 or 10 years (or "FUCK OFF!" if the rights holder is Disney).

I'm not aware of any third party product which is permanently on Netflix, and they certainly have never advertised anything like that for as long as I've been subscribing (although, having said that, Netflix are pretty poor at advertising the stuff that's about to be removed - I have to use a third party crowdfunded/volunteer website for that).  I doubt there is on Amazon Prime either, but there are some old TV shows still on there now that were on there when I had a free month about 8 years ago.

Rights are sometimes retained by the incumbent if no other party is interested - Netflix have definitely renewed a few things so they stayed on for another year or two - and that could explain why there are still a load of things on Prime that were on there years ago, but that's not the same as retaining them permanently.

[here4glinner]

An aside, I emphasise, but I have rattling around in my head how Black Dresses pulled all their music from streaming services in the last few weeks as part of their decision to disband - but left it up on Bandcamp (where you can stream it all free, as it happens). Very different context: Nothing to do concerns about cancellation but about wanting to limit how people came across the music and reduce... passing interest? Or something like that.

What's the deal with Black Dresses? Some kids were lip syncing to them, and there was some controversy about some adult photos, or something, so they were getting harassed by 4chan?

[Zetetic]

I think it's been various things over the years, really, that came about - certainly in increasing volume - as a consequence being better known and inherently vulnerable. Not sure it's useful to dig through it so much in this thread.

[Andy147]

This is, apparently, exactly what will accompany Gone With The Wind when it comes back.  Obviously everyone involved with that from a creative point of view must be dead by now

Only if Olivia de Havilland has read this thread and died from the shock. (And even then there'd be Mickey Kuhn).

[Shit Good Nose]

When I said creative, I was thinking more directing/writing/producing etc.

[pcsjwgm]

Don't know if this has been posted yet:
https://www.irishpost.com/news/son-of-father-ted-star-dermot-morgan-issues-emotional-plea-amid-calls-for-show-to-be-pulled-from-air-186790

I like that Don Morgan quoted a tweet with "written by Arthur Matthews and NOBODY ELSE".

[pcsjwgm]

"'I knew that Jonah was me': former Tongan schoolboy reveals anger and pain about Chris Lilley character"
https://www.smh.com.au/culture/tv-and-radio/i-knew-that-jonah-was-me-former-tongan-schoolboy-reveals-anger-and-pain-about-chris-lilley-character-20200619-p554db.html#comments

[BritishHobo]

Really interesting read, thanks. Lilley's a fascinating one. I was young and ignorant when I watched Summer Heights High, so none of that ever occurred to me. I think I actually defended him on here when it was announced he'd be doing blackface in Angry Boys. Hang on.

Yeah, here we go:

Yeah, after ranting about this in the Come Fly With Me thread at Christmas I thought maybe it would look hypocritical to then support Chris Lilley, but I really think the difference is between crafting a believable character, and (as was the case with Jonah) having their race be an important part of their storyline, with the islanders, and just blacking up to be a black guy riding around on his 'pussy wagon' and talking like a shit Ali G.

Not so pure and woke after all, were you mate? #CancelTheHobo

But yeah, that turned out to be the immediate bollocks it so obviously already was. S.Mouse was just another attempt to sing edgy and offensive things - and if he had actually been interested in crafting an interesting character, ever, whether it be a struggling Tongan schoolboy, or a black rapper struggling to find his own voice, he could have actually cast a Tongan kid or a black kid and taken some side role. But as people have remarked on here before, he's incapable of letting anyone else have the spotlight or be funny in his shows, so it HAD to be him.

He's on the record as being a cunt about these things. His response to parents who felt he encouraged the bullying of ginger kids was that it doesn't matter, because it's funny. He's played Chinese, Japanese, and even his white characters (thinking Mr. G and Ja'mie for the most part) are often in the Gervais mold of endlessly spouting horrible things about people of other races, about disabled people, about lesbians, and so on, long past the point where irony has dried up, and it becomes obvious he just finds it funny.

[Famous Mortimer]

Unless there's a similar 2011-era post from me defending it, I remember watching an episode of one of his things and not liking it at all. His fame seemed odd to me.

[Tony Tony Tony]

Was up at my parents the other day and Mother reminded me about the Comedian Charlie Williams, who bizarrely had his own comic strip in Shiver and Shake a popular kiddies mag of the early 70's.



No wonder children of the 1970's grew up with suspect attitudes.

[billyandthecloneasaurus]

I doubt the removal of any of these shows or films will mean a damn to their target 18-25 year old audience, who for them Little Britain is some old musty programme their Mum and Dad used to watch when they were upstairs on their Game Boy Advance, watching Spongebob on their DVD player and/or playing McFly's first album on their iPod Mini.

I have two friends in their early 20s who haven't heard of OFAH or Fawlty Towers at all, but were horrified to recently find out that I wasn't aware or had ever watched an episode of Stranger Things or Sex Education. They were also confused when I remembered watching Friends as a kid as they assumed it was made a few years ago whenever Netflix first added it.

your mates sound well stupid

[Andy147]

Was up at my parents the other day and Mother reminded me about the Comedian Charlie Williams, who bizarrely had his own comic strip in Shiver and Shake a popular kiddies mag of the early 70's.

No wonder children of the 1970's grew up with suspect attitudes.

"what be up with moi cousins over thar" - so in the strip Charlie was a Cockney Yorkshireman raised by pirates?

[daf]

He didn't get paid for sweeping the chimney either - worra tightwad!

[Brundle-Fly]

Charlie used to host The Golden Shot. "Alright, my cockles".

[Tony Tony Tony]

"what be up with moi cousins over thar" - so in the strip Charlie was a Cockney Yorkshireman raised by pirates?

Oddly enough Charlie was born and bred in Yorkshire and prior to making it as a comic (and in a comic) he was a pro footballer with Doncaster Rovers. He exploited the incongruity of his accent with his ethnicity to the full in his comedy act. Despite trading somewhat on racial prejudice in his act- he would put hecklers down by threatening to move in next door to bring their house price down - he is cited as a major influence on the likes of Lenny Henry.

[edit]
You have to understand that was perfect for the time that he appeared. It was a brilliant thing, this black Yorkshireman who played football with Doncaster Rovers, who'd had the wartime experience of white Yorkshire people, who talked like them, who thought like them, but who just happened to be black. And when he came along it was astounding to hear this bloke talking like "Eh up, flower, eh. Hey, have you ever been to supermarket where they have the broken biscuits?". I think it was a huge culture shock for people. And Charlie exploited this to the full.

%u2014%u2009Lenny Henry in Windrush %u2013 The Irresistible Rise of Multiracial Britain[   

All round an incredible career with Charlie being awarded an MBE at one point, though he was a bit shit on the Golden Shot.

[Brundle-Fly]

though he was a bit shit on the Golden Shot.

Monkhouse talks about that in his autobiography, Crying With Laughter. He said although very likeable, Charlie didn't have enough TV experience to front the show.


This is priceless. No atmosphere in that studio at all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3jOYLWXPi0

[Gurke and Hare]

There's also every chance he pocketed the money and never saw the strips I'd have thought.

[idunnosomename]

Must be a challenge to draw that strip when it's not printed in colour and the main joke is about what colour people are

[gilbertharding]

Must be a challenge to draw that strip when it's not printed in colour and the main joke is about what colour people are

God gave us letratone.

[Better Midlands]

He didn't get paid for sweeping the chimney either - worra tightwad!

The housewife treated him to a slap up nosh off camera.