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Earlier this week I was compelled to watch, for the first time, an episode of this program.

Derek Jacobi is one of television's finest actors and he acted superbly. No doubt he had a reason to appear in the series, just as he will have had for The Night Garden, but I'm equally bemused in both cases.

Last Tango in Halifax reminded me of nothing so much as the Ian McKellen version of Cold Comfort Farm but without any of its downplaying of the inherent caricature. It was as close to pantomime as you could get without having the audience shout "he's behind you".

In defence of one of the best BBC TV programs for ages, you really needed to have seen the previous series to know the characters and their relationships to enjoy this Christmas special.

I thought you were opposed to paying a TV licence, I hope you are not doing anything illegal........hope you can avoid watching the program tonight and save yourself any more angst.

I was obliged through unpreventable circumstance last month to buy an annual TV licence.

spot;1504300 wrote: I was obliged through unpreventable circumstance last month to buy an annual TV licence.


A little man with a clipboard knocked on your door ?

No, someone used my wifi to access the BBC iPlayer.

spot;1504302 wrote: No, someone used my wifi to access the BBC iPlayer.


And you felt obliged to get a licence ?

There's not many of us left.

That is one of the few perks of becoming a pensioner - free TV viewing ! Also, for the moment, free local bus travel ! (mind you I would not be surprised if they reverted back to making us owd biddies pay the exorbitant TV licence fee. They've already threatened to cancel the local bus passes !)

The free TV licence doesn't start until you hit 90, it's not the standard pension age.

Loved all the episodes of last tango in halifax. It got me in. I liked the way they portrayed three generations of one family with real world problems, personalities, and situations.

magentaflame;1504386 wrote: real world problemsI'm shell-shocked. You really mean that?

Talk about how the other half live, eh.

Ive seen the whole lot. Trust me....... but maybe ive put it across wrong . I mean no matter your reloes or circumstance domestic violence, murder, heart attacks, homosexuality, lying over a lifetime about illegitimate children, your kid getting a girl pregnant, nasty unforgiving personalities, etc etc. Is every families experience to some degree.

magentaflame;1504390 wrote: every families experience to some degree


I'm quite sure none of my relatives had a heart attack.

Lol..... theres still time

magentaflame;1504392 wrote: Lol..... theres still time


Heaven forbid........................but Spot does stress over the small stuff far far too much.

What still amazes me though is the fact you guys still pay for tv lisences. They stopped that here in the seventies. But what really boggles my mind is people think pay tv is a luxury......wt? Back to paying for television that will or already has, been played on free tv .....go figure

Bruv;1504393 wrote: Heaven forbid........................but Spot does stress over the small stuff far far too much.


Tis the season for it.

magentaflame;1504394 wrote: What still amazes me though is the fact you guys still pay for tv lisences. They stopped that here in the seventies. But what really boggles my mind is people think pay tv is a luxury......wt? Back to paying for television that will or already has, been played on free tv .....go figure


All TV is paid for, we pay either with commercial TV with adverts, or watch the BBC paid for with a licence fee.

The premium channels over here,Sky, you have to subscribe to and they insult you with adverts.

Stop the Presses! Spot Likes Something! :yh_clap

Yeah, this show has been playing for years here on PBS. I am also a great fan of Derek Jacobi since "I, Claudius" days. I don't watch this particular show, there is so much excellent TV on I don't have the time!

Yes, the Licensing! Those vans going around my neighborhood at night searching for unlicensed TV was really spooky. Suppose it's done digitally now? Or do the vans still roam?

Cat detector van........:yh_rotfl...... sorry flashback. Government funded men in vans slowly trolling the streets. Only in Britain.

Yes Bruv, your right. We pay for ABC tv and radio through taxes. Although the government just slashed the ABC budget. Its not peesonal taxes though but the main federal budget.

God i remember I Claudius when i was a kid. He did panto too didnt he. I saw him in a britsh black and white show or film recently as a very young man. Cant think of the name.

AnneBoleyn;1504399 wrote: Stop the Presses! Spot Likes Something! :yh_clap

Yeah, this show has been playing for years here on PBS. I am also a great fan of Derek Jacobi since "I, Claudius" days. I don't watch this particular show, there is so much excellent TV on I don't have the time!

Yes, the Licensing! Those vans going around my neighborhood at night searching for unlicensed TV was really spooky. Suppose it's done digitally now? Or do the vans still roam?


I don't think Spot said he actually liked anything, he is far too high brow to enjoy the entertainment of the hoi polloi, he only compared one show with another from memory from when telly was black and white.

Those TV detector vans were a scam...............apparently, they appeared on the streets, with a directional satellite type dish on the top, and everybody ran out and renewed their licence.

These days when you buy a TV the authorities are informed, then they have you for life.

magentaflame;1504402 wrote: God i remember I Claudius when i was a kid. He did panto too didnt he. I saw him in a britsh black and white show or film recently as a very young man. Cant think of the name.


We're thinking of the chap who played the Emperor Augustus without a beard. The bearded version is called Brian Blessed. And that bald sexy captain of the Enterprise played the jumped-up palace baddie in the later episodes. The world stopped making television like that until HBO came along.

The detector vans were always fake - a total bluff.

I still believe the T.V. Licence to be illegal. It contravenes the monopoly laws. I don't get a choice as to who provides my T.V. Licence. The contract automatically goes to the BBC. Furthermore, I have to pay for it, whether I use their service or not, simply because I own the means to do so. It's as if there was a law that said I had to pay a fixed rate to Esso for my petrol, whether I take my car out or not, despite the fact that whenever I do I fill up I do so at Asda. Furthermore, look at just how much of the programming is new & how much is rehashed repeats. Look at how much is low budget dross. The BBC is a primary shareholder of UKTV, and most of the more popular programmes tend to be made for & on behalf of this network (Dave, in particular), which is packed with commercials, so for the BBC to claim that they do not do Commercials is total BS - plain & simple.

The BBC is supposed to be politically unbiased - that, in itself, is a total joke.

Abolish the Licence.

I would pay double to be without advertising every 10 to 15 minutes.

Bruv;1504424 wrote: I would pay double to be without advertising every 10 to 15 minutes.


So would I

I happen to think, when compared to pay per view, the BBC is great value for money. There's much that they do, far better than the commercial stations.

I had Sky TV years ago but never again.

Don't worry the tories plan to sell off the bbc to rupert murdoch.

Earlier this week I was compelled to watch, for the first time, an episode of this program.

Derek Jacobi is one of television's finest actors and he acted superbly. No doubt he had a reason to appear in the series, just as he will have had for The Night Garden, but I'm equally bemused in both cases.

Last Tango in Halifax reminded me of nothing so much as the Ian McKellen version of Cold Comfort Farm but without any of its downplaying of the inherent caricature. It was as close to pantomime as you could get without having the audience shout "he's behind you".




I'm puzzled, if you find yourself viewing a programme you don't like why do you continue watching it? I turn off programmes I find boring on a regular basis.

gmc;1504446 wrote: I'm puzzled, if you find yourself viewing a programme you don't like why do you continue watching it? I turn off programmes I find boring on a regular basis.


He's bought a licence so he watches everything.............so he can complain ?

I would as soon stop watching something I'd started as not finish a book, it would be bad form in either case. It would be impolite.

spot;1504461 wrote: I would as soon stop watching something I'd started as not finish a book, it would be bad form in either case. It would be impolite.


You must force yourself, I managed to watch about 10 seconds of both of your videos before deciding they weren't for me and ended my agony.

How come you are watching the dreaded video these days I thought it was a security risk ?

spot;1504461 wrote: I would as soon stop watching something I'd started as not finish a book, it would be bad form in either case. It would be impolite.


How, why, "impolite?" It's hard for me too, for God's sake, I just read Enchantress of Florence. I needed to stop, my mind was begging me to stop, but wanted to finally know the damn end. So, I read the last chapter (#19) but admit to skipping over #s 16, 17, 18. That Salman Rushdie is a.....................very verbose gentleman.

Salman Rushdie is a wordsmith and there are few enough of us for such laxity to be excused. Knowing how a story ends is the least part of the experience, what matters is savoring the journey.

I have one machine dedicated to running flashplayer but with no access to any of my files, emails or passwords. Segregating functionality - my wife detested that word - is essential, it's like handwashing.

As for not watching the whole of the Vitas video, that's just not on. I chose it, I presented it, nobody should just walk past it.

spot;1504472 wrote: I have one machine dedicated to running flashplayer but with no access to any of my files, emails or passwords. Segregating functionality - my wife detested that word - is essential, it's like handwashing.

As for not watching the whole of the Vitas video, that's just not on. I chose it, I presented it, nobody should just walk past it.


Belts and braces man obviously.

Its a Bovril thing.......you like it or loathe it......I have no power over my dislikes......to suffer further than a taster would be silly.

spot;1504353 wrote: The free TV licence doesn't start until you hit 90, it's not the standard pension age.


Perhaps you have got the info slightly wrong ? Official TV Licensing website - Over 75 TV Licence

My hubby qualified for this 3 years ago ! It covers all people who live with the applicant.

Ah. 75. Perhaps I'd thought it had been put up like retirement.

spot;1504412 wrote: We're thinking of the chap who played the Emperor Augustus without a beard. The bearded version is called Brian Blessed. And that bald sexy captain of the Enterprise played the jumped-up palace baddie in the later episodes. The world stopped making television like that until HBO came along.


I know what im talking about, ive watched the series twice now in my lifetime.