To the Green Fields Beyond

[T13A]

Hi

Sunday 19 November, 8pm, Channel Four, Guy Martin Builds a WWI tank.

Monday 20 November, 100 years since the battle of Cambrai.

Fearnaught

T13A, Out.

[Steve J]

Could be worth watching.

[Leman]

Since I found out about how the BBC messed around with historic timelines to make an episode of "Who do you think you are" more exciting, I'm a bit dubious about their factual output.

[mollinary]

Since I found out about how the BBC messed around with historic timelines to make an episode of "Who do you think you are" more exciting, I'm a bit dubious about their factual output.

[toxicpixie]

Since I found out about how the BBC messed around with historic timelines to make an episode of "Who do you think you are" more exciting, I'm a bit dubious about their factual output.

Ahhh, you've seen their News & Current Affairs output then

[cameronian]

Believe nothing the BBC say, nothing.

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

So FOX News is absolutely accurate ?

IanS

[toxicpixie]

They just have a stronger slant on the same mistruths and bias

At least until we privatise the Beeb fully and hand it to Murdoch, at which point they'll probably sack most of the staff of both and just run the same articles directly!

[Leman]

Re Ian above:
Unlikely, but to mess with the facts about what happened to someone's relative for the sake of entertainment seems pointless to me.

[toxicpixie]

Ahhh but that's traditional in the media, of any era!

See poor old Private Hook, or Hitler's testicle, or the EVIL HUN CRUCIFYING NUNS! That covers the last hundred years, anyone want to chuck in a few examples from before

We shan't mention Richard III and the horrible Tudor hatchet job

[Leman]

I'm aware of all that, but it was mostly done for propaganda. I'm just puzzled about changing an individual's personal history because........ Why not just make a fictional drama instead? What exactly is the point of Who do you think you are if they are willing to do this?

[toxicpixie]

Sex the lot up for excitement. It's the same base cause, get a bit of tension in even when there isn't any.

[mollinary]

I'm aware of all that, but it was mostly done for propaganda. I'm just puzzled about changing an individual's personal history because........ Why not just make a fictional drama instead? What exactly is the point of Who do you think you are if they are willing to do this?

Sorry Leman, I entirely agree with the point you are making, but am entirely unaware of the story to which you are referring. Could you possibly share the details?

Mollinary

[Leman]

In one of the shows a woman's relative (uncle or father) was depicted as being in the 8th Army in Italy, being thrown in at the deep end after only a few weeks training. When the ex-army consultant explained to the production team that the soldier's records clearly showed that he had joined up months before, had gone through both the N.Africa campaign and Sicily and then ended up in mainland Italy, he was told thank you very much but our version makes much better television.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Ahem, let's drop the politics gents.

[Leon]

We'll be on the way back from the Warfare show but I'll be popping this on the planner to record.  I think if we had the resources available, quite a few of us would like to build our own tank!

[T13A]

Hi

When I started this topic off I did say it was about building a WWI tank and on Channel 4 didn't I. I did didn't I? Someone please tell me I did or am I going completely mad? Don't answer that basil.

Confused T13A

Cheers Paul

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

You did old bean, very much looking forwards to it.
Will

[DanJ]

And it was an excellent program, a very good mix of history and modern technology used to create as exact a replica of a MkIV female as possible.

I loved the fact that JCB who built the thing used modern welding techniques but then added all the rivet heads in the right places to make it look authentic.  I was also very impressed by the inside which looked just as full of dangerous machinery as the original; the scene where one of the drive bearing sheared and the tank ground to a halt was rather scary when you realised that the drive chain taking the power from the dif to the sprocket was pretty much exposed and if it had snapped could have bounced around inside the hull.

Even the wife found it interesting.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Agree Dan