Rob Gilroy: Making A Stand #46
You hear that squelching sound? That’s the sound of me squeezing my dainty legs into a pair of wellington boots.
Want to know why? Because I’m about to wade into a national comedy debate. I was going to splash out on a pair of those welly/trouser things but decided against it. They’re only going to get smeared in gunk and muck and stuff.
It was announced this week that the BBC are going to axe their ‘youth’ channel, BBC 3. Although if you ask me; you can’t get much more ‘youth’ than Cbeebies – they must be learning how to stab people somewhere.
Before it goes ahead, the announcement has yet to be green-lit by the BBC Trust, in the same way your mum had to say it was OK for you to play out with Ben, even though he smells of sweat and once watched a pirate VHS of Candyman.
The reaction to the announcement has been as mixed as a bag of broken biscuits. Some people, including notable comedic figures, believe it’s a real blow to people starting out in the industry, who may need a low-key space to try out new and alternative comedy ideas.
Others are glad to see the back of the channel that gave us Freaky Eaters, Snog Marry Avoid and 20 Stone Sinatra. I may have made that last one up.
Some also see BBC 3 as a waste of license-payer’s money and an affront to people’s decency with shows like My Dad the Heroin Addict. May have made that one up too.
I remember those heady day when it was first announced. It arrived on the scene as BBC Choice – my generation’s moon landing, but fronted by Pauline Quirk and broadcasting middle of the road programmes. It was short-lived and before long was rebranded as BBC 3 – the Pepsi Max of the broadcasting corporation.
BBC 3 was, lest we forget, launched by Steve Coogan in the guise of Paul and Pauline Calf (maybe they just had a thing for women named Pauline?).
It was the first time the characters had appeared on television in almost ten years and certainly seemed to be a sign of the channel’s commitment to comedy. Add to that the first episode of Little Britain which also aired that night and the channel was certainly heading in the right direction.
During my teenage years, BBC 3 was home to some of the comedies I loved most – Nighty Night, High Spirits with Shirley Ghostman, Cyderdelic, Gavin and Stacy and Human Remains.
Not to mention its commitment to previewing other alternative programming – it was on BBC 3 that I first saw a brilliant documentary about The League of Gentlemen hosted by Adam Buxton.
For a long time it was the place where new, exciting shows started out and, along with their relationship with companies such as Baby Cow, it cemented the channel’s place in the comedy landscape.
If I’m being honest though, over the last few years my view of BBC 3 has been less than positive. Several new comedies have come and gone and I’ve barely tittered a raise. This may be because it’s terrible comedy, lowest common denominator stuff but equally it could be because it’s comedy that isn’t aimed at me.
I am not their demographic. No matter how many times I Vaseline my legs into a pair of skinny jeans or use the word ‘random’ without any sense of context or meaning, I will not be their demographic. While this sometimes drives me to despair and madness – often while sitting through some dire sitcom and crying into my unproduced screenplay – I respect the fact that some people like it.
At 26 I am no longer the target of ‘youth orientated programming’. And mentally, I haven’t been for a long time. But I am glad it’s there. I’m glad that while I wear down my Billy Joel CDs, there is Radio One broadcasting to swarms of young people all seeking individuality though beanie hats and massive scarves. They don’t bother me so I don’t bother them.
Likewise, BBC Parliament has its fans. And while I would like to count myself among them, I’m not. It doesn’t offer around-the-clock, undiluted access to the houses of power a la Big Brother, as the title suggests.
But the thing is; I’m paying for that and every documentary about long boats and ARENA on Neil Sedaka that BBC 4 has to offer. Yes, some of my pennies are spent on The Dog Who Barked a Spleen (BBC 3, Thurs 9pm) but they also paid for House of Fools, The Thick of It and Uncle. That’s a pretty good trade off to me.
I think it is sad that we’re losing BBC 3, even if it’s only in telly-format. I think it’s a real loss. Not just for whoever pens the next Mongrels, but to whoever writes the next Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps and whoever convinces people to strap on a pair of overalls for Sheep Dip LIVE.
Losing BBC 3 is losing a valuable source of output for many, but especially young people. At a time when politics seems to shun them left, right and centre, it’s a shame to see the BBC – a publicly funded company whose remit is to appeal to everyone – turning its back on a diverse range of young people.
I know it will appear in iPlayer mode and deep down we all know that’s how telly is going, soon we’ll be paying Netflix for the pleasure of sitting through our video of Torquay 2009, but that isn’t good enough.
While television is still one of the most popular mediums, and the BBC a company that tries not to bow down to outside pressures and biases, it should be appealing to everyone, and being seen to do so.
Even if that does mean sitting through three more series of My Heterosexual Ghost.
Rob can be seen next at The Stand in Newcastle for the Tyneside Mind fundraiser on Sunday 9 March, then Hilarity Bites’ new material night on Monday 10 March and at the North West Comedy Collective in Blackpool on Thursday 13 March.
