What are you watching?

Brilliant

Now how in hell did this one slip by my attention? I have Netflix, am always looking out for a good comedy (Arrested Development was a big binge treat for me) and yet I didn't spot it.

Thanks for the heads up, Malf.

The mind-blowing BBC drama "Shooting the Past" (1999), by Stephen Poliakoff. A photographic library is threatened with destruction after it is purchased by an American businessman, and must convince him that it's worth preserving. Starring Lindsay Duncan and Timothy Spall. In three parts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edRP5IphiTE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXmAJQUs9LQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjBl29ajrZk

No doubt our public-service broadcaster will want to stop people watching this as soon as it realises it's available, so it may not be there for very long ...

"Meriel the Ghost Girl" - a 1976 BBC Drama in the "Mind Beyond" series, based on Harry Price's alleged encounter with a materialised girl "Rosalie" at a seance in Brockley in 1937. As far as I know, it's not available online, but it's not too hard to find bootleg DVDs of the series.

I think it's brilliant. The first segment is a wonderfully atmospheric and (I think) reasonably accurate dramatisation of Harry Price's account of the alleged event, in which Donald Pleasence plays the Harry Price character. The rest consists of three more segments, dramatising different interpretations of what happened. An American private eye is hired to investigate, and concludes it was a hoax on the part of the investigator. A psychical researcher (Janet Street-Porter) investigates further, and concludes it was real, despite a confession by one of the other participants. Finally a psychologist concludes it was a group hallucination.

Incidentally, three of the six BBC dramas from the "Mind Beyond" series (though unfortunately not "Meriel the Ghost Girl"), together with two earlier dramas with a supernatural/paranormal theme from the BBC2 Playhouse series, are currently available on YouTube, on this channel. I'd particularly recommend "Mrs Acland's Ghosts":
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0b_cV0...XQg/videos

No doubt our public-service broadcaster will want to stop people watching this as soon as it realises it's available, so it may not be there for very long ...

It is a little odd that the BBC is sometimes draconian when it comes to YouTube users posting their shows while, at other times, whole series are listed without a peep from the Beeb. 

For the last couple of months I've been enjoying catching up with my daily dose of Pointless which I missed after emigrating to New Zealand two years ago.

It is a little odd that the BBC is sometimes draconian when it comes to YouTube users posting their shows while, at other times, whole series are listed without a peep from the Beeb. 

For the last couple of months I've been enjoying catching up with my daily dose of Pointless which I missed after emigrating to New Zealand two years ago.

I can think of at least two different reasons for the variable attitude of the BBC towards sharing of its material. One is the commercial potential - some output is available, perhaps with differing policies throughout the world, in the form of a DVD or set of DVDs - at a price. A related reason is that the material may be owned by some third party, and the BBC has a limited agreement as to its own rights.

Another reason seems less likely to be openly admitted to, that some material may not reflect the current viewpoint of the BBC, and there may be an aim to reduce the availability of material which shows alternative viewpoints. This latter is part speculation, but certainly some old programmes are not selected for rebroadcast even when archives exist - control of corporate image is part of the policy.

In the context of youtube, in practice this may be dependent on the algorithms used in software to scan for copyrighted material. Recently a short segment from a programme on geology which I'd had on my own youtube channel was flagged, though it had been uploaded years ago. I didn't lose sleep over it, the content was non-controversial and it seems the combination of software algorithm and commercial potential were the reason.

Now how in hell did this one slip by my attention? I have Netflix, am always looking out for a good comedy (Arrested Development was a big binge treat for me) and yet I didn't spot it.

Thanks for the heads up, Malf.

Let me know what you think. I loved it, but I'm guessing that it may not be everyone's "cup of tea".

Sam Rockwell and Christian Bale are nearly dead ringers in their portrayals of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.

Looks interesting: