Author: Stuart Kemp

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Tony Hall

LONDON – BBC director general Tony Hall has said loud and clear that the BBC should look into actors who mutter in drama shows on the public broadcaster.

Hall told U.K. TV listings magazine The Radio Times, which was until 2011 owned by BBC Worldwide, that actors aren’t speaking clearly enough in TV drama.

“I don’t want to sound like a grumpy old man,” Hall told the Radio Times, “but I think muttering is something we could look at.”

A BBC blog said Hall’s comments will “likely to strike a clear chord with viewers.”

It pointed to recent dramas such as Birdsong and Parade’s End which drew complaints because of indistinct dialogue from older viewers.

Andrew Billen, TV critic for The Times of London, told the BBC blog that he gets more mail about not being able to hear dialog than on any other subject.

“TV is made by young people, but it’s watched by old people,” he noted.

Billen said that as people get older they find it more difficult to distinguish dialogue from background noise and production techniques have made things worse.

Actor Ian Kelly, whose resume boasts stints on TV dramas including Downton Abbey told the BBC that most performers are just doing what’s been asked of them by the producers and directors.

“Everything that is going on is to do with the sound department of the production, and their choices in an edit suite,” he says.

Matt Smith as ‘Doctor Who’

LONDON – British actor Rory Kinnear, the center of a fanboy and media firestorm of speculation surrounding his prospects of becoming the new Doctor Who, has shot down suggestions that he could get the role.

Kinnear, whose resume boasts turns in Skyfall and Quantum of Solace, told The Independent in an interview he had never watched the cult BBC show.

“I don’t where it [speculation] came from and how these things evolve. I haven’t been and I am totally certain that I will not be asked to be the next Doctor Who,” he told the Independent. “If I was an actor who was really longing to play Doctor Who, then this would be torturous, but it’s a program I’ve never watched, so I don’t even really know what it is.”

Matt Smith, who first made his debut as the Doctor in 2010, will depart following the 50th anniversary Doctor Who special that will air Nov. 23 and the annual Christmas special.

His intentions to leave in June this year sparked widespread debate across the Internet, social media and the British media over who might take up the role. Kinnear was listed by some bookmakers as the favorite to land the role.

In the U.S., Doctor Who airs on BBC America, and is the cable network’s highest-rated series.

Doctor Who is produced by BBC Cymru Wales.

BBC

Richard Hammond, Jeremy Clarkson, James May (left to right).

LONDON — BBC Worldwide, the U.K. public broadcaster’s money-making arm, has scheduled seven days dedicated to the popular motor sport show, Top Gear, for a new programming initiative billed as “Top Gear Week.”

The BBC division said the shows would screen across the BBC branded channels network worldwide, running Aug. 19-26.  

Top Gear   Week aims to blend classic Top Gear moments with new challenges and segments, in the special line-up of programs including Top Gear’s Top 41, Top Gear Top Fails, Top Gear Festival – Sydney and The Worst Car in the History of the World.

STORY: Jeremy Clarkson Joke On ‘Top Gear’ Ruled Offensive

Top Gear’s Top 41 will be presented by Richard Hammond and will count down the show’s 41 best moments over the years, with a new segment of the countdown revealed nightly.

Top Gear Top Fails is billed as a celebration of the “How hard can it be?” endeavors of the show, including some of the most memorable “ambitious, but rubbish” challenges, as well as many lesser-known, but no less destructive, adventures — again, hosted by Hammond. 

Top Gear Festival — Sydney will follow the British presenting team on a trip to Sydney, Australia to a festival at the Sydney Motorsport Track.

Promising Jeremy Clarkson, James May and the Stig, the two-day festival aims to include the world’s fastest cars and guest-star appearances from some Australian sporting legends.

STORY: BBC’s ‘Top Gear’ Didn’t Defame Tesla Vehicle

The Worst Car in the History of the World will see Clarkson and May identify, name and shame the world’s worst motor.

Top Gear’s Top 41, The Worst Car in the History of the World and Top Gear Festival — Sydney will screen across BBC Knowledge (Nordics, Poland, Asia, Australia and South Africa), and BBC HD and BBC Entertainment in Latin America where the week will also feature Top Gear Top Fails.

Top Gear Week is the latest programming initiative to be announced for BBC Worldwide’s network of channels following the recent commissions for Glastonbury 2013 and Really Cool Stuff.