The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off

[Damini]

That's fair enough. To be honest, I didn't watch it to be uplifted, to be amused, to cry. In fact I was quite shocked when those things happened. I watched it because I was curious about a medical condition that makes people's skin "fall off". Thirty seconds in, I realised this was going to be very, very different, and I'm glad it was. Some of it was scripted - it was what Jonny wanted to say, this video was his parting wish, but some of it was spontaneous. TV companies aren't charities, and I don't think any of us are naive enough to believe otherwise, but this wasn't just any other documentary by numbers.

If I'd recorded it, I'd send you a copy Tom, but sadly I didn't. I'd be really interested to hear your opinion after you'd seen it. Hopefully it will get repeated at some stage.

 

[Tom]

I'll set my Tivo to record it if its repeated.

I'm a big fan of television. Some of the best things I've ever seen have been on TV, my favourate, a documentary called Station X, about the Bletchley Park codebreakers. I love working in television.

You have to bear in mind that this program, while produced with the best of intentions, is part of a process that demands that commissioning decisions are in part, made based on the profitability of the programme, ie the advertising revenue generated by its transmission. While the end result is still to inform, educate, and entertain (in that order), the whole backbone of television in this country is now being run by accountants, who don't see the value of the above mission statement. The programme title says a lot.

Most programs are shot with one camera, so all those programmes you see, where for instance, the presenter knocks on the door, and the occupants answer, and then the camera 'cuts' to inside the house - that will have been shot about 4 or 5, or even 10 times. I'm willing to bet that on whatever interviews with this poor man were done, what you won't hear is the director interrupting the answer, and saying things like "sorry, but you won't hear my questions in the edit, so could you answer in context". That happens all the time. Its done with good intentions, but it completely eliminates spontenaity, on all but the most serious of interviews (putting an infamous person on the spot, for example).

I have a certain sympathy for Channel 4, they have changed so much from their original outlook, they're just a foil for BBC2. Remember Planet 24? The Tube? They just don't do programming like that anymore. Big brother is a case in point, its not at all any kind of experiment, its purely advertising-driven, and a sign of what is happening to TV in general.

</rant>

 

[Mazling]

There was a scene in which Jonny was trying to put his cap on. His hands being what they were (try making fists and then taping yourself up) he failed, and shouted at it "c**t!". I too have what most people would call a perverse streak of curiosity when it comes to rare diseases, and that was probably about 80% of why I wanted to watch the prog. I'm glad the program was what it was.

I'm not too arsed that the program wasn't made entirely without thoughts about money or freak show value or whatnot. If you want to bring back "The Word" then ... good luck