For those lucky enough not to see it, Bonekickers (now shortened to Bonkers and with good reason) is television's latest attempt to outrage archaeologists and a good many other people too. I've just watched the trailer for next week's on the BBC's site and it features a buried Mark I tank (a la Deborah). So I will be forced to watch and suffer.

EDIT: Drat, got the title wrong, need a bigger screen so I can see what I'm doing...

David

I thought that was what Time Time was for...

Sorry David...

Henk

Oh puh-leeze! If they were excavating my liver I still wouldn't watch them. Time Team may be a bit glib and sensational but at least it sticks within the bounds of possibility. And it has bearable dialogue.

I want my licence fee back!

Maybe leaving the country to work in France when Time Team came to Essex was a slight over-reaction

David

Bonkers. That is just brilliant. This show is the most utter bilge I have ever seen. Not even so bad it's good, it's gone way past that into so bad I want to put a size 10 through the telly.

Managed to sit through the whole episode without any Elvis TV-destruction moments. The plot was relatively linear and not the usual shopping trolley on acid (not that it made much sense) and the dialogue not too painful. Not until the end anyway when we discovered that the two women were related - Julie Graham may have her points but I think I'd be very disappointed to find her in my family tree.

The BBC cellotaped together a short spot on WW1 tanks for the Bonkers webpage and well don't bother, both of those involved need a good slapping. Stick to the film of Excellent shot back in the 80s for Soldiers.

Davdi

Funnily enough, I coincided with the opening episodes last month when I was in the U.K. and David, I was curious about what your reaction would be

Best I saw so far was the 'True Cross' episode or alternatively Boudicca going from Boudicca to 'Bo-di-sea' and back again.. That was the episode with real impressive Roman hand grenades, Boudicca's Roman boyfriend and the Roman Baths (in Bath).

My doctor hasn't been able to prescribe anything yet apart from 3 trowels dissoved in water after meals.

What kind of archaelogists DON'T have conversations about barrow-runs?

First job I worked on in archaeology, we had road signs on the spoil heap, it was so large We just happened to find the signs lying about.

Bonkers has managed to generate a huge response on the BBC's Points of View website, and also on the dedicated Bonkers page - most of it ranting about how bad it is. I avoided the first two episodes as the content did nothing for me. SWMBO watched the first and wasn't impressed and my other mates in the job were generally dismissive about the techniques used (not a total surprise given the archaeological advisor ). I watched part 3 since it was set in Bath which I know quite well and thought it was just a tremendous mess, and went way over the line between homage and rip-off of the Raiders films. I wasn't too bothered about the random pronunciation of Boudica as I manage three (the current Welsh equivalent is Buddug with the 'dd' pronounced 'th' so it's possible that it could have been Bouthica and not Boudica).

Watched part 5 and it was a huge improvement and it gave me the chance to stick the boot in on Mark Horton and Martin Brown and their woeful drivel about WW1 tanks. Horton keeps promising on the Bonkers page to come back and point out where the series has got its facts right, but never does. Now I'm stuck about whether or not to watch the last part.

It's certainly not the worst thing on the BBC at the moment, but it doesn't do what it said on the tin either.

David

LMAO!

[quoteIt's certainly not the worst thing on the BBC at the moment[/quote]

Nothing will ever take that title while they persist in showing EastEnders nineteen times a week ...

... although wall-to-wall Olympics for the next fortnight will have a damn good try, I'm sure.

Unfortunately, (as I mentioned previously), being in the U.K. for a month made me realize (apart from Torchwood & Doctor Who) just how pitiful British TV actually is.

I guess i'm a little spoiled by having Digital + here. With all the new U.S. series' coming on-air within 10 days, everything in original version and channels such as Sky News it makes me realize just how low down the league Britain's 'terrestial' TV has slipped. Bonkers is a good example, but not, sadly, the only example of the joke that the BBC and ITV have become.

First of all a selection of rants from PoV

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbpointsofview/F1951566?thread=5614222

Have to agree that TV here is pants now, even the second series of Torchwood wasn't as good as the first (IMHO). I did suggest on the Bonkers page that they did a crossover episode with Torchwood though

Last series of Dr Who was a bit swings and roundabouts too, although I did find Catherine Tate far better than I thought I would. She would have made a great Boudica too. Plots of the first couple of episodes were weak - aliens made of fat, Ood, yawn - but it did improve. And coming from south Wales, playing the spot the location game helped filled in the boring bits.

David