Open Letter To Andy Wilman

[AstonMartin]

Dear Mr Wilman

I would like to politely ask you and the TG team to have this wonderful show of yours put finally on DVD with lots of extras, notes, commentaries one day soon...

Please

Otherwise we have to start a petition on the Nr. 10 website !!!

Thank you

AM

[Hawaj23]

I second!

Seriously, I think it's about time to release TG boxsets. I know that their hesitation has something to do with previous TG DVD sales were not so good. But please BBC people, they were rubbish! The show has 5 million viewers every single week, so market is there to exploit!

[GraemeH]

IF they could publish them intact. If they'd have to replace music with JC DVD style low budget replacements edited in, it wouldn't be the same.

I'd love to see them go overboard with extras too (and it shouldn't be hard, surely there's a LOT of film left on the cutting room floor, so to speak, even if it isn't as well presented as the main clips).

I'd buy them anyway for sure.

[paul007]

Haven't you lot heard of SKY ?

[LoneWolf]

Originally Posted by paul007

Haven't you lot heard of SKY ?

Do you mean the crappy UKTV versions?

[LoneWolf]

Originally Posted by Hawaj23

I second!

Seriously, I think it's about time to release TG boxsets. I know that their hesitation has something to do with previous TG DVD sales were not so good. But please BBC people, they were rubbish! The show has 5 million viewers every single week, so market is there to exploit!

Remember the BBC is, strictly speaking, a non-profit organisation.

[Hawaj23]

Originally Posted by LoneWolf

Remember the BBC is, strictly speaking, a non-profit organisation.

Yes, but that doesn't seem to hold them off from releasing and making money off the Doctor Who DVDs (to give primary example) or any other of their drama/comedy/documetary series. If you check your local BBC Shop you'll find that a lot of things form vast BBC archives had already been put on DVDs. I can't see why they can't do it with TG.

PS. Licensing music could be a serious problem though...

[yusha]

Originally Posted by Hawaj23

PS. Licensing music could be a serious problem though...

Thats the biggest problem for the BBC. Taking permission from the record companies to use their music on the DVD would be very complex and time consuming. Other then that BBC probably will have to get permission from all the copyright holders. That should not be a problem though.

Music is the problem. If they edit out the music and use something else it wont be any good. But surely there must be a way out to get all the music licensed.

[Danny Tran]

id buy that

[Jezzabelle]

Can you just box up Jeremy & send him 'Very Special Delivery' to me? I promise I'd look after him very well & hand him back for filming days...

Might need a nice car to keep him happy too. I think a Bugatti Veyron would do it.

Thanks x

[The Chad]

I might be ignorant, but wouldn't the BBC have to have agreements with the labels to even include the music on the broadcasted show? I can see re-negotiating for DVD but I would assume the "hard" part has already been completed.

I believe Top Gear magazine is a separate entity from the show because the magazine is for profit, but it does carry the BBC if I remember correctly. But still, there are many BBC shows on DVD so I cannot see why it couldn't be done.

I know, for not living in Britain, I would gladly buy the DVD sets simply because I'm not paying the licensing fees that you British have to pay but I still enjoy the show every week and feel that I should support it's cause.

[LoneWolf]

Originally Posted by Hawaj23

Yes, but that doesn't seem to hold them off from releasing and making money off the Doctor Who DVDs (to give primary example) or any other of their drama/comedy/documetary series. If you check your local BBC Shop you'll find that a lot of things form vast BBC archives had already been put on DVDs. I can't see why they can't do it with TG.

PS. Licensing music could be a serious problem though...

Fair point. Problem is Doctor Who or other stuff BBC releases is under nowhere near the pressure TG is under (from eco-maniacs and what not) so if BBC did release DVD's, they'd just start howling about BBC using TG as cash cow and wasting license fee payers money blah-de-blah.

And as another poster rightly pointed out, music licensing is a big problem. A big part of TG's appeal is their superb use of music at the right time, if you look at the crappy UKTV versions, they practically murder the episodes because they change the music (and the ad's pi$$ me off no end).

[LoneWolf]

Originally Posted by Jezzabelle

Can you just box up Jeremy & send him 'Very Special Delivery' to me? I promise I'd look after him very well & hand him back for filming days...

Might need a nice car to keep him happy too. I think a Bugatti Veyron would do it.

Thanks x

Jezabelle, I am fascinated (perhaps that's a strong word), what exactly do you find attractive in JC? I mean, speaking as a bloke, he's my fave TV presenter, and he has a fantastic mix of humour and knowledge, as well as his general character. But why would girls find him attractive?

I mean I get why girls like Hamster, and maybe if it's a lady similar to Jezza's age that's understandable, but he's the least likeliest guy I would expect girls to fancy.

Am I missing something? Is there something about middle-aged, beer belly guys with fuzzy hair?

[Narcolepsy]

The Office (UK) is available on DVD for sale over here. Whats the difference? There has to be a way. Other than that - Mr. Williams we'd love to see more of you on the forum.

[ttyrants911]

Originally Posted by Narcolepsy

Mr. Williams we'd love to see more of you on the forum.

Just as long as he sings "The impossible dream" and "Can't get used to losing you"

[ttyrants911]

Originally Posted by LoneWolf

Jezabelle, I am fascinated (perhaps that's a strong word), what exactly do you find attractive in JC? I mean, speaking as a bloke, he's my fave TV presenter, and he has a fantastic mix of humour and knowledge, as well as his general character. But why would girls find him attractive?

I mean I get why girls like Hamster, and maybe if it's a lady similar to Jezza's age that's understandable, but he's the least likeliest guy I would expect girls to fancy.

Am I missing something? Is there something about middle-aged, beer belly guys with fuzzy hair?

Lonewolf, the reason for Jezzabelle's admiration is many layered, but i think a couple of reasons could be that both Jeremy and James spend less time in the bathroom then women do (which is rare in men these days), and they don't spend all their waking hours talking about football and tits!
And its the voice. Chicks dig a husky/velvety voice. I think we can thank Mr Marlboro for that!

And in regard to the dvd's, I wrote to Alix Tidmarsh (Marketing Director of BBC Worldwide) last year about marketing offical merchandise to help add a few coffers to the TG tin, and their reply?
"Unable to do so" (even though I pointed out about Doctor Who, Little Britain and all the other shows that have DVD's and merchandise associated with them on sale in the high street).
So I don't know what their future plans could be, if any.

[Ottobon]

open letter and this is what you do with it? if andy ever reads this i just wanted to say keep up the good work!

[LoneWolf]

Originally Posted by ttyrants911

Lonewolf, the reason for Jezzabelle's admiration is many layered, but i think a couple of reasons could be that both Jeremy and James spend less time in the bathroom then women do (which is rare in men these days), and they don't spend all their waking hours talking about football and tits!
And its the voice. Chicks dig a husky/velvety voice. I think we can thank Mr Marlboro for that!

And in regard to the dvd's, I wrote to Alix Tidmarsh (Marketing Director of BBC Worldwide) last year about marketing offical merchandise to help add a few coffers to the TG tin, and their reply?
"Unable to do so" (even though I pointed out about Doctor Who, Little Britain and all the other shows that have DVD's and merchandise associated with them on sale in the high street).
So I don't know what their future plans could be, if any.

Ah, I see now. Yes I agree, unlike Hammond, Clarkson and May are men of a rare breed (and becoming rarer). Despite the increasing female viewership, TG is one of the last few 'blokey refuges' us blokes can tune in to, to get away from Eastenders, X-Factor, Desperate Housewives and what not. And we have largely Clarkson and May to thank for that

[Reboot]

Originally Posted by The Chad

I might be ignorant, but wouldn't the BBC have to have agreements with the labels to even include the music on the broadcasted show? I can see re-negotiating for DVD but I would assume the "hard" part has already been completed.

No. Life on Mars, for instance, had to replace most of the music on the S1 DVD.

If you see a DVD with music as-broadcast, assume that the rights were negotiated for home video (which, these days, means DVD) release, probably in-perpetuity, before the initial broadcast. Given the BBC's clear lack of interest in DVDing TG properly, I doubt that was the case.

[Dansgirl]

I think a DVD is a fantastic idea and one that they really should seriously look into. Most artists are more than happy to have their music featured on something such as this simply because its another way of the great public hearing their music, for them its almost free advertising. At a guess I think very few artists would refuse permission for use that I know of.

And dont even get me started on the ad breaks on the UKTV re runs