TV Licence Inspectors

[fredfertang]

I was sat in court once when some impoverished single mother was up before the beaks for not having a TV licence - in those days most of them were gentlemen farmers who had no concept of the law at all, and the chairman of the bench on this occasion amply proved that when he announced he was going to endorse the poor girl's licence - in fact iirc it was in Basingstoke - pa sledger may therefore have witnessed or heard about the chorus of ridiculing laughter that was brought forth

 

[sledger]

A compulsory fee to the government to watch TV sounds like a huge farce. Is the existence of this ever debated by the legislature? The BBC must enjoy a high public approval rating to pull off something like this for so long, not that it's any justification.

Any move to abolish it would inevitably be cast as an evil move to cut public services and would play into the hands of the evil private sector, and as a result I think most parties are disinclined to go near it. The Tories clearly hate the BBC though, and the BBC no doubt hates them right back.

I think over time the BBC will just die off. Or at least it will as we know it. Maybe not in our lifetimes, but the age of "broadcasting" as traditionally understood is dying. The advent of social media, the Web, and on-demand/over-the-top services means there just isn't anywhere near as much of a demand for it as there once was. The way it operates now just isn't sustainable in the long run, because more and more people simply won't have any demand for it.

 

[sledger]

I was sat in court once when some impoverished single mother was up before the beaks for not having a TV licence - in those days most of them were gentlemen farmers who had no concept of the law at all, and the chairman of the bench on this occasion amply proved that when he announced he was going to endorse the poor girl's licence - in fact iirc it was in Basingstoke - pa sledger may therefore have witnessed or heard about the chorus of ridiculing laughter that was brought forth

that's great.

I remember one time I watched a trial there and the defendant was acquitted. The magistrate said to this bloke (who was up on an assault charge iirc), "we believe there is reasonable doubt as to your guilt, but please never do it again". You can probably imagine the reaction of the CPS counsel.

Edit: There was also a time where some guy was charged with failing to keep his dog under control after it bit someone, and he actually brought the dog into court. Despite all the evidence, including photographs of the bite, the magistrates said "oooh, looks like a nice little dog", and let the guy off. Dire really, but you had to laugh.

 

[Pothas]

Said it before but wish I could just pay for their radio.

 

[sledger]

Said it before but wish I could just pay for their radio.

Yeah, I too would go for this, given the option.

 

[Niall]

that's great.

I remember one time I watched a trial there and the defendant was acquitted. The magistrate said to this bloke (who was up on an assault charge iirc), "we believe there is reasonable doubt as to your guilt, but please never do it again". You can probably imagine the reaction of the CPS counsel.

Edit: There was also a time where some guy was charged with failing to keep his dog under control after it bit someone, and he actually brought the dog into court. Despite all the evidence, including photographs of the bite, the magistrates said "oooh, looks like a nice little dog", and let the guy off. Dire really, but you had to laugh.

Tbf Jezza and his mob also hate it just as much as the Tories.

 

[OverratedSanity]

What an odd country.

 

[Uppercut]

Tbf Jezza and his mob also hate it just as much as the Tories.

Yeah it famously gets heavy abuse from both sides for being biased against them. They like to claim this means they "must be doing something right", but all it really means is that both sides are wankers.

Corbyn's crowd took it to a new level. When he gets elected misogynistically abusing Laura Kuenssberg will be our new national sport.

 

[sledger]

It's easy to see why the BBC cops it so much though. For whatever good programming it is responsible, it also churns out a lot of absolute bullshit.

I remember one time a few years back when they sent a reporter for BBC news to Siberia to do a story on the fact that it was cold there. Great use of the licence fee.

And then you have all the high salaries being paid to wastes of skin like Lineker, Norton and Balding.

The "if you don'y pay them big money they will all go to private providers" really hacks me off as well. Especially Lineker. What the **** does he actually do that is good? I'm serious, what good does he do? Are people seriously suggesting that people will go "ah nah I'm not up for watching Match of the Day this week" if he was removed? I just really do not understand the purpose of him. You could have MotD presented by a dog and the audience figures would not change. Should just sack all of these ****s and pump the money saved back into actually making more stuff that isn't total garbage.

Edit: Speaking of garbage. **** Doctor Who. And especially **** Sherlock. And especially **** Moffat. WAC.

Edit: And that ****ing Wimbledon 2 abomination, or whatever it was called. And so many other things. Jeez it grinds my hears.

 

[harsh.ag]

On board with especially **** Moffat. WAC.

 

[sledger]

On board with especially **** Moffat. WAC.

I say this as someone who used to be a huge fan as well.

 

[harsh.ag]

Yeah. The Coupling days.

 

[Furball]

Haha, I'm annoyed now for bottling it after ignoring letters for 4 months.

 

[Teja.]

I And especially **** Sherlock.

This is such a trashy show. The stories usually have a slow build where you pay attention to details and an awesome pay-off at the end when Holmes connects the dots. The best part of the stories was that most data was equally available to you prior to the conclusion - so people, especially kids, get a sense of wonder at how someone playing on the same field could connect everything.

The show trades this in for getting as many cheap pops for meaningless moments of 'brilliance' and stupid condescending wisecracks as they can get off in 60 min with zero ****s given about the quality of the storytelling.

 

[Burgey]

Tv licences are stupid. Just pay for your public broadcaster through consolidated revenue like normal people do.

 

[Dan]

****s me off that they've barred access to iPlayer through VPNs, and then on top of that require you register for an account, provide a shitload of personal information, and promise that you really do have a TV license.

I just want to watch Gunpowder from outside the UK ffs.

 

[fredfertang]

It's easy to see why the BBC cops it so much though. For whatever good programming it is responsible, it also churns out a lot of absolute bullshit.

I remember one time a few years back when they sent a reporter for BBC news to Siberia to do a story on the fact that it was cold there. Great use of the licence fee.

And then you have all the high salaries being paid to wastes of skin like Lineker, Norton and Balding.

The "if you don'y pay them big money they will all go to private providers" really hacks me off as well. Especially Lineker. What the **** does he actually do that is good? I'm serious, what good does he do? Are people seriously suggesting that people will go "ah nah I'm not up for watching Match of the Day this week" if he was removed? I just really do not understand the purpose of him. You could have MotD presented by a dog and the audience figures would not change. Should just sack all of these ****s and pump the money saved back into actually making more stuff that isn't total garbage.

Edit: Speaking of garbage. **** Doctor Who. And especially **** Sherlock. And especially **** Moffat. WAC.

Edit: And that ****ing Wimbledon 2 abomination, or whatever it was called. And so many other things. Jeez it grinds my hears.

Hope the hangover has gone today

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Haha they must have known you were here. Went through a spate of activity just before you arrived and after you left.

It would've been gold conversation. I had this whole thing planned out where I was going to act ignorant of what a TV license was, then get the guy to explain the process in detail. Shame it never came to pass.

Yeah. The Coupling days.

**** I love Coupling. Absolutely fantastic. Still struggle with the Giggle-loop to this day.

 

[sledger]

Just come and stay again imo.

 

[Prince EWS]

Free helicopter rides for these people, IMO.