Very Bad News

[GreenEyesToo]

Okay. In the article I posted on the last page, Danny Cohen is quoted as saying "BBC Drama has a lot of very exciting projects in development <...> and going forward we've taken the decision to look at some of these new titles rather than commission a second series of Zen."

So they want to concentrate on new stuff - although Zen is hardly old.

So how come he then says, regarding the announcement today of a second series of The Accused, "we're delighted to commission a second series." And this is despite BBC Drama Controller Ben Stephenson saying "(although) the first series rated modestly......"
www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2011/02_february/24/accused.shtml

And from Digital Spy:

The BBC has recommissioned Jimmy McGovern’s latest drama Accused - despite disappointing ratings and criticism of its portrayal of the armed forces.

<.....> The original series, which aired in November, lost 1.5 million viewers during its six-episode run (from 4.7 million to 3.2 million), and one episode drew criticism from MPs and senior military figures including former army head General Lord Dannatt, who described it as “a nasty programme” <.....> Cohen and Stephenson also opted not to bring back Left Bank detective series Zen, which had averaged 5.7 million viewers and an AI of 87.

Stephenson said: “We are very proud of the first series, but have a lot of good scripts coming through, which we are excited about. It’s never an easy decision, but ultimately we had to ask whether we should not progress one of those in order to bring back Zen, and decided not to.”

www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?p=48359102

So let me get this straight. A classy series that gets good ratings and mostly very positive reviews gets canned, and a series which gets disappointing ratings and complaints from MPs gets renewed?

Oh, silly me! The Accused is about ordinary people. We must fill the BBC with dramas about ordinary people!!

[rai]

I like Jimmy McGovern's stuff and I watched The Accused series. It was very well done, but extremely depressing. All I can think of is money - perhaps Zen cost more than they were willing to spend, having cast & crew in such a marvelous location like Rome, while The Accused and other shows are filmed at home. But it wouldn't be proper for Dumb Danny to admit that, would it?

It's self-torture, I know, but I watched the behind the scenes extra on the Zen DVD last night and it killed me even more that the show could be over for good.

Rai

[tipou]

rai, i think you put the finger on it.
"blue collar" is less expensive. and they want us to believe that is what people want, a cheap caricature of what tv execs think the people is.
coming from a "blue collar" family myself, i think this bbc decision sounds even more insulting than it did yesterday.

[vmaciv]

You hit the nail on the head. And if they are publicly funded it is actually your money they are spending on a show that cannot draw ratings. I also think they like the controversy. It shows their independence. I am very happy they had to admit what morons they are.

Quality wins out. I am now certain someone will pick up ZEN. How stupidly clumsly of them. They are actually dumber than the US tv execs.

[germanlady]

Feb 25, 2011 2:27:22 GMT vmaciv said:

Quality wins out. I am now certain someone will pick up ZEN.

Keep my fingers crossed that you are right.

[kissmekate]

Feb 24, 2011 23:44:47 GMT GreenEyesToo said:

So let me get this straight. A classy series that gets good ratings and mostly very positive reviews gets canned, and a series which gets disappointing ratings and complaints from MPs gets renewed?

This is totally ridiculous!!

Oh, silly me! The Accused is about ordinary people. We must fill the BBC with dramas about ordinary people!!

Who wants to see ordinary people all the time? (This is not to say that can't be interesting, but still it's fun to see something else for a change, particularly if it's as feel-good as Zen.)

tipou said:

"blue collar" is less expensive. and they want us to believe that is what people want, a cheap caricature of what tv execs think the people is.
coming from a "blue collar" family myself, i think this bbc decision sounds even more insulting than it did yesterday.

I'm so with you on that, tipou!

I found an article on a German-language website, lamenting the BBC's decision on Zen, with some comments praising the series's qualities and one person even saying that they loved the series although they usually couldn't stand Rufus

Seems to be causing quite a stir, which is hopefully good ...

[robela]

I totally agree with all your comments. The Jimmy McGovern dramas were good (I myself only watched one) if a bit depressing, but the BBC used to stand alone here in UK for excellence in drama and other programme types. They are now rapidly going downhill (and not just because of axing Zen). The dramas they are showing now are really poor and are not getting good viewer figures.
I do not understand why they say they have to axe Zen so that they can concentrate on more of the The Accused. Why cannot they show both they are different and both good quality and would appeal to a larger audience.
I, like a lot of others are totally dismayed by their lack of foresight and will be keeping my remote control away from their channel in future.

From now on I will take the advice of GE2 and others here and write to other t.v. channels to support Zen. I don't believe that a programme that is so well crafted in every way will not be seen again !

[kygal]

Agree with the cost factor and expense of a series being part of the decision. Seems no one cares for quality or what the people want. I still like Zens chances, but trying not to get my hopes up to much. Have been down a similar road before. Plan to enjoy my dvd this weekend!

[kissmekate]

I recently put the Zen ringtone on my company mobile. Hardly anyone ever calls me on that, unless I'm travelling, but now that Zen's been axed it keeps ringing. That's what I call ironic ...

[rueful]

There's a twitter account for Zen associated with the facebook group now. twitter.com/DetectiveZen

Please retweet any of their campaign tweets, if you think appropriate.

[kissmekate]

So I'll have to get a Twitter account after all Thanks, rueful!

[walt]

Upon my request I just received a message from the German ZDF (public tv sender) that they have co-financed the Zen films, but they are not dubbed yet and that the ZDF has no idea when they'll be broadcast. -

Pity! I had some hope that if they were to be seen here soon and had a good feedback from Germany it could be helpful to convince other tv companies about the Zen films....

Anyway, it was worth to try...

[kissmekate]

That seems to be the ZDF's standard response

(Nevertheless I'll keep pestering them!)

[VictoryGirl]

I hope they're not as stupid as BBC! Fingers crossed...

[robela]

I know that the BBC recommissioning Zen is history now but here is their reply to my complaint:

"Thanks for contacting us. We have received complaints from some viewers unhappy that Zen has been decommissioned.

BBC Drama has a lot of very exciting projects in development and going forward we have taken the decision to look at some of these new titles, rather than commission a second series of Zen. We've recently announced five new commissions including One Night - a four part drama from Paul Smith, called The Midwife - a six part adaptation by Heidi Thomas of Jennifer Worth's best selling memoir, and a three part adaptation of Great Expectations by Sara Phelps to mark Charles Dickens' bicentenary.

We hope that fans of Zen will take to these new dramas in the same way.

We would like to assure you that we've registered your comments on our audience log. This is the internal report of audience feedback which we compile daily for all programme makers and commissioning executives within the BBC, and also their senior management. It ensures that your points, and all other comments we receive, are circulated and considered across the BBC.'

Regards

BBC Audience Services


On a more positive note I have written to ITV and Channel 4 extolling the virtues of Detective Series Zen.

There are a lot of people unhappy about what has happened apart from ourselves so we must remain positive that someone will commission another series.

After all Andy Harries and Left Bank Pictures must hold a lot of clout with t.v. companies and the number of complaints and letters written in respect of Zen must prove something!