[Johnny 1989]

I have only ever "seen" it when people other than me have been in control of the telly, but I have never paid any attention to it. That said, I did go on Youtube to see what the fuss is about with that Susan Boyle woman and I have to say I think she's totally overrated.. she can sing, but she's not as brilliant as people seem to be making out in my opinion.

Exactly the same here. She's got a decent voice but nothing special. It was the odious "voice of an angel / face like a slapped arse" spin the show put on it that built the following.

The YouTube clip confirmed all I needed to know about that show: manipulative and vindictive agenda, audience full of holier-than-thou brainless idiots, poorly edited cut-aways, the criminal Piers Morgan centre-stage with his shit-eating grin. Typical vile and spiteful ITV fodder. I * hate that channel with a passion.

And yet 20 years ago, when you still had Thames & Central, it was Britain's most popular button, still Mrs Thatcher was to blame for the state of TV these days (the broadcasting act of 1990 really * up commercial telly in more ways that one)

[JonnyYesno]

"Countryside = the act of killing Piers Morgan"

S.Fry

[Ed Pummelon]

And yet 20 years ago, when you still had Thames & Central, it was Britain's most popular button, still Mrs Thatcher was to blame for the state of TV these days (the broadcasting act of 1990 really * up commercial telly in more ways that one)

I don't know for a fact, but I wouldn't be surprised if it still was. Still cheap and nasty though. Same principle as newspapers, The Sun has the biggest circulation in Britain and they're bordering on criminal.

"Countryside = the act of killing Piers Morgan"

S.Fry

Lovely, must remember that.

[Johnny 1989]

And yet 20 years ago, when you still had Thames & Central, it was Britain's most popular button, still Mrs Thatcher was to blame for the state of TV these days (the broadcasting act of 1990 really * up commercial telly in more ways that one)

I don't know for a fact, but I wouldn't be surprised if it still was. Still cheap and nasty though. Same principle as newspapers, The Sun has the biggest circulation in Britain and they're bordering on criminal.

Thames television was never cheap & probably provided about 25-40% of ITV's programming, and once they went off air on 31st December 1992 their absence was soon felt. As for Central, they were great & like Thames didn't make cheap programming at all, until Carlton took them over, changed the name from Central to Carlton Central & shut down all their studios, pissing all over the firm that Lew Grade had created back when they were known as ATV

"Countryside = the act of killing Piers Morgan"

S.Fry

Lovely, must remember that.[/quote]

May I quote that for a sig please JonnyYesno

[Ed Pummelon]

For clarity "still cheap and nasty though" was referring to today's ITV. I don't know enough about Thames and Central to have an opinion on that.

[DannyBoy]

man im gonna have a hang over in the in the morning, thats gonnna annoy me!!!

[Yudster]

I have damaged my back. It hurts. A lot. Standing, sitting and walking are all marginally achievable activities at the moment. I'm * angry.

[Sunny So Cal]

Were you working in your allotment at the time? Is this affecting your neck any?

[Yudster]

Its my lower back, my neck is fine and I wasn't doing ANYTHING at the time . One second I was standing normally, next second I couldn't move. I have no idea what's going on but it really really really hurts. I don't think its a disc, or a trapped nerve because if I can find a comfortable place to be then I can move my arms and legs and everything with no ill effects, I assume if it was disc or nerve related that wouldn't be the case. So if its muscular, my guess is that a muscle has gone into spasm and won't come out. I can walk if I am careful, but bending is impossible and if I sit down it takes a long time to get up. It took half an hour to get out of bed this morning and twenty minutes to get down the stairs. I'm sitting in a chair at the moment and not looking forward to trying to get out of it.

What pisses me off more than anything is that I have been feeling physically better and stronger than I have for over a year recently, and now I can't even go swimming again. Although I might try later if people will come with me (I wouldn't go alone, I can't drive at the moment). I'm just hoping it improves by itself, doctors are rubbish about backs.

[SAV1OUR]

My backs bad too, caused by work, I'm booking myself in for a massage.

[foot-loose]

Its my lower back, my neck is fine and I wasn't doing ANYTHING at the time . One second I was standing normally, next second I couldn't move. I have no idea what's going on but it really really really hurts. I don't think its a disc, or a trapped nerve because if I can find a comfortable place to be then I can move my arms and legs and everything with no ill effects, I assume if it was disc or nerve related that wouldn't be the case. So if its muscular, my guess is that a muscle has gone into spasm and won't come out. I can walk if I am careful, but bending is impossible and if I sit down it takes a long time to get up. It took half an hour to get out of bed this morning and twenty minutes to get down the stairs. I'm sitting in a chair at the moment and not looking forward to trying to get out of it.

What pisses me off more than anything is that I have been feeling physically better and stronger than I have for over a year recently, and now I can't even go swimming again. Although I might try later if people will come with me (I wouldn't go alone, I can't drive at the moment). I'm just hoping it improves by itself, doctors are rubbish about backs.

I bolloxed my neck a while back and I went to a chiropracter (or whatever they are called) and he did some crazy moves on it. Would that help if its muscular?

[Yudster]

I used to go regularly to a chiropractor for my neck and it was very helpful - if this doesn't clear up I'll go and see her again.

It has improved over the last 36 hours actually, apart from getting up in the morning which is still tricky, once I've got it moving its a lot better now. Still hurts a lot, but at least I can stand, sit and walk now. Bending is still tricky, but I'm improvising!

[Zoot]

Itchy itchy itchy eyes today, I really shouldn't gave worn my contact lenses.

[Ed Pummelon]

Susan Boyle being taken to The Priory. There's a line being crossed here, and no one seems to care. Funny how Piers Morgan always seems to be around when the shit goes down eh?

[Ed Pummelon]

P.S. And Gordon Brown checking on her progress with Simon Cowell and Piers Morgan. The world's gone mad.

[Yudster]

Susan Boyle being taken to The Priory. There's a line being crossed here, and no one seems to care. Funny how Piers Morgan always seems to be around when the shit goes down eh?

Why are they saying that she started behaving erratically AFTER the broadcast? Her embarrassing behaviour at the end after the result was announced was quite erratic enough to let you know that she has got mental health issues.

I don't really know what the show should have done about her. She can't have suddenly developed mental health problems as a result of the show, if she's really suffering from something significant (and it sounds like she is) then she will have had it a long time, possibly all her life - and if that is the case, no-one could accurately predict what effect appearing on the show would have on her. A doctor friend of mine reckons that on brief observation of her in telly she certainly ticks all the basic boxes for some kind of autistic spectrum disorder, although that's obviously not a diagnosis! So if that is the case, should the producers have taken the responsibility on themselves to exclude her from participation right from the start? I think thats a very difficult decision.

Bottom line - she's a woman who lives independantly and makes her own decisions, so I'm not sure anyone should be held accountable for her behaviour other than herself.

[Zoot]

Ok Yahoo, we get the * point.

[Yudster]

Also - I've now seen the videos of all the performances from the final, and I can't understand why she was even in the top three. My top three would have been Diversity, Shaheem (Shaheen? Shaheed?) and - controversially? - Holly. Those two kids were amazing.

[Ed Pummelon]

Susan Boyle being taken to The Priory. There's a line being crossed here, and no one seems to care. Funny how Piers Morgan always seems to be around when the shit goes down eh?

Why are they saying that she started behaving erratically AFTER the broadcast? Her embarrassing behaviour at the end after the result was announced was quite erratic enough to let you know that she has got mental health issues.

I don't really know what the show should have done about her. She can't have suddenly developed mental health problems as a result of the show, if she's really suffering from something significant (and it sounds like she is) then she will have had it a long time, possibly all her life - and if that is the case, no-one could accurately predict what effect appearing on the show would have on her. A doctor friend of mine reckons that on brief observation of her in telly she certainly ticks all the basic boxes for some kind of autistic spectrum disorder, although that's obviously not a diagnosis! So if that is the case, should the producers have taken the responsibility on themselves to exclude her from participation right from the start? I think thats a very difficult decision.

Bottom line - she's a woman who lives independantly and makes her own decisions, so I'm not sure anyone should be held accountable for her behaviour other than herself.

If she has had mental health difficulties all her life, there would have already been a diagnosis, which the producers should have been aware of. Medical advice should then have been sought before parading her in front of Oprah Winfrey et al, as to what effect this could have on her. Even if there was no diagnosis, if it's so obvious to a doctor or even a layperson watching the show that something is wrong, then there is no way the producers could not know.

In the week leading up to the final it was obvious something was wrong, yet she was somehow persuaded to take part, and now she's being assessed under the Mental Health Act. We've seen it many times with the likes of Big Brother, and now we're seeing it again - contestants on these shows are simply cash cows for the execs. There is no interest for their well-being or health beyond their ability to take part.

The bottom line is not that it's up to contestants to fend for themselves. The bottom line is that the producers on shows such as BGT, Jeremy Kyle, Big Brother and so on have a duty of care to members of the public involved in their shows, which they consistently and willingly flout. All this fluff about her being taken to The Priory now, and how the producers offer her their "ongoing support" is simply window dressing. As soon as they feel they can get away with it without attracting negative publicity they'll drop her like a stone.

The BBC reports her friend / vocal coach as saying ""She just was caught up in all of this and I think that she will never have had an idea, at the beginning, the price that she might have to pay." Too bloody right.

[Yudster]

If she has had mental health difficulties all her life, there would have already been a diagnosis, which the producers should have been aware of. Medical advice should then have been sought before parading her in front of Oprah Winfrey et al, as to what effect this could have on her. Even if there was no diagnosis, if it's so obvious to a doctor or even a layperson watching the show that something is wrong, then there is no way the producers could not know.

I agree, there is no way the wouldn't have known - but the fact remains that any medical opinion she has sought or had clearly indicates that she is capable of making her own decisions. So I'm not convinced anyone else has the right to make them for her, unless she asks them to. She approached the show to take part, not the other way around. She was free to walk away from it at any point, and again, there doesn't seem to be anything in her history to indicate that she wasn't capable of making THAT decision for herself as well. We can only speculate as to why she took part initially and then was determined to continue after she apparently didn't like it, but bearing in mind the potential rewards, personal gain could easily be a reason. Either way she made her decision, for her own reasons, and if it didn't work out, I don't think its right to dump the responsibility on anyone else. I'm fed up with people blaming everyone else except themselves for their own misguided actions.

[Zoot]

I'm wondering if she just had a hissy fit because she didn't win, simple as that.

[Yudster]

I don't think she'd have been hospitalised for that.

[Ed Pummelon]

I agree, there is no way the wouldn't have known - but the fact remains that any medical opinion she has sought or had clearly indicates that she is capable of making her own decisions. So I'm not convinced anyone else has the right to make them for her, unless she asks them to. She approached the show to take part, not the other way around. She was free to walk away from it at any point, and again, there doesn't seem to be anything in her history to indicate that she wasn't capable of making THAT decision for herself as well. We can only speculate as to why she took part initially and then was determined to continue after she apparently didn't like it, but bearing in mind the potential rewards, personal gain could easily be a reason. Either way she made her decision, for her own reasons, and if it didn't work out, I don't think its right to dump the responsibility on anyone else. I'm fed up with people blaming everyone else except themselves for their own misguided actions.

I'm equally as fed up with television production companies absolving themselves of all responsibility on the basis that people enter into them of their own free will. We would not accept that a television programme which involved physical risk (e.g. Beat The Star, Gladiators etc) took place without some kind of medical assessment of the contestants and a producers' right of veto if there was a risk to their health. If a contestant on a show such as BGT has a known or suspected mental condition, then the organisers of the show have exactly the same responsibility.

All of these types of shows, and in particular Britain's Got Talent, display a level of manipulation which goes beyond cynicism and I'm not prepared to believe that this only goes as far as the audience, and I'm not about to excuse them for it.

[Zoot]

I don't think she'd have been hospitalised for that.

Maybe that's the showbiz way of dealing with it though, 'Oh dear, she's screaming and chucking water at people! Better get her into rehab'.
No such thing as bad publicity remember.

[Ed Pummelon]

Good point Zoot. With that level of cynicism you should be working for them