Great British Railway Journeys - Michael Portillo's television series

[whole diary]

[Btline]

Has btline not yet commented on the inclusion of a clip of the fgw loco hauled set in todays Settle & Carlisle programme? 

I'm getting behind in watching them (only seen first 3) - they're stacking up on my V+ box though!

[devon_metro]

Watch out for 1 min 37s then 

[Btline]

I've now finished the first journey, and have to say that continuity certainly got their act together from Pontefract onwards!

I mean, the cameraman even followed Michael onboard!

[Btline]

Ok, I don't want to labour the point/ bore you to hell, BUT....

In the Preston episode, start watching from about 2.30 mins. The overhead shot of the train coming into the station is a 158, he is on a 156, the platform shot of the train coming in is a Pacer, the internal shot of Portillo opening the doors is a 156 and the external shot of him stepping out is a 185!
 

Agggrrrh, is someone at the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) doing it deliberately to raise my blood pressure? And I havn't even started on the accuracy of the route map at the beginning of the episode. Since when was their a direct line from Blackpool to Morcombe Bay?

Before people moan, the latest episodes have been excellent, esp the Settle to Carlisle one. All the above is " :p ".

[Btline]

Watch out for 1 min 37s then 

Well, I watched out and missed it. (looking for an external view of the set! )

But B hell, when I looked at 1.37 on iPlayer, it stuck out like a sore thumb!

[JayMac]

Here you go Btline.......

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbpointsofview

Pass on your critiques. You never know you might find fellow pedants!*

 

*BTW^▸ (by the way), I am a fully paid up member of 'Pedants Unanonymous'

[TerminalJunkie]

Since when was their a direct line from Blackpool to Morcombe Bay?

If you're going to attempt pedantry, you should at least do it properly. It's "Morecambe Bay".

[6 OF 2 redundant adjunct of unimatrix 01]

he didnt say there was...he said he was making the next leg from blackpool to Morecambe Bay

[Btline]

he didnt say there was...he said he was making the next leg from blackpool to Morecambe Bay

Ahhh - one of MY pet hates!!! 

 I must have been in a hurry. Really there is NO excuse to make such a woeful grammatical error. There not their. Apologies...

PS: In Wednesdays programme, why was there a sequence shot at Highley station on the SVR? (the bit with sheep on trains)

[6 OF 2 redundant adjunct of unimatrix 01]

is Ahhh in the dictionary?

[inspector_blakey]

Just got round to the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) land week, and watched the Swindon - Bristol episode. Did it strike anyone else that every time he was on an FGW HST^▸ (High Speed Train) they removed the antimacassars from the seat? I can only assume that was to avoid giving "undue prominence" to the FGW logo but it seems a bit over the top given all the external shots of NXEC^▸ (National Express East Coast), Northern, Virgin, FGW and XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) trains in all their liveried glory there have been up to now!

[IanC]

Heads up for those who'll be out and about around Christmas / New year time, that a new series of Michael Portillo journeying around Great Britain will start on Monday 3rd January

DOCUMENTARY:  Great British Railway Journeys
Channel: BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) 2 Wales
Date: Monday 3rd January 2011
Time: 18:30 to 19:00 (starting in 14 days)
Duration: 30 minutes.
Brighton to Crystal Palace. Series 2, episode 1.
Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with a copy of George Bradshaw's Victorian Railway Guidebook. In a series of five epic
...
 the underground quarries of Godstone, and discovers the wonders of the Crystal Palace in suburban south London.
 (Stereo, New Series, Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described)

And there'll also be a 'sequel' to Ruth Jones' drama 'Ar Y Tracs' (On the Tracks) on S4C on New Years Eve, with a repeat showing of the Christmas special they did last year about the 'Welsh Railway Company' journey between Swansea and Paddington on the 26th December.

DRAMA:  Ar y Tracs
Channel: S4C Digital
Date: Saturday 1st January 2011
Time: 21:00 to 22:30 (starting in 13 days)
Duration: 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Y Tr^n I'r G^m.
It's the weekend of the big game. Wales v England. There's excitement in the air, and the tickets are like gold dust. Soon the trains will be packed full of
...
ers on their way to the Stadium, the Welsh Rail crew trying to keep them all in check. Join Reality, Pandora and the team as they go on another colourful adventure.
 (Stereo)

[JayMac]

*Bump*

The new series of Michael Portillo's Great British Railway Journeys starts tonight on BBC2, 1830.

This time round, 5 'journeys' each of five 30 minute episodes Mon-Fri for the next 5 weeks. That's 12^ hours of almost prime-time TV dedicated to the railways of the UK^▸ (United Kingdom). Well done BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)!

Week one is a journey from Brighton to Cromer.

Week two follows the route of the 'Irish Mail' from Ledbury to Holyhead.

EDIT: Also, following, on BBC4 at 1900 is a repeat of John Sergeant's Tracks Of Empire about the railway legacy the British left in India.

[willc]

Week two follows the route of the 'Irish Mail' from Ledbury to Holyhead.

A route which will come as news to anyone living in Herefordshire, or anywhere else in the Marches, given that the Irish Mail ran Euston-Crewe-Holyhead. Still no-one seems to care these days, given there are those steam-hauled tour trains running around everywhere claiming to be the Cathedrals Express, even though FGW^▸ (First Great Western) still operates regular services using the name.

[JayMac]

Indeed willc. I was merely quoting from the Radio Times.