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The British Academy Television Awards: the aftermath

A Bafta award
  • Posted at 2:44pm
  • 21 April 2008
  • by AlisonGraham-RT
  • 5 comments

It's the nanosecond of hush that's the big giveaway…that tiny, barely perceptible pause between the winner being read out, and the start of the applause.

However fleeting, it's a foolproof way of telling when a Bafta TV Awards audience is wrongfooted. It's easy to measure, and lasts just long enough for a horrified, semi-audible exclamation of "What???!" before you slap your weary, unwilling hands together, just out of strained politeness. Or, more likely, you don't bother at all and to hell with seeming bad-mannered.

There were quite a few of these charged mini-silences at last night's British Academy Television Awards ceremony at the London Palladium. We tapped each other indignantly on the shoulder and we let our mouths drop when Fonejacker was announced as best comedy programme. Fonejacker? FONEJACKER? Some Channel 4 nonentity consisting entirely of prank phone calls, better than the inspired Russell Brand's Ponderland, The Armstrong and Miller Show and Star Stories? No, no, no. And again, no.

And if it's possible to flounce while remaining seated, we flounced, tutted, wailed and groaned when The Street was announced, for the second year running, as best drama serial, thus beating the brilliantly inventive Life on Mars AGAIN. It's perverse decisions like these that annoy viewers (it is crucial to remember that LoM won the audience award last year) and that really ought to prompt Bafta to examine its shortlisting and voting processes. Yes, of course The Street won because The Street is the sort of show that Bafta juries, made up of industry "insiders" and not viewers, love: grim, gritty, northern and with lots of shouting. If Life on Mars devotees in the audience – and there were a lot of us – were crushed, imagine the utter disenchantment of the Life on Mars team. I spoke to Philip Glenister - officially the Nicest Man in Television - afterwards at dinner and he couldn't hide his disappointment. This was, after all, Life on Mars's last chance to win anything, ever.

Glenister was also part of the Cranford contingent, the other big loser of the night. Yes, Eileen Atkins quite rightly won best actress, giving possibly the best speech of the night in the process, but Cranford should have taken best drama serial. Again, that old Bafta mojo was at work and Britz won. Britz was a good, if flawed C4 drama about a young British Muslim woman suicide bomber. But best drama serial? No. Britz, though, is the kind of drama that wins Baftas. Are you getting the idea? Hard, contemporary and with a tough "message". There's no place for bonnets here.

**

Alison Graham is TV editor of Radio Times.

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Comments

  • Posted on 23 April 2008
  • at 8:05pm
  • by Jacky7

Hi Alison, Its good to read your comments about this years baftas, I watched this year certain that life on mars was going to pick up the award and sat there in amazement when the street was called out. I thought surely things will get better, we have cranford's award to look forward to maybe this time we will get to see the wonderful Phillip Glenister up on the stage and yet again we were denied such pleasure. What is going on, who are these people at BAFTA? Where have they been living? Mars!! What is fonejacker? I am reassured to see I am not the only person who has never heard of it!

I read your column weekly keep up the good work!

  • Posted on 22 April 2008
  • at 7:35pm
  • by DebbieO

Dear Alison, I have to write and say how wholeheartedly I agree with you, who are these people that decide who the BAFTA goes to? I actually turned the show off after Fonejacker won because I just knew that it was going to be one of those nights when Programmes I have never watched or even heard of were going to win. When I checked the results later I was glad I chose not to waste 2 hours of my life watching this drivel. I cannot belive that once again something as popular as Life On Mars is overlooked for The Street, i've never heard of it! Shame on BAFTA. I also agree with your comment in last weeks RT asking what does David Tennant have to do to even be nominated . Clearly the BAFTA panel are not representative of the viewing publics opinions . I love your column keep up the good work in RT every week!

  • Posted on 22 April 2008
  • at 5:29pm
  • by AlisonGraham-RT

That’s very kind, Acquitaine, thank you. I can only admire the fact that you go to so much trouble and expense as an overseas viewer to secure the best British TV dramas. We have a lot to be proud of, I think, and our viewers are passionate – just look at their devotion to Life on Mars.

  • Posted on 21 April 2008
  • at 10:38pm
  • by Aphra

I'd never heard of Fonejacker, but I doubt it's the sort of thing I'd be sorry to miss. Who chooses the winners? How could they not choose Cranford? What's a Bafta worth when they ignore some of the best talent?

  • Posted on 21 April 2008
  • at 10:30pm
  • by acquitaine

Thanks Alison - as an admirer of LOM and Cranford in Canada I was as shocked as many others were to see that they won nothing but the well-deserved Best Actress. The fact that there are many North Americans who go to great lengths financially and practically to see these programs is a testament to their quality. I doubt that The Street has such a big following over here!

Lovely comment about the exceptional Philip Glenister - and a nice perception about "the pause". I take it that it felt different than the "other pause" - that moment of breathless amazement between when a theatrical curtain falls on genius (Elling?) and when the applause breaks out? Sorry you had to experience so many pauses of the wrong sort at the BAFTAs. Thank you for supporting LOM as strongly as you have and for continuing to do so here.

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