Bill Oddie In Trouble
Viewers of BBC2's Autumnwatch complained last night after host Bill Oddie broadcast video film shot at his home in Hampstead. It showed a grey squirrel lying dead next to an electric cable it had tried to bite through. Oddie, 67, was heard laughing as he told viewers: "It's not a sleeping squirrel, he's literally dead," and joked: "You squirrels, don't do it. Better red than dead."
Jane Marshall, 42, who was watching with her three children, said: "It seemed as if Bill Oddie was getting a kick out of filming a dead squirrel."
A BBC statement said today: "Autumnwatch has a duty to show nature 'as it is', which sometimes includes scenes of death."
Seriously, Jane Marshall? You're that upset over a dead squirrel? What naturalist worth his salt doesn't get a kick out of investigating dead stuff? Someone send that woman a copy of Last Child In The Woods.
Don't worry, not all is bleak for Mr. Oddie. If you're on FaceBook, you can join a Bill Oddie fan club called Bill Oddie, Bill Oddie, Rub Your Beard All Over My Body. Wonder if anyone will ever start a Kenn Kaufman or David Sibey fan club like that on FaceBook?
David Sibley, David Sibley, rub your...
never mind.
posted by birdchick at 9:49 PM
8 Comments:
FWIW, I get very upset when I see dead birds/animals (especially when humans had something to do with it), and don't appreciate animal death or cruelty that's played for laughs. I doubt I would've complained about that particular show, but I probably wouldn't have tuned in again, either.
klia
P.S. I appreciate the warnings you put on certain posts.
As a long-time residentn of the UK (21 years) I feel that I must address the points you raise in this post.
Firstly, the "brew haha" over Russel Brand and Jonathan Ross was a HUGE scandal for the BBC in the UK (not just England) and the reason people "have their panties in a bundle over their hosts." is that the BBC depends on public funding (via the TV licence fee) which is NOT voluntary. The case is especially explosive because the salaries of Brand and Ross are paid by taxpayers. A TV license fee of almost 140 pounds ($220) a year is levied on every British household with a TV.
Also, this latest Brand/Ross scandal is the latest in a string of embarrassments for the BBC (the world's biggest public broadcaster). In July it was fined 400,000 pounds after a string of shows faked winners of their competitions.
Secondly, Autumnwatch is supposed to be a family show and even though I personally wouldn't get upset over seeing the dead squirrel, it might offend some people and in this case I think the heartless offhand comment from Bill Oddie is more likely to offend some viewers. His 'joke' was in poor taste but he was probably laughing because the dead squirrel was grey not red. The sad fact is that the native red squirrel population is dwindling drastically because the grey squirrel (introduced to Britain from North America) has given a virus to the reds, and the grey squirrels have 'squeezed out' the reds from their natural habitat.
Mauren, I think the Brouhaha over Brand and Ross was an huge scandal for the media, more than for the general public, although I agree a lot of it was due to the high fees paid to Ross and Brand from licence fees.
Bill Oddie - I personally find him rather irritaing at the best of times, but entirely agree with Sahron that it's rather OTT to complain about his comments about the squirrel. 'Nature red in tooth and claw,' and all that..
As I said, I personally wouldn't have got upset about seeing the dead squirrel, if I had seen the show. I agree that it was rather over the top for anyone to complain about Bill Oddie's comment about the dead squirrel although I can also understand how some viewers might not appreciate his attempt at humour.
As Maureen said, the TV license is not optional by any means. I just spent a year in England and was constantly sent letters at my accommodation asking if I wanted a license for my TV. I didn't have one, but the building did.
But yes, the grey squirrels carry a virus known as the parapox virus. Apparently it does not affect them, but it does affect the red squirrel with boils and skin leisons. It can kill them in approximately 2 weeks. It has decimated the red squirrel population.
Laws in the UK, or at least England, do not allow the capture and re-release of a grey squirrel. If a grey squirrel is caught it is not allowed to leave alive.
The grey squirrel was brought over to England by a few Brits who thought they were interesting exotic species. Historical patterns have a way of repeating themselves. ' "Oooohh shiny" mentalities' is what one of my professors called it.
Ah, that's just Bill Oddie for you. He's been grumpy all week.
That said it does seem a bit of an overreaction on some viewers' part-- more a knee-jerk reaction to the idea of joking about death at all, rather than the relative appropriateness of airing images of a dead squirrel on a pre-watershed programme.
A BBC statement said today: "Autumnwatch has a duty to show nature 'as it is', which sometimes includes scenes of death."
Lived my whole life thinking that electrical wires were not part of nature. Stupid Me! Thanks, BBC!
bill oddie was just trying to not make wildlife be so serious so he made a joke to make the scene from sad to good again
peaple will complain at anything these days
email me vanwindenjonathan@googlemail.com
Post a Comment
<< Home