Joe Joseph of the Times reviews the latest edition of the BBC’s series of speculative mini-dramas set in the future, “If… the Oil Runs Out.” Ten years may have gone by, Western civilisation may be grinding to a halt, but the BBC hasn’t changed.
Interviews with oil analysts were interwoven with a mini-drama spun around an abrasive, career-minded American geologist who thinks she has located oil in a wildlife haven in Alaska. She is married to a sensitive Englishman who thinks that what’s important in life is starting a family, and being sensitive; by, for instance, letting his cleaning lady bathe her children in his house when she can’t afford to pay her soaring heating bills. The wife’s mid-Western parents are selfish, consumerist, thoughtless gas-guzzlers who drive an SUV the size of Shropshire: maybe the scriptwriter just asked Ken Livingstone to give them balanced guidance on the essence of the average American.
OK, guess what happens next. Did you guess that enough oil is found to keep everyone happy, and scientists find new ways of burning fossil fuels that aren’t polluting? Then you are a moron. What happens is that society breaks down, and we start behaving like barbarians, and have fights in petrol queues. The geologist doesn’t find oil. She becomes pregnant, after a draining spell of fertility treatment, and realises she must save the planet for her new baby. In short, the drama’s plot was not the area where the budget for this programme was lavished.
BBC missed a trick there, normally they`d have aborted the baby in order to prevent the birth of another consumer of fossil fuel.
This suffered from the same fault as all these junk futurist dramadocs – they completely ignore feeback.
They posit that everyone will just sit around blaming Bush, Reagan and Thatcher and not react to changing circumstances. It’s as if we all live in Hampstead/Islington and vote nulab.
Didn’t the BBC just part fund and show a miniseries where the US Navy caused the Bermuda Triangle?
Ralph | Homepage | 01.06.06 – 12:30 am
I am confident that, judging by their record, the beeb are expert at proving something is true when carefully researched evidence shows it to be untrue. See the link:
http://www.unmuseum.org/triangle.htm
I am willing to bet that if you referred the beeb to the above link they wouldn’t take any notice.
This is the real tradegy of the beeb’s fixed mindset.
gordon-bennet
I am 100% certain that the BBC would not pay attention to 1000 links like that everyday, true though it is. Equily sure that the British public will not either. Could someone explain how this drip drip thing is supposed to work. As I can only see drip drip working if the “great unwashed” actualy know something is dripping.
Gary Powell | 01.06.06 – 2:11 am
Allow me to begin with a cliche. Big oaks from little acorns grow. (Huge applause from onlookers as this unique and original insight is unveiled.)
I should think that many movements started with small beginnings. Let’s face it there was only 1 mohammed to start with but now we have a worldwide terrorist organisation.
I think the general msm inadequacy meme is spreading quite rapidly through the blogging world and that affects the beeb, if only in a small way at the moment.
We believe that the beeb is monitoring this blog and that could have a cumulative effect. However, the big problem for us is that the most effective PR organisation (the beeb/grauniad axis of weevils) isn’t going to give us much exposure.
I think a good objective would be to get the Conservative Party to declare that they will institute an independent complaints procedure for the beeb – the equivalent of the IPCC(?) for the Police, only staffed with non-lefties. Then we could really get going.
gordon-bennet: “I think a good objective would be to get the Conservative Party to declare that they will institute an independent complaints procedure for the beeb – the equivalent of the IPCC(?) for the Police, only staffed with non-lefties. Then we could really get going.”
Here’s a much better objective Gordo: Kill the bloody beast!!!
My idea.
Get TV-Tax payers to elect the BBC board.
Point is virtually anything is better than what we have now. Their are many idears, but what is needed is a proper national debate. The BBC has bebated its own exsistance before, which was a televisual joke. I dont think advocates of DRIP DRIP have any idear how the real world works. Just indulging in wishfull thinking, and trying to increase the importance of their own work. Which may I add is very interesting and usefull for further investigation, but is politicaly, compleatly useless. I have heard BBC nobbs saying that if the people dislike the BBC so much “how come there has been no riot yet.” and then laughing.
Wake up people you are their petty bourgeoise. You in their brave new world must be made exstinct if socialism is to be victorious. This may not be a revolution, more slow painless death. However the future consiquences for your freedom can only be imagined. If you cant organise a publicity campaigne, to fight for what your grandfathers may have died for, then you and your childen will deserve the future you will have.
Please could you discuss this on the open thread. Thank you.
I presume the program didn’t mention Canadian shale oil ? Theres loads of the stuff but its only economic to get at when the price is $70 of so. Thankfully I didn’t watch this program as I knew it wouldn’t have done my blood pressure any good and I knew what was coming anyway.
I could be wrong but as near as I can recall we’ve been ten years away from the End of Oil for about thirty years now.
Did they get real Americans to play the American characters or use Brits with those totally phony accents.
BTW the part of Alaska where some of us want to drill is avoided even by the Wildlife.
They used Brits with phony accents in the gelbart play so what else could we expect.
Production values are crap for a lot of BBC output. Phony plot (as in the oil play case) phony characterisation – and often piss-poor acting.
Roxana
I will collapse with amazement the day the BBC mentions that a lot of eco-freak nonsense is preventing the exploitation of huge US oil reserves, especially offshore and in Alaska.
I dare say if the BBC had been around when the Tectonic plates of Pangea split…they would have Blamed “man” for chipping away at cave walls……..
Of course the real problem with the BBC lies and propaganda, is it will give people the false impression that they can control the weather on Earth…..just by recyling their beer cans and crisp packets…….
When the real message should be “get ready for change, as there is nothing we can do to control the environment on this planet…….”
BBC bias towards America;
How the BBC reports when you build your city on a mud flat from the US;
“Parts of New Orleans had been sinking much faster than previously thought before Hurricane Katrina hit last August, new research suggests.
Subsidence may explain why some levees were easily breached by floodwaters, the study in the Nature journal says.
It says some very low-lying areas of the US city should not be rebuilt, describing them as “death traps”.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/5035728.stm
And from Italy;
“A team of scientists from Scotland is to play a major role in the efforts to stop the romantic Italian city of Venice from sinking into the sea.
The city is threatened year after year by rising sea levels and increased flooding.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/1840168.stm
So while the BBC is more than happy to refer to the sinking ground in the US as death traps, in Italy the situation is explained by;
“The city is threatened year after year by rising sea levels and increased flooding.”
So Al Beeb care to explain the reason why New Orleans is sinking into the ground?
[The comment originally made by a person posing as regular commenter “dumbcisco” has been deleted. ]
Edited By Siteowner
Actually pounce (or is that ponce?), US navy engineers have said it is their fault the levees were breached.
THE POST AT 2.46pm IS A FRAUD. SOMEONE HAS BEEN MAKING POSTS IN MY NAME FOR THE LAST 2 DAYS.
Nath said;
“Actually pounce (or is that ponce?), US navy engineers have said it is their fault the levees were breached.”
No it’s pounce as pounce is a little toy cat that my girlfriend likes to travel the world with;
http://img483.imageshack.us/img483/4013/19206lq.jpg
But going back to how Al Beeb can construe a story about New Orleans as a death risk and the same story about Venice as something romantic.
The simply fact remains that a lot of New Orleans is actually under Sea level.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8d/New_Orleans_Levee_System.gif
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that at the end of the day nature always wins.
So why or why does the BBC in its daily bitch about the US omit that salient fact that water always runs down hill.
Oh by the way I visited New Orleans in 1992 on R and R from Belize.
I hear Mayor Nagin, (of ‘Chocolate City) fame got reelected thanks to black racism and assorted conspiracy theories about nasty whites wanting to destroy black neighborhoods. Mind you these same black neighborhoods are the ones beneath sea level….. Mabye the BBC would like to rethink its position here?