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Big Breakfast, The
Should it be saved, or is it time for something new?
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Dan Rose
14th Mar 02
I am aware that Channel 4 have made the decision to scrap
The Big Breakfast. I can only assume that whoever has recently
made this decision is not aware of what is happening to the UK's Media,
and in particular the Television & Broadcasting Sector. At a time
when channels are losing viewers & advertsing revenue in their
masses, Channel 4 have axed a programme with a proven record, good
format and large loyal viewer base. Something, which many programme
makers would scream for today. Contrary to what Channel 4's bosses
may think, viewer loyalty and continuity is harder to build now than
it ever has been, and I for one doubt that its replacement will ever
bring in the numbers that the established Big Breakfast does. Its
true to say that The Big Breakfast had deteriorated somewhat around
18 months ago. This is primarily Big Breakfast's fault in allowing
its 2 main presenters to have contracts that ended at the same time.
Its only because viewers like continuity that the downturn and popularity
of The Big Breakfast suffered as a result of a total change to the
presenter line-up. At the end of the day, I believe the format is
not stale but the management of both Big Breakfast and Channel 4 who
have allowed the programme to destroy itself by not planning for viewers
expectations for the future. I will be extremely sad to see it go
as it was the only 'light hearted' programme I could stand to watch
in the morning. I'm probably not the average Big Breakfast target
viewer (I regularly watch CNBC BBC WORLD etc) but it is an excellent
format and I would encourage you to rethink your decision, before
it's too late both for Channel 4 and its' loyal audience.
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Caroline Nicholson
19th Mar 02
I can't believe you are actually going ahead with the
closure of The Big Breakfast. I have been watching the show since
it's conception and I have seen many ups and downs within the programme,
but to take off the only morning programme that helps me wake up in
the morning is heartbreaking. Are you seriously going to tell me that
Channel 4 still rely on the 2000 randomly picked families to provide
a consensus of what the rest of the country watch. You should know
by now that those figures are not reliable and I would put money on
the true viewing figures being far higher than reported. Please reconsider
your decision to axe the Big Breakfast.
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Lee Raven
19th Mar 02
The Big Breakfast has kept me going for many years now.
My Mum gave me this piece of sagely advice, many years ago. She said
'Son, no matter what you do, always start the day with a big breakfast...
it will set you up for all the crap the world will try to throw at
you through the day!!!' So every morning I sat down to your Big Breakfast...
Now you plan on taking it away... Please save BB, how else will I
make it thru till lunch without it...PS If you do decide to save it...
Can we have Johnny Vaughn back???
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Danny Maher
20th Mar 02
I cannot believe that you ending The Big Breakfast. It's
a way of life! I think that you are making one very serious mistake
in taking yet another programme away that puts a smile on your face
to start the day.
Would it not have been fair to ask the people what they want before
a big fat cat makes this decision for us all. Get real!
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Amanda France
28th Mar 02
Personally I am saddened by the deterioration of the
programme but this is a good move as the show's format has weakened,
perhaps not specifically because of itself, but more by the presentation.
When Big Breakfast started it was considered a new genre therefore
able to move around within itself and so new ideas could be used.
But the show has alsmost 'eaten' itself and as a viewer this becomes
tiresome. for example the 'cheapness' of the proggramme was funny
at first, but again has become a tired format. The postmodernism is
not fully understood by many of the presenters, eg, Amanda. It is
obvious she was chosen for her aesthetic features and perhaps not
as strongly on her comic talent. As a veiwer i suggest you create
a new show that attacks the same target audience, but use presenters
that are more aware of their position. Maybe taking a leaf out of
your other show, T4 and evovle this for more of an overall family
breakfast time viewing. Channel 4 is in a great position for this
time slot within the market and to replace it with yet more childrens
television shows would be a waste.
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Sparkle Shoes
2nd Apr 02
I'm absolutely gobsmacked thinking about the closure
of the Big Breakfast. You have destroyed one of the most unqiue and
proudly British Shows ever. I have grown up with the Big Breakfast
watching it almost everyday. The Big Breakfast has given me a lot
of things, laughter, knowledge and helped me uncover a wittiness I
never thought I had. With a heavy heart Britain says goodbye to a
show that can never be equalled no matter how hard your try. Axing
the Big Breakfast was Channel 4's biggest mistake. However these simple
minded, clueless apes that are in charge of this ludicrous decision
need to know that axing a show that has brought so much pride and
laughter to the nation, have made probably one of the biggest mistakes
ever. myself and the other eager Big Breakfast fans, wait with much
scepticism to see what broadcasting monstrosity you put in its place.
but no other show could share or equal its amazing and undeniable
success. We miss the Big Brekkie, BRING IT BACK!!
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Richard Davies
3rd Apr 02
Channel 4 I would like to air my disgust at the decision
to axe 'The Big Breakfast' after nearly ten years. You have made the
wrong decision axing the programme. The new programme BSKYB and Princess
are working on sounds like utter rubbish, "A TV version of 'The
Sun'" is what one producer was quoted as calling it. Well I'm
sure I'm not the only one who thinks a TV version of 'The Sun' is
a bad idea and will never be welcome in our household. The show sounds
like a farce it is not what most of Channel 4's loyal viewer-ship
want to watch in the morning. Your channel once offered choice - now
it seems you just want to be like everyone else. 'The BB' has gone
and it is a decision you will live to regret I'm sure! The whole channel
is going down hill! You once offered choice, you were once off the
cuff, you were challenging and paved the way for exciting new television
genre's - now it is broadcasting a load of rubbish that mimics every
other mainstream UK television channel; 'Richard and Judy', 'Rise!',
'T4' and many, many more! It is turning into a main stream channel
and that is why you got rid of 'The BB', it is an absolute disgrace
and I can only hope and pray that this new show fails, let's face
it, the format has been done before, and as from Monday morning I
shall be switching to 'GMTV' which will now be the only ray of sunshine
left between 7 and 9! Long live 'The BIG Breakfast' and let's hope
one day it comes back. Please, re consider you have made a terrible,
terrible mistake Channel 4. PS - The contact number is of The Big
Breakfast - it is for you to call up and to apolgise to all the members
of staff you have made unemployed and to all the viewers that are
upset about the loss of the programme.
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Trevor Edwards
3rd Apr 02
Channel 4.... What can I say, I think you have made your
dumbest decision since 1982 today. Taking off the big breakfast NOW
was a strange idea. With the current crew the program had started
to make a go of itself again and was nearly up to the Golden Johnny
and Denise days. Until it comes back, we STOP watching Channel 4!
And a note to Planet 24.... Well done for nearly 10 years, and see
if you can sell the idea, the house, and the crew to Skyone!
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Christoper Underwood
3rd Apr 02
I know that The Big Breakfast ratings have fallen but
the viewers that watch are loyal and what you are going to replace
The Big Breakfast with will not last as half as long. Ihave watched
The Big Breakfast from the start. It changed the face of morning TV,
it made more alive instead dull and drab presenters sitting on a crappy
sofa. We had presenters and crew who are down to earth and fun and
I agree with the comments and actions of the big breakfast crew so
up yours! fools.
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Kate Lowe
3rd Apr 02
The format of the Big Breakfast has stood apart from
any other television show that I can remember. The team involved in
making it, from the presenters to each and every one of the crew contributed
to the best morning TV show ever. The fact is, from my point of view,
there is NO other choice of morning viewing. Nothing else could be
so consistantly entertaining. The fact that the ratings had dipped
was partly due to Johnny Vaughan's departure, but mainly because 'someone'
tried to change the shows format (which quite quickly was changed
back when it became obvious that it was not working.) It was also
due to some bad choices of presenter(s), when the show first had it's
'relaunch', and later. I've always found that the crew and their involvement
in making the show to be what made it stand apart from other programmes.
Getting rid of this show is (not meaning to sound melodramatic here)
like breaking up a family. I think Chris Evans said it all when he
said it was like selling off all of the Manchester United team, whats
the point? I hope, like when they briefly tried to mess around with
the format, Channel 4 will soon see the error of their ways, and will
bring back the ONLY breakfast show.
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Martin Forrest
3rd Apr 02
I, for one, am not going to watch Channel 4 in the future.
I think they gave up on the Big Breakfast a long time ago. After Johnny
Vaughn left they provided minimal advertising at a time when the shows'
profile deserved a much needed boost. As a loyal Big Brekkie viewer
I feel the only way I can have my say on this matter is by using my
remote control to switch off the TV completely.
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Wombat
3rd Apr 02
So Channel 4 have finally gone and done it. The end of
The Big Breakfast. The Big Breakfast was the only morning show that
was fresh and fun in the mornings. This morning there was NOTHING
interesting on TV. Cartoons, 'Popworld' and American drivel are hardly
worth bothering to show at all. It will be interesting to see the
viewing figures for the so-called replacement show 'Rise' and how
fast those figures will probably fall. According to the ratings, BB
was regularly getting around a million viewers again at the end. We
want Mike McClean, Richard Bacon and Amanda Byram back. And we want
them back NOW!!!! Wombat
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Salsoul Nugget
3rd Apr 02
I believe that Channel 4 will soon regret their decision
to axe The Big Breakfast. I honestly can't see the new show 'Rise'
making the HUGE impact that the BB has over the years. I doubt it'll
have such a huge following of loyal fans as the BB. There certainly
won't be the huge number of fansites set up for Rise as there were
for the BB. The BB was TV to talk about. Rise will be TV you flick
through whilst looking for something else worth watching. The final
BB pulled in over 1 Million viewers peak. I doubt Rise will ever manage
to pull an audience of that size!
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Ted
3rd Apr 02
This is a strange decission the bossses have made in
my opinion. The Big Breakfast brought people together unlike the other
breakfast shows which again in my opinion are in the snobby sector.
The Big Breakfast was the only show were you could have a laugh in
the morning. At the present time watching the other morning programs
gives me information but dosen't give me any laughter. I don't think
the bosses at Channel 4 are in contact with there loyal viewers.
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Kieran Yates
3rd Apr 02
I am glad that Big Breakfast has gone, it had turned
into a yobs programme. When Gary Bushell turned up I turned off, who
wants to watch a gay hating woman hating bigot at breakfast time?
Johnny Vaughan got the balance right keeping an intelligent but funny
line on most things in the news.
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Graham Greenaway
3rd Apr 02
I DON'T think it was the right decision to axe the Big
Breakfast, the format was good and there was a high level of viewer
loyalty. I think that if the show had been promoted more then that
would have helped, but C4 should have stuck with it as it has proven
in the past that it can recover from downturn and the format still
works. I think the new show planned is going to find it difficult
to be new without being compared to the BB or to other stuffier shows
on BBC and ITV. It was a strong Brand that was synonomous with Channel
4
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Arthur King
3rd Apr 02
The shameful axing of The Big Breakfast is just part
of the dumbing down and the selling out the faithful viewers. A while
ago here were even plans to axe Brookside, another of the Channel's
best loved programmes. All Channel 4 wants to show now are American
imports instead of suporting new, inventive British programing. The
news programme "Rise" that has been schduled as a replacement
shows how out of touch that Channel 4 is with viewers. Since the mid
80s, viewing figures for news broadcasts have more than halved. Tony
Blair cares about ITN shifting the times of nws bulletins, but everyoe
else prefers films that are uninterrupted. The Big Breakfast was an
alternative to depressing news when we woke up. There are already
news programmes on BBC1 and ITV at that time, and a previous attempt
at a serious moning programme by Chnnel 4 failed. Similarly, to show
"Rise", in making a programme based on sport, ignores that
the problems with football and ITV Digital are partly because people
are now sick of sport. To commission such a programme was to ignore
viewing trends. It is just an attempt to make the Channel mainstream.
The Big Breakfast was once more outstanding when it was axed. It is
a presenter's programme, and apart from Bacon who was out of place
as a main pesenter, the presentng was strong (Johnny Vegas is exceptionaly
popular at present) once they were allowed to take the relevant risks
that made the programme succeed, something Channel 4 does not seem
to want its programmes to do.
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Aisha Soobhan
9th Apr 02
What can I say! Please try and find it in your hearts
to return The Big Breakfast to our screens.I always adored and throughly
enjoyed this funny, very entertaining morning program, especially
with Johnny Vaughn & Richard Bacon!.It certainly made getting
up at 7.00 a.m a great pleasure!.I miss it very much, please bring
it back????.
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