BBC: Once Upon A Time in Space

[Star One]

BBC2 has a new documentary series on the history of space exploration, starting on 27 October:

A new perspective. At the dawn of a new space race, the personal stories of those who led us here offer a unique insight into our changing world - and where we are headed.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002hyt5

[mtakala24]

I kind of liked the first episode already, 3 more to go. I recommend.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002hyt5

[laszlo]

It says that the player only works in the UK. Screw them for a bunch of parochial twits.

[bobthemonkey]

One irritating this is that on this version broadcast it didn't give the names of any of the interviewees while they were speaking!

[Bob Shaw]

If you’re not a U.K. TV licence payer then you can’t access some BBC material. That’s not parochialism but the funding model. Most BBC material gets sold abroad these days so you should be able to see it in due course (probably with adverts, which BBC viewers are spared).

[Star One]

One irritating this is that on the version board cast it didn't give the names of any of the interviewees while they were speaking!

Yeah I found that really annoying. It’s kind of unusual in this kind of documentary too.

[laszlo]

If you’re not a U.K. TV licence payer then you can’t access some BBC material. That’s not parochialism but the funding model. Most BBC material gets sold abroad these days so you should be able to see it in due course (probably with adverts, which BBC viewers are spared).

You're correct - charging for access to intellectual property is not parochial. What's parochial is not giving someone who's willing to pay the opportunity to subscribe and just brushing them off with a "you're not cool enough to watch this" message. As chronically underfunded as the BBC is (if you believe their complaints) you'd think that they'd welcome new revenue streams instead of turning potential viewers away.

[Oersted]

If the BBC thinks it is underfunded now, imagine how it will be under the next government....

[Blackstar]

If you’re not a U.K. TV licence payer then you can’t access some BBC material. That’s not parochialism but the funding model. Most BBC material gets sold abroad these days so you should be able to see it in due course (probably with adverts, which BBC viewers are spared).

You're correct - charging for access to intellectual property is not parochial. What's parochial is not giving someone who's willing to pay the opportunity to subscribe and just brushing them off with a "you're not cool enough to watch this" message. As chronically underfunded as the BBC is (if you believe their complaints) you'd think that they'd welcome new revenue streams instead of turning potential viewers away.

Er... Stuff takes time. You don't know if they are currently licensing it to a US provider. Maybe it will be available in the US in a month, or next year. I once waited 20 years to see something I had seen once as a kid. It was the Disney short about a mission to Mars. I saw it in school in the 1970s and it was not shown on TV again until the 1990s, at which time certain space geeks traded around VHS copies. It was not available for purchase until 2004.

So take a breath, count to ten, and if you're still angry that you cannot get instant gratification, instead of raging about the BBC, maybe you should count to ten again.

[Ollopa11]

One irritating this is that on the version board cast it didn't give the names of any of the interviewees while they were speaking!

  I think that's deliberate.  I enjoyed the hallelujah moment when I twigged who they were. 

[Star One]

If you’re not a U.K. TV licence payer then you can’t access some BBC material. That’s not parochialism but the funding model. Most BBC material gets sold abroad these days so you should be able to see it in due course (probably with adverts, which BBC viewers are spared).

You're correct - charging for access to intellectual property is not parochial. What's parochial is not giving someone who's willing to pay the opportunity to subscribe and just brushing them off with a "you're not cool enough to watch this" message. As chronically underfunded as the BBC is (if you believe their complaints) you'd think that they'd welcome new revenue streams instead of turning potential viewers away.

I am not sure they are actually allowed to do that at the moment under law.

[laszlo]

...So take a breath, count to ten, and if you're still angry that you cannot get instant gratification, instead of raging about the BBC, maybe you should count to ten again.

You've mistaken contempt for rage

[laszlo]

I am not sure they are actually allowed to do that at the moment under law.

A snarky response concerning the wisdom of governments occurred to me, but before I could post it I realized that as far as governments go, mine is very much a glass house at the moment so I put the stone down.

That said, maybe some loyal King's subject could suggest to His Majesty's government that legislation could be enacted to allow the BBC to be more self-sustaining?

[Star One]

I am not sure they are actually allowed to do that at the moment under law.

A snarky response concerning the wisdom of governments occurred to me, but before I could post it I realized that as far as governments go, mine is very much a glass house at the moment so I put the stone down.

That said, maybe some loyal King's subject could suggest to His Majesty's government that legislation could be enacted to allow the BBC to be more self-sustaining?

Well it will have to change at some point as I believe the BBC is intending to end its terrestrial broadcasting in the next ten years. Well that’s the plan at the moment. They’ve not announced that yet just that’s a potential switch off date with them moving all their channels online by 2030.

[Blackstar]

...So take a breath, count to ten, and if you're still angry that you cannot get instant gratification, instead of raging about the BBC, maybe you should count to ten again.

You've mistaken contempt for rage

The world already has too much of both.

You can wait.

[Mogster]

Anyway… back to the program… I’m sure this will be available outside the UK soon

Really enjoyed the first episode. The BBC seems to do these sorts of docu’s very well, maybe as they are somewhat removed from the events. Agree about not using name gfx but that seems to be a conscious decision as the identities were revealed in different ways. Lots of D&I focus as expected from the modern Beeb but nevertheless a good effort.

[john57sharp]

I agree, it’s a good series. Lots of Mir content and I certainly learned a few things.

[bobthemonkey]

A very enjoyable episode tonight - although possibly less so for a few members around here who may have been involved in the MirCorp shenanigans.

[Blackstar]

A very enjoyable episode tonight - although possibly less so for a few members around here who may have been involved in the MirCorp shenanigans.

What did they say about MirCorp?

[bobthemonkey]

Sergey Zalyotin, Gus Gardellini and Walt Anderson were three of the main subjects interviewed this week.

[Blackstar]

Sergey Zalyotin, Gus Gardellini and Walt Anderson were three of the main subjects interviewed this week.

Yeah, I expected Anderson's name to come up. I've forgotten a lot of this, but Anderson went to prison for tax evasion in the mid-2000s, something that apparently surprised almost nobody who knew him. I heard stories from people about how in the 1990s he used to brag about having a lot of unpaid traffic tickets. He was apparently one of those people with an extreme libertarian attitude that government was illegitimate and therefore he did not have to obey the laws. And he was also pretty open about it too. And when he started funding MirCorp, he bragged about how they were going to stick it to NASA. But he also said a lot of things out loud, and eventually somebody with a badge heard about it.

I remember hearing an interview with him when he was in prison. After he had pled guilty, he was in prison and claimed he was innocent of the crimes he said he had committed. He was going to clear his name, etc.

[bobthemonkey]

Final episode airs tonight - should be the only substantially 'new' content, seemingly covering how NASA and Roscosmos continued to operate the ISS despite the war in Ukraine - specifically the invasion of Crimea in 2014.

[LittleBird]

If you’re not a U.K. TV licence payer then you can’t access some BBC material. That’s not parochialism but the funding model. Most BBC material gets sold abroad these days so you should be able to see it in due course (probably with adverts, which BBC viewers are spared).

You're correct - charging for access to intellectual property is not parochial. What's parochial is not giving someone who's willing to pay the opportunity to subscribe and just brushing them off with a "you're not cool enough to watch this" message. As chronically underfunded as the BBC is (if you believe their complaints) you'd think that they'd welcome new revenue streams instead of turning potential viewers away.

Er... Stuff takes time. You don't know if they are currently licensing it to a US provider. Maybe it will be available in the US in a month, or next year.

Indeed. The end credits say it was made by KEO films, for BBC, PBS and the Open University. So I would, er, watch this space ... (I'll get my coat, as we say here).

Have enjoyed it a lot-would watch pretty much any Chris Riley work.

[Blackstar]

Indeed. The end credits say it was made by KEO films, for BBC, PBS and the Open University. So I would, er, watch this space ... (I'll get my coat, as we say here).

The 4-part documentary on the Columbia accident was, I believe, a joint CNN/BBC production. Aired in the UK and then several months later appeared on CNN in the US.