Discussion: Not good enough

A few months ago, I would have scoffed at the idea that teachers, perhaps totally untrained in TV production techniques, could put on more effective programmes than, say, the BBC. But now, having seen most of the first term's BBC series for use in General Studies in Technical Colleges, Living in the Present, I am not so sure. For this series has been a considerable disappointment. Intended as ‘a discussion of the place of the individual in modern society’ it has hardly ever succeeded in getting to grips with its subject. Indeed, judging by the frantic jumping around from one topic to another within each programme, it seems doubtful if the producer ever really stopped to consider just what his subject was. The result has been remarkably uninformative and unstimulating. It is difficult to imagine teachers allowing themselves to get so confused both in aim and treatment.