There are far too many box sets around at the moment and if you’re not careful you can end up swallowing one after another without digesting them. We’re onto The Tourist at the moment, an intriguing drama of murder and amnesia, but before that I watched Rules of the Game. I’m not sure I’d have bothered with this if it hadn’t starred Maxine Peake, but it did so I did. And was it worth it? Mmnah. Not really: despite good performances by Alison Steadman, Rakhee Thakrar (Holby City) and Peake herself it seemed rather stale. The premise, that in work environments men abuse and dominate and are abetted by complicit women, would be more suited to an 80s or 90s drama than one where #metoo has taken hold. I’m not suggesting of course that sexual harassment is no longer an issue, but this drama came across as rather dated and over-egged, a bit like a bad pudding.
I also worry about the effect that this may be having on boys and young men. Of course we should document and dramatise misogyny but I worry that there are no positive role models for them, if all they see is men behaving badly , where do they get their ideas of what a man is supposed to be? Sure, we have superheroes but as far as ordinary men go, I can’t see there’s much out there.
Men Behaving Badly – now there’s a great series.
Anyway Rules of the Game is still on the iplayer, though for how much longer if the government have their way, remains to be seen. I tremble if this lot stay in power, I really do.
Kirk out
Sarada Gray 
I haven’t watched either of these productions, but I don’t think it’s right to comment on other people’s viewing or listening habits, as it is always very personal. As for the BBC, I’m possibly in the minority in that I would like to see the back of the licence fee, but of course, the question of funding, and how much editorial control, actual or implied, that might give the funder/s, is another matter. I would like it to remain publicly funded [which it could easily be by the simple expedient of cancelling Trident, for a start], with oversight along the lines of Channel 4 [another current potential victim, sadly], with as independent a remit as possible. I might have said this before, but it wouldn’t bother me to have commercials on at least one BBC TV channel [although preferably not on the radio: they’re just naff, and not so easily avoided]; say the most popular [tbc], BBC1, with the other flagship channels like BBC2 & BBC4 remaining ad-free? The commercials actually serve a useful purpose for me, facilitating tea and/or pee breaks [connected, obvs], but I would be the first to concede that breaks during films can be a nuisance, unless the film is REALLY long 😉 It’s a tricky one, and I fear this lot of ‘erberts who think they control us will choose to ignore public opinion, as usual; although, that isn’t always truly representative, is it [Brexit, anyone?]. Cheers, Jon.
I always loved Men Behaving Badly. However, while I’ve never been into beer drinking I have wondered what effects other aspects of the shows I watched had on my psyche whilst growing up.
I never binge-watch. I like to anticipate each episode. I have also watched Rules of The Game only because of Maxine Peake. I found it very predictable from the start, though I have yet to watch the final episode. I have The Visitor saved on the PVR, to watch when there is nothing else on.
As for the BBC, I think it is terrible that it will almost certainly be defunded. Despite its faults, it still presents the best drama and documentaries on TV. I have signed petitions, written to my MP, and even contacted the BBC to show support. But I fear it is dead in the water, even if Labour was to come into power.
Best wishes, Pete.
I think a good policy plank for Labour would be to come to the defence of the BBC and protect its funding, either through the licence fee or some other way. I admire you for anticipating each episode; we do this with some things but sometimes we don’t; still, we tend to ration ourselves to one episode a night.