I think the BBC missed out with this one.
The first episode of “The Promise” to me was a very well-done, thoughtful, and sometimes shocking drama. The footage of the liberated concentration camps was particularly hard to stomach, and then put that on top of seeing Jews in Palestine being rounded up by soldiers in a similar manner, and you want to look away.
The idea of wanting to look away is maybe what the BBC was trying to avoid when it passed up on “The Promise.” Writer and director Peter Kominsky said the channel had maybe lost its desire for challenging material. “The Promise” is certainly challenging, which fits right in with Channel 4. To think that the money that went toward making “The Promise” was previously going toward funding “Big Brother.” That’s a laughably trade up. Something like this has to boost the credibility of Channel 4. I know that there has been a lot of debate that the fourth channel has gotten away from its roots of being different toward being sensationalistic, and if that’s the case, they should invest in projects like “The Promise” more often.
When Paul is taking Erin past the checkpoint and she protests that it’s dangerous, he replies, “Rather be back safely by the pool?” It seems like the BBC would rather be back safely by the pool. While watching “The Promise,” I couldn’t help but think how well this kind of drama would fit into the BBC. When reading up on its preproduction, I found out that 82 veterans were interviewed for days to get the information to make the drama as historically accurate as possible. A challenging, accurate, boundary-pushing serial is something that you would think the BBC would be interested in.
I also found a video that goes behind-the-scenes of filming. You can tell that even minor actors really wanted to get the significance and difficulties of emotion across:
Although I agree with you that this show is great and is exactly what Channel 4 should be aiming for, I do not know if I agree that it would be a perfect fit for BBC. Yes, the BBC loves historical, thought provoking programs like this; but, the BBC does not usually include as challenging of material as this program has. For example, the footage from the concentration camps is incredibly difficult to watch and I think fits much better on a broadcaster like channel 4 where “pushing boundaries” is part of its DNA.
Michael, I think that’s a great point you make about the concentration camp footage pushing the boundaries and being quintessential Channel 4. However, the BBC claims they want to provide quality, thought provoking programming that educates its viewers. The Promise is certainly setting out to do that, so I think the show would be an appropriate fit for the BBC. I agree with Erin in her “safely by the pool” analogy. The BBC needs to step outside the box a little bit at times if it wishes to stay true to its roots. Seems that they have not been following through so much on innovative programming.
While I do agree that the BBC might have missed out with “The Promise,” I have to wonder if part of the reason they did pass on it was because of the potential Palestinian-favoring bias that many considered the show to have. While the BBC may just be safely resting on its laurels, its equally possible that they saw the controversy in the material and wanted to steer clear of that sort of contentious issue. Channel 4, on the other hand, is meant to revel in that sort of boundary-pushing (even if it hasn’t as of late) and, therefore, “The Promise” fits in neatly with at least the high end of the channels programming. Between this and “Black Mirror,” it is clear that there is a place on Channel 4 for really controversial, cerebral programming. While “Gypsy Weddings” seems to counteract that, I suppose it is the success of those types of reality shows that make more controversial material possible.