Bone Kickers

[the invisible man]

I am very grateful to the producers of this programme for bringing home to the public what we all have to go through every day.

Not quite convinced how you waggle an FM in scannning mode inside a building - and next to steel racking - and keep it happy. I thought that bit didn't quite ring true. Nor did scanning (if that is what he was doing) by vaguely waving it around.

Have to go now, someone is shooting at the office and the bloody crosses are on fire again. I've also been told off for making coffee in the Holy Grail.

[gonetopot]

Agreed! Much better episode. Not that much archaeology though, well with all those books more like a DBA so I suppose that counts. And Bath RFC (aka 'The Wreck') has never looked more intimidating, if only their rugby could do the same.

Sole topics of site conversation this morning: Bras and Pants - are they on and are they still clean!

[BAJR Host]

Thats the spirit folks... pants on heads and bras off... (and that goes for the blokes too!) You do wonder where the breast fetish is going... I feel you may as well switch off the brain and engage the laughter section.. harmless fun, that did not really need the technical stuff... (unless it had a ral point.. and was correct...) otherwise you may have doctors dramas where they prescribe 100 milligrams of phenomadeupinall in a drip ... it sounds good, but is meaningless.

Bit nasty of Britarch though... bit... er close to the Bone(kicker)

question... why use a Mag instead of getting the Mudlarks london detecting club? And why, have girls take bras off and then get a bloke to use it??

Drinking game should be ready for next week.!

"No job worth doing was ever done on time or under budget.."
Khufu

[gorilla]

I missed it

Set up the dvd recorder thingy, only to find I'd recorded something else (on BBC2). Muppet!

Will have to watch all the fun and games on iplayer tonight (hoping I can actually get anywhere near the pc... young lad has set-up camp in front of it, playing endless Warhammer games).

Hmmmm... Warhammer vs Bonekickers? Not much difference by the sounds of it

I hate every ape I see,
From chimpan-a to chimpanzee,
You'll never make a monkey out of me!

[Kel]

quote:I have it on good authority that "The IT Crowd" is quite true to life for computer help desk people, although they don't keep Goths in cupboards anymore.

Does that mean I have to let our spotty Modern Apprentice out of Stationery now? Damn. Yes, it's pretty much spot on. We do always insist people reboot stuff before we get off our bums. Sometimes even the mainframe.

Not watched last night's BK yet. Will engage sense of humour in Overdrive mode.

[gorilla]

Just been over to have a peep at the Britarch 'Bonekickers Review'... almost as entertaining as the programme itself! My, they really do have their critical knickers (alright... underpants) in a twist, don't they?

Let's get this straight... you can either take it or leave it. It is full of factual holes and it certainly isn't cerebral television. Furthermore, it wasn't written by, or for, archaeologists. Bonekickers is throw-away tosh that entertains the BBC masses and, hopefully, takes their minds off all the 'real' crap occurring in this world (if they really want all that, then News at Ten is straight afterward).

The dudes over at Britarch should be a little more circumspect in their treatment of fellow archaeologists... they do seem to like picking on one another. This week it is the series novelty scapegoat (aka Dr Horton). Who is next, I wonder?

Bonekickers will probably disappear into tv-obscurity after one or two series... archaeology (and, yes, even fantastic and/or fantasy archaeologists) will always be around in one form or another. As old Coco Chanel said... "Fashion fades, only style remains the same".

Thank heavens for BAJR...

[BAJR Host]

cheers and nice overall review! I feel that Mark Hortons treatmetn is a bit cruel and uncalled for... (well a bit uncalled for!) Don't pretend its archaeology... just accept it's typical entertainment fare

"No job worth doing was ever done on time or under budget.."
Khufu

[BAJR Host]

well just when i was feeling that MArk Horton was being unfairly treated.. we get this

http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadm...S=&P=27881

Is there anyone he has not offended yet?

my main bones (pun intended) of contention are as follows

quote:I am beginning to sense that some of you out there are beginning to get it (and there are scores of cultural references, that we put in just for your benefit - they will be lost on the mass of the great British public who are watching, so please be appreciative...... ).

Ah... I did not realise that Mark was a co-writer... and that so many cultural references were put in that the great unwashed would not get...just for our benefit (offends 99.999% of population)

quote:While you have been jumping up and down objecting to 'factual inaccuracies' most of these were well considered and deliberate.

the deliberate mistake defence... [hm] (offends our intelligence)

quote:I still stand my claim that we are 100% - but this means that the archaeology is realistic - and the hostile reaction from many arm- chair archaeologists is because they dont actually go near to a dig, and just get their archaeology from the sanitised

I am sure Mark would love to defend that remark on BAJR, where we are anything but armchair archaeologists ? ... Offer is open. as I am sure we would be more than happy to listen.

quote:The magnetomer scene which has caused no little amusement - I did warn you about the bleeps. We were originally going to do the bra's off scene in the mud, but the weather proved to aweful, so it was done inside at the last moment. We wanted to use a mag because of the gag, but there are really boring to film

At a time when A Womans Archaeology Group is starting up, and BAJR supports this... just how funny it is that it is still funny to show breasts and bra jokes.. (offends anyone who feels that sexism is a problem and should be dealt with, rather than reinforced - unless of course in a hysterically funny scene in Episode 6 (written by Mark of course) Prof Parton is brutally attacked by all the students he has verbally sexually harassed)

quote:Metal detectors are reserved for later on I warn you (and I promise, not particularly sympathetically, Paul Barford will be pleased.......).

(offends every detectorist in the UK)

Yes I sure Paul Barford will be pleased that a continued view as metal detectorists as the enemy is portrayed - of course we don't know the context of the episode, and I am sure that Mark would never consider undermining decades of outreach and bridge-building for a cheap gag and another accurate scene of archaeology in the 21st century.

quote:Ep 3 is completely and wonderfully mad, and is bound to upset everyone as its the Romans, and I have yet to find a romanist with a sense of humour....

(may as well offend Romanists as they would feel left out)

As to the complex underlying story, I think we have already seen through it... so can't be that complex... though I expect to be surprised. It seems that surprise is what comes out of this... and of the raised eyebrow type.



well done for offending or condescending just about everyone...


Come to BAJR... and find out what real archaeologists think... ones that know how to use a Mag, that know about PPG16, that understand a joke - and when it is intentional.

I did see this as a piece of harmless fun, but its is turning into a nightmare ... portraying archaeologists as sexist (but politically correct), slightly mad, development stopping, anti detectorist and verging into the paranormal... This is fiction, so let it stay as fiction, and not try and dress it in the rags of reality...

:face-confused:








"No job worth doing was ever done on time or under budget.."
Khufu

[BAJR Host]

Episode 1 : 6.8m
Episode 2 : 5.2m

Viewers that is... not mistakes/sexist/bonkers scenes

"No job worth doing was ever done on time or under budget.."
Khufu

[gorilla]

In his writing and portraying of an academic, middle-aged, male, sexist archaeologist (yawn, yet another stereotype)... I wonder who his role model is? Be interesting to hear what his students / colleagues over at Bristol think!

Just think he is riding the crest of the Bonekickers wave. He might have his BBC future all sown-up (Coast, Bonekickers... who knows what else), so he really just doesn't care who he upsets or rattles so long as his programmes remain in the public domain. All publicity is good publicity.

Then again, I could be totally wrong... maybe he is just plain naive and doesn't fully comprehend the furore he is creating. Hmmmm...

Anyway, you can polish a turd so many times but, in the end, it is still just a turd. Bonekickers is just a turd dressed up as entertainment.

I hate every ape I see,
From chimpan-a to chimpanzee,
You'll never make a monkey out of me!