Graham Linehan v the Today programme

Graham Linehan's media profile has been steadily increasing recently.
I was surprised but delighted to see him on BBC 1's Have I Got News For You.
This week just gone, the Father Ted and IT Crowd creator has complained about his treatment by Radio 4's Today programme.
He believed that they wanted him to discuss the difficulties of transferring Ealing comedy film classic The Ladykillers to stage. (And also allow him to plug said West End production).
Instead it became what he feels to have been an ambush. Here's his version of events and here's the audio.
He has claimed it happens all too often on Today.
Sure for the politicians, bankers and other bogeymen, yes.
Though I haven't heard it happen too often to civilians.
Listening to the debate, yes, Justin Webb, the presenter is a tiny bit confrontational. And he does get it back on track once Linehan expresses his displeasure.
And Michael Billington (the Guardian critic) does have a point that there's an awful lot of West End shows based on movies. (Also, it's an interesting theory that The Ladykillers' gang of crooks are an analogy for the Labour post-war government)

As for the political debates on Today, well they sometimes talk over each other. But Today hasn't reached the aggressive heights of news parody The Day Today
Nor is the show a home to the rigid partisan shouting matches of say Crossfire, the show memorably demolished by Jon Stewart whilst on it.  Within a few months, Crossfire was dead (though last time I checked in on American news TV, Crossfire's spirit could still be felt).
But, this. Well what happened to Linehan must have been awkward and upsetting but it ain't a Crossfire moment.
Maybe Michael Billington just needed to go lighter on Linehan and his play. Maybe it was just that.
But I don't think this should change Today.

Misc. including a mildly spoilery Doctor Who remark and the Radio 4 pips

Two things slightly odd crossed my radar today.
Firstly was the revelation that Radio 4 generates its pips live. You may wonder what I'm warbling about.
They announce the hour and that the news is coming. (You also hear it on, amongst others radios 1 and 2 but 4 does it without any sort of musical bed.) Here they are in all their glory.
And tonight their pip machine wasn't working. So Eddie Mair, the wonderfully quirky evening broadcaster, did an impromptu piece and yes, these things are generated live.
I'd assumed that nowadays it was a sample played at a precise time. Instead it seems that there's a pip generator and a back-up pip generator that both weren't working.
You would have thought it would be pre-recorded samples triggered at precise times but apparently not.

Next up is Doctor Who.
Mr. Moffat's been talking to the press again and what he's had to say is interesting. It's spoilery in that it rules something out so, well you've been warned,

spoilery talk here

The Daleks aren't coming back in the near future.
Which isn't a bad thing. Whilst I seem to be in the minority in enjoying last year's Victory of the Daleks, I did kind of feel that their stock was cheapened somewhat in Tennant's time by appearing every season.
Yes, the media seems to think that whenever someone leaves the show, they get exterminated by the Daleks. And it's true that the show wouldn't have lasted most likely, had it not been for Terry Nation's genius creations.
But they're best used in small measures. It builds up the threat level.
And it gives the writing staff time to think of fresh takes.
It's been done before. In 1967 the Daleks were written off supposedly for ever in The Evil of The Daleks. They wouldn't reappear until 1972's time-slip classic Day of The Daleks.
Yeah, I'm with Steven Moffat on this one. (And, yes, I don't think this is misdirection before a shock reappearance by them in Saturday's mid-season closer. They wouldn't be so crass.)