Heartbeat (1992 - 2010)

Did anyone else notice that a " grim reaper " walks past the garage when Joe and the barmaid woman were talking outside the pub. I think someone on Heartbeat was having a swipe at ITV, it was about 10 mins from the end.
 
I think Heartbeat fell out of favour at ITV, for some unknown reason.

Look at the kid glove treatment given to Wild at Heart: an uninterrupted run every winter, every episode lovingly sandwiched between two editions of Dancing on Ice. If Heartbeat had that treatment, it would be getting around 7.5-8m viewers per episode.

Conversely, if Wild at Heart got split into runs of three or four episodes in spring and summer, with no viable lead-in, it would be rating a lot lower than Heartbeat has recently.

And, I dont say that as a Heartbeat fan. I always thought it was a pile of old cobblers, but it was cobblers that did the business ratings-wise until ITV started treating it badly.
 
I saw that as well walking past the garage I said whats he doing there lol.
Shame the way it ended though wonder what ITV will put on in its place.
LaineyT
 
That scene has been well publicised, but not explained.... I wonder if the producers knew ITV were going to pull the plug and decided to add a bit of irony... :D
 
It is well known that the big boy shareholders at ITV want as much return as soon as possible, this is why there has been the continual dumb down and turn to cheaper programming over the past few years , and it will continue until DSO is complete when I think we will see a takeover with those big boys taking the cash and running . I think that ITV's big boys feel less than confident of their future as one of many channels on DTT.

Perhaps if they had stuck with quality instead of quantity of cheap stuff then they would not have to worry so much, they have shot themselves in the foot .
 
I used to love Heartbeat in the very early days, but I always thought it was a mistake to not advance through the years properly. Wasn't it 1962 when it started in '93? In which case it should've been hitting 1970 around 2000.

They gave up the opportunity to incorporate the fashion, music, vehicles and pop-culture references of each year. From the few times I watched it in later series, a lot of elements were anachronistic. The cars were often accurate, in fairness.
 
THE ROYAL - remaining episodes.

8.04 Any Old Iron
8.05 Should I Stay Or Should I Go
8.06 Please Release Me
8.07 Tutti Fruity
8.08 Manouvres
8.09 Dead Air
8.10 A Hero For Our Time
8.11 Below The Surface
8.12 The Enemy Within

The last episode ends with one of the main characters being stabbed and like HB these episodes were filmed before the two series were axed so therefore it also ends on a cliffhanger not knowing if the stabbed character survives.
 
It was popular enough for them to have invested in some decent script-writing.



The cast found out from the media.

ITV are classy, eh?
 
But it['s a programme set in the 60's. Simple as that. It had to STAY in the 60's. Obviously they didn't expect it to last nearly 2 decades!

I remember in the early days they DID go year by year but then they must've realised if they did that they'd have to go into the 70's after 8 years so they just stayed in 1969 for 10 years!
 
I know, but it would have been a better way to end it, if he HAD died, the final episode could have centered around Oscar's funeral and life in Aidensfield.
 
ITV's output has always been seen as inferior to that of the BBC but in recent years its aim appears to have been to appeal to the lowest common denominator. The way in which Heartbeat was brought to a premature end and treated so appallingly confirms ITV's position as the trashiest broadcaster in the UK.
 
I used to like Heartbeat, havent watched it much in the last 5 or 6 years but its nice to know its there.

Has The Royal shown its last episode yet?
 
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