And secondarily, how does the showing of the credits square with the way the channel squashes them up to show trailers for other shows?

Hi Sats

I remember some years ago that the BBC broadcasted a justification as to why they do this. It's all to do with the competition from the myriad of other channels now available on Sky, Virgin or Freeview. Apparently, as soon as a particular programme has finished and the credits start rolling, the broadcasters feel compelled to run their trailers for other shows so that they retain their audience.

Personally, I'm saddened over how this has developed over the past decade. IMO, TV shows of the past (such as in the 1970s or 80s) were works of great craftmanship with often excellent, informative content accompanied by some terrific theme tunes - some favourites of mine were Only Fools and Horses, Howards Way, even the theme tunes to the BBC One O'Clock, Six O'Clock and Nine O'Clock news bulletins (how sad is that!). The point is that these programmes gave you the time and space to draw you in, entertain or inform you with good quality content, and then allow you to reflect on what you had just watched before moving on to the next programme. Nowadays, the "drawing in" and "reflecting" time provided by the TV theme tunes has largely been dispensed with or curtailed (e.g. "Eastenders") to make way for in-your-face trailers.

Whilst I understand that commercialism within broadcasting is probably a good thing (in terms of variety, choice, catering to niche audiences), I have to say that as a result I don't find TV watching a particularly pleasurable experience these days because, frankly, I feel a little harrassed by all the trailers. But now I'm sounding like a grumpy old man (I'm only 36!), so I'll stop!

All the best

Chris