117-617: Oswald Danes is a fictional character in the BBC television programme Torchwood , a spin-off from the long-running series Doctor Who and is portrayed by American actor Bill Pullman . The character was promoted as one of five new main characters to join Torchwood in its fourth series, Torchwood: Miracle Day (2011), as part of a new co-production between Torchwood ' s British network, BBC One , and its American financiers on US premium television network Starz . Pullman appears in eight of
234-446: A celebrity, he is worshipped, but as a man, he's still hated for what he did and soon will become a "Category 0". Oswald demands answers of Jilly, who reveals that there is a new law that is being worked on that will classify criminals like Oswald as Category 0s and send them to the modules. Angered that PhiCorp used him for their plans and intended to abandon him once they were done with him, Oswald batters Jilly and runs away. Later, Jilly
351-693: A censorship apparatus for the inevitability of war. Due to the BBC's advancements in shortwave radio technology, the corporation could broadcast across the world during the Second World War. Within Europe, the BBC European Service would gather intelligence and information regarding the current events of the war in English. Regional BBC workers, based on their regional geo-political climate, would then further censor
468-573: A critical detail she noticed about Angelo's room (the floor). After removing the floor panelling, a mysterious device is discovered. After Shapiro orders Gwen to be deported, Jack explains it's a Null Field transmitter, which interferes with the morphic field he previously postulated was behind the Miracle. Although he claims to be broadly unfamiliar with the technology, he is forced to help disable it so it can be taken to CIA Headquarters in Langley. Jack modifies
585-488: A key sequence where Danes makes a public speech "the line was finally crossed", believing the sequence "clichéd" and that it was "improbable that he could instantaneously win over an angry lynch mob in moments." The Daily Telegraph ' s Gavin Fuller praised Pullman's portrayal of Danes, singling it out as the strongest of the series next to lead female actor Eve Myles. Fuller also felt that giving such an unlikeable character
702-461: A larger brand: in 2003, BBC Choice was replaced by BBC Three , with programming for younger adults and shocking real-life documentaries, BBC News 24 became the BBC News Channel in 2008, and BBC Radio 7 became BBC Radio 4 Extra in 2011, with new programmes to supplement those broadcast on Radio 4. In 2008, another channel was launched, BBC Alba , a Scottish Gaelic service. During this decade,
819-555: A monitor in front of their superior, Allen Shapiro. With their names cleared, Jack and Gwen decide to work with the CIA in order to find the whereabouts of the Families, and stop the Miracle. But one of their only leads is destroyed when Friedkin kills himself, along with Olivia, with a suicide bomb. Jack then takes some time to say goodbye to his former lover, as alarms go off around him announcing that Angelo's just died. In annoyance he turns off
936-599: A news and information service. In 1978, BBC staff went on strike just before the Christmas, thus blocking out the transmission of both channels and amalgamating all four radio stations into one. Since the deregulation of the UK television and radio market in the 1980s, the BBC has faced increased competition from the commercial sector (and from the advertiser-funded public service broadcaster Channel 4 ), especially on satellite television, cable television, and digital television services. In
1053-489: A number of additional channels and radio stations have been launched: Radio 5 was launched in 1990, as a sports and educational station, but was replaced in 1994, with BBC Radio 5 Live to become a live radio station, following the success of the Radio 4 service to cover the 1991 Gulf War . The new station would be a news and sport station. In 1997, BBC News 24 , a rolling news channel, launched on digital television services, and
1170-436: A positive review "The beauty of Miracle Day is that there are so many things going on that, if one element isn't working for you, there's something else not far away." "The three families, though, is just one of the balls that this episode was attempting to juggle, with sizeable success I should add. Esther, played impressively as always by Alexa Havins, is facing the tragedies and difficulties within her own family. If we follow
1287-523: A prominent focus and allowing him a shot at redemption in the final episode "was certainly a brave move from Davies." In a post-series review of what worked and what did not during Torchwood's fourth series, Digital Spy ' s Morgan Jeffrey stated that "Bill Pullman made the most of his tenure as Oswald Danes, being both extremely charismatic and utterly repellent throughout." Jeffrey stated that "we never like Oswald, but Pullman's layered performance ensures that we do often sympathise with him, before having
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#17330854282911404-732: A proposal to cut 4,000 jobs, and to privatise parts of the BBC, disrupted much of the BBC's regular programming. In 2006, BBC HD launched as an experimental service and became official in December 2007. The channel broadcast HD simulcasts of programmes on BBC One , BBC Two , BBC Three and BBC Four as well as repeats of some older programmes in HD. In 2010, an HD simulcast of BBC One launched: BBC One HD . The channel uses HD versions of BBC One's schedule and uses upscaled versions of programmes not currently produced in HD. The BBC HD channel closed in March 2013 and
1521-615: A reporter from entertainment website AfterElton also stated to the shows executive producers that some of their readers had been upset and concerned about details of the storyline. Pullman's casting as Danes was announced on 15 December 2010. Prior to his role as Danes, Pullman was best known to audiences for his portrayal of the President of the United States in Independence Day . When Pullman asked executive producer Julie Gardner why
1638-548: A series of events he ends up aiding Torchwood , a team composed of two former alien-hunters and two former CIA agents, on their mission to restore death to the world. Danes is killed off in the final episode of the series; when death is restored he takes one of the Torchwood team's enemies out in a murder–suicide . Critics commented upon the character's resemblance both to horror film killers such as Freddy Krueger and Hannibal Lecter , as well as to American Evangelists and to
1755-539: A series of strikes; however, the BBC stated that the cuts were essential to move the organisation forward and concentrate on increasing the quality of programming. On 20 October 2010, the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced that the television licence fee would be frozen at its current level until the end of the current charter in 2016. The same announcement revealed that the BBC would take on
1872-424: A spokesman for Phicorp , a drug company hoping to capitalise on the absence of death. During Torchwood's investigations into PhiCorp, Jack Harkness ( John Barrowman ) confronts Danes, who brags about killing his student, calling it "the best moment of my life". Tensions arise between Kitzinger and Danes when he is eclipsed in the media by Tea Party politician Ellis Hartley Monroe ( Mare Winningham ) and her "Dead
1989-569: A wounded Jack away. The episode closes with Esther begging Jack to reply, as she drives not knowing where to go. At the same time, Gwen is on the plane leaving the US for the UK. The HD Room gave a positive review "Cryptkeeper Angelo did more for the plot progression of the arc in Torchwood: Miracle Day 'End of the Road' than every line that has come out of Rex's mouth up to this point. Jilly's flip out
2106-547: Is Dead" campaign. Danes launches an ad hoc publicity stunt; a video of Danes holding and comforting a baby girl goes viral and results in Monroe's media attention waning. At the "Miracle Rally" held by PhiCorp in Los Angeles Danes gives an impassioned speech, stating his belief that humanity had evolved into "everlasting angels" and revels in the audience chanting his name. Danes' brief media career comes to an end in " End of
2223-407: Is a welcome one. And given that few showrunners can put together a momentous penultimate episode to a series as Russell T Davies, I, for one, can't wait for next week…" In the UK, the episode was watched by 3.5 million viewers, a 15% audience share. Dan Martin states that after weeks on end of the same episode, Miracle Day seems to finally be coming into its own with a tidal wave of answers. Most of
2340-548: Is met by a representative of the Families, who shoots the CIA mole. The mole's identity was revealed by another Family agent within the CIA, Charlotte Wills, who happens to be a former teammate of Esther and Rex. After a one-question job interview, he takes Jilly to meet the Families. Esther gets in contact with her sister, who's currently in a secure mental facility, and finds out to her horror that her sister wants to volunteer herself and her children to become "Category 1". In desperation, Esther ignores Jack's pleading not to reveal
2457-500: Is obviously of paramount importance." Reith succeeded in building a high wall against an American-style free-for-all in radio in which the goal was to attract the largest audiences and thereby secure the greatest advertising revenue. There was no paid advertising on the BBC; all the revenue came from a tax on receiving sets. Highbrow audiences, however, greatly enjoyed it. At a time when American, Australian and Canadian stations were drawing huge audiences cheering for their local teams with
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#17330854282912574-436: Is responsible for operational management and delivery of services within a framework set by the board, and is chaired by the director-general , currently Tim Davie , who is chief executive and (from 1994) editor-in-chief. The corporation has the following in-house divisions covering the BBC's output and operations: End of the Road (Torchwood) " End of the Road " is the eighth episode of Torchwood: Miracle Day ,
2691-498: Is restored, Danes detains the Mother ( Frances Fisher ), the leader of the families, before detonating them both. With his last words he states that he will again pursue "bad little girls" in Hell. SFX magazine noted that when the character was first announced, some members of the public questioned the morality of featuring such a character in a science fiction action series. In August 2010
2808-626: The Archbishops of Canterbury and York came to St Paul's to broadcast to the UK and the world on the National Day of Prayer. BBC employees during the war included George Orwell who spent two years with the broadcaster. During his role as prime minister during the war, Winston Churchill delivered 33 major wartime speeches by radio, all of which were carried by the BBC within the UK. On 18 June 1940, French general Charles de Gaulle , in exile in London as
2925-577: The BBC Television Service ) started from Alexandra Palace in November 1936, alternating between an improved Baird mechanical 240-line system and the all-electronic 405-line Marconi-EMI system which had been developed by an EMI research team led by Sir Isaac Shoenberg . The superiority of the electronic system saw the mechanical system dropped early the following year, with the Marconi-EMI system
3042-478: The British Broadcasting Company , it evolved into its current state with its current name on New Year's Day 1927. The oldest and largest local and global broadcaster by stature and by number of employees, the BBC employs over 21,000 staff in total, of whom approximately 17,200 are in public-sector broadcasting. The BBC was established under a royal charter , and operates under an agreement with
3159-936: The MediaCityUK development in Salford , with BBC Three moving online only in 2016, the sharing of more programmes between stations and channels, sharing of radio news bulletins, more repeats in schedules, including the whole of BBC Two daytime and for some original programming to be reduced. BBC HD was closed on 26 March 2013, and replaced with an HD simulcast of BBC Two; however, flagship programmes, other channels and full funding for CBBC and CBeebies would be retained. Numerous BBC facilities have been sold off, including New Broadcasting House on Wilmslow Road in Manchester. Many major departments have been relocated to Broadcasting House in central London and MediaCityUK in Salford, particularly since
3276-525: The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport . Its work is funded principally by an annual television licence fee which is charged to all British households, companies, and organisations using any type of equipment to receive or record live television broadcasts or to use the BBC's streaming service, iPlayer . The fee is set by the British Government , agreed by Parliament , and is used to fund
3393-443: The biblical Jesus Christ . The series also follows Danes' rise and fall in the public eye and the precariousness of fame. Though critics questioned the wisdom of having a pedophile as a character, the show's creative team was adamant that they had deliberately made him unlikable. In killing the character off , the creative team did not wish to suggest that the character had been redeemed for his earlier crimes, and made sure that this
3510-531: The "Miracle" where no humans died. The Torchwood team also attempts to get rid of a piece of powerful alien technology to avoid it getting into the hands of the Central Intelligence Agency . The Torchwood team arrives at the Colasanto estate led by Olivia Colasanto, Angelo's granddaughter. At the estate, Jack finds Angelo, now an old man and in a coma, having lived that long trying to find out about
3627-514: The 2025–26 season of the Women's Super League campaign. The BBC is a statutory corporation , independent from direct government intervention, with its activities being overseen from April 2017 by the BBC Board and regulated by Ofcom . The chairman is Samir Shah. The BBC is a state owned public broadcasting company and operates under a royal charter . The charter is the constitutional basis for
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3744-467: The BBC announced a BBC News savings target of £80 million per year by 2022, involving about 520 staff reductions. The BBC's director of news and current affairs Fran Unsworth said there would be further moves toward digital broadcasting, in part to attract back a youth audience, and more pooling of reporters to stop separate teams covering the same news. In 2020, the BBC reported a £119 million deficit because of delays to cost reduction plans, and
3861-565: The BBC is subject to an additional 'Agreement' between it and the Culture Secretary , and that its operating licence is to be set by Ofcom, an external regulatory body . It used to be that the Home Secretary be departmental to both Agreement as well as Licence, and regulatory duties fall to the BBC Trust , but the 2017 charter changed those 2007 arrangements. The charter, too, outlines
3978-791: The BBC released minutes of the board meeting which led to Greg Dyke's resignation. Unlike the other departments of the BBC, the BBC World Service was funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office . The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, more commonly known as the Foreign Office or the FCO, is the British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom abroad. A strike in 2005 by more than 11,000 BBC workers, over
4095-440: The BBC suddenly became the primary source of news for the duration of the crisis. The crisis placed the BBC in a delicate position. On the one hand Reith was acutely aware that the government might exercise its right to commandeer the BBC at any time as a mouthpiece of the government if the BBC were to step out of line, but on the other he was anxious to maintain public trust by appearing to be acting independently. The government
4212-477: The BBC was granted sufficient leeway to pursue the government's objectives largely in a manner of its own choosing. Supporters of the strike nicknamed the BBC the BFC for British Falsehood Company. Reith personally announced the end of the strike which he marked by reciting from Blake's " Jerusalem " signifying that England had been saved. While the BBC tends to characterise its coverage of the general strike by emphasising
4329-531: The BBC", was priced at tuppence (two pence ) on newsstands, and quickly sold out its run of a quarter of a million copies. Mid-1925 found the future of broadcasting under further consideration, this time by the Crawford committee. By now, the BBC, under Reith's leadership, had forged a consensus favouring a continuation of the unified (monopoly) broadcasting service, but more money was still required to finance rapid expansion. Wireless manufacturers were anxious to exit
4446-459: The BBC's airwaves. In 1937, a MI5 security officer was given a permanent office within the organisation. This officer would examine the files of potential political subversives and mark the files of those deemed a security risk to the organisation, blacklisting them. This was often done on spurious grounds; even so, the practice would continue and expand during the years of the Cold War. There
4563-535: The BBC's censorship office, which surveilled and edited American coverage of British affairs. By 1940, across all BBC broadcasts, music by composers from enemy nations was censored. In total, 99 German, 38 Austrian and 38 Italian composers were censored. The BBC argued that like the Italian or German languages, listeners would be irritated by the inclusion of enemy composers. Any potential broadcasters said to have pacifist, communist or fascist ideologies were not allowed on
4680-446: The BBC's international 24-hour English-language news services BBC News , and from BBC.com, provided by BBC Global News Ltd. In 2009, the company was awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise in recognition of its international achievements in business. Since its formation in 1922, the BBC has played a prominent role in British life and culture. It is sometimes informally referred to as
4797-663: The BBC's radio, TV, and online services covering the nations and regions of the UK. Since 1 April 2014, it has also funded the BBC World Service (launched in 1932 as the BBC Empire Service), which broadcasts in 28 languages and provides comprehensive TV, radio, and online services in Arabic and Persian . Some of the BBC's revenue comes from its commercial subsidiary BBC Studios (formerly BBC Worldwide ), which sells BBC programmes and services internationally and also distributes
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4914-510: The BBC, and sets out the BBC's Object, Mission and Public Purposes. It emphasises public service , (limited) editorial independence , prohibits advertising on domestic services and proclaims the BBC is to "seek to avoid adverse impacts on competition which are not necessary for the effective fulfilment of the Mission and the promotion of the Public Purposes". The charter also sets out that
5031-680: The Beeb or Auntie . In 1923 it launched Radio Times (subtitled "The official organ of the BBC"), the first broadcast listings magazine; the 1988 Christmas edition sold 11 million copies, the biggest-selling edition of any British magazine in history. Britain's first live public broadcast was made from the factory of Marconi Company in Chelmsford in June 1920. It was sponsored by the Daily Mail ' s Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe and featured
5148-575: The British government's asylum policy on social media. Lineker was suspended from his position on Match of the Day before being re-instated after receiving overwhelming support from his colleagues. The scandal was made worse due to the connections between BBC's chairman, Richard Sharp, and the Conservative Party. In April 2023, Richard Sharp resigned as chairman after a report found he did not disclose potential perceived conflicts of interest in his role in
5265-500: The CBBC Channel and CBeebies Channel. In addition to the television channels, new digital radio stations were created: 1Xtra , 6 Music and Radio 4 Extra . BBC 1Xtra was a sister station to Radio 1 and specialised in modern black music, BBC 6 Music specialised in alternative music genres and BBC7 specialised in archive, speech and children's programming. The following few years resulted in repositioning of some channels to conform to
5382-676: The Corporation's governance and regulatory arrangements as a statutory corporation, including the role and composition of the BBC Board. The current Charter began on 1 January 2017 and ends on 31 December 2027; the Agreement being coterminous. The BBC Board was formed in April 2017. It replaced the previous governing body, the BBC Trust, which itself had replaced the board of governors in 2007. The board sets
5499-642: The GPO and the BBC had become deadlocked and the Postmaster General commissioned a review of broadcasting by the Sykes Committee. The committee recommended a short-term reorganisation of licence fees with improved enforcement in order to address the BBC's immediate financial distress, and an increased share of the licence revenue split between it and the GPO. This was to be followed by a simple 10 shillings licence fee to fund broadcasts. The BBC's broadcasting monopoly
5616-498: The GPO proposed that it would issue a single broadcasting licence to a company jointly owned by a consortium of leading wireless receiver manufacturers, to be known as the British Broadcasting Company Ltd , which was formed on 18 October 1922. John Reith , a Scottish Calvinist , was appointed its general manager in December 1922 a few weeks after the company made its first official broadcast. L. Stanton Jefferies
5733-557: The Null Field to target sound, so he can converse with Rex and Esther without being overheard. Jack explains the reason for his reticence: he is trying to protect humanity from technology they should not have access to, due to the damage to the timeline. He also explains that the tech is alien, and that it most likely came from the Torchwood Hub. It was buried in the ruins as shown in the third series , but Angelo must have had people salvage
5850-498: The Prime Minister, maintained the censorship of editorial opinions on public policy, but allowed the BBC to address matters of religious, political or industrial controversy. The resulting political "talk series", designed to inform England on political issues, were criticised by members of parliament, including Winston Churchill, David Lloyd George and Sir Austen Chamberlain . Those who opposed these chats claimed that they silence
5967-531: The Road ". While at a hotel in Dallas , Texas a prostitute named Claire ( Megan M. Duffy ) tells him that he is due to be classified as "Category Zero". Kitzinger reveals that this is a ruling that would have convicted criminals like Danes incinerated, and that his 15 minutes of fame are over. Danes smuggles himself into Wales, where he arrives at the home of Torchwood agent Gwen Cooper ( Eve Myles ). Having stolen Kitzinger's laptop, Danes reveals that she left clues to
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#17330854282916084-492: The UK's first Independent local radio station, LBC came on-air in the London area. As a result of the Pilkington Committee report of 1962, in which the BBC was praised for the quality and range of its output, and ITV was very heavily criticised for not providing enough quality programming, the decision was taken to award the BBC a second television channel, BBC2 , in 1964, renaming the existing service BBC1 . BBC2 used
6201-622: The air and forced the British government finally to regulate radio services to permit nationally based advertising-financed services. In response, the BBC reorganised and renamed their radio channels. On 30 September 1967, the Light Programme was split into Radio 1 offering continuous "Popular" music and Radio 2 more "Easy Listening". The "Third" programme became Radio 3 offering classical music and cultural programming. The Home Service became Radio 4 offering news, and non-musical content such as quiz shows, readings, dramas and plays. As well as
6318-491: The alliance with the Families due to their common goal, but Angelo was rejected because they frowned on his homosexuality. While Olivia explains this, a CIA team led by Brian Friedkin captures everyone in the mansion. Friedkin is trying to cover up the Families and his treason. Rex explains that he set Friedkin up, so that he could expose him to the CIA at large. Using the I-5 contact lenses, he transmits Friedkin gloating straight onto
6435-458: The broadcast of baseball, rugby and hockey, the BBC emphasised service for a national rather than a regional audience. Boat races were well covered along with tennis and horse racing, but the BBC was reluctant to spend its severely limited air time on long football or cricket games, regardless of their popularity. John Reith and the BBC, with support from the Crown , determined the universal needs of
6552-606: The challenge of better reflecting and representing a changing UK". Since 2017, the BBC has also funded the Local Democracy Reporting Service , with up to 165 journalists employed by independent news organisations to report on local democracy issues on a pooled basis. In 2016, the BBC Director General Tony Hall announced a savings target of £800 million per year by 2021, which is about 23% of annual licence fee revenue. Having to take on
6669-464: The closure of BBC Television Centre in March 2013. On 16 February 2016, the BBC Three television service was discontinued and replaced by a digital outlet under the same name, targeting its young adult audience with web series and other content. Under the new royal charter instituted in 2017, the corporation must publish an annual report to Ofcom, outlining its plans and public service obligations for
6786-408: The corporation began to sell off a number of its operational divisions to private owners; BBC Broadcast was spun off as a separate company in 2002, and in 2005, it was sold off to Australian -based Macquarie Capital Alliance Group and Macquarie Group Limited and rebranded Red Bee Media . The BBC's IT , telephony and broadcast technology were brought together as BBC Technology Ltd in 2001, and
6903-418: The day of his execution - the so-called Miracle Day, when death ceases worldwide - Danes survives his own lethal injection . His survival draws global attention, and he subsequently is released from prison on a legal technicality. After being offered both exposure and protection by public relations expert Jilly Kitzinger ( Lauren Ambrose ), he becomes her client, which helps him gain more publicity. Following
7020-544: The desert, and he comes back in, and there is a certain kind of way in which he still has pride." SFX described Danes' journey as one from a Hannibal Lecter type character to a Billy Graham or messianic figure. Pullman observed that Oswald's failure to die "becomes the pivot for a whole world that has changed"; feeling that his character was an intelligent one who knows he can provide a message people want to hear. Discussing Danes' fall from grace, series writer Jane Espenson explains that "humanity doesn't seize on heroes for
7137-553: The division was later sold to the German company Siemens IT Solutions and Services (SIS). SIS was subsequently acquired from Siemens by the French company Atos . Further divestments included BBC Books (sold to Random House in 2006); BBC Outside Broadcasts Ltd (sold in 2008 to Satellite Information Services ); Costumes and Wigs (stock sold in 2008 to Angels Costumes ); and BBC Magazines (sold to Immediate Media Company in 2011). After
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#17330854282917254-407: The facilitation of a loan to Prime Minister Boris Johnson . Dame Elan Closs Stephens was appointed as acting chairwoman on 27 June 2023, and she would lead the BBC board for a year or until a new permanent chair has been appointed. Samir Shah was subsequently appointed with effect from 4 March 2024. In October 2024 it was announced that the BBC along with Sky Sports signed a deal to broadcast
7371-404: The famous Australian soprano Dame Nellie Melba . The Melba broadcast caught the people's imagination and marked a turning point in the British public's attitude to radio. However, this public enthusiasm was not shared in official circles where such broadcasts were held to interfere with important military and civil communications. By late 1920, the pressure from these quarters and uneasiness among
7488-447: The first fully electronic television system in the world to be used in regular broadcasting. The success of broadcasting provoked animosities between the BBC and well-established media such as theatres, concert halls and the recording industry. By 1929, the BBC complained that the agents of many comedians refused to sign contracts for broadcasting, because they feared it harmed the artist "by making his material stale" and that it "reduces
7605-429: The following year, BBC Choice was launched as the third general entertainment channel from the BBC. The BBC also purchased The Parliamentary Channel, which was renamed BBC Parliament . In 1999, BBC Knowledge launched as a multimedia channel, with services available on the newly launched BBC Text digital teletext service (later rebranded as BBC Red Button), and on BBC Online . The channel had an educational aim, which
7722-453: The forthcoming ending of the remaining £253 million funding towards pensioner licence fees would increase financial pressures. In January 2021, it was reported that former banker Richard Sharp would succeed David Clementi , as chairman, when he stepped down in February. In March 2023, the BBC was at the centre of a political row with football pundit Gary Lineker , after he criticised
7839-499: The four national channels, a series of local BBC radio stations were established in 1967, including Radio London . In 1969, the BBC Enterprises department was formed to exploit BBC brands and programmes for commercial spin-off products. In 1979, it became a wholly owned limited company, BBC Enterprises Ltd. In 1974, the BBC's teletext service, Ceefax , was introduced, created initially to provide subtitling, but developed into
7956-473: The fourth series of the British science fiction television series Torchwood . It was first broadcast in the United States on Starz on 26 August 2011, and in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 1 September 2011. Torchwood: Miracle Day follows the aftermath of a day where humanity has stopped being able to die. In the episode, a team called Torchwood discovers a conspiracy by three families to use its leader Jack Harkness ' ( John Barrowman ) blood to start
8073-612: The full cost of running the BBC World Service and the BBC Monitoring service from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and partially finance the Welsh broadcaster S4C . Further cuts were announced on 6 October 2011, so the BBC could reach a total reduction in their budget of 20%, following the licence fee freeze in October 2010, which included cutting staff by 2,000 and sending a further 1,000 to
8190-521: The government. Throughout the 1930s, political broadcasts had been closely monitored by the BBC. In 1935, the BBC censored the broadcasts of Oswald Mosley and Harry Pollitt . Mosley was a leader of the British Union of Fascists , and Pollitt a leader of the Communist Party of Great Britain . They had been contracted to provide a series of five broadcasts on their parties' politics. The BBC, in conjunction with The Foreign Office of Britain, first suspended this series and ultimately cancelled it without
8307-405: The higher resolution 625-line standard which had been standardised across Europe. BBC2 was broadcast in colour from 1 July 1967 and was joined by BBC1 and ITV on 15 November 1969. The 405-line VHF transmissions of BBC1 (and ITV) were continued for compatibility with older television receivers until 1985. Starting in 1964, a series of pirate radio stations (starting with Radio Caroline ) came on
8424-534: The late 1980s, the BBC began a process of divestment by spinning off and selling parts of its organisation. In 1988, it sold off the Hulton Press Library, a photographic archive which had been acquired from the Picture Post magazine by the BBC in 1957. The archive was sold to Brian Deutsch and is now owned by Getty Images . In 1987, the BBC decided to centralize its operations by the management team with
8541-665: The leader of the Free French, made a speech, broadcast by the BBC, urging the French people not to capitulate to the Nazis. In October 1940, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret made their first radio broadcast for the BBC's Children's Hour , addressing other children who had been evacuated from cities. In 1938, John Reith and the Government of the United Kingdom , specifically the Ministry of Information which had been set up for WWII, designed
8658-465: The location of "the Blessing" in mistranslated news stories from China and Argentina. Fearful that Rhys ( Kai Owen ), Gwen's husband and father of their daughter, may murder Danes, she and Harkness take him to Shanghai . In " The Blood Line " Harkness straps Danes with explosives and uses him as insurance against his and Gwen's lives as they face the Families , the perpetrators of the 'Miracle'. When death
8775-498: The long–term", and that Danes' descent from fame was a way to make his arc more realistic. Though Danes dies helping the Torchwood team, Espenson remarked that "we didn't want to outright redeem this horrible, horrible man" commenting that his death is intended as "redemption and comeuppance both." The Independent ' s Neela Debnath observed that whilst the character of Danes had "become likeable in an odd-sort of way" his last scenes "reiterated just how despicable he was" and that it
8892-535: The loss-making consortium, and Reith was keen that the BBC be seen as a public service rather than a commercial enterprise. The recommendations of the Crawford Committee were published in March the following year and were still under consideration by the GPO when the 1926 United Kingdom general strike broke out in May. The strike temporarily interrupted newspaper production, and with restrictions on news bulletins waived,
9009-501: The machines, until he realizes that unlike everyone else on the planet, the rules for the miracle do not apply to Angelo either; he has actually died. In Dallas, Oswald asks Jilly to get him a prostitute on a whim, claiming he wants something normal in this new world. Jilly takes on a new intern, unaware that she is a CIA agent. When the prostitute arrives at Oswald's room, she is surprised to learn that Oswald just wants to have dinner with her. She rejects his offer and tells him that as
9126-754: The material their broadcasts would cover. Nothing was to be added outside the preordained news items. For example, the BBC Polish Service was heavily censored due to fears of jeopardising relations with the Soviet Union . Controversial topics, i.e. the contested Polish and Soviet border, the deportation of Polish citizens, the arrests of Polish Home Army members and the Katyn massacre , were not included in Polish broadcasts. American radio broadcasts were broadcast across Europe on BBC channels. This material also passed through
9243-530: The modest, church-going elderly or a member of the Clergy . Until 1928, entertainers broadcasting on the BBC, both singers and "talkers" were expected to avoid biblical quotations, Clerical impersonations and references, references to drink or Prohibition in the United States , vulgar and doubtful matter and political allusions. The BBC excluded popular foreign music and musicians from its broadcasts, while promoting British alternatives. On 5 March 1928, Stanley Baldwin,
9360-413: The new corporation adopted the coat of arms , including the motto "Nation shall speak peace unto Nation". British radio audiences had little choice apart from the upscale programming of the BBC. Reith, an intensely moralistic executive, was in full charge. His goal was to broadcast "All that is best in every department of human knowledge, endeavour and achievement.... The preservation of a high moral tone
9477-473: The next year. In its 2017–18 report, released July 2017, the BBC announced plans to "re-invent" its output to better compete against commercial streaming services such as Netflix . These plans included increasing the diversity of its content on television and radio, a major increase in investments towards digital children's content, and plans to make larger investments in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to "rise to
9594-413: The notice of the public. Less radical politicians faced similar censorship. In 1938, Winston Churchill proposed a series of talks regarding British domestic and foreign politics and affairs but was similarly censored. The censorship of political discourse by the BBC was a precursor to the total shutdown of political debate that manifested over the BBC's wartime airwaves. The Foreign Office maintained that
9711-541: The opinions of those in Parliament who are not nominated by Party Leaders or Party Whips, thus stifling independent, non-official views. In October 1932, the policemen of the Metropolitan Police Federation marched in protest at a proposed pay cut. Fearing dissent within the police force and public support for the movement, the BBC censored its coverage of the events, only broadcasting official statements from
9828-474: The past, and re-iterated that it was the writing that attracted him to the part, adding "I don't think I could do a child murderer just for a child murderer's sake". io9 felt the character of Danes to be a cross between Freddy Krueger and Jesus . Commenting on the Christ comparison, Pullman felt that his character was sort of the "doppelganger of Jesus or something." He stated of Danes: "It's like he's been out in
9945-407: The people of Britain and broadcast content according to these perceived standards. Reith effectively censored anything that he felt would be harmful, directly or indirectly. While recounting his time with the BBC in 1935, Raymond Postgate claims that BBC broadcasters were made to submit a draft of their potential broadcast for approval. It was expected that they tailored their content to accommodate
10062-435: The positive impression created by its balanced coverage of the views of government and strikers, Seaton has characterised the episode as the invention of "modern propaganda in its British form". Reith argued that trust gained by 'authentic impartial news' could then be used. Impartial news was not necessarily an end in itself. The BBC did well out of the crisis, which cemented a national audience for its broadcasting, and it
10179-476: The post, with a note saying 'We regret, etc.'" In the 1930s music broadcasts also enjoyed great popularity, for example the friendly and wide-ranging BBC Theatre Organ broadcasts at St George's Hall , London by Reginald Foort , who held the official role of BBC Staff Theatre Organist from 1936 to 1938. Television broadcasting was suspended from 1 September 1939 to 7 June 1946, during the World War II , and it
10296-425: The production team sought to cast him in role, she replied that it was because he was perceived as "America's sweetheart", which he interpreted to mean they were looking to destabilise viewers. Torchwood ' s creator, Russell T Davies , noted that upon expressing an interest in casting Pullman, he was told "you haven't got a chance." Though Pullman was aware of Torchwood , having had a friend who'd "evangelized"
10413-459: The public should not be aware of their role in the censorship. From 1935 to 1939, the BBC also attempted to unite the British Empire's radio waves, sending staff to Egypt, Palestine , Newfoundland , Jamaica, India, Canada and South Africa. Reith personally visited South Africa, lobbying for state-run radio programmes which was accepted by South African Parliament in 1936. A similar programme
10530-423: The radio and television divisions joining forces together for the first time, the activities of the news and currents departments and coordinated jointly under the new directorate. During the 1990s, this process continued with the separation of certain operational arms of the corporation into autonomous but wholly owned subsidiaries , with the aim of generating additional revenue for programme-making. BBC Enterprises
10647-500: The rug pulled swiftly out from under us as he commits yet another heinous crime." For his performance as Danes, Pullman received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in Television . BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation ( BBC ) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London , England. Originally established in 1922 as
10764-443: The sales of OBs and costumes, the remainder of BBC Resources was reorganised as BBC Studios and Post Production , which continues today as a wholly owned subsidiary of the BBC. The 2004 Hutton Inquiry and the subsequent report raised questions about the BBC's journalistic standards and its impartiality. This led to resignations of senior management members at the time including the then Director General, Greg Dyke . In January 2007,
10881-424: The secrets of immortality. Olivia reveals that the ones responsible for the Miracle are called "the Families", the three mob bosses who bought Jack when he was captured in 1928 and were able to create the miracle, in some manner related to his blood. Jack explains that his immortality doesn't work like that, but the Miracle is real, and a lot of his blood was taken while he was imprisoned. Angelo initially tried to join
10998-601: The sense of "the familiar, comforting actor you've watched for decades" being "hijacked by someone else." In a review of the first episode, Dan Martin from The Guardian opined that Pullman "stole the show as manipulative psychopath Oswald Danes" predicting "his character might give us one of the most compelling narratives." Reviewing the fifth episode of the series The Independent ' s Neela Debnath said of Pullman that "thus far he has given an extraordinary turn as Danes, which at times has veered towards hammy territory but has never entered it." However, Debnath felt that with
11115-417: The series, he had not watched the series before being cast. Upon reading the scripts, Pullman commented that he had been impressed at how well the series "knows itself" and the strength of each character's individual voice. In an interview with Zap2it , he remarked that he thought he was given the best role in the series. Pullman noted that he was prepared for the role, having played other troubled characters in
11232-572: The shadows of Oswald Danes, and more importantly, being recruited by the three families. What, exactly, do they want her to do? Whatever it is, lots more Lauren Ambrose in the final two episodes would be very, very welcome. I still think the more focused work in Immortal Sins has provide the highlight of the series to date. But I also liked that End of the Road was so keen to tell so much story. Credit to Star Trek veteran John de Lancie , who eats up every minute of screen time he's allowed. His contribution
11349-460: The staff of the licensing authority, the General Post Office (GPO), was sufficient to lead to a ban on further Chelmsford broadcasts. But by 1922, the GPO had received nearly 100 broadcast licence requests and moved to rescind its ban in the wake of a petition by 63 wireless societies with over 3,000 members. Anxious to avoid the same chaotic expansion experienced in the United States,
11466-427: The strategy for the corporation, assesses the performance of the BBC's executive board in delivering the BBC's services, and appoints the director-general. Ofcom is responsible for the regulation of the BBC. The board consists of the following members: The executive committee is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the broadcaster. Consisting of senior managers of the BBC, the committee meets once per month and
11583-414: The ten episodes, and is credited as a series regular. Whilst reaction to the serial and Pullman's character was mixed, Pullman's portrayal was praised by critics and in 2012 he received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor on Television . Danes is a former schoolteacher who molested several of the little girls he taught, and eventually killed one of them. He was sentenced to death, but on
11700-424: The transmitter, preparing for the miracle. It's suggested that Jack is mortal because Angelo used the device to target him as well through his blood. Jack begs Rex and Esther to help him escape, to help save the shining future he's seen. He takes a critical piece of the technology so nobody can replicate it. On the way out, an agent shoots Jack and sees Esther helping. Rex knocks the agent unconscious, and Esther drives
11817-421: The usual path of Torchwood, that suggests she's got a horrific decision at some point to face, and just two episodes in which to make it. Rex, meanwhile, hints at what's troubling him, in that his days might be numbered the minute the miracle is reversed. Which, presumably, it will be. Will he, and many others, just instantly die? That might make for a haunting final episode? We also get Jilly Kitzinger coming out of
11934-563: The value of the artist as a visible music-hall performer". On the other hand, the BBC was "keenly interested" in a cooperation with the recording companies who "in recent years ... have not been slow to make records of singers, orchestras, dance bands, etc. who have already proved their power to achieve popularity by wireless." Radio plays were so popular that the BBC had received 6,000 manuscripts by 1929, most of them written for stage and of little value for broadcasting: "Day in and day out, manuscripts come in, and nearly all go out again through
12051-509: The £700 million cost for free TV licences for the over-75 pensioners, and rapid inflation in drama and sport coverage costs, was given as the reason. Duplication of management and content spending would be reduced, and there would be a review of BBC News . In September 2019, the BBC launched the Trusted News Initiative to work with news and social media companies to combat disinformation about national elections. In 2020,
12168-441: Was a long time coming and didn't disappoint and again, the writing is subtle and effective, like watching Ali fight. All in all, 'End of the Road' is another great episode that allowed all the players, even Mekhi Pfifer as Rex, to showcase their skills as actors/actresses. Tons of questions are answered, and tons more presented. The giant ball that is Torchwood: Miracle Day's story arc is now rolling at full speed." Den of Geek gave
12285-442: Was a widely reported urban myth that, upon resumption of the BBC television service after the war, announcer Leslie Mitchell started by saying, "As I was saying before we were so rudely interrupted ..." In fact, the first person to appear when transmission resumed was Jasmine Bligh and the words said were "Good afternoon, everybody. How are you? Do you remember me, Jasmine Bligh ... ?" The European Broadcasting Union
12402-495: Was adopted in Canada. Through collaboration with these state-run broadcasting centres, Reith left a legacy of cultural influence across the empire of Great Britain with his departure from the corporation in 1938. Experimental television broadcasts were started in 1929, using an electromechanical 30-line system developed by John Logie Baird . Limited regular broadcasts using this system began in 1932, and an expanded service (now named
12519-513: Was divided on how to handle the BBC, but ended up trusting Reith, whose opposition to the strike mirrored the PM's own. Although Winston Churchill in particular wanted to commandeer the BBC to use it "to the best possible advantage", Reith wrote that Stanley Baldwin 's government wanted to be able to say "that they did not commandeer [the BBC], but they know that they can trust us not to be really impartial". Thus
12636-651: Was emphasised even in his final act of self-sacrifice. Pullman has expressed interest in reprising the role in a future Torchwood series. The first scene of Miracle Day depicts Oswald Danes surviving execution by lethal injection due to death spontaneously ceasing. His lawyers successfully advance a force majeure argument; as a result, the Governor of Kentucky is forced to release Danes on parole. Danes accepts an offer of representation from public relations guru Jilly Kitzinger ( Lauren Ambrose ) after his fame leads to him being assaulted in public, leading to him becoming
12753-640: Was followed by the Government's acceptance of the recommendation made by the Crawford Committee (1925–26) that the British Broadcasting Company be replaced by a non-commercial, Crown-chartered organisation: the British Broadcasting Corporation. The British Broadcasting Corporation came into existence on 1 January 1927, and Reith – newly knighted – was appointed its first director general. To represent its purpose and (stated) values,
12870-474: Was formed on 12 February 1950, in Torquay with the BBC among the 23 founding broadcasting organisations. Competition to the BBC was introduced in 1955, with the commercial and independently operated television network of Independent Television (ITV) . However, the BBC monopoly on radio services would persist until 8 October 1973 when under the control of the newly renamed Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA),
12987-504: Was its first director of music. The company was to be financed by a royalty on the sale of BBC wireless receiving sets from approved domestic manufacturers. To this day, the BBC aims to follow the Reithian directive to "inform, educate and entertain". The financial arrangements soon proved inadequate. Set sales were disappointing as amateurs made their own receivers and listeners bought rival unlicensed sets. By mid-1923, discussions between
13104-575: Was left to BBC Radio broadcasters such as Reginald Foort to keep the nation's spirits up. The BBC moved most of its radio operations out of London, initially to Bristol , and then to Bedford . Concerts were broadcast from the Bedford Corn Exchange ; the Trinity Chapel in St Paul's Church, Bedford was the studio for the daily service from 1941 to 1945, and, in the darkest days of the war in 1941,
13221-538: Was made explicit for the duration of its current broadcast licence, as was the prohibition on advertising. To avoid competition with newspapers, Fleet Street persuaded the government to ban news bulletins before 7 pm and the BBC was required to source all news from external wire services. The Radio Times , the world's first and longest-running radio and television listings magazine, was launched by Reith in September 1923. The first edition, subtitled "The official organ of
13338-400: Was modified later on in its life to offer documentaries. In 2002, several television and radio channels were reorganised. BBC Knowledge was replaced by BBC Four and became the BBC's arts and documentaries channel. CBBC , which had been a programming strand as Children's BBC since 1985, was split into CBBC and CBeebies , for younger children, with both new services getting a digital channel:
13455-457: Was reorganised and relaunched in 1995, as BBC Worldwide Ltd. In 1998, BBC studios, outside broadcasts, post production, design, costumes and wigs were spun off into BBC Resources Ltd. The BBC Research & Development has played a major part in the development of broadcasting and recording techniques. The BBC was also responsible for the development of the NICAM stereo standard. In recent decades,
13572-479: Was replaced by BBC Two HD in the same month. On 18 October 2007, BBC Director General Mark Thompson announced a controversial plan to make major cuts and reduce the size of the BBC as an organisation. The plans included a reduction in posts of 2,500; including 1,800 redundancies, consolidating news operations, reducing programming output by 10% and selling off the flagship Television Centre building in London. These plans were fiercely opposed by unions, who threatened
13689-577: Was the right time for him to depart the cast. Charlie Jane Anders of io9 commented enthusiastically on Danes' portrayal, stating that "perhaps the greatest miracle in Torchwood: Miracle Day is Bill Pullman's performance." Anders cited that the character's journey "seems bizarre and unlikely, but Pullman makes it work." Mikey O'Connell from Zap2it likened Pullman's performance to that of John Lithgow as The Trinity Killer in Dexter , both having
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