PBS announced that the second season of Last Tango in Halifax will air on PBS beginning Sunday June 29, 2014.
You read that right: June 29. Five months from now.
As far as I’m concerned here at Old Ain’t Dead, that’s a unacceptable delay and wait.
Blimey
Okay, I am pretty upset with PBS. And I was trying to stage a revolt against the 5 month wait on my little blog. Then I heard from Tony Gardner, who plays John on Last Tango in Halifax.
@OldAintDead Sorry, but you are encouraging people to watch the show in an illegal way that stuffs the actors.
— Tony Gardner (@Tonygardner) January 25, 2014
So here’s the thing. Last Tango in Halifax
- is pretty much the best show on earth
- is home to great actors and I don’t want to stuff any of them
So I’ve decided not to encourage you to violate any intellectual property laws in an effort to override the inertia of PBS. I’ve also decided to wait to publish my recaps until PBS actually airs the show in June.
I Hate This
I hate the fact that in an Internet-connected world where there is no place, no geography, any longer, we are bound by geographic restrictions on content.
I hate PBS taking its sweet time to air something that is out in the ether in a million other ways. Why are they so slow? What’s the purpose of the delay? Why not simulcast it like Doctor Who? Why not show it shortly after the British version has shown like Downton Abbey?
Is it about money? Doesn’t the show have good enough ratings?
Yes, I’ve seen season 2 on the BBC. It isn’t that I’m dying of curiosity because I haven’t seen it yet. But – and this is a big but, I will watch the whole series AGAIN when it comes out on PBS. It isn’t that knowing season 2 is going to prevent me from seeing it on PBS. I’ll watch it on PBS. Whatever I contribute to PBS in ratings when the show airs is still coming their way.
Here’s the real point for me: PBS is taking too freaking long to bring the show to America. Too freaking long.
I may rant about this until June.
