By Tom Geoghegan BBC News Magazine The love affair between Clive James and mainstream television may have ended five years ago. But on the eve of his new weekly Radio 4 broadcast which will be featured on the Magazine, he waxes lyrical about the new object of his affection, the web.
By Tom Geoghegan BBC News Magazine The love affair between Clive James and mainstream television may have ended five years ago. But on the eve of his new weekly Radio 4 broadcast which will be featured on the Magazine, he waxes lyrical about the new object of his affection, the web.
Clive James makes an unlikely webcasting pioneer.
Clive James makes an unlikely webcasting pioneer.
The self-confessed pen-and-paper man, who jokes that he can hardly turn on a computer, was part of the television landscape for 20 years.
The self-confessed pen-and-paper man, who jokes that he can hardly turn on a computer, was part of the television landscape for 20 years.
Other fans remember him for his work as columnist and writer, but few would have expected the 67-year-old Australian to carve out a niche online.
Other fans remember him for his work as columnist and writer, but few would have expected the 67-year-old Australian to carve out a niche online.
What I saw about the web is its infinite capacity to absorb and transmit material without taking up any space
What I saw about the web is its infinite capacity to absorb and transmit material without taking up any space
His impressive multi-media website, which acts as a one-stop shop for much of his work, may encourage other broadcasters and writers to follow suit. There is work by James and his favourite authors, plus webcasts of dozens of interviews conducted in his living room with the likes of Julian Barnes, Martin Amis and Cate Blanchett.
His impressive multi-media website, which acts as a one-stop shop for much of his work, may encourage other broadcasters and writers to follow suit. There is work by James and his favourite authors, plus webcasts of dozens of interviews conducted in his living room with the likes of Julian Barnes, Martin Amis and Cate Blanchett.
And the enthusiasm for his new form of expression comes out in a series of typical Jamesian images.
And the enthusiasm for his new form of expression comes out in a series of typical Jamesian images.
"It's like simultaneously painting and skating and dancing and singing," he says. "Everything at once. It's terrific fun.
"It's like simultaneously painting and skating and dancing and singing," he says. "Everything at once. It's terrific fun.
"I hope it's going to be a clearing in the jungle, an oasis, a cross between a space station and a university campus."
"I hope it's going to be a clearing in the jungle, an oasis, a cross between a space station and a university campus."
The production costs are covered by the channel Artsworld, which broadcasts some of his material, and Slate magazine in the US. The embryonic vision for this was formed way back in 1996, when he first viewed a webcast, in narrowband, and knew it was going to change everything.
The production costs are covered by the channel Artsworld, which broadcasts some of his material, and Slate magazine in the US. The embryonic vision for this was formed way back in 1996, when he first viewed a webcast, in narrowband, and knew it was going to change everything.
Artistic tension
Artistic tension
"What I saw about the web is its infinite capacity to absorb and transmit material without taking up any space. It doesn't weigh anything. So it's off your conscience. If you give all your books to a library you're taking up space."
"What I saw about the web is its infinite capacity to absorb and transmit material without taking up any space. It doesn't weigh anything. So it's off your conscience. If you give all your books to a library you're taking up space."
Corleone bows to Soprano, says James
The book remains the most advanced piece of technology, in his view, but the web offered him an element of control over content which he sorely lacked on television.
The book remains the most advanced piece of technology, in his view, but the web offered him an element of control over content which he sorely lacked on television.
He concedes there had always been a healthy tension between his serious artistic side - the critic, author, poet and lyricist - and the lighter entertainment which had made him famous. But it came to breaking point on his chatshow when ITV refused his choice of guest, prima ballerina Deborah Bull, in favour of Ginger Spice.
He concedes there had always been a healthy tension between his serious artistic side - the critic, author, poet and lyricist - and the lighter entertainment which had made him famous. But it came to breaking point on his chatshow when ITV refused his choice of guest, prima ballerina Deborah Bull, in favour of Ginger Spice.
POTTED CV Born in 1939 in New South Wales, AustraliaMoved to London in 1961 and later read English at Cambridge Joined the Observer as TV critic in 1972, stayed for 10 yearsFirst volume of his autobiography Unreliable Memoirs (1979) and first work of fiction, Brilliant Creatures (1982), are bestsellersPresenter on numerous ITV and BBC shows, including Clive James on Television and Postcards From...Announces TV retirement in 2001 to writeEpic work on modern culture, Cultural Amnesia, to be published 2007
"Geri Halliwell is a nice person and it's true the ratings do go up by a million if you interview a Spice Girl rather than a ballerina.
"Geri Halliwell is a nice person and it's true the ratings do go up by a million if you interview a Spice Girl rather than a ballerina.
POTTED CV Born in 1939 in New South Wales, AustraliaMoved to London in 1961 and later read English at Cambridge Joined the Observer as TV critic in 1972, stayed for 10 yearsFirst volume of his autobiography Unreliable Memoirs (1979) and first work of fiction, Brilliant Creatures (1982), are bestsellersPresenter on numerous ITV and BBC shows, including Clive James on Television and Postcards From...Announces TV retirement in 2001 to writeEpic work on modern culture, Cultural Amnesia, to be published 2007
"That's what's crushing about mainstream television. There's only one way round that. And that's to get off mainstream TV and into a niche market."
"That's what's crushing about mainstream television. There's only one way round that. And that's to get off mainstream TV and into a niche market."
There is no sense of regret about the move although some commentators have suggested that, like many television presenters before him, his time was up.
There is no sense of regret about the move although some commentators have suggested that, like many television presenters before him, his time was up.
So he vanished from the nation's living rooms in 2001 to write. And write. And write. Now the fruits of four years of labour are about to be revealed in his forthcoming epic book on modern culture, Cultural Amnesia, which follows hot on the heels of the fourth volume of his memoirs, North Face of Soho.
So he vanished from the nation's living rooms in 2001 to write. And write. And write. Now the fruits of four years of labour are about to be revealed in his forthcoming epic book on modern culture, Cultural Amnesia, which follows hot on the heels of the fourth volume of his memoirs, North Face of Soho.
His time away from the small screen has not dulled his appreciation of it. If he was still a television critic, as he was for 10 years, he would be singing the praises of The West Wing, The Sopranos and Catherine Tate, he says.
His time away from the small screen has not dulled his appreciation of it. If he was still a television critic, as he was for 10 years, he would be singing the praises of The West Wing, The Sopranos and Catherine Tate, he says.
Corleone bows to Soprano, says James
"The actual quality has gone up, although the average has gone down because of reality television.
"The actual quality has gone up, although the average has gone down because of reality television.
"You can watch people on screen doing endlessly nothing, but the history programmes Laurence Rees did on the Nazis for the BBC are better than anything else you'll find. The best TV is as good as it's ever been or better."
"You can watch people on screen doing endlessly nothing, but the history programmes Laurence Rees did on the Nazis for the BBC are better than anything else you'll find. The best TV is as good as it's ever been or better."
James has repeatedly turned down I'm A Celebrity, by telling them he did not want to see again the patch of Australian jungle where he was born. And although he admires Strictly Come Dancing, he has refused appearing out of respect for the integrity of the tango.
Postcards From... was a series of traveloguesJames has repeatedly turned down I'm A Celebrity, by telling them he did not want to see again the patch of Australian jungle where he was born. And although he admires Strictly Come Dancing, he has refused appearing out of respect for the integrity of the tango.
He laments the passing of television schedules which placed the high arts nestling alongside family entertainment on prime time. But he is realistic enough to recognise that TV executives could no longer paternalistically impose their taste on audiences in the digital age.
He laments the passing of television schedules which placed the high arts nestling alongside family entertainment on prime time. But he is realistic enough to recognise that TV executives could no longer paternalistically impose their taste on audiences in the digital age.
"You'll still get ballet and opera and there's a niche for them but you won't get them unexpectedly turning up on a mainstream channel, which was the mission of television controllers after World War II: 'bring arts to the people, we'll smuggle it in.'
"You'll still get ballet and opera and there's a niche for them but you won't get them unexpectedly turning up on a mainstream channel, which was the mission of television controllers after World War II: 'bring arts to the people, we'll smuggle it in.'
"They used to put it on with Morecambe and Wise. Those days are gone and they're not coming back. I liked that idea but it couldn't survive in a competitive commercial culture."
"They used to put it on with Morecambe and Wise. Those days are gone and they're not coming back. I liked that idea but it couldn't survive in a competitive commercial culture."
YouTube
YouTube
James is as happy discussing Buffy as he is Bertrand Russell, and in one memorable essay he argues why The Sopranos is superior to The Godfather. In the same eclectic way, James's television work includes the chat show, the authored documentary and snippets of foreign trashy television. The latter could arguably have paved the way for the kind of content popular on YouTube.
James is as happy discussing Buffy as he is Bertrand Russell, and in one memorable essay he argues why The Sopranos is superior to The Godfather.
In the same eclectic way, his television work includes the chat show, the authored documentary and snippets of foreign trashy television. The latter could arguably have paved the way for the kind of content popular on YouTube.
QUESTIONS FROM READERS Stig: Did your wonderful phrase in your Observer column "when one of your footsteps goes silent" spring from a particular encounter with dog mess? Clive: I was in the gathering dusk and I suddenly realised there was an eerie silence coming from my left foot. I looked down. I wrote a column on it. I was the first really scientific student of dog mess. Matthew: Any chance we can see you commentating for F1 again? The '85 season tape is simply the best.Clive: It's really up to Bernie Ecclestone and if he asked me I don't think there'd be time, but I loved doing it. And it will take real money because there are rights involved. Candace: What do you make of the popularity of Chopper Reid videos on Google? Clive: He's a homicidal maniac and some people like watching those people. I on the whole try to avoid those people.
"Some people give me personal credit for destroying the whole of world television by publicising the Japanese gameshow.
"Some people give me personal credit for destroying the whole of world television by publicising the Japanese gameshow.
"The only point I ever made was that the Japanese were having fun. It never occurred to me that the format would conquer the world. That was YouTube."
"The only point I ever made was that the Japanese were having fun. It never occurred to me that the format would conquer the world. That was YouTube."
Postcards From... was a series of travelogues
Among his many new projects, few excite him more than his weekly BBC Radio 4 broadcast, A Point of View, which begins on Friday and will be available as transcript here on the Magazine.
Among his many new projects, few excite him more than his weekly BBC Radio 4 broadcast, A Point of View, which begins on Friday and will be available as transcript here on the Magazine.
This is his "dream gig" and he intends to engage and entertain listeners on any topic in the news. The first broadcast will tackle wheelie bins, a subject which he says exercises him at the home he shares with his wife in Cambridgeshire.
This is his "dream gig" and he intends to engage and entertain listeners on any topic in the news. The first broadcast will tackle wheelie bins, a subject which he says exercises him at the home he shares with his wife in Cambridgeshire.
"The thing I do on A Point of View is an old man's sport, there's no young version so it's fitting for me in my twilight years. I'm not exactly in the departure lounge yet. My retirement is turning out to be very busy."
"The thing I do on A Point of View is an old man's sport, there's no young version so it's fitting for me in my twilight years. I'm not exactly in the departure lounge yet. My retirement is turning out to be very busy."
And in keeping with his new multi-media guise, he has secured permission to transmit it on his website, and hopes to eventually have transcript in more than a dozen languages to help his foreign fans who are learning English.
And in keeping with his new multi-media guise, he has secured permission to transmit it on his website, and hopes to eventually have transcript in more than a dozen languages to help his foreign fans who are learning English.
A Point of View is on BBC Radio 4 at 2250 GMT on Friday and 0850 GMT on Sunday.
A Point of View is on BBC Radio 4 at 2250 GMT on Friday and 0850 GMT on Sunday.
Some Magazine readers' questions answered by Clive James:
Stig: Your column in the Observer was required reading when I was growing up. Did the wonderful phrase "when one of your footsteps goes silent" spring from a particular encounter with dog mess?
Clive: I was in the gathering dusk and I suddenly realised there was an eerie silence coming from my left foot. I looked down. I was the first really scientific student of dog mess and wrote a column about it.
Matthew: Any chance we can see you commentating for F1 again? The '85 season tape is simply the best.
Clive: That's a very flattering question. It's really up to Bernie Ecclestone and if he asked me I don't think there'd be time, but I loved doing it. I have dreams but it will take real money because there are rights involved. At the moment it's ruled out.
Candace: What do you make of the popularity of Chopper Reid videos on Google?
Clive: Some people like violence and snuff movies. It's a terrific performance by Eric Bana. But he's a homicidal maniac and some people like watching those people. I on the whole try to avoid those people.
Add your comments on this story, using the form below.
Add your comments on this story, using the form below.
