New Technology: E-mail Comments from Viewers on the Net

I have just watched The Net for the first time, having recently become interested in the Internet and its implications for society. On the evidence of tonight’s programme, I doubt if I shall repeat the experience.

Why do you assume that people interested in computers have to be presented with gimmicky visuals and weird sound effects, not to mention extremely distracting music for much of the time? It would be so refreshing if somebody somewhere would produce a programme about computers that assumed the audience were mature individuals and seriously interested in the subject.

Well, the preview of The Net on BBC 2 looks very ominous indeed. It seems that the producer, when apparently ‘taking our views’, was really just taking the piss out of us!

A Ms Estuaryaccent talks loudly over a crappy dance track, mentioning the word ‘cyberspace’ about ten times. There’s an actor in an anorak moaning about all the new users of the Internet, and there’s lots of flickering, fast speed, ‘technografix’ and ominous deep-throated warnings about ‘Big Brother’ and several other ‘cyber’ prefixed items.

I can’t convey in words how abysmal this preview was.

Well, it looks like it’s going to be another desperate, pretentious and sensationalist pile of shallow crap, then.

I am a 15-year-old who is interested in the information highway and what it has to offer. I subscribe to CompuServe, and appreciate receiving NETmail.

I am writing to you because I believe that the style of your programme is very good. I think that all of the criticism that keeps getting thrown at you is totally unjustified. I did not watch the first series, but have watched all of series 2 so far, and I am really enjoying it. I think that the weird filters and jaunty camera angles simply make the programme more interesting.

FYI, I 2 thought the Jeff Noon last week was OTT, pretentious and not much cop. BUT overall The Net is still very good, e.g. this week’s piece on portable computing was just ozzing, i.e. the BT wrist computer I WANT 1.

Keep up the good work.