LOOKING AND LISTENING

From Mind to Muscle
By JOAN NEWTON
ATV, lately, have produced some
interesting leaflets called "Comment" which are meant to tell who, among its potential viewers, watches ITV and who BBC.
No. 2 "Comment" deals with serious programmes and claims that more people watch ITV's more thoughtful programmes than those put out by BBC. But if we take "serious programmes" on the basis of news bulletins only. about which I do happen to know quite a lot, it is obvious that ITV news, though rated as "serious". is of a much lighter and more popular nature than the solid and dependable BBC news.
Even so, I have it from an irreproachable source that, probably, more Catholics watch ITV than BBC. 1 am sorry about this, mainly because, watching BBC a lot as I do. from choice, I think the public are missing a great deal.
Public viewing taste, at present, is not very discriminating, though, through the schools (both on ITV and BBC) and other programmes the taste of the younger members of the family is gradually expanding and deepening PRODUCERS on both channels are deploring the lack of good playwrights, though on ITV, the constant breaks for advertisements can mean artistic heart-break both for author and producer, Catholics can do much to encourage the production of plays and features suitable for the whole family by making their opinions felt a bit more, i.e., by writing up to the authorities concerned and. above all, by taking "Annunciation" regularly.
This monthly magazine is dedicated to showing the Catholic viewpoint about radio, TV and the cinema. It only costs 6d. a month and badly needs a bigger circulation if it is to make ends meet. I am always glad, myself. to hear from parents about the viewing likes and dislikes of themselves and their families.
I HAVEN'T left myself much room to talk about the week's programmes. Strangely enough those I can remember most clearly were both scientific and both. in a way. insignificant.
One was on the radio and was the repeat on Saturday morning of the Network Three "Science Survey" called "An Antibiotic Policy" and given by MaryBarber. M.D.
She was speaking about the way some bacteria have built up a resistance to penicillin and other antibiotics. ln fact the proportion
of resistant strains of bacteria in hospitals all over the world is growing day by day. Her description of the fight that doctors are having to put up against this increase was tremendously interesting.
THEN ATV's truly magnificent
weekly Sunday programme " It Can Happen Tomorrow "tinder the guidance of David Lutyens—went into complicated and marvellous detail about the structure of muscles. We were shown pictures enlarged to the nth degree of the wonderful apparatus which makes just one strand of muscle function. Programmes of this type. though they do not get the headlines. give more food for thought than any of the other more spectacular programmes put together.