Sick grandad becomes first person in Britain to die on national television

[TheRightToArmBears]

Evidently the family and him were aware of it, and were happy with it. I personally don't see a problem. It's not graphic, if you didn't know you could be forgiven for thinking he was falling asleep. It's shocking in the good way, I like the idea of it personally, if it's done respectfully.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Not the first person by a long shot. Tommy Cooper died live on stage.(televised)

I believe there was another person who filmed their own death as well, but... I don't know how I feel about this.

I think it means a death that was planned, if someone died live on stage i doubt it was on purpose.

you think he planned his own death to shock the audience?

TBF, I think he carried on despite his failing health. I remember watching it and it was a hell of a shock.

He'd just come to the end of one of his routines, and then he collapsed Mr Bean style against the curtain. Everyone laughed.

And then nothing happened.

And then they cut to commercials very fast.

It was....harrowing.

 

[DrVengeance]

Watershed.
People die all the time.
Science.
Parents can control what programmes their kids watch.

 

[zehydra]

I actually can't believe the Family aloud it either, it's just...wrong! The BBC says it's for science, i say it's wrong and should not have been shown! What if kids were to have see this? it's just stupid and to be honest i think the family should be ashamed!

How is someone passing away from cancer something that is wrong to be shown. What damage will it do to children?

It's just un-easing, fair enough if he wanted it, but still leaves me feeling a little queasy.

And i admit i may of went a bit over the top about kids, still could be upsetting for them if they know what's going on though.

if it bothers you, then don't watch it.

Hell, I remember on 9/11 seeing that footage made me VERY VERY uneasy for a while.

If there are kids watching it, then good for them, it'll definitely be something for them to think about in their otherwise super protected lives.

 

[Sarcastic_Applause]

we shouldnt be stigmatising death, it makes absolutely no sense, and of all things on T.V, you think kids would be receptive to this? We witness death in movies and t.v shows all the time, families deal with it on a daily basis.
Its not as though they had comedy intermissions, it was all for the sake of scientific study, and thats fine with me; we need to observe these things so we may better understand what it is we will all go through...

Until i discover the secret of immortality...

 

[JasonKaotic]

This is pretty wrong on way too many levels. How the hell is this allowed?!

Why is it wrong? People face death in their families all the time, why shouldn't it be allowed on TV?

Not because of the sight of someone dying, it's just a bit disrespectful. I don't think anyone wants to spend the last moments of their life with a camera pressed in their face, then their family mourning their death with people just stood there recording them.

Edit: Okay, I get it. You can stop quoting me now.

 

[Ladette]

If he's cool with it then so am I.

Who am I to tell them what's right?

 

[lobster1077]

This is wrong on SO many levels =| i can't believe the BBC have showed this!


I actually can't believe the Family aloud it either, it's just...wrong! The BBC says it's for science, i say it's wrong and should not have been shown! What if kids were to have see this? it's just stupid and to be honest i think the family should be ashamed!

Your thoughts?

Hold it, what disgusts you so much about this? His death doesn't seem to be glorified. It just seems like an interesting insight into this mans life and his final moments.

 

[k-ossuburb]

Death is universal and not something to be shied away from. From what I've read in the article it seems that it was handled with the intention of education, not to make a mockery of the event or trivialize it in some way.

The BBC should not apologize for this, consent was given by all parties involved which means they fully understood what they were doing.

We might not like to think of death, but it is a vital part of life, and confronting it, examining it and learning from it is the only way to gain any real benefit from it in the first place.

By televising a man's death the BBC explained, in a scientific manner, exactly what was happening and why according to the facts we (as a species) have gained through experimentation and study and published said knowledge to a wider audience that may or may not use this information in their own way.

I do not believe in censorship, regardless of content and who it will offend. If nobodies rights are being exploited and nobody is being directly or indirectly harmed then I take no issue with it. I've seen a few of these before and the BBC are unbiased in their presentation of scientific, historical, political and religious documentaries alike. Their only intent is to spread information, what you do with that information is up to you.

 

[Serving UpSmiles]

I actually can't believe the Family aloud it either, it's just...wrong! The BBC says it's for science, i say it's wrong and should not have been shown! What if kids were to have see this? it's just stupid and to be honest i think the family should be ashamed!

How is someone passing away from cancer something that is wrong to be shown. What damage will it do to children?

It's just un-easing, fair enough if he wanted it, but still leaves me feeling a little queasy.

And i admit i may of went a bit over the top about kids, still could be upsetting for them if they know what's going on though.

"Death, is a natural part of Life"- Yoda

I think you are being a bit melodramatic here, the man wanted to show the emotional pain that people with cancer go through, if you can't handle that, change the channel.

 

[ThatDaveDude1]

This is wrong on SO many levels =| i can't believe the BBC have showed this!

If you know that it's on (which you did) and you don't want to watch it (which I assume that you didn't) then don't watch it and leave everybody who does the fuck alone.

 

[master m99]

im sorry unless this was forced upon people to view or take part in then it really isnt a big deal, death is the one thing we will all see one day and to see and understand it when you can detach yourself from it will help them deal with it when it inevitably strikes you or someone close to you.

 

[nickyv917]

Shall I introduce you to a guy named Lee Harvey Oswalt? Who not only died on national television backed where there were only three channels, meaning more young, impressionable children saw it, but he was shot in the gut. And that's not even the only time it happened. Back when I was in school, I heard about a hostage taker commit suicide on LIVE FREAKING TELEVISION. Let's look into this a little bit before you jump to such conclusions.

 

[Drake_Dercon]

This is pretty wrong on way too many levels. How the hell is this allowed?!

Why is it wrong? People face death in their families all the time, why shouldn't it be allowed on TV?

Not because of the sight of someone dying, it's just a bit disrespectful. I don't think anyone wants to spend the last moments of their life with a camera pressed in their face, then their family mourning their death with people just stood there recording them.

Eventually the time comes when you have to watch someone die.

I hope that everyone can see someone they don't know or care for (not meaning to sound... whatever this sounds like because I'm sure it comes off as something) die first because even though you feel just as awful when your turn comes around, at least you know what's coming.

I think this was a very brave thing for this man and his family to do. With this, they have contributed the last moments of his life to something that will (hopefully) serve people for years to come.

Not to mention that it was done with their permission and that TVs have a power button. Even if it is the principle of the thing, just because someone wanted to show an old man's dying moments doesn't mean that news crews are going to storm hospitals to film terminally ill patients say their final goodbyes.

 

[Pips]

I don't see a problem with this at all. The family gave permission, and so did he.

Death is a natural process, and one which we used to be a lot more familiar with than we are now. In pre-modern times most people would have seen at least one relative die by the time they reached their teens, so it's silly to whine about it upsetting the children.

It wouldn't hurt us to get more used to the natural passing of mortal human beings again - we fear old age and natural death far too much these days.

 

[Cpt Corallis]

This is wrong on SO many levels =| i can't believe the BBC have showed this!

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/05/12/sick-grandad-becomes-first-person-in-britain-to-die-on-national-television-115875-23124043/

I actually can't believe the Family aloud it either, it's just...wrong! The BBC says it's for science, i say it's wrong and should not have been shown! What if kids were to have see this? it's just stupid and to be honest i think the family should be ashamed!

Your thoughts?

OH MY GOD! Did you see as well that they showed the first few minutes of a babies life! The programmers at the BBC disgust me. How dare they get permission from a dying man to use his death as a means of educating people on a topic that is not usually discussed! How dare they make an insightful and thought provoking programme!

 

[alimination602]

I think as long as the patient and the family allowed it, and as long as the TV producers treat it with respect then I see no issue with it.

In terms of whether children, objectors etc watch it it?s simply as the same as anything else questionable- you either choose to watch it or you don?t.

 

[Jazoni89]

I would like to give the guy who gave this the go ahead a proper hand shake.

We are one more step closer to reaching for truer meanings in mainstream media.

It's a breath of fresh air for something this intelligent, and thought provoking to air on the TV.

The reason why i share this view, is because many programmes tend to pussyfoot around taboo subjects such as rape, incest, transvestism, disabilities, homosexuality, genocide, and of course death. However this programme has pushed beyond normal taste, and into the harsh realities of life itself.

Which could only be a good thing, especially in this uninformed, ignorant, cotton wool society we have today.