12.05 | Talks break down for third series of '24'
"The third series of real time action adventure '24' will not be broadcast on BBC2 after talks broke down between Fox and the BBC.
Talks to buy the series have been dragging on for months but have now broken down completely.
It opens the door for other broadcasters, such as Sky One, Channel Five and Channel 4, to step in and pitch for the UK rights."
Damn shame. Alas poor Tazmin Sylvester and 'Pure 24', never again shall we laugh at your poorly scripted insight and marvel at the best - Jim Sangster, Lennie James, etc - of your ill thought guests.
Talks to buy the series have been dragging on for months but have now broken down completely.
It opens the door for other broadcasters, such as Sky One, Channel Five and Channel 4, to step in and pitch for the UK rights."
However, ad breaks are beginning to look tempting as they will give us the chance to go for a wee, to spark up cigarettes without missing any action or to grab hot burning food out of the oven without losing concentration, and, say, dropping it all over the kitchen floor. F'instance.
UPDATE: The Guardian has this to say:
The BBC has admitted the collapse of negotiations with Fox to buy the third series of '24' for the BBC is a "very hard pill to swallow" for both sides ... "They think it's at the high point, so they were saying 'we want this much for it'. It's a great show, but we believe it's just past its peak. We're a public service broadcaster and we can't be held to ransom over something like this," Mr McGhee said.UPDATE 2: Here's a link to the BBC's official statement about the decision. Thanks to Jina of inside-24.com for that one.
