Working the Thames

I loved the whole concept of a documentary following the River Thanmes from it's source to the sea. Particularly liked the series opening at the source and the way that was shown. My biggest problems were the irritating (overuse outdoors?) of an ultra wide lens showing distortion at the edges and most of all the visual style of constant flicking between images which was just too much and too fast. This is a documentary with both social and historical content and so the viewer needs time to absorb the conversation and the scenes on screen. Flicking between shots so frequently was a major distraction in this production. It's a shame because there is so much else to like about it! I think the various scenarios of punting beer, traveling the rubbish barge and the container ship etc are great fun but I loved the Thames Barge journey in particular the best. All in all, as a former resident on the banks of the river Thames, I learned something from this series and this is quite an entertaining series which did not fall into too many of the usual clichés such as celebrity residents, Henley or swan upping etc. but of course there is always next time...