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Okay, enough with the cheap shots.

Monsterpal, my username is as "clever" as many others on this forum, and was never meant to be more than an obvious pun. Congratulations for "cracking" it.

Skelton, you don't need to care what anyone on this forum thinks, nor do I. Nor do I need to have a professional claim to fame to have an opinion. I'm certainly not going to attempt to validate my opinion via credential-waving.

Rick, I am being critical but not for the sake of it. It's the bane of boards that every time someone holds a counter opinion, it upsets the feel-good and everyone shouts "troll". I accept I'm the only one here to hold the opinion but so what?

I'll just try to re-state my unpopular but honest perspective a final time. Re. the BBC documentary, it's not the clips or trailers I applaud; it's the telling of the story by primary sources -- i.e. the people who worked there. That's what makes it a better doc. I actually can't stand documentaries that are just clip shows with narrative because they usually have nothing to say. All the best docs contain extensive interviews. BBC had far more. However I did buy and enjoy Flesh & Blood for what it is, and understand the support for it. I also understand and share Ted's obvious passion for Hammer.

My more contentious point has very little to do with the emotions of Cushing and Lee -- though I hold by my position that Lee & Cushing in their prime would never have been in the emotionally vulnerable position (Cushing also the financial position) to be in a place where their private moments would be recorded and published. Of course, Lee and Cushing would be grateful for the meeting -- that's not my issue. It's the whole tone, telling and consumption of the anecdote that I find patronizing. It's the fact that the encounter was witnessed, published and is now being indulged in by fans who are actually Skelton's wannabes. Because they vicariously want to be part of a very private moment and the emotions of that moment which, in ordinary circumstances for private citizens would be deemed intrusive. At least until the advent of reality TV.

In short, there's the product itself: Flesh & Blood and then there's the story of the making of the product and it's the latter I have a problem with (and which the creation of the product facilitated). I felt very uncomfortable reading the LSoH account and thought it should never have been published. It felt very self-aggrandizing and I certainly would have kept such a story to myself. But then I don't rubberneck car wrecks either. Nor am I a fan of sentimental Hollywood bio-pics.

I appreciate my opinion is causing some offence -- though I guess I expected it. However, I do feel entitled to offer my views no matter how contrary they are to the group feeling.

Okay the floor is now open to insult my motives, my family, my embittered lowly life, my typos, my username, my grammar...