all the searchers, the identity of friends and lovers, parents plex and cosmopolitan comdy of the bizarre. There is arody in the narrative. The ook Cassandra is translatin - the latest phantasmogorical blockbuster to emerge from Latin America, and to be comparco to the works or bear quez and Allende - floats in and out of the story.
It is the parameters of gender identity that are particulariy explored. A serious theme twists and turns amonest the bouttul scenery and sparkling and eccentric characters that populate the In this it follows Wilson's previous writings - well concrime novels, which have nonetheless dealt with matters of great weight and impor tance. She has covered US imperism, prostraton and shy and The light-hearted approach is innovative. There is no murder, our preny or mystery. And it also leaves the familiar terrain of urban America for Shame on you if you have not yet read any of this genre! Ins book woula be a good place to make amends. MAS THATCHER expresses her great regret. TV-AM, symbol of the union-busting, de-regulated yuppie eighties and the apple of Mrs T's eye, has lost its franchise.
The great ITV tranchise auction has also given the thumbs- down to Thames, which provides London's weekday ITV programmes. Among the thousands of expected redundancies is Carol Thatcher, who works for TV-AM.
A lot of what is provided by companies ike Thames and TV-AM is utter pap - so wity should anyone worry?
in tact that new tranchise system is a hidden form of political censorship; and like other forms of deregulation it will worsen output. casualise the workforce and First, as Thames's NUU FoC and Labour Black Sections activist Marc Wadsworth pointed out, the whole ITV reorganisation began - and Thames's chances of winning the Rock - the Thames documentary which exposed the deliberate as Other TV companies wil take note of Thames tate. The new sys tem has removed control over the (govemment-appointed) IBA to the new, govemment-appointed, ITC. going to the highest bidder, plus some vague quality controls - is an imitation to bidders to massively cheapen production costs.
The franchise winners that replace the big ITV companies will no longer be programme producers with a large staff and facilties. Instead they will be little more than publishing agents for programmes produced on contract by much smaller private production companies, and rely even more on bought-in 'off the sheil productions. especially US produced sitcoms, of the kind which increasingly pervade Channel 4.
Smal independent producers in Britain have come up with a lot of interesting and innovative material. But in future they are going to be at the mercy of the purchasing (and political policy of the franchised Working in TV wil more and more become like working in the theatre - casualised, with many 'enjoying' long periods of 'resting' between assignments. heary pressure. Both the big ITV companies ike IIN, and the BBC, have been shedding jobs as fast as they can. For the ITV companies the recession has meant a huge cutback in advertising.
Combined with the advent of cable and satelite, bringing dozens of new channels, the franchise system brings TV much more directly under the control of big business and big business political values. which TV-AM was sacrificed.
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