Wait and measure?

"Halloa! Here's a church!" says Wemmick in Chapter 55 of Great Expectations. This happens during his apparently aimless walk with Pip.

Of course, the aged parent, Miss Skiffins, a clerk and a clergyman appear - and a wedding takes place.

Once, long ago, something similar happened on our television screens. A bride in one of the countless drama series was all set to walk up the aisle and suddenly, two young bridesmaids dressed in gowns that did not match one another's, let alone hers, joined the retinue. They were nieces of the director, and he was indulging them.

The children's parents, of course, were over the moon that their darlings had thus acquired their 15 minutes of fame, and one of them was later heard to ask whether they actually owed the company anything for it.

The attitude that production companies are doing actors a favour by 'allowing' them to take part in series, alas, lives on.

I have already mentioned the actor who was forbidden to acquire a suntan (this was summer), go on holiday, or cut his hair, because this would 'affect continuity'. Of course, he was also expected to take it all in good part, with no remuneration being forthcoming, because it was a 'good series'.

Then there are the crowd scenes, advertised as 'one hour of good clean fun'. Wannabe actors (some of whom also venture into the 'model' or 'hostess' worlds) always hope to catch the eye of what passes for a talent scout locally.

So they beg or borrow the clothes needed for the particular production and turn up. Sometimes, they are asked to hang around for hours without being offered a bottle of water or a mug of coffee ('those are for the main actors only'); and one hour turns out to be closer to five, because the order of the scenes to be shot is inverted, or because of the weather, or other variables. Some are so eager to be 'on television' that they dare not cop out, just in case they are passed over 'next time'.

This, as well as the always-cited lack of funds ('We are new and we cannot afford to pay you, but the exposure will do you good') excuse, also hits established actors where it hurts. They are supposed to consider themselves blessed that out of many veteran actors available, they have been 'personally selected' by the script-writer to embody the part he had in mind.

Then, when push comes to shove, they are told that secondary (or 'minor', as one of them put it insultingly) roles (read anything from 'not the first name mentioned in the credits' to a walk-on part) are not paid roles. Never mind that these people are professionals, and so they will have gone to the trouble of purchasing an outfit to suit their particular character, and spent hours poring over the script so as not to need cues.

Moreover, sometimes mustering calls for filming sessions are made with less than 24 hours' notice, since the prestige to be acquired is supposed to make the recipient of the call drop everything and acquiesce.

I do not believe people's time is to be repaid with the bribe of fame - after all, some of us shy away from recognition because we already have a lot of it. And it is not cricket to offer a person payment and then renege, saying you had no authority to do so.

You can nudge your sister, your lover, or your child into being a part of your team because they would probably have asked to do so even had you not asked them. But to expect people to work for you with no compensation is unfair, unjust, and probably illegal too.

• One Monday night, by pure chance, I discovered Nisġa ('Weave': Radju Malta, 9.30 p.m.). This is a marvellous magazine programme that inexplicably goes out just this once, without a repeat on Radju Malta or Campus FM.

I really would like to know the criteria used when such inane decisions are taken. This programme is meticulously researched, and this is the third series - so there was ample time for it to be moved to a better time-slot to gauge whether listenership would have increased.

Roderick Busuttil and Joe Brincat have roped in some of the best voices on broadcasting today - Anton Grasso, Charles Abela Mizzi, Ġorġ Peresso and Marselle Delicata, to name but four, as well as others that are as yet unfamiliar. This makes for an interesting range of tonalities. But what strikes me most is the vast array of topics tackled - history, tradition, legends, flora and fauna, architecture, wayside chapels, auberges, personalities...

• I have often mused about how 'someone' should write a theses about the politics and policies of the Eurovision song contest. Many media people are doing their level best to be included in it, even as mere footnotes, should this happen. As it is, most arguments, both the sublime and the ridiculous, are being repeated ad nauseam.

This year, to coincide with the 2010 song contest, Toni Sant, Phil Jackson and Karen Fricker have officially launched The Eurovision Research Network, which has been online since last year (www.eurovisionresearch.net).

This network is a gathering of individuals and organisations, broadcasters and journalists, as well as academics. The idea is for it to be a hub wherein one dissects the Eurovision while pooling resources and sharing ideas.

When I asked Dr Sant for his point of view, he told me: "As you probably know, I'm not a big fan of Eurovision, but I'm most certainly interested in it from a professional perspective... not unlike an oncologist is interested in cancer, or an exorcist is an expert in the occult.

"Having said this, I think Eurovision is (mostly) harmless fun, with lots more cultural, political, economic, and social implications than most people (including some fans) are aware of."

television@timesofmalta.com