TV
If you were ever a viewer of The 11 O'Clock Show a few years ago, you may remember Daisy Donovan's innate ability to make passers-by and politicians look rather foolish in innuendo-laden interviews. Daisy Daisy sees her change tack somewhat as she tries to make her way in a number of different worlds, with experts and specialists on hand to help and guide her.
Her first task is to become a success on the rather belligerent US beauty pageant scene, as she's taking part in the 'America's Beautiful Miss' competition. To give herself a sporting chance, she visits Los Angeles first to enhance her looks and glamour. Plastic surgery is an obvious form of self-improvement, so Daisy visits one of the city's leading surgeons to put herself at the mercy of his facial marker pen. The fifty grand asking price is rather excessive, however, so she takes the more affordable option of a professional make-up session with Lady Lane, a former pageant finalist herself. After getting some tips on how to achieve the perfect smile, Daisy's appearance is greatly enhanced with some carefully applied mascara, lipstick and a lot of backcombing.
To get to grips with the pageant itself, Daisy enlists the help of Jamie Svensson, a former Miss America who runs a company training beauty contest entrants. She teaches her the correct technique for the pre-contest interview with the judges; the double handshake, being prepared for the questions that'll crop up, embellishing her achievements and so forth. Another important part of the contest is the talent section, in which Daisy has to perform a song; her initial choice of Sam Fox's 'Touch Me' is an obvious no-no. The final, and most difficult stage of preparation is choosing which dress to wear in the competition itself. Daisy eventually chooses a low-cut backless gown in the colours of the Stars and Stripes, which displays her rather padded-out cleavage.
The day of the 'Beautiful Miss' contest arrives, as girls of all ages converge on the Cincinnati venue to compete for the coveted title. The contest has four sections; pro-am dancing, swimwear, talent (i.e. singing) and formal wear. The pre-contest interview comes first though, and Daisy tries to impress the judges as best she can with her hobbies of mountaineering and knitting, and her joke about schizophrenia. Afterwards, Daisy receives a much needed confidence boost when she meets a youngster called Lauren, who has many beauty contest wins under her belt and a fine singing voice to boot.
The first discipline of the contest is the dance section, which requires a number of elements to be included. To pick these up, Daisy gets help from another in-demand pageant coach, Dawn Wester, who teaches her the 'Barbie Walk' of swaying arms and hips, and the different facial expressions she has to display throughout the routine. She does her level best when she takes to the stage for her routine, but the standard is high from all the competitors, many of whom Daisy scowls at. The swimwear section sees her in turquoise and mauve, but the talent routine is less kind to her after she turns in a rather dismal performance of 'Send In The Clowns'. The contest conludes with the formal wear, giving the girls one final chance to impress the judges.
The tension mounts as the results are announced; after all the hard work that Daisy put into her performance, would she even get placed? Well, Channel 4 don't want me spoiling it for you, so you'll have to watch to find out.
Shows which feature celebrities taking on unusual occupations or activities are ten a penny; some are good, but most are bad, and this is no exception. I initially thought that Daisy would be trying to send up the people involved in such a ludicrous contest at every opportunity, but there's none of that at all; in fact, the personality that she displays throughout the programme is a pretty bland one, and her talents do not fit this format at all. The sporadic attempts at humour in the show are woeful, and the decision to focus on the American beauty contest circuit at all is a misguided one as it matches up to its preconceptions and nothing more. I'm also hardly surprised that the makers of the show don't want the outcome of the contest revealed, as it smacks of being a set-up.
Combine all these factors, and you end up with nothing more than a completely dour, uninteresting half-hour show, which Channel 4 really should've known better than to commission.
Rating: 3/10
Daisy Daisy airs on Thursday 9th May at 10.30pm on Channel 4.
Her first task is to become a success on the rather belligerent US beauty pageant scene, as she's taking part in the 'America's Beautiful Miss' competition. To give herself a sporting chance, she visits Los Angeles first to enhance her looks and glamour. Plastic surgery is an obvious form of self-improvement, so Daisy visits one of the city's leading surgeons to put herself at the mercy of his facial marker pen. The fifty grand asking price is rather excessive, however, so she takes the more affordable option of a professional make-up session with Lady Lane, a former pageant finalist herself. After getting some tips on how to achieve the perfect smile, Daisy's appearance is greatly enhanced with some carefully applied mascara, lipstick and a lot of backcombing.
To get to grips with the pageant itself, Daisy enlists the help of Jamie Svensson, a former Miss America who runs a company training beauty contest entrants. She teaches her the correct technique for the pre-contest interview with the judges; the double handshake, being prepared for the questions that'll crop up, embellishing her achievements and so forth. Another important part of the contest is the talent section, in which Daisy has to perform a song; her initial choice of Sam Fox's 'Touch Me' is an obvious no-no. The final, and most difficult stage of preparation is choosing which dress to wear in the competition itself. Daisy eventually chooses a low-cut backless gown in the colours of the Stars and Stripes, which displays her rather padded-out cleavage.
The day of the 'Beautiful Miss' contest arrives, as girls of all ages converge on the Cincinnati venue to compete for the coveted title. The contest has four sections; pro-am dancing, swimwear, talent (i.e. singing) and formal wear. The pre-contest interview comes first though, and Daisy tries to impress the judges as best she can with her hobbies of mountaineering and knitting, and her joke about schizophrenia. Afterwards, Daisy receives a much needed confidence boost when she meets a youngster called Lauren, who has many beauty contest wins under her belt and a fine singing voice to boot.
The first discipline of the contest is the dance section, which requires a number of elements to be included. To pick these up, Daisy gets help from another in-demand pageant coach, Dawn Wester, who teaches her the 'Barbie Walk' of swaying arms and hips, and the different facial expressions she has to display throughout the routine. She does her level best when she takes to the stage for her routine, but the standard is high from all the competitors, many of whom Daisy scowls at. The swimwear section sees her in turquoise and mauve, but the talent routine is less kind to her after she turns in a rather dismal performance of 'Send In The Clowns'. The contest conludes with the formal wear, giving the girls one final chance to impress the judges.
The tension mounts as the results are announced; after all the hard work that Daisy put into her performance, would she even get placed? Well, Channel 4 don't want me spoiling it for you, so you'll have to watch to find out.
Shows which feature celebrities taking on unusual occupations or activities are ten a penny; some are good, but most are bad, and this is no exception. I initially thought that Daisy would be trying to send up the people involved in such a ludicrous contest at every opportunity, but there's none of that at all; in fact, the personality that she displays throughout the programme is a pretty bland one, and her talents do not fit this format at all. The sporadic attempts at humour in the show are woeful, and the decision to focus on the American beauty contest circuit at all is a misguided one as it matches up to its preconceptions and nothing more. I'm also hardly surprised that the makers of the show don't want the outcome of the contest revealed, as it smacks of being a set-up.
Combine all these factors, and you end up with nothing more than a completely dour, uninteresting half-hour show, which Channel 4 really should've known better than to commission.
Rating: 3/10
Daisy Daisy airs on Thursday 9th May at 10.30pm on Channel 4.
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