TV
Just when you begin to think that ITV1 Is heading irredeemably in the wrong direction, a show comes up that makes you think there may be life in the old channel yet.
Jane Hall burst on to our screens full of life and vigour and actually felt like something new and original. I suppose you could draw comparisons with Ally McBeal but this was far more, well, British than that.
This has an absolutely top drawer cast, with Geraldine James as Jane’s mum and Gillian Taylforth as a sex mad bus driver particularly shining, but the whole thing is packed with great British actors doing sterling work and leading it all brilliantly is the wonderful Sarah Smart, who impresses in every role she takes on.
In years gone by we used to get reruns and old movies in July so fair play to ITV1 for putting this gem of a show out in the summer months. I’m addicted already.
Copycat
Spoof game shows are often a dodgy venture but when you’re guilty of the thing you are parodying, it can only end in disaster.
The main thrust of the “behind the scenes” moments in Rob Brydon’s Annually retentive was that the panel show he was so reluctant to host was actually a rip off of Have I Got News for You. The humour in that somewhat jarred with the reality of the fact that what we were actually watching was a rip off of the superb The Larry Sanders Show and a pretty poor one at that.
Brydon is without doubt one of our most talented comedy performers and I suspect on paper this looked a cracking idea, but the gag about the show being derivative to the point of silliness doesn’t hide the fact that that’s actually what it is.
Dave Gorman seems totally wasted in his role of Team Captain and I suppose the joy here is to see famous names being sent and indeed sending themselves up but it all seems rather flimsy and on the evidence of the opener, it’s difficult to see how this idea, stretched thin enough in episode one, can be sustained over a whole series.
What’s frustrating here is that we know Brydon is so much better and I’d have preferred a repeat run of his outback based sitcom to this load of old tripe.
Going with a bang
You’d think people would know not to hold swanky dinner events anyway near the City of Holby. Nick Jordan has given this show a new lease of life so let’s hope it manages to keep up the good work following his explosive exit.
The plot concerning a suicide bomber upset at the death of his girlfriend was a bit nonsensical but at least it allowed us to marvel at Jordan and Connie's heroics.
The main plaudits though should go to whoever made Connie's evening gown. Nice work whoever you are.
They could probably do with a few more dashing surgeons, whose remarks are more cutting than their scalpels, but a show which had become predictable and plodding has managed to rediscover its edge in 2006 and let’s hope that can continue without Michael French.
The peaceful countryside
In Emmerdale these days, it seems they need to have a major stunt every three months in order to hold our interest. The body count in the least sleepy village in the country is getting so high now that it almost rivals that of Sun Hill.
Who needs intelligent plot and characterisation when you can you can replace that with cod dialogue and expensive pyrotechnics?
As for keeping the identities of the dead a secret, not much chance of that when advance storylines are fed so completely to the press. I remember the days when you had to actually watch the shows to find out what happens. I honestly believe that all our soaps would hold our attention more if we didn’t know the ins and outs of every plotline before it hit the screen.
To be fair, as big set piece action sequences go, this was up there with the best of them and at least it means no more dreary Dawn.
There are parallels with Brookside here in that, in its twilight years, storylines and major events got ever more elaborate in a desperate bid to shore up ratings. In the end it proved too counter-productive, with the show’s once loyal fans leaving in their droves. The big helicopter stunt was a sign that the show had lost its way and it never recovered.
I’m not saying that will happen to Emmerdale, partially because with ITV1’s audience share diminishing at a frightening rate, they can’t afford to lose a ratings banker like this, which makes the decision to play at 10:00pm during the World Cup - losing half the audience in the process – even harder to fathom.
Regular readers will know that I’m no fan of the soap’s pantomime style but there are plenty that love it and it’ll be a pity for them if the show gets overly desperate in the plot stakes.
We got a glimpse of the past when actor Peter Alexander turned up in a hard hat at the demolished site. Older viewers will remember him as womanising builder Phil Pearce, marvellous character.
Soap casting directors must think we have short memories. Otherwise why cast Susan Brown, known to Corrie aficionados as Connie Clayton in the role of Sean’s mum? I wonder how many across the nation yelled “That’s Connie “at the screen.
Much as I love Sally Lindsay, I’ll be glad to see the back of her in Corrie solely because it will mean the end of all that creepy Charlie and Shelley stuff which, quite frankly, has been unpleasant to watch.
Love Bucket’s Back
The truly awful Love Island may liven up when they bring a few contestants you would actually recognise. Any hopes that the show may be better last year’s truly icky effort were dashed with the news that the most annoying contestant from last year, egotistic actor Paul Danon, is making a return.
There are already a bunch of egos on there far bigger than their “celebrity” status would entitle them to, with Strictly Come Dancing’s Brendan being particularly annoying. In fact this bunch is so unlikeable as a group that I’m actually warming to Shane and Sophie, not because I particularly like them, but they seem to be the best of a bad bunch.
Already the format has gone pear-shaped with Alicia Whatsherface walking off to save the humiliation of being voted out and then being voted out anyway despite half the cast refusing to vote. Maybe ITV should dock their fee if they aren’t going to play by the rules.
A big plus over last year has been the arrival of co-presenter Fearne Cotton who is providing the perfect foil to Paddy Kielty meaning that, even if the content is a load of old pony, at least the presentation is up to scratch. I’m not entirely sure that having Jayne Middlemiss hosting the ITV2 show is a good idea though.
Big Brother was starting to get a bit stale but compared to this nonsense it’s as fresh as a daisy.
Easy to keep a straight face
Apparently, Ant and Dec came up with the idea for Poker Face. Perhaps they should stick to presenting and leave the show formats to someone else. For a game show like this to work there has to be tension. Without that you’re just saddled with a run of the mill general knowledge quiz. That’s what this is and even the cheeky chappies’ winning personalities can’t save it.
However, I must confess that my interest has been held but only because I actually know one of the contestants. I used to be on a pub quiz team with Kim and goodness me she was a hard task master as our team captain. However her quick wit and competitive nature make her ideal for this type of show. However herein lays the problem. The format really depends on the personalities of the participants and it takes the right mix of contestants for this thing to come alive, something which can’t be guaranteed on every show.
Perhaps they should have revived one of the shows they did on Gameshow Marathon, though there aren’t many left that either haven’t come back or are in the pipeline to. Golden Shot anyone?
Late snippet
While coverage of the anniversary of the London bombings was plastered all over the news channels, on the main channel things were kept respectful and low key.
While I was catching up on my backlog of viewing this week I watched children’s drama That Summer Day which had a few poignant moments but was more concerned with a subplot about a school bully than the events that shook the capital that day. However it was a good attempt at provoking discussion and debate among the young about what happened that day and it seems that without the BBC we wouldn’t be getting this sort of material anymore.
Where once ITV was showing engaging and educational stuff like How 2 and Art Attack, we now get repeats of thirty year old sitcoms. The licence fee has never seemed as important as it does now.
Jane Hall burst on to our screens full of life and vigour and actually felt like something new and original. I suppose you could draw comparisons with Ally McBeal but this was far more, well, British than that.
This has an absolutely top drawer cast, with Geraldine James as Jane’s mum and Gillian Taylforth as a sex mad bus driver particularly shining, but the whole thing is packed with great British actors doing sterling work and leading it all brilliantly is the wonderful Sarah Smart, who impresses in every role she takes on.
In years gone by we used to get reruns and old movies in July so fair play to ITV1 for putting this gem of a show out in the summer months. I’m addicted already.
Copycat
Spoof game shows are often a dodgy venture but when you’re guilty of the thing you are parodying, it can only end in disaster.
The main thrust of the “behind the scenes” moments in Rob Brydon’s Annually retentive was that the panel show he was so reluctant to host was actually a rip off of Have I Got News for You. The humour in that somewhat jarred with the reality of the fact that what we were actually watching was a rip off of the superb The Larry Sanders Show and a pretty poor one at that.
Brydon is without doubt one of our most talented comedy performers and I suspect on paper this looked a cracking idea, but the gag about the show being derivative to the point of silliness doesn’t hide the fact that that’s actually what it is.
Dave Gorman seems totally wasted in his role of Team Captain and I suppose the joy here is to see famous names being sent and indeed sending themselves up but it all seems rather flimsy and on the evidence of the opener, it’s difficult to see how this idea, stretched thin enough in episode one, can be sustained over a whole series.
What’s frustrating here is that we know Brydon is so much better and I’d have preferred a repeat run of his outback based sitcom to this load of old tripe.
Going with a bang
You’d think people would know not to hold swanky dinner events anyway near the City of Holby. Nick Jordan has given this show a new lease of life so let’s hope it manages to keep up the good work following his explosive exit.
The plot concerning a suicide bomber upset at the death of his girlfriend was a bit nonsensical but at least it allowed us to marvel at Jordan and Connie's heroics.
The main plaudits though should go to whoever made Connie's evening gown. Nice work whoever you are.
They could probably do with a few more dashing surgeons, whose remarks are more cutting than their scalpels, but a show which had become predictable and plodding has managed to rediscover its edge in 2006 and let’s hope that can continue without Michael French.
The peaceful countryside
In Emmerdale these days, it seems they need to have a major stunt every three months in order to hold our interest. The body count in the least sleepy village in the country is getting so high now that it almost rivals that of Sun Hill.
Who needs intelligent plot and characterisation when you can you can replace that with cod dialogue and expensive pyrotechnics?
As for keeping the identities of the dead a secret, not much chance of that when advance storylines are fed so completely to the press. I remember the days when you had to actually watch the shows to find out what happens. I honestly believe that all our soaps would hold our attention more if we didn’t know the ins and outs of every plotline before it hit the screen.
To be fair, as big set piece action sequences go, this was up there with the best of them and at least it means no more dreary Dawn.
There are parallels with Brookside here in that, in its twilight years, storylines and major events got ever more elaborate in a desperate bid to shore up ratings. In the end it proved too counter-productive, with the show’s once loyal fans leaving in their droves. The big helicopter stunt was a sign that the show had lost its way and it never recovered.
I’m not saying that will happen to Emmerdale, partially because with ITV1’s audience share diminishing at a frightening rate, they can’t afford to lose a ratings banker like this, which makes the decision to play at 10:00pm during the World Cup - losing half the audience in the process – even harder to fathom.
Regular readers will know that I’m no fan of the soap’s pantomime style but there are plenty that love it and it’ll be a pity for them if the show gets overly desperate in the plot stakes.
We got a glimpse of the past when actor Peter Alexander turned up in a hard hat at the demolished site. Older viewers will remember him as womanising builder Phil Pearce, marvellous character.
Soap casting directors must think we have short memories. Otherwise why cast Susan Brown, known to Corrie aficionados as Connie Clayton in the role of Sean’s mum? I wonder how many across the nation yelled “That’s Connie “at the screen.
Much as I love Sally Lindsay, I’ll be glad to see the back of her in Corrie solely because it will mean the end of all that creepy Charlie and Shelley stuff which, quite frankly, has been unpleasant to watch.
Love Bucket’s Back
The truly awful Love Island may liven up when they bring a few contestants you would actually recognise. Any hopes that the show may be better last year’s truly icky effort were dashed with the news that the most annoying contestant from last year, egotistic actor Paul Danon, is making a return.
There are already a bunch of egos on there far bigger than their “celebrity” status would entitle them to, with Strictly Come Dancing’s Brendan being particularly annoying. In fact this bunch is so unlikeable as a group that I’m actually warming to Shane and Sophie, not because I particularly like them, but they seem to be the best of a bad bunch.
Already the format has gone pear-shaped with Alicia Whatsherface walking off to save the humiliation of being voted out and then being voted out anyway despite half the cast refusing to vote. Maybe ITV should dock their fee if they aren’t going to play by the rules.
A big plus over last year has been the arrival of co-presenter Fearne Cotton who is providing the perfect foil to Paddy Kielty meaning that, even if the content is a load of old pony, at least the presentation is up to scratch. I’m not entirely sure that having Jayne Middlemiss hosting the ITV2 show is a good idea though.
Big Brother was starting to get a bit stale but compared to this nonsense it’s as fresh as a daisy.
Easy to keep a straight face
Apparently, Ant and Dec came up with the idea for Poker Face. Perhaps they should stick to presenting and leave the show formats to someone else. For a game show like this to work there has to be tension. Without that you’re just saddled with a run of the mill general knowledge quiz. That’s what this is and even the cheeky chappies’ winning personalities can’t save it.
However, I must confess that my interest has been held but only because I actually know one of the contestants. I used to be on a pub quiz team with Kim and goodness me she was a hard task master as our team captain. However her quick wit and competitive nature make her ideal for this type of show. However herein lays the problem. The format really depends on the personalities of the participants and it takes the right mix of contestants for this thing to come alive, something which can’t be guaranteed on every show.
Perhaps they should have revived one of the shows they did on Gameshow Marathon, though there aren’t many left that either haven’t come back or are in the pipeline to. Golden Shot anyone?
Late snippet
While coverage of the anniversary of the London bombings was plastered all over the news channels, on the main channel things were kept respectful and low key.
While I was catching up on my backlog of viewing this week I watched children’s drama That Summer Day which had a few poignant moments but was more concerned with a subplot about a school bully than the events that shook the capital that day. However it was a good attempt at provoking discussion and debate among the young about what happened that day and it seems that without the BBC we wouldn’t be getting this sort of material anymore.
Where once ITV was showing engaging and educational stuff like How 2 and Art Attack, we now get repeats of thirty year old sitcoms. The licence fee has never seemed as important as it does now.
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