Friday 1 March 2013

Is TV that bad really?

The answer to that question is yes, it is that bad really. After watching Kelly Brook and Holly Willabooby on Celebrity juice it appears the UK television has now become some weird Japanese game show fest.



Coupled with Channel 4's determined exposure of peoples lives like they are some sort of freak show with the highly watched Undateables (a show about how amazing it is that disabled people can actually date using an agency) and the must see Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners (a show which puts OCD sufferers in dirty houses and see them clean it), it is a sad reflection on entertainment in the UK. Perhaps the recession and the desire to see people less fortunate than themselves fuels this glut of rubbish TV shows, for me its just laziness on the part of the TV stations. With profit the king then programmes need to be cheap and easy to market, often some of the catchphrases can go viral on social media and people watch, not because they want to see but because they don't want to see. Its like real life horror, watching in embarrassment between your fingers from behind the sofa as your cringe at the screen in front of you. Jeremy Kyle is the king of the day time schedule with his catchphrases and bear baiting of guests to ensure explosive viewing, from those poorly dressed guests he has on. Amazing that on a TV show with the size of budget they do that they often don't suggest wearing something a bit smarter, oh that's right they are going for shock not actually caring about the issues they discuss.

Shameless began 11 years ago as one of the most groundbreaking shows about social decay in the UK and now Channel 4 seem determined to exploit those less fortunate for viewing figures. With no commentary to help address any of the issues highlighted. BBC 3 has long been the backwater of reality TV with such shows as Sun sex and suspicious parents, disappointing from a licence fee subsidised channel that makes no money from advertising and should not be at the mercy of the grab a headline TV scheduling.

The only reality TV I want to see on my TV would be documentaries about wildlife, investigative journalism like Louis Theroux and the News. How often now are the stars of reality shows bigger than stars of valid contributions to the world. Also it seems even celebrities aren't famous enough and need to go on random panel shows to boost their celebrity status, like they value themselves by the number of hash tags they get.




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