A lot of commentators appear to be non-plussed by The Only Way Is Essex winning a BAFTA and getting increasingly annoyed that it beat programmes such as Downton Abbey and Miranda to win the award on given from the public vote. I can't comment as to the quality of the programme as I have never watched it although I have based my avoidance decision on enough press coverage to decide that it is not a TV show I would enjoy and that same coverage has provided me with more information than I would wish to know about it. By the same token, however, I have not seen Downton Abbey either as again it did not strike me as something I would particularly enjoy but again I am aware of the reviews that sing its praises.
Which is sort of the point. I can not physically watch every programme on TV and therefore keep an eye out for the programmes that I like the sound of and one way of filtering is by listening to trusted critics although this is not flawless. Set top recorders and iPlayer mean that shift patterns matter no more when watching a series although it came too late for programmes such as The Sopranos or The West Wing, neither of which I have ever seen and probably never will now as the moment has gone. Everybody has to make similar decisions to suit there own personal tastes and if you open an award up for the general public to vote on then you can not complain when they pick something which you disapprove of. There is no doubt an element of truth in the assertion that TOWIE benefited from its demographic audience more au fait, or even bothered with, the methods of voting.
The whole idea of a structured reality programme leaves me feeling rather cold: get non actors to act out their own over dramatised lives and selecting those that are most televisual means filling the screens with young, opinionated, carefree people with a high sense of self regard but that does not give them any less legitimacy to win a BAFTA.
Their collection of the statue was a pure punk moment as the camera panned around to show a room full of unimpressed suits and dresses looking faintly annoyed whilst members of the "cast" leaped around and screamed on the stage much to the audiences further irritation. This may have been more pertinent had they been aware of the impact they were having but alcohol and regard for only themselves most likely rendered them oblivious. Still it was amusing to see so many respected actors, comedians and cutting edge performers having their egos pricked by the brightly coloured inanities who had won one of their baubles.
Which is sort of the point. I can not physically watch every programme on TV and therefore keep an eye out for the programmes that I like the sound of and one way of filtering is by listening to trusted critics although this is not flawless. Set top recorders and iPlayer mean that shift patterns matter no more when watching a series although it came too late for programmes such as The Sopranos or The West Wing, neither of which I have ever seen and probably never will now as the moment has gone. Everybody has to make similar decisions to suit there own personal tastes and if you open an award up for the general public to vote on then you can not complain when they pick something which you disapprove of. There is no doubt an element of truth in the assertion that TOWIE benefited from its demographic audience more au fait, or even bothered with, the methods of voting.
The whole idea of a structured reality programme leaves me feeling rather cold: get non actors to act out their own over dramatised lives and selecting those that are most televisual means filling the screens with young, opinionated, carefree people with a high sense of self regard but that does not give them any less legitimacy to win a BAFTA.
Their collection of the statue was a pure punk moment as the camera panned around to show a room full of unimpressed suits and dresses looking faintly annoyed whilst members of the "cast" leaped around and screamed on the stage much to the audiences further irritation. This may have been more pertinent had they been aware of the impact they were having but alcohol and regard for only themselves most likely rendered them oblivious. Still it was amusing to see so many respected actors, comedians and cutting edge performers having their egos pricked by the brightly coloured inanities who had won one of their baubles.
No comments:
Post a Comment