Ask Me the Question, Noel / April 20 2007
Due to a fractured ankle bone, I have been forced to take a couple of days off and have had the unfortunate experience of having to endure the execrable nonsense that is daytime television.
I have only had half an eye on the screen – I have been reading Spares by Michael Marshall Smith, mostly – but that has been far more than any man should ordinarily have to suffer.
The worst programme I have seen is Deal or No Deal in which a cynical presenter (Noel Edmunds – who is so patronising, his nightmares are afraid of him) tortures greedy participants who are trying to ‘win’ a sum of money. There is no skill involved; it is more or less a matter of the contestant having to wait an hour or so before finding out what proportion of £250,000 they can take home with them. There is a piece of software called The Banker that calculates various odds at regular intervals during the show with regard to the amount of cash that will be offered.
I have never watched such tedious and inane rubbish before in my life. It saddens me to see what drivel passes for entertainment these days and I am sure there is far worse.
Who are these depressing programmes actually aimed at - the nation’s morons? This is, of course, a purely subjective opinion and I know what you are going to ask: who made me Judge, Judy and executioner? To which I would reply: we deserve better. Turn off your television and go open a book. Me, I’m going to the library to have a cry.
On the Fantastic hi-fi today:
Someone to Drive You Home - The Long Blondes
First Impression of Earth - The Strokes
Filed under Culture / Science Fiction / T.V. / TV Critic / Television
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