What's happened to Richard & Judy's early-evening magazine show? It's now bursting with items like the "Funny Five" (mildly-amusing videos from YouTube) that take up a good 10-minutes of airtime, and a tendency to shoehorn in "classic clips" from sitcoms to help illustrate topical problems. Are they being backhanded a few quid by the BBC for this sly promotion? I mean, really: do we need a clip of Fawlty Towers to set the scene for a discussion on hotels?
The latest development in this recent "dumbing down" is a new strand presented by comedian Rufus Hound -- which basically involves looking at clips of brainless American trash from digital channels; like Dog: The Bounty Hunter, Cheaters and The Dog Whisperer. They may poke fun at each show, but that doesn't change the fact it's lazy television that provides advertising on mainstream TV for the likes of Virgin1, Bravo, Sky One, et al.
Clearly, the production team are having problems filling the gap left by their axed quiz You Say We Pay -- meaning R&J now begins and ends with a celebrity interview (rudely interrupted by a commercial break!), and a big chunk in the middle is allocated to stuff like these internet fripperies (where the clips shown are appropriate for 5pm telly; thus resembling a mini-You've Been Framed episode and not the stuff YouTubers actually watch.)
I really don't like this recent trend of TV trying to ape the internet, either. BBC Three are basing their entire identity on telly-'net synergy now -- but it's not working. Watching animals have sex on Lily Allen's chat-show is its weekly nadir, and does anybody even watch Upstaged? But I digress...
In the few gaps where Richard and Judy aren't being lazy and actually present fresh items, it's usually in the form of their popular "Book Club" (oh, the tedium of listening to people discuss a book you haven't read...), or a couple of Mordor rejects teaching henpecked husbands how to cook a chicken in "The Hairy Bikers' Guide To The Perfect Roast" -- now that's a YouTube clip, guys!
All the show's interesting talking points are taking a back seat these days. Maybe it's just me, but I wish Richard and Judy would just get back to basics. I used to love their show just a year ago, but alternating a time-slot with Paul O'Grady seems to have rotted their minds -- resulting in trying to appeal to the lowest common denominator. Pity.
With rumours suggesting R&J might get a reprieve from its August end-date, as Channel 4 bosses are now keen to re-sign the couple for more shows, I really hope they take stock of things and reinvigorate this depressingly shallow tea-time twaddle.
The latest development in this recent "dumbing down" is a new strand presented by comedian Rufus Hound -- which basically involves looking at clips of brainless American trash from digital channels; like Dog: The Bounty Hunter, Cheaters and The Dog Whisperer. They may poke fun at each show, but that doesn't change the fact it's lazy television that provides advertising on mainstream TV for the likes of Virgin1, Bravo, Sky One, et al.
Clearly, the production team are having problems filling the gap left by their axed quiz You Say We Pay -- meaning R&J now begins and ends with a celebrity interview (rudely interrupted by a commercial break!), and a big chunk in the middle is allocated to stuff like these internet fripperies (where the clips shown are appropriate for 5pm telly; thus resembling a mini-You've Been Framed episode and not the stuff YouTubers actually watch.)
I really don't like this recent trend of TV trying to ape the internet, either. BBC Three are basing their entire identity on telly-'net synergy now -- but it's not working. Watching animals have sex on Lily Allen's chat-show is its weekly nadir, and does anybody even watch Upstaged? But I digress...
In the few gaps where Richard and Judy aren't being lazy and actually present fresh items, it's usually in the form of their popular "Book Club" (oh, the tedium of listening to people discuss a book you haven't read...), or a couple of Mordor rejects teaching henpecked husbands how to cook a chicken in "The Hairy Bikers' Guide To The Perfect Roast" -- now that's a YouTube clip, guys!
All the show's interesting talking points are taking a back seat these days. Maybe it's just me, but I wish Richard and Judy would just get back to basics. I used to love their show just a year ago, but alternating a time-slot with Paul O'Grady seems to have rotted their minds -- resulting in trying to appeal to the lowest common denominator. Pity.
With rumours suggesting R&J might get a reprieve from its August end-date, as Channel 4 bosses are now keen to re-sign the couple for more shows, I really hope they take stock of things and reinvigorate this depressingly shallow tea-time twaddle.
