UWL Television Diary

Programmes selected

BBC

Horizon: How Many People Can Live On Planet Earth (Factual)

Charlie Brooker’s Screenwipe (Scripted Drama/Comedy)

The Story Of Tracy Beaker (Children’s)

Watchdog (Live)

Snog Marry Avoid (Entertainment)

Commercially Funded

Unreported World: Afghanistan’s Child Drug Addicts (Factual)

Malcolm In The Middle (Scripted Drama/Comedy)

My Parents Are Aliens (Children’s)

Derren Brown: The Experiments - The Gameshow (Live)

How I Met Your Mother (Entertainment)

Horizon: How Many People Can Live On Planet Earth (Factual)

First introduced in the 1960s, Horizon was created to ‘take advantage of the opportunities this new medium affords families’. Narrated by David Attenbrough, this episode incorporates both urgency and pessimism, highlighting Americans among others, who use 4.5 times their fair share of the world’s resources. With the planet’s population set to increase, the programme warns of a future in which 10 million people suffer for every million living comfortably. While I disagree with the decision to emphasise the narrator’s past, thereby, either intentionally or not, deifying his role as a broadcaster, I enjoyed the consideration given to the last few minutes of the presentation which offers a practical solution while making clear the immediacy with which we must begin being less wasteful. This, coupled with the self-observation of how bleak the documentary could appear to be and the recognition that self-interest is more likely to bring about cooperation than the prospect of environmental damage, together with repeated reassurances that there is still hope for us if we act now, makes the film, in my opinion, a definite success, particularly because, having been made by such a prestigious corporation, it will be repeated throughout the world for years to come.

Charlie Brooker’s Screenwipe (Scripted Drama/Comedy)

Charlie Brooker’s low-budget satirical examination of the world of television demonstrates floors within British media which weren’t yet obvious to the public. Particularly notable with regards to this pilot is his reference to its being a ‘short series’, demonstrating the integrity of the project. Despite this, he is equally critical of this episode and television in general, describing its budget, which exceeds £47000, as ‘astronomical’ yet ‘low in telly terms’. I believe this to be the programme we never knew we needed in our lives, acting as a bridge between the corruption of a hidden journalistic world and the public - a testament to the notion that perspective is everything. Since the airing of this programme, we have seen an end to many of the practices referenced, such as television based phone in quizzes, which he claims turned our sets into 24 hour slot machines. Just as relevant is the post-production, a never ending swarm of transitions and sweeps from shot to shot which cut the air as sharply as his commentary. It’s a real shame, then, that the show has recently become so much bigger, moving to BBC 2, with more contributors and less Brooker, selling out for ratings.

The Story Of Tracy Beaker (Children’s)

Dani Harmer's interpretation of many children's experience with the care system addressed a gap in the market at a time when young people had no voice in the media and I believe e show's producers were exceptional in their ability portray such complex issues to an audience of children and teenagers alike. The accompanying cartoons demonstrating Tracy's vivid imagination, while rushed and arguably tacky, nevertheless helped us relate to the character, complementing filming perfectly. Together with close ups on her face and slow sad piano music throughout times of emotional distress and the perfectly broad yet specific motif of Tracy's relentless faith in her absent mother, for many accross the care spectrum, this programme will continue to be nothing short of a lifeline. Yet I can't help but question whether those within the system would be able to relate to this idealized version of life in a children's home. As Haut de la Garenne, the former Jersey based 'home' demonstrates, it can be impossible to detect the horrors within some these institutions.

Watchdog (Live)

A cheaper version of its American equivalents, Watchdog demonstrates particularly sinister programming, making celebrities of mentally ill individuals who have committed crimes which, while despicable, deserve to be dealt with in accordance with the anonymity our justice system is built upon. However, it's low budget, high ratings and moral superiority make it the perfect show for a commissioning editor, exploitation which will no doubt continue for years to come. This need to spend less at the expense of quality could not be more evident than in the appearance of former prime time show Rogue Traders, no longer a series, now a segment within Watchdog, another of many examples of the poison being inflicted upon the BBC, a valuable and unique British asset, by the box ticking corporates at the top. Yet to give credit where it's due, the show is at least not as gordy as its international counterparts, maintaining instead the well lit studio, slick panning shots and scripted flow of a professional and perfected live broadcast. Meanwhile constant and originally pioneering reminders to phone in create a connection between the broadcaster and viewer which hooks in the consumer and has since been used countless times by other programmes.

Snog Marry Avoid

I must admit that to find anything positive to say about this programme tests my skills in objectivity to the limit, much as an astronaut might attempt to locate hitherto unchartered depths of the universe in centuries to come. To me, this is the prime example of consumerism by a market who, much to the dismay of my very core, are part of my generation, a demographic without quality control who enjoys what is available. The cheap set, the unquestionably scripted guests with exaggerated tastes in clothing complemented by an inability to act and the exasperating ‘Pod’ which insists upon using the most mind numbingly horrific internation while referring to itself in the third person, combine to make this a perfectly acceptable substitute for water boarding as far as I’m concerned. However, I can appreciate that I am not the producers’ target audience, that this is intended for the shallow and privileged female clubber whose most prominent dilemma is not knowing who Charice slept with last weekend and given that the BBC has as much of an obligation to this group as to us, I will concede that this show, much like fossil fuels, has a purpose of sorts.

Unreported World: Afghanistan’s Child Drug Addicts (Factual)

In 2001, Saira Shah’s journey to rediscover her father’s homeland took her to the depths of a society abandoned by its fellow nations and left at the deindividuated discretion of an infamous and arguably Nazi-esque organisation who to this day exploit faith to justify their ideals. Before the film was broadcast, the world realized what was happening, yet governments everywhere can only watch this harrowing documentary in shame having ignored these defenseless civilians’ situation for so long. An RTS award in Current Affairs does not come close to demonstrating the bravery and passion displayed throughout these 48 minutes of eye opening footage. Only her heritage and connection with the people of Afghanistan can have given Saira the drive to risk her life to uncover what could well have been the last attempts to resist a totalitarian existence to which death may have been preferable. This is more than information, it is an insight into a poisonous mindframe, a universal perception of normality which is used to terrorize and ‘shut down’ any non-conformists such as adulterers or nail painters via graphically public executions. From this broadcast can be gained an understanding of the situation in Afghanistan which the news cannot provide.

Malcolm In The Middle (Scripted Drama/Comedy)

This long-running comedy details the daily life of a suburban American family from the point of view of outsider and genius Malcolm. The first of its kind, it provides an exaggerated reflection of family in all its forms, aspects of which we can all recognize, while rewarding regular viewers with continuity from one episode to the next both in terms of its storyline and of the concept as a whole, the family going through major life events such as the birth of youngest son Jamie as the show progresses. Sound in particular is used with expert precision throughout, perhaps most notably the effect of a nondiegetic door slamming during key scene transitions. Despite this, the series is not without its faults and it is frustrating given the evident passion with which it has been created, to observe the occasional lapse of attention, such as a cameraman’s shadow being visible in series two or the boom mic in series four. Overall, however, this programme filled a gap in the schedule, providing a refreshing break from badly animated cartoons and admirably conquering many challenges, such as the difficulties associated with using child actors, which many producers would shy away from.

My Parents Are Aliens (Children’s)

ITV’s answer to My Hero enjoys freedom afforded by being aimed at children specifically because of its inclusion within the CITV umbrella. It’s shorter running time enables it to do more with its budget allowing for stunning aesthetics such as neon strips of light which erupt from the aliens’ heads at times of heightened emotion. Though the script is basic thanks to the patronising assumption that children cannot appreciate subtle humour, this is compensated by the acting abilities of the cast which at times exceed those of actors in more prominently scheduled shows. Particularly admirable are the opening titles which do a fantastic job of efficiently explaining a complicated backstory while simultaneously involving the care system in the premise and the animation used at the beginning of each episode is integrated perfectly into the rest of the broadcast to provide effective scene transitions. I find the lack of faith on the part of the producers in their audience very disheartening, the inclusion, for example, of canned laughter revealing that they don’t trust the viewer to recognize their brash humour and obvious jokes. Nevertheless, overall, the series were triumphs and certainly preferable to some of their rivals’ programming.

10 O’Clock Live (Live)

Britain is finally treated to a series which wasn’t created with an ulterior motive in mind. Born as a one off alternative to coverage of the election, inevitable gems of brilliance can be found in the rough, the immediacy of the broadcast giving it an authenticity which prerecorded equivalents could not rival. The combination in particular of Charlie Brooker and David Mitchell are to be commended, their unique ways of thinking individually providing the concept with a format which could never have been manufactured and even the inclusion of Jimmy Carr, while not an obvious choice, is demonstrated to have worked so long as he remembers his lines. What I cannot understand is the decision not only to include but to invite back Lauren Laverne for a second series. This unfunny ‘face-palming’ fly in an otherwise soothing ointment is inescapable, her infuriating inability to perform live resulting in cringeworthy VTs which go against everything the structure is defined by. Yet if this is the price we must pay for genius such as Mitchell’s ‘...the advertisers want to talk to us’, I would suffer it ten times over. A refreshing break from the status quo which Channel 4 desperately needs.

How I Met Your Mother

Shortly coming to a well-deserved end, this saga will go down in history as one of few shows which deserve the extraordinary hype that has surrounded them over the years. As its audience has grown, so has the relationship between everyone involved in the production of the programme until the astounding confidence with which episodes have been put forward has reached a level dreamed of by most filmmakers which only the likes of Frasier and Friends have been privy too so far in television history, as demonstrated mainly in later series by effective and almost routine violations of the 180° rule or seamlessly unrecognizable improvisation. The development of the characters throughout has been executed perfectly so as to allow for an entirely different scenario to exist at the end than at the beginning eight years before, without the audience having lost what we fell in love with in series one. While at times the show has sercummed to a lack of realism which has tainted the effect slightly thanks to the demands of an American audience for a fad to celebrate such as Barney’s suit song, these have always been short-lived and every episode has been a pleasure to watch.