As a rule, I really dislike television "talent" contests. At first I was put off by the idea of watching other people humiliate themselves in front of a huge audience. Rather than amusement, I just felt sorry for them. I also find the trait in the human psyche of laughing at others deeply distasteful. My view of them was not enhanced by reading Ben Elton's book, "Chart Throb"; a thinly-veiled parody of various ITV talent shows. I know this book is fiction but the cynicism of the producer characters is all to easy to believe. You will therefore be unsurprised to read that, generally, I have avoided watching these shows at all costs. (Although I will state for the record now that I have seen the odd episode of most of them for various reasons).
There is one exception to this rule. Strictly Come Dancing. I'm not going to lie, the only reason I started watching it was because the model Jodie Kidd was one of the competitors. There then followed a hiatus of a couple of years until I met my girlfriend. She is a huge fan of the show and so gradually I drifted back into watching it and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The main reason I like it is because I watch it and think, "Good god I could never do that!" and it's true. Even in the first week, the contestants move in ways that I am dimly aware that the human body is capable of moving but have no idea how to make happen. My hips for example don't wiggle and trying to get my legs to do one thing while my arms do another is a recipe for injury both to myself and to those around me. Therefore I am genuinely impressed when otherwise novices stand up and get on with it after only brief (albeit intensive) training. Seeing the skill that is obtained by the end of the competition is, to me at least, hugely impressive (far more so than say, forming yet another manufactured boy/girl band).
Another thing I like about the show is that it appears constructive rather than destructive. By that I mean the scenes shot backstage focus very much on a team mentality with the competitors urging each other on and supporting each other rather than focussing on "Their dreams". Some may say that this diminishes the competitive aspect but I disagree; i think it is not only possible but desirable to remain on good terms with one's rivals. I suppose part of this could be due to the fact that the competitors have all achieved a measure of success in their chosen fields before appearing on Strictly therefore it's not the battle for the Z list that some of the other shows have turned into.
The judging of the show continues this theme. Rather than being directly insulting or offering a hyperbolic load of rubbish, the judges generally offer genuine feedback (not always to the pleasure of the watching audience). Yes, Craig Revel-Horwood has a bit of a pantomime villain persona to play up to but if you actually listen to what he's saying, most of it is fair and constructive. Similarly Len Goodman, playing the favourite uncle, can be quite harsh while never being unfair. Darcey Bussel was my favourite this year and not just for her stunning good looks. As well as offering honest pointers about errors, she also took the time to give fairly detailed advice on how to improve. Ultimately, and this is a more global point, this is a good example of what criticism should be; balanced and offering suggestions for improvement.
Of course another big draw of Strictly is Sir Bruce Forsyth; a true icon of Saturday evening light entertainment. Although his jokes are uniformly cringe-worthy and his script sometimes resembles a game of spot the catchphrase, he is still wonderful. He is still remarkably light on his feet and it is impressive watching him dancing at the start of the show... except when the dance is gangnam style! In a way, he reflects a lot of what about the show in that he is light-hearted, funny (just about) and has more than a trace of self-parody about him.
If all of the above aren't reason enough to like the show then the abundance of pretty girls in skimpy outfits more than make up the difference.
The most recent series may have ended but already I am quietly looking forward to the next one.
JR
No comments:
Post a Comment