Lord preserve us from luvvies.
I was just on my way home, listening to that nice Simon Mayo, and his TV review crew. He has a studio full of opinionated talking heads. It’s not as entertaining as the Kermode slot on a Friday, but what can you do? You see, the difference between Kermode and this lot, Kermode may have occasionally objectionable views, but is always in command of his material. In short, he knows his shit. He’s the Jeremy Clarkson of film reviewing.
Not by coincidence, that nice Simon Mayo was discussing (or should I say, disgusting?) last night’s return of Top Gear to BBC2. The general pomeme in the studio was that Clarkson and co are obnoxious little boys, and that the tenor of Clarkson’s comment to The Little One (“Are you a mental?”) was crass and tasteless, and borderline offensive. One of the studio guests opined, “It was almost irreverent…”
Now, the last time I looked, the word irreverent meant, showing lack of due respect or veneration, which would make Top Gear quintessentially irreverent, not almost. To even say that indicates a missing-of-the-point that beggars belief in a so-called TV reviewer.
Top Gear is not for everyone, of course, but it does succeed (where so many others fail) in managing to be proper family entertainment, one of the few programmes that will have mums, dads, and kids alike sitting down to watch. It provides something for everyone without slipping into the land of the bland. Furthermore, the point about last night’s return was that all the irreverent joshing was there to counterbalance the strong emotions being felt in the studio and in TV audience-land. More than one person texted Five Live to say that they were moved by the programme, and several grown men were in tears. Which is precisely why there was so much blokey joking around.
The beauty of the programme is that it doesn’t descend into maudlin sentimentality as a substitute for real feeling, and it doesn’t seek to let itself off the hook. Clarkson finished the programme with a sly, “Remember kids: speed kills.” The serious point being that there is far too much parrotting of opinion, far too many pomemes in our culture, and that people should not blindly follow the herd and need to think for themselves more.
More people watched Top Gear than watched the final of Celeb BB. Yet you’d be forgiven for thinking, this morning, that the result of that programme was Big News rather than the minor entertainment it actually was.
That nice Simon Mayo had that actress in the studio, the one wot was in Teachers to begin with, and then was Jack Dee’s wife in that unfunny comedy on BBC4, Lead Balloon (there’s a clue in the title). She was on to plug her latest thing, which is some low-rent British attempt to do The West Wing.
That nice Simon Mayo asked her what she thought of Top Gear, “I’ve never watched it before,” she said, claiming not to know anything about it.
“But you were aware of what had happened to Richard Hammond?” he asked.
“Yes, I knew about that, but I wouldn’t normally have watched.” (Just in case any of her luvvie friends were listening, you know.)
Later on, she was asked to comment on the latest Celebrity Job Centre offering, So You Think You Can Nurse? Again, she wouldn’t normally have watched that, she said. Furthermore (and this is the clincher), she’s “never seen inside a hospital before” on TV.
In other words, she’s never seen a hospital/medical documentary, and not seen ER, Holby, St. Elsewhere, Grey’s Anatomy, House… I could go on. In other other words, she expects us to watch her in whatever shit she happens to be in, but would never watch any of it herself. “I prefer to go to the theatre, actually.”
It’s not that I object to people who don’t watch telly. It’s that I object to people who don’t watch telly, but expect the rest of us to watch them on it. I’ve gone right off her, you know.
Filed under: Culture, Luvvies, Television, Time-Wasters, acting, arts, being chippy, narcissism | 7 Comments
My parents both watch Top Gear. As they couldn’t be further from Clarkson politically and love-of-car-ly, it must be doing something right.
Oh lordy, I hated the very thought of the not-even-close-to-being-The-West-Wing tv series she was promoting. Now I have no intention of watching it.
I don’t really watch Top Gear either, but blimey, what was that woman on about. And yes, I thought it very interesting that BB’s finale ratings were lower than TG returning. Not sure what the awesome Kermode would think though of your remark that he’s the “Jeremy Clarkson of film reviewing.” !!
He divides the nation, sure enough. But I can’t help feeling that people who “disapprove” of him are just playing his game, as well as suffering a sense-of-humour by-pass. People just can’t bear having their sacred cows poked. Me, I think everything should be considered a target. There is nowhere to hide.
Top Gear is reliably on the hotel televisions of the world as an antidote to local language programmes when a touch of britbloke humour is required.
A chap being interviewed on Sky about Big Bro racism said he hadn’t ever seen it, because “I regard television as something for appearing on, not for watching,” which sounded very familiar (some actor?) and was rather amusing.
Indeed, Dave F, it’s a common condition. Quite often these people like to boast about never watching television whilst being interviewed for the Radio Times.
The serious point is, if they never watch any telly, how on earth are they able to judge the quality of the scripts they are sent and the productions they are in? This, in my opinion, is why so much British-made drama is shite. None of the actors concerned would recognise a decent television script if you smacked them repeatedly round the face with it.