September 1, 2009

Beauty and the Geek

I was switching channels this morning and caught my first-ever reality TV show. Beauty and the Geek is now part of my life. For those of you not particularly au-fait with this piece of culture – it is a bunch of clever nerds paired up with self-obsessed attractive women. The rest is no doubt familiar to you…demeaning tasks, contrived scenes – and crocodile tears as contestants are voted out. It was utter crap of course – but strangely compelling.

This particular version was American – but I was surprised to find that there have been five series of a UK version. Presumably the audience for that particular show hovered around zero. I wonder when and where it appeared.

Big Brother made the news because it is being dropped by Channel 4. Curiously, the chattering classes on television and radio seemed to find this a boring programme no longer worthy of their gilded attention. This I find rather curious because the viewing figures for Big Brother have always been pretty feeble. Never, as far as I know have the ratings exceeded Springwatch.

This kind of puts reality television in perspective. Even the programme constantly hyped in the tabloid press, vacuous radio and puerile chat shows has less fascination for us than the nesting habits of a blue tit as described by an annoying little man with a beard.

So reality television has never been much of a turn on for many of us. Yet the sheer volume of these shows beggars belief. I see the BBC has even decided that you can become a nature photographer via a reality TV show. I suppose the thinking is that you combine a trusty standby (cute animals) with another one (people prepared to ridicule themselves) you have a hit programme. At least in theory.

I have to admit I have never seen a single episode of Big Brother. But by my reckoning neither have 50 million other UK television viewers. So I am in very good company. But the question now is – will I be watching a second episode of Beauty and the Geek.