Daily Drivel

Flicking through the Freeview megasphere I came up against the documentary-laden übershit of More 4. Unlucky for some, Channel 13 is the home of this responsible heavy-browed thoughtful channel. And every night at 8.30pm, Sarah Smith’s brows can lift slightly, as the Daily Show with Jon Stewart light-heartedly skips on to the channel it was born to be on.
Like Bremner, Bird and Fortune, I started out liking the Daily Show, solely from internet clips, and was asphyxiwanking with anticipation when I heard it was coming to a British Channel near you. Unfortunately, exactly like Bremner, Bird, and Fortune, the level of satirical humour has dropped appallingly. I know there may be those who can’t understand why anyone would watch it in the first place, and that the level has stayed continually bad; I would disagree, I definitely think it’s got much worse recently.
TV Squad hits a few nails on some heads, stating that the new people on the show are not as good as the old ones, but then makes the fatal error of congratulating Rob Corddry for being brilliant. He isn’t, even if you are American.

I am now starting to wonder why I ever liked the programme, I think it comes down to Jon Stewart’s laugh, Jon Stewart’s bits to camera and everything else Jon Stewart does.

The biggest beef I have with the programme is when I was absent-mindedly watching it, glum face in hand, and who should pop up as a [guffaw] special reporter from London Heathrow? None other than Jon Oliver. Tumbleweed ensues. Well you should recognise his face if, like me, you have watched all the 100 Greatest Showstopping TV jazz hands &c. He is one of the oiks who comes on as says:‘Well it was like ‘Shit he’s actually trying to get an axe through the door’ and you’re like ‘Shit, this is really scary’ and when he says ‘Here’s Johnny’ you’re like ‘Shit, I can’t believe how scary this is!’.Proper twat, worse than that he isn’t amusing at all, like the bastard child of Justin Lee Simba and Alan ‘Ooh pop it in me inbox’ Carr. He did a truly awful stint as the reporter from Heathrow going on about how crazy it was that you couldn’t take liquids on to an aeroplane now! And then he told the gag everyone knew was coming but prayed would be spared, alas: ‘The human body is made up of 50% water, so what, they’re going to ban people from travelling?!’ [cue girlish giggle from Stewart and weird whooping from Tabbed-up audience]. Absolutely pitiful

I think they should probably cancel it, like many things that are daily programmes it loses its fizz cf. So Graham Norton I know you used to find it funny when it was weekly so don’t pretend.

Tags: More 4, John Oliver, media, television, freeview, The Daily Show

This is a test blog post.

Channel 4 is above you.

This blog seems to be becoming a bit telly heavy but it’s important.

The relaunch of Film 4-with brand new snazzy emblem-has brought a few hip hoorays from some and ‘how can they make it free i’ve paid for it since it launched’ from approx. 10 people. Coupled with the launch of Film 4 as a free service on Digital Satellite/Freeview was one of the omnipresent Channel 4 ‘50 things to talk about on camera with Edith Bowman and Justin Lee-Simba before you die’ lists, this time 50 films you just have to watch.

And what an interesting list it was, full of some old favourites (‘Erin Brokovich’) and some lesser known classic fare (‘Alien’). Most intriguingly was the tally of how many of the films are owned by Channel 4 and its evil subsidiaries. I put it at 28/50 which can only be seen on the small screen through Film4, Channel4, More4, More4+1 and E4+1. Staggering.

What gets on my wick is how Channel 4 has been able to stylise itself as BBC2’s kookie little brother, with a quite ludicrous mix of cheap yank tat One Tree Hill, to utter bollocks watched by 50,000 people ‘Chantelle’s Dream Dates’. Mixed in with this is their sense of justice with Channel 4 News and More 4 News, dumbed down to an alarming rate with pretend interaction through caption competition, email sifting and text surveys. Over on E4 you are confronted with the madcap craziness of MTV circa 1995 with truly mental Estings-the matchbox dog who sets himself on fire!-and that old man who says things in an old man accent like ‘Listen up you muddyfunsters, some kick arse American teen trouble in Angel, enough to get you rumpelstiltskinning up your curtains screaming come and take me, HALLELUIA’ which was funny when it launched but is now too annoying for words.

More 4 is a re-run haven of the West Wing-cos it’s poli’ical innit-and the truly terrible ‘30 Days’, a Morgan Spurlock-fronted delve into American life ‘Can a Mom get drunk like her 20 year-old daughter for a month?’ who cares? I don’t, and just because you have that moustachioed vegan fronting it means bugger all, it’s a crap programme. I hope More 4 goes the way of ITV News Channel soon, the only thing that is half interesting is the Daily Show but like every other successful American it has been pushed too far, never had a holiday and is too tired to justify itself now.

Tags: film four, Justin-Lee Collins, media, television, freeview, film