Own the rights?
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
Target audience stuff this awards ceremony. Where maybe the Oscar provide some interest, controversy and debate the overwhelming emotion I felt while watching this was apathy. Or maybe despair or depression but certainly no emotion that would come from involvement or passion (negatively or positively). The reason for this is the fact that almost everyone being nominated is from average shows and giving average performances. The one thing that I will give credit for is that the awards ceremony does not call their awards "best" anything, but rather each award is "most popular this" or "most popular that". This is at least forgivable because nobody could really pretend that any of these shows or people are the best in their field.Of course this year to suggest that any television awards ceremony is truthful or honest is perhaps to suggest that the awards ceremony is not being true to the nominees. In the background of this ceremony was the shadow of robbery and scandal over premium rate telephone lines – money grabbing at the best of times but close to fraudulent when they are open long after winners have already been selected. This was alluded to but you could tell that everyone just wanted it to go away and Ant & Dec and all the other producers and executive producers getting rich would rather not have it mentioned.Of course having Trevor MacDonald as the host near-guarantees that any sharp or cutting humour will be absent and indeed it is so. Obviously the producers had never seen Newsknight because MacDonald doesn't have a great delivery and most of his lines fall flat and the "audience reaction" shots are misjudged because nobody is actually laughing. The award categories are depressing because they do include talent show, reality show and entertainment programme as three of the eleven categories. Yes, you heard me – eleven. In a two hour ceremony. This means lots of clips and lots of commercial breaks.The winners are sort of understandable because this is all voted for by the public and, as we know, the majority doesn't have very discerning taste or demand much from their "art". So it goes without saying that British actors who are brilliant in things like The Wire do not really get much of a mention here. No, Elba and West are very much sidelined by the likes of Dean Gafney and David Tennant. Actually the latter I don't mind so much because Dr Who deserves a bit of praise and it got two awards. However with BBC4 churning out great documentaries you do have to feel a bit sad that Top Gear won "factual programme". Other than Tennant, the acting "honours" went to people from soaps who I had never heard of, so maybe they genuinely are very good. Catherine Tate I have never watched so cannot comment on her winning comedy show and of course I could care less about the awards given to Celebrity, X Factor, Ant & Dec and their Saturday Night Takeaway.Of course it is all dressed up in glitz and glamour but really the lack of diversity in the shows does make it duller than the lights can make it. Aside from Doctor Who I have never or rarely watch any of these shows and, watching all these clips and seeing the sheep in the audience from the public, I must admit that I'm fine with that. Everyone is in suits here and everyone claps but really the shows are bland an populist with quality being very much second to "giving the people what they want". A low quality, dull and unnecessary awards ceremony.
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