I don't know, but I came to this Channel 4 documentary based on the outing of pop star George Michael in 1998, after watching the same channel's other recent programme on the life and times of another celebrity rarely out of the headlines in the 80's and 90's, TV presenter Paula Yates and was struck at the similarities between the two. Besides using the pop-culture similarities in both subjects, both shows used the same bold purple font for their main title, both were separated into two roughly 45 minute episodes and both told their story in a fast-paced almost tabloid style.
I've tried to see if the same production company made both docs but if they did, in trying to encapsulate the whole life of one person as opposed to one controversial incident in the other's life and career, it's probably not surprising that I found the two-parter on Miss Yates much more informative and coherent.
I can well remember the publicity that George Michael's arrest sparked although it crossed my mind that I'm still awaiting the 90 minute retelling of actor Hugh Grant's encounter with a prostitute at around the same time. Big claims are made on behalf of the gay community down to the singer's subsequent stand against the tabloid press and TV news coverage of the incident which saw him finally admit his homosexuality, speaking out candidly on TV chat shows in both Britain and America and cheekily rreleasing a new single called "Outside" promoted by an expensive promotional video in which he's dressed up as a policeman and gyrating with his fellow-dsncers in front of a set of urinals.
The programme sought to add context by highlighting the impact of the revelation on the wider gay community against the backdrop of the A I D. S. epidemic and the often cruel response to it by the paranoid tabloud press.
Personally, I think the praise and support of Michael's stand was a little over-exaggerated and that this 90 minute retelling of events was similarly overdone and in truth a bit padded out. Just like in the Yates' documentary however there's no doubt that the paparazzi and gutter-press come out of this smelling of manure as they weakly seek to justify their highly questionable tactics in pursuit of a lurid headline, none more so than when one of their number, unsurprisingly from the now extinct "News Of The World" callously extorts the admission from the bereaved mother of Michael's recently deceased partner's bereaved mother in Rio that her son died of A. I. D. S.
I remember as a boy at one time aspiring to be a journalist but if this is what it takes to make it on Fleet Street, I'm glad I chose a different career. As regards George Michael personally, I've always considered him one of the more approachable and down-to-earth stars, not like some of the other lost-in-showbiz types who seem to proliferate, but while he certainly comes across with both his personal and musical reputations intact, I'm not sure this rather trashy, bloated documentary of one incident in his life merited the same running time it took to tell Paula Yates' whole life story.
I've tried to see if the same production company made both docs but if they did, in trying to encapsulate the whole life of one person as opposed to one controversial incident in the other's life and career, it's probably not surprising that I found the two-parter on Miss Yates much more informative and coherent.
I can well remember the publicity that George Michael's arrest sparked although it crossed my mind that I'm still awaiting the 90 minute retelling of actor Hugh Grant's encounter with a prostitute at around the same time. Big claims are made on behalf of the gay community down to the singer's subsequent stand against the tabloid press and TV news coverage of the incident which saw him finally admit his homosexuality, speaking out candidly on TV chat shows in both Britain and America and cheekily rreleasing a new single called "Outside" promoted by an expensive promotional video in which he's dressed up as a policeman and gyrating with his fellow-dsncers in front of a set of urinals.
The programme sought to add context by highlighting the impact of the revelation on the wider gay community against the backdrop of the A I D. S. epidemic and the often cruel response to it by the paranoid tabloud press.
Personally, I think the praise and support of Michael's stand was a little over-exaggerated and that this 90 minute retelling of events was similarly overdone and in truth a bit padded out. Just like in the Yates' documentary however there's no doubt that the paparazzi and gutter-press come out of this smelling of manure as they weakly seek to justify their highly questionable tactics in pursuit of a lurid headline, none more so than when one of their number, unsurprisingly from the now extinct "News Of The World" callously extorts the admission from the bereaved mother of Michael's recently deceased partner's bereaved mother in Rio that her son died of A. I. D. S.
I remember as a boy at one time aspiring to be a journalist but if this is what it takes to make it on Fleet Street, I'm glad I chose a different career. As regards George Michael personally, I've always considered him one of the more approachable and down-to-earth stars, not like some of the other lost-in-showbiz types who seem to proliferate, but while he certainly comes across with both his personal and musical reputations intact, I'm not sure this rather trashy, bloated documentary of one incident in his life merited the same running time it took to tell Paula Yates' whole life story.