You probably know the feeling. You try your best to have a lie-in on a Saturday morning but instead your body wakes up at 8.30am, on the dot. It’s not fair is it?
So after it happened to me a couple of weeks ago, I dragged myself out of bed and decided to catch up with some Saturday morning shows. I used to love them when I was younger. As soon as the opening credits for Live ‘N’ Kicking and CD:UK with Ant and Dec started rolling I was in front of the TV!
But this time the first on the button was Dick and Dom’s in Da Bungalow show on CBBC. It’s won BAFTAS and has run for over five series. But for the benefit of those lucky enough not to have watched it I will explain what it is. The two hour tirade centres on Dominic Wood (Dom) and Richard McCourt (Dick) performing a series of different ‘comedy’ scenarios such as Make Dick Sick.
As I sat watching two grown men shout “I gotta dance in my pants, just like they do in France” I began wondering why youngsters loved it so much. Did I miss something? Two nine-year-olds even sent in pictures with their parent’s underwear on their heads! What on earth has happened to Saturday morning telly? I don’t mind a bit of old-fashioned gunge but it looks like this has given way to making young people into even greater fools on TV.
Imagine you’re in a restaurant and you hear two 25-year-olds shout “boogies” over each other until one finally shouts the loudest. Funny? What messages are these “adults” sending out to young people by behaving badly like this? Picture the response to your little sister or brother shouting “boogies!” in a library. Would there be any laughs then? But luckily at the end of next month, the show is over. So may Dick and Dom’s in da Bungalow show rest in absolute peace. Forever.
Unfortunately things didn’t get much better either. The next show was Top of the Pops Reloaded and sitting through it was like being assigned to do chores – you quickly realise its boring and you really want it to end. Just to prove my point here were the highlights of the show:
- Presenters Sam and Mark reinvigorating their extinct music career with their “remix” of their 2003 “hit”.
- The producer being reluctantly dragged onto the set because the weekly competition had been missed the previous week and there was a gap in the show.
- Fearne being handed a bag full of viewer complaints.
This show was unprofessional and uncomfortable to watch. It felt like I’d just crashed into the worst party ever, with Westlife.
Even though I switched over to watch CD:UK the pattern of things didn’t change much either. There were only forced smiles on show and everything looked orchestrated, even the “jokes” which were read from cue cards. And when Girls Aloud sang their latest song with the same moves as Westlife, I’d seen enough. After ageing what seemed like fifty years in three hours, I decided I needed some sleep.
About the team
This story was written and edited by Annabel McLeod. It was published by Reach for the Sky website.
