TV To Die For Posted Tue Jul 31 20:55:06 BST 2001 by Justin

C4's latest clip show airs this Saturday (4th August) - 120 minutes long. You'd think it would actually put together a thoughtful and constructive compilation of music clips - there are enough of them. But no. Radio Times lists usual suspects - The Stone Roses grind to a halt and shout bloody amateurs, Shaun Ryder says fuck a lot and doesn't get Chris Evans's nice footwear, L7 show their bits on The Word, and Jarvis Cocker sort of shows his bum in front of Michael Jackson. Oh, and Darius presents it. The point being?


Subject: Re: TV To Die For [ Previous Message ]
Posted By 'Al' on Tue Jul 31 22:35:04 BST 2001:

To quote Marty from 'Frasier':
"You die for your family and your country. Anything else you just like."

And who is this Darius? Not Jedburgh? A clips show presented by Joe Don Baker? Now that might be worth dying for? (Except then you wouldn't get to see it. Bah.)


Subject: Re: TV To Die For [ Previous Message ]
Posted By Tom Adams on Tue Jul 31 22:37:03 BST 2001:

No, it's Darius, King of Persia and father of Xerxes, of sea-whipping fame.

Or maybe it's Darius from Popstars. And now of 'Darius'.


Subject: Re: TV To Die For [ Previous Message ]
Posted By Justin on Wed Aug 1 07:01:36 BST 2001:

Yes, it is Darius from Popstars.

Why does every attempt at music television now reduce everything to "I was so drunk"-related ineptitude? Most of the clips listed in RT have been shown several times already in other "Live TV - Tch" compilation shows. Two hours of clips from The Roxy would at least have been honest.

Neither C4 nor E4, lest we forget, has had a serious music show since the demise of The White Room.


Subject: Re: TV To Die For [ Previous Message ]
Posted By Mike4SOTCAA on Thu Aug 2 10:41:27 BST 2001:

They won't be shown intact either. Interspersed with talking heads and sneery voiceovers.


Subject: Re: TV To Die For [ Previous Message ]
Posted By Justin on Thu Aug 2 11:13:06 BST 2001:

As usual, why? Because people can't be trusted to watch some great archive clips without waiting for someone falling arse-over-tit or saying a rude word? Much as I always enjoyed It'll Be Alright On The Night, it's got a lot to answer for these days.

Why would it be considered so anachronistic to have done what the BBC Late Show team did at New Year 89/90. Their three hour special - "Eighties" - was a lovely little trawl through the music show archives of the decade just gone (from Whistle Test to Cheggers Plays Pop, from Wogan to Oxford Road Show). And the content was impressively broad - Associates to ZZ Top via PiL, Pet Shop Boys, Pogues and almost 100 others. No talking heads, just helpful captions and a lot of great music. It's telling that the Radio Times just lists the controversial aspects of the TV To Die For special rather than any real musical excellence. And there's also the suggestion that this is just the first in a series of reductive programmes, which sneer at the enthusiasts while appealing to the same wankers who thought the BES was in any way groundbreaking or defensible.


Subject: Re: TV To Die For [ Previous Message ]
Posted By Unruly Butler on Thu Aug 2 11:30:50 BST 2001:

Can we stop this before it gets stupid?

"Pleb", though offensive, patrician and snobbish, was a useful term to differentiate the sort of comedy appreciation that goes on on SOTCAA, and the "gary at work likes it so it must be good" attitude of the average pub conversation.

Referring to "the sort of wankers who thought the BES was defensible" is just taking your attitude to one particular piece of comedy and building a nasty us-and-them theory out of it.

Stop it.

People can agree with your opinion on televised music without having to toe your party line on a totally unrelated set of issues.


Subject: Re: TV To Die For [ Previous Message ]
Posted By Unruly Butler on Thu Aug 2 11:31:41 BST 2001:

PS That programme does sound fucking dire, though, Justin.


Subject: Re: TV To Die For [ Previous Message ]
Posted By Justin on Thu Aug 2 11:49:34 BST 2001:

Alright, it was flippant, my last comment. But the amount of nonsense talked by liberals has more-or-less matched the nonsense talked by the complainants about the BES. I'm just getting a bit fed up with shock-over-content, something the entertainment departments of all channels seem to be obsessed with right now.


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