Iacgmouh - Richard Madeley

[andy-hughes]

I see Richard Madely has been taken to hospital 'as a precaution' after falling ill on the show.

I remember forty years ago when we as a nation watched aghast as Clive James showed clips of Endurance', a Japanese game show where contestants were tortured for the entertainment of the viewing masses, and he quite rightly pointed out that this was a hugely horrible way to offer something disguised as amusement for anyone who was disturtbed enough to find entertainment in it. We all put it down to a fundamental cruelty in the Japanese psyche, and nodded that we are very very different in the West.

Now, we have exactly the same thing, except without even the poor excuse of offering money prizes to unknowns - we have it with rich 'celebrities' being paid fees to humilaite themselves for the edification of the viewing public.

What sort of a viewing nation have we become where making people ill is seen as entertainment? If we have slid down that path in a mere forty years, what sort of a dystopian future are we headed for?

Are we going to torture animals for amusement? Oh, I forgot, we've already done that in this horrible programme - but because the creatures concerned do not make any noise when eaten alive, and are not judged attractive enough for anyone to disgusted at their treatment, only their appearence.

I honestly think we have to have a serious look at what sort of a culture we are turning into, and maybe think about stopping this nonsense, however popular it may be.

Popularity is simply not justification for this kind of programme - let's be honest, you could produce a show of bear baiting and it would achieve an audience.

Time to stop pandering to the worst in people, before we start 'entertaining' ourselves with spectacles that would make the ancient Romans turn away.

[pat2604]

Authornaomi - // And I can't be doing with all the hysteria either. If they're not all crying at heart-wrenching tales of misery or heart-warming tales of triumph over adversity, they're all shouting and screaming because someone's got a question right. //.

I totally agree too

[Bobbisox1]

Bad move on my part admitting to watching it,:0(

[naomi24]

Bobbi. I watched Blankety Blank the other night and was in tears of laughter at Bradley's antics and the daft answers to the daft questions. I so love 'daft'. I don't know if that makes me moronic.

[Bobbisox1]

Haha, yep I watched that too so I’m doubly moronic , throw Emmerdale in the mix and I’m a triple moron :0)))

[pat2604]

I love daft too!

[Bobbisox1]

Whoa is me , I’m currently self isolating , what do I watch :0(

[pastafreak]

I'm a different breed of moron...I'm glued to HGTV because I'm obsessed with property programs. Then there's both really and blaze for paranormal and things that go bump in the night. It's what distracts me from all the reality of the news and just what passes for every day life right now.
I don't care what others might think...just show some sympathy when I show obvious signs of my brain turning to mush.

[Bobbisox1]

On a serious note, well said Pasta ,we’d programmed like robots if we all watched the same stuff

[burlyshirley]

ah - I will carry on posting as I want to, I think you know what I think about you and your utter pomposity and constant derailing of threads. I have told you before, what you think of me is TOTALLY IRRELEVANT !

Got it, good ! (Thought I'd end this post in YOUR usual pompous way)!

[andy-hughes]

Oh dear ....

[wiltsman]

After reading some of the posts on this thread, I ask myself why!

[andy-hughes]

Why what?

[Mamyalynne]

♫ Why do fools fall in love?
Why do birds sing so gay
And lovers await the break of day
Why do they fall in love
Why does the rain fall from up above
Why do fools fall in love
Why do they fall in love ♫

[Mozz71]

Why he bothered reading the posts I'd imagine.

[Mamyalynne]

The debate about all manner of reality TV has thundered on for decades and numerous studies have reached varying conclusions about why people watch.

That debate will carry on much as the programmes themselves will.

[andy-hughes]

Mamya - // The debate about all manner of reality TV has thundered on for decades and numerous studies have reached varying conclusions about why people watch. //

I am in no doubt about why people watch, and why these shows continue to be made.

My point is whether or not we should consider, as a society, if this is actually a road we wish to travel further down.

[Peter Pedant]

// ourselves with spectacles that would make the ancient Romans turn away.//
they didnt turn away from much....

did victorians object ( in the strongest possible terms ! horse whips etc) to wm topaz mcgonagall's lines on the death of the prince consort - as dwelling morbidly on a tragedy for money?

down the wondrous telegraph, the electric message came
he is no better - he is much the same

[Peter Pedant]

.. national tragedy for shillings ....

[pastafreak]

//...My point is whether or not we should consider, as a society, if this is actually a road we wish to travel further down.//

I suspect society has more pressing things to worry about at this time.

[andy-hughes]

pastafreak - // /...My point is whether or not we should consider, as a society, if this is actually a road we wish to travel further down.//

I suspect society has more pressing things to worry about at this time. //

True - but that doesn't mean the issue is not worth considering.

There are always 'more pressing' issues, but that doesn't stop any one of them from being important enough to think about for a few minutes, and maybe venture an opinion.

Interestingly, I am still waiting for a firm fan of the show to address the point I raised in my OP.