IT'S the game show that is dividing the nation: Red or Black, a contest that requires no skill other than choosing a colour. So is it great entertainment or utter dross? Deanna Delamotta and Ian Wylie take sides
It's a winner, says Deanna Delamotta
Having been informed that I must be real telly low life to enjoy Red or Black I lingered briefly on BBC2 on Monday night. University Challenge started at the same time as Simon Cowell's mega bucks game show.
Perhaps it was time to rediscover my intellectual side?
1) “Around 100,000 light years in diameter, 400bn stars; what, until the 1920s was thought to constitute the entire universe?”
How do I know?
2) Who said: “Until you understand a writer's ignorance presume yourself ignorant of his writing?”* - Who cares!
That's enough of that. I zapped over to ITV1 where Arsenal heroes (or ex heroes) Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie were kicking balls into the air.
The “blacks” ended up being “completely gutted” “absolutely devastated” when “Red” van Persie succeeded over his old team mate.
This show only deals in emotional superlatives – and the odd hard luck story – like 20-something housewife, Kathryn and her kidney transplant dilemma: “If I get through I'll have to delay my transplant,” she said.
No worries there. She lost out in the big digger challenge.
No expense has been spared by Cowell to bring on the big guns to show off their talents because the contestants are so singularly lacking in anything other than a desire to be rich Data security consultant Ian Murphy spoke for all his colleagues with his astute assessment of his suitability to participate: “I can't sing, I can't dance. I've got no talent or ability, so pure luck suits me just fine.”
Good on you Ian. Pity he went on to claim that he got down to the final two thanks to “Positive Mental Attitude” and the ability to visualise red or black before he saw it.
Unfortunately this amazing skill eluded him on the last spin of the roulette wheel when he guessed red and the ball stayed on black, leaving him penniless.
Still his family looked clean and professional – upstanding middle class folk. Unlike the winner from the first night – Reading brickie Nathan Hageman who has been branded a woman-beater.
Not exactly your dream demographic. Sunday night's new millionaire was much better; signet-ring festooned full time carer Kevin Cartwright . Although his charge (the wife) looked remarkably sprightly when she dashed down to congratulate him.
Ah all human life is here and why not – it's a nail-biting show with great production values and great entertainment – we've had Leona Lewis, Pixie Lott and Il Divo so far – although I can't be doing with those Italian singing stallions so I zapped back over to BBC2 to see the finale off Antique Master.
A chap called Jonathan with handle bar moustache beat a whipper snapper called John who looked far too young to be concerned with antiques. Host Sandi Toksvig, mostly heard on Radio 4 these days, said it was “nail biting stuff”.
She's easily excited. For real edge of the sofa entertainment she needs to be watching Red or Black tonight. Something tells she won't though...
(Answers: 1 - Milky Way. 2 - Samuel Taylor Coleridge)
It's a Loser, says Ian Wylie
ITV’s spin of the big roulette wheel was billed as the television event of the year.
But the gamble has NOT paid off.
Let’s leave aside the row over first £1m winner Nathan Hageman, who was revealed to be an ex- jailbird and reported to have attacked his former girlfriend. There were calls for TV bosses to strip him of the jackpot, though last night it emerged he would keep it.
The fact that, yet again, Simon Cowell is parachuting his music acts into an ITV show.
Or the deliberately easy viewer quiz question that costs £1.54 to answer, swelling the telly coffers.
Instead let’s look at the attitude of some of the £1m wannabees and their loved ones.
“The money’s keeping me going – I’m not giving any of it away,” vowed civil servant Lucy Rogerson.
Supermarket cashier Hayley Midgley revealed that if she won, her husband would let her have another child – as long as he could buy two motorbikes for himself.
Despite Cowell’s X Factor-style attempts to make us care about these people, is it any wonder that most viewers simply don’t?
The £1m winners haven’t done anything to deserve the cash, aside from getting lucky on the equivalent of ten coin tosses. No skill required.
The “gutted” losers in the early stages talk about “heartbreak” and “devastation”. Really? Perhaps it’s time to get some perspective in your life.
But the show’s biggest problem is its dull format, devoid of any real tension. Even the nation’s favourite presenters appear to be unconvinced as Ant stands in a Welsh quarry and shouts: “It’s time to pull up your plungers!”
On a primetime gameshow with a reported budget of £15m? Oh dear.
Formula One stars David Coulthard and Jenson Button were greeted in the last show by the strangely crazed audience, though some of them may have simply been screaming to be let out of the studio.
The two drivers proceeded to take part in a game called Cruise Control. Or to use its correct name, ‘Shove Halfpenny using go-karts’.
Someone at ITV thought it was a good idea to schedule over 11 hours of this stuff. All in one week.
I attended the Red Or Black? series launch back in May where Simon Cowell, flanked by Ant and Dec, explained the concept. Simon spoke about a gamble by a contestant, but quickly corrected himself: “We can’t say gamble – risk their luck.”
Yet there’s no escaping the unspoken casino link when the big roulette wheel – re-named “the Red Or Black? wheel” – is uncovered at the climax of each night’s endurance test for those watching.
Tonight’s show includes a segment filmed on Coronation Street. But with millions switching off, the Rovers regulars may not be enough to rescue those ratings, which rallied to 5m on Monday night – still well beaten by the 7.59m watching BBC1’s New Tricks.
I can see only one future for this series. And it’s black.
What do you think? Post your comments below
Tweet
Comments
Login or Register to comment
I watched the majority of the first show. I carried on watching in the hope it would get better....it didn't. Haven't watched any more!
Ant and Dec have let me down, fronting this load of pap.
It's chav telly in it's finest hour. You don't need any talent or intelligence, you don't even need to think whilst you're watching it, and you get something for absolutely nothing. Add the magic words 'Simon' and 'Cowell' and they're glued.
Hardly surprising with TV like this that a shockingly large number of people when asked about pension provision in a recent survey, replied that they'd be fine as they're going to win the lottery!
Probably the most boring game show I have ever had the misfortune to watch. The only part I took pleasure from was the face of the greedy 19 year old unemployed lad who stated that he'd spend it all within 6 months on cars etc when he was knocked out.
this show is utter garbage i watched the first show,out of curiousity, what a load of tosh. the real mark jones.
MORE RUBBISH ON THE BOX
I enjoy the show. The fact that it is pure chance makes it for me, I don't see why winning a million quid should have to be about skill. After all, most of us play the lottery every week. The first winner aside, I think it's unfair to criticise the contestants. Most of them seem just like me and the people I know and love. Ordinary. As for it being a vehicle for Cowell's musical acts, why not? A lot of people like them and, if you don't, you're probably not the sort of person who watches ITV anyway.
I enjoy the show. The fact that it's pure chance makes it for me. Why does winning a million have to involve skill? After all, many of us play the lottery every week. The first winner aside, I think it's unfair to criticise the contestants. Most of them are just like me and the people I know and love. Ordinary. As for it being a vehicle for Cowell's musical acts, why not? They are very popular and if you don't like them, then you are probably not the sort of person who watches ITV light entertainment anyway
I admit to being roped in on the 2nd show. I was rooting for the man who cares for his wife and was chuffed when he won.
I still think it's rigged to some degree though. Anything with Cowell's stamp on it, feels dodgy.
As for the winner who battered his ex, I hope he squanders it and has a miserable time as a result of the publicity, the loser that he is. If he gave a healthy slice to his ex and her nominated charity, I might be more forgiving.
i watched the show once and as well as it being morally disturbing, i thought that it was just plain boring.
A show packed full of "talented" miming x factor contestants,which focuses on greed and is full of sob stories wont wash nowadays.Things have changed post the financial crash , people will not take to such pap as readily as they once didi
ITV 1 and 2 in recent years have gone so downmarket that they are getting to a point where they may tumble below channel 5 very soon. Part of the problem was down to the fact that ITV went from being many local companies to a single national company (apart from the odd news prog). When the Big Five of Granada, Yorkshire, ATV, Thames and LWT were regional companies, there were people at each centre coming up with ideas which would be put to the network. Now there is just a single group doing the same thing so the quality drops.
ITV needs to be split into several regions again - maybe not the same regions as before, but say Granada for the whole of the north as it used to be pre 1968, a southern based region, one for wales and west country and one for Scotland.
We need an overhaul of TV in this country and if ITV isn't up to the job of the third channel, a new round of franchises should be introduced along the lines of the old regions. And the people running the companies should be interested in entertaining all the people and not just try for the cheapest programmes with the greatest advertising revenue.
Lew Grade and the Bernstein brothers must be turning in their graves.
I watched a few minutes of the first show and thought it was very poor.
Then I thought, you know what, I'm going to give it another go.... So I watched Monday's show and that was even worse.
I won't be bothering again.
I tried in vain to watch the first show... It was when they started blubbing when it really got to me!!
So many people with so much hope in the poor misguided belief that they somehow deserve the money!
What utter selfish fools!!! All of them...
At this rate, human beings in this country in 50 years time will communicate with one word, DURRRRRRRR, and hand claps. Thanks Simon Cowell for pushing human evolution to its limits.
Dead Head TV
I don't watch it but all I know is that the bloke on the first show doesn't deserve the £1m he won and should never have been let on the show!
Spot on Ian Wylie. Base level entertainment built on a base level concept featuring base level contesants aimed at a base level audience: Dumbed down tv for a dumbed down society.
More Pap for the Jelly Brains out there, If it's not Really dumbed down quiz shows. what has 4 legs and barks A. a phonebox B. a Fish C. a Dog. It's Big Brother type voyeur garbage. A further ten years of this brain mangling dross will result in 50 percent of the population unable to dress them selves in a Morning never mind think
somebody who should no better once described ant & dec as the 21st centurys morecambe & wise !
Surely it would be much easier to just toss a coin for the money?
I love how everyone thinks this is beneath them, when they are played like a fiddle on here time and time again with more of the same, albeit in different ways.
There's nothing superior about any of your voices on here.
At least I'm aware of it.
I prefer Eggheads and Pointless. The rest is dross.
Well not being a "great brain" who feels superior, I enjoyed the show, who wouldn't pull a face for a million, it's certainly not below me, my only criticism would be, every night for a week is perhaps a bit much!
What is needed on Saturday evening telly is a mix of entertainment along the lines of comedy, music and games (something similar to the Generation Game or Noels House Party). All of Cowell's shows seem to have an element of hard luck stories coupled with winning something they don't deserve because the 'hard luck' story was slightly exaggerated. As for Red or Black, dull as dishwater. I was even surprised (nay, SHOCKED) to see an ex-Big Brother contestant appearing on the first show who is STILL chasing fame. Ironic, isn't it...
I hate these sort of programmes but the advertising revenue they raise helps ITV to bid for sporting events. England football internationals, the FA Cup, motor racing, darts, Indian Premier League cricket etc.
What do the BBC have? An empty pot.
What is this "television" of which you speak?