Saturday, September 04, 2004
We Want Our Pop TV
It's Pop TV Heaven tonight! Well, it is if you consider heaven to be something slightly mediocre with a slight possibility of brilliance lurking in the very depths of the core ideas. First up is ITV1's X Factor which is the commercial stations latest idea to try and rake in as much money from premium phone-lines as possible and find talent that has hitherto remained undiscovered despite the multitude of talent contests that have filled the Radio Times in the last 5 years. On the face of the major difference between this and the Popstars/Idol contests is that the age limit has been dropped. In terms of the actual show, all this is likely to do is mean that we can laugh at rubbish old people in the audition sections, as well as rubbish young people. We don't expect a great deal from this show, but we'll still be watching it, mainly in the hope that we've got the premise all wrong and it turns out to be a remake of The Krypton Factor, but with pop stars doing the assault course and failing to finish a simple building blocks puzzle in the time allowed.
But it's not just ITV that are getting into the Pop Telly lark. No! The BBC have decided to get in on the act but, being the BBC they have to make it slightly more worthy which is why tonight they're scraping the bottom of the Test The Nation barrel and offering us The Popular Music Test. Essentially a bigger version of Mike Reid's Pop Quiz, only without Mike Reid getting in the way and making it inherently shit; instead we have Anne Robinson and Philip Schofield to take on that role. You'll be able to take the test on-line once the show starts by clicking here. We'll only be posting up our own score if it proves not to be embarrassing.
But it's not just ITV that are getting into the Pop Telly lark. No! The BBC have decided to get in on the act but, being the BBC they have to make it slightly more worthy which is why tonight they're scraping the bottom of the Test The Nation barrel and offering us The Popular Music Test. Essentially a bigger version of Mike Reid's Pop Quiz, only without Mike Reid getting in the way and making it inherently shit; instead we have Anne Robinson and Philip Schofield to take on that role. You'll be able to take the test on-line once the show starts by clicking here. We'll only be posting up our own score if it proves not to be embarrassing.
