With all this news about Pushing Daisies (you know, a show that was hyped to the gills and actually wasn’t good), it got me thinking (unusual, I know) about other shows that we’re told to like by a blitzkrieg of marketing and advertisements and all that jazz. We’re, of course, guilty of hyping things too, but we go on clips and press releases and get excited about things as much as the next person. But there is a trend developing – there are shows that are so hyped, expectations that are piqued and tweaked so much that almost always the shows in question fall some way short. In fact, some of these shows are just plain dreadful. So what does that say about modern TV? Yes, there are some very good things out there but sometimes, just sometimes, channels’ marketing departments are becoming more important than the shows themselves. So here are five (recent) shows we have been told to like, told that they will break the mould and told that if we don’t watch them our lives will be incomplete, but actually all they deserve is a big, fat swerve.
1. Gossip Girl
This American teen drama was hyped to the hilt by ITV2, and even more so in America. It even resorted to a saucy, sexy ad that raised eyebrows in the States (click here to see and read all about it). More tales about rich kids in privileged schools, it used text language (OMFG!) all over the shop (guaranteed to get my ire up). It was a pitiful attempt to get down with the kids, was slated critically and, despite the hype, it seemed no one was actually watching it. Read our Gossip Girl review here.
2. Rock Rivals
An interesting concept – make a drama out of a popular talent show series but still add an element of audience voting at the end of each episode – was rendered dreadful by bad scripts, terrible, schlocky storylines and awful acting. What could have been a welcome Footballers’ Wives so-bad-it’s-good affair wasn’t. Hyped it may have been, but it was so dreadful it beggared belief.
Read Mof’s review here.
3. Pushing Daisies
Sadly another ITV show, or at least another show broadcast on ITV. Hopes were raised when the channel decided to import this interesting-looking series (its first US import in a primetime slot for donkeys’), but after a strong showing in terms of viewers, it tailed off badly towards the end. Any good things about the show were killed by the truly dreadful voiceover.
Read Keris’ reviews here and here.
4. Gladiators
I’m still perplexed at why someone thought it was a good idea to bring back a show that was terminally naff in the first place. As the transmission date of Gladiators (the new one on Sky One) neared we were subjected to such a tsunami of marketing that even I almost believed it was a good idea to bring the show back. The Gladiators looked cool in photo shoots in every single newspaper or magazine I picked up, Kirsty Gallagher was in magazines telling everyone about her keep-fit routine, Ian Wright was jabbering away as is his wont, the tabs were focusing on the women with big bangers… yep, Gladiators was suddenly the height of 21st century cool. Except it wasn’t. It was still tongue-gnawingly awful.
See Victoria’s review here.
5. Ashes To Ashes
Bit of a controversial one this. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but any show that follows Life On Mars is going to find itself in a difficult place. We were so excited about the show on TV Scoop, and dedicated a whole week to 80s programming as a celebration of the era. So we were guilty of hype in a lot of ways, and when the backlash started, it was unrelenting – the story isn’t that good; there’s too much music; Keeley Hawes is a very bad actress. It was hyped, really hyped, and for many it just didn’t come up to the mark.
See our Ashes To Ashes category here.
