He’s not pretty, he’s getting on a bit and according to the judges of this program he can’t dance. Former political journalist John Sergeant has decided to pull out of BBC1’s ‘Strictly Come Dancing’. Now, I don’t ever watch this program but the odd brief bits I’ve caught of it is a simple format, the best dancers progress, the weakest get pin pointed by the judges and then face a public vote, a popular reality tv formula.
Sergeant’s dancing abilities have been in question most weeks evidently, and the judges of the program have been none to flattering about his ballroom dancing techniques and grace. On the other hand, the public love him and have kept him in the show every week, despite his scores ranking near the bottom.
Now he feels it’s time to leave the show as if he won it would be ‘a joke too far’ and not really fair on the good dancers if he won. How sad is that, a man with obvious character and with a comedy value that appeals to the masses has withdrawn? Did he jump or was he pushed? Reading the BBC news forums it seems the public will miss him greatly, and the fact he was getting stick every week prompted more to vote to keep him in. The British public don’t like being told who is best or who they should vote for, that psychology doesn’t work, we love an underdog, we love character and we like to laugh and be entertained, isn’t that the whole purpose of light entertainment reality programs? There’s the argument of course that the best contestants should ultimately win and also that Sergeant has turned the show into a soap opera, but the bottom line is the public vote for who they like, and after all this is a celebrity prime time program and not a serious competitive event. If it was a serious program the celebrities wouldn’t be there in the first place! It’s all nonsense, and more proof, as with other recent events that the BBC just isn’t in touch with its audience needs or wants. As for the press, why listen to their bitter and twisted rants on Sergeant, now he’s left they just pour scorn on someone else.
I miss the old days, programs like ‘It’s a Knockout’ to name but one, where it was all light hearted fun, wasn’t so serious and ego’s didn’t come into play, it was just good old fashioned entertainment.
Sergeant’s dancing abilities have been in question most weeks evidently, and the judges of the program have been none to flattering about his ballroom dancing techniques and grace. On the other hand, the public love him and have kept him in the show every week, despite his scores ranking near the bottom.
Now he feels it’s time to leave the show as if he won it would be ‘a joke too far’ and not really fair on the good dancers if he won. How sad is that, a man with obvious character and with a comedy value that appeals to the masses has withdrawn? Did he jump or was he pushed? Reading the BBC news forums it seems the public will miss him greatly, and the fact he was getting stick every week prompted more to vote to keep him in. The British public don’t like being told who is best or who they should vote for, that psychology doesn’t work, we love an underdog, we love character and we like to laugh and be entertained, isn’t that the whole purpose of light entertainment reality programs? There’s the argument of course that the best contestants should ultimately win and also that Sergeant has turned the show into a soap opera, but the bottom line is the public vote for who they like, and after all this is a celebrity prime time program and not a serious competitive event. If it was a serious program the celebrities wouldn’t be there in the first place! It’s all nonsense, and more proof, as with other recent events that the BBC just isn’t in touch with its audience needs or wants. As for the press, why listen to their bitter and twisted rants on Sergeant, now he’s left they just pour scorn on someone else.
I miss the old days, programs like ‘It’s a Knockout’ to name but one, where it was all light hearted fun, wasn’t so serious and ego’s didn’t come into play, it was just good old fashioned entertainment.
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