State of Independence
ITV is clearly not at its peak right now, but Brian Donaldson argues that its history contains enough nuggets to inspire a future golden age — providing it takes
comedy seriously.
hen you consider the broad sweep of a
glorious career. the end altnost always taints
memories of all the good stuff. Just because Stanley Kubrick left us with the sick joke of [ayes ll’i'de Shut. that doesn‘t mean we should forget the visceral brilliance of Dr .S'trangelove or 2()()/. And when you reflect on the gaunt nightmare that is today‘s Patil (iascoigne you should still be able to conjure tip images of him turning Scotland inside out at Weinbley or being booked for showing a htimotirless referee the yellow card. The good old days.
And so. as [TV blows the candles out on St) years of programme-making. you shouldn’t simply cast aside the often groundbreaking work that the network has given its just because the last four or five years have been riddled with dross. And unlike (iazza or Kubrick. lTV still has a chance to turn its ill-fortune around. Perhaps the best cultural analogy here is ()asis: the band of the people whose early days were filled with epic standards such as ‘[.ive Forever“ and ‘Wondeiwall’ btit who nowadays can't stop trotting otit benign drivel like ‘l.yla‘. Similarly. ITV has been responsible for small screen legends such as Rising Damp and Death ofa Prineess btit these days is simply mucking tis around with Holiday Showdoii'n and Loose ll’omen.
Perhaps the worst thing about [TV is that in its current state. its actually making the BBC look good. which. for a channel which dishes otit My Hero. Grumpy Old Men and ])()('l()l'.\‘. has to be going some. Btit the BBC was never always so complacent. ()n the night that ITV was launched in September 1955. the Beeb panicked to such a degree that it needlessly killed off Cirace Archer to try deflect attention away from the new kid on the block. And as the years unfolded. it was clear that the BBC had plenty to he fearful of. ()ne glance at the ITV roll call and it‘s obvious that it has played a massive part in shaping all our lives: Coronation Street. Death on the Rock. Weekend World. Cracker: Prime Sits/tee]. I'll/lslun'ottgh. Danger Man. Band o/‘(io/d. Jewel in the Crown. The New Statesman. lllllll(l(’l‘l)lt'(l.\'. Brides/teat! Revisited. 'I‘he Dante Iidna l:’.t'/)ert'etiee. Sale of the Century. The x’lvengers. Blind Date. Spitting Image. Neii's at 'Ien. Auf llt’iedersehen l’et, Brass and Bouquet o/‘Barhed llt’ire. To be honest. we could be here all day.
Btit ITV is slap hang in a predicament it has forced upon itself. The decision-makers have admitted that they have largely given tip on comedy. in particular the sitcom. The last time one of their half-hour comic slots was a ratings success was back in l‘)84 with the risible Duty l’ree. After trying to relive those glory days with pointless endeavours such as Babes in the Wood. Shane and Home to Roost. nowadays they believe that the
10 THE LIST ’23 Jo" 7 .Jti12f)(}5
UNLIKE GAZZA OR KUBRICK, ITV STILL HAS A CHANCE
TO TURN ITS ILL FORTUNE
public have tired of the form: no one has the patience required to build tip trust and understanding in characters to make a regular viewing commitment. So. the comedians of our day get chat shows (Frank Skinner. for pity's sake?) while the caricatures required to keep us laughing on the sofa are stuck onto I'm a Cele/)ri'ty (iet Me Out o/‘Here. No one is ever liable to take Joe Pasquale. Jordan or Tony Blackburn seriously. btit we feel that we know them already. so why not stick them into a situation (an inhospitable jungle rather than. say. an office) and let the comedy flow.
This admission by [TV that it is unable to do sitcom well any more is contradicted by the evidence from elsewhere. Since those halcyon days of Gwen Taylor and Keith Barron trying not to kill each other in the Spain sunshine. the BBC has given tis The Roy/e I‘amily. 'I‘he (If/ice and [.5 Storeys High and imported the best in American comedy with lorry .S'anders. Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
lTV‘s biggest failing may actually be largely down to the reason it was so successful in the first place. Having ptit the emphasis on ‘thc people‘ (whether involving them in game shows or playing pranks on them) and
set the schedules so closely towards the desires of
ordinary folk. ITV has been too busy trying to tap into some vague mood of the nation. Btit now. rather than
jtist taking the people’s pulse. it has looked around at
what the other networks have done successfully and integrated it. making lTV more like a channel-clone.
What lTV has to do is find its own voice again: whether this means listening to what the people want or setting its own agenda is tip to it. Btit as long as it removes Heartbeat from our screens. anything will be a step in the right direction.
The Story of ITV: The People’s Channel starts on Scottish, Sun 26 Jun, 10.40pm.
MY FAVOURITE
SCOTTISH BOOK MOLLY W'FJR
As part of our 100 Best Scottish Books campaign, we invite public figures to nominate their own choices.
FRANKIE BOYLE, COMEDIAN AND WRITER
My lavowite Scottish book is the one I'm reading. Best Foot Forward by Molly Weir. It's a bizarrely upbeat rendering of what SOunds like a traumatic Glasgow childhood in the 19203. It's like Jimmy Boyle's A Sense of Freedom if Jimmy had just looked on the bright side. For the first half, Molly Is a Child getting over the death of her Grannie. She almost dzes from grief. but it's all related cheerfully and tinsentiiiieittally. A Charity pays fOr her to recuperate in a country san:toritivn: "The authOrities must have been terrified there would be any fraternising of the sexes. because tOr Our morning walks the females turned left on leaving the Home. and followed the loch-side. while the men turned right and meandered towards the hills'
Molly is delighted that one of the gentle'nai‘ inmates wants to take her for walks to strengthen my limbs and extend my walking range'. and would still seem to be puzzled when writing the book in the 19708 as to why the home's matron disapproved. I'm a great fan of Tom Weir who presented Weir's Way and it's amusing to see him pop up here as an annoying wee brother. Mock the Week is on BBC2.
Sun, 70pm. Frankie Bey/e performs at P/easance. Edinburgh Mon 22 Aug.
I To vote for your favourite Scott/sh book, text the word ‘VOTE ' and the name of the book to 8 7800. The winner Will be announced in August.