Generation Game to be brought back with Mel and Sue

Is it possible this weeks episode might be better? Ie some minor tweaks happening?

Part of the problem with light entertainment these days is that it's almost seen as a dirty word (or phrase).

Don't get me wrong, there was a lot of horrible, horrible stuff to be cleared out (racism, sexism) from back in the days, and alternative comedy had its place. But there are some people, especially many of those of an older generation, who just want to be entertained and don't want something to be too clever or ironic. And no-one coming through the ranks has grown up idolising that style of programming.

I think there's also a problem with the usual routes for talent to work their way on to television. If you think of some of the biggest names of older eras, you've got Chris Evans (local radio > TV/national radio), Noel Edmonds (radio > TV), Ant and Dec (north-east TV show > national TV). A lot of those routes are closing down, and a lot of people who would previously have gone into "mainstream" broadcasting are now YouTubers.

Brendan O'Carroll is probably the last of a generation who give audiences what they like. Sneered by tv and theatre critics, but loved by a broad audience who aren't just 50+ who remember the heyday of the Carry On films, those who don't watch Sue Perkins in Insert Name Here or find the former alternative comedians who are now the mainstream funny.

However, I've found even he's struggled outside of the main Mrs Brown's Boys sitcom, the chat show spin-off wasn't his best work, but still better than The Gen Game with Mel & Sue. Plus he can't commit fully to tv due to his rather lucrative touring with the MBB cast.

Of course he done that on purpose so he doesnt over flood the tv with Mrs brown boys, and also leaves the public wanting more. I actually like the chat show and so did many others so its a real mix bag

I guess there are two sides of that. The BBC try and add value to their entertainment and usually make the shows out to be more than they actually are (just basic entertainment!), and the viewers see through it and tune out.

ITV to give them credit still churn out numerous formats most years. Very few stick, and perhaps that is because the viewers do want a little bit more from them, but I really do think ITV should be credited for their choices of hosts over the last couple of years as they have conciously moved away from the main pool of presenters and given more roles to comedians and in the case of Change your Tune, a virtual unknown.

Although I agree with his sentiment that it's a shame he's not been offered more than a daytime quiz show, a daytime quiz show revitalisied the career of Noel Edmonds and Bradley Walsh and also moved Alexander Armstrong to the A-list. What is sad though is he probably only got offered that quiz off the back of Strictly rather than his decades of experience in the industry.

Offered!

On the point about Brian Conley only being offered daytime TV shows: those shows are what you make them. Deal or no Deal would have been very different without Noel Edmonds. I'm obliged to point out that Bruce Forsyth's career was revitalised by one single show, rather than an entire series, and that was guest hosting one episode of Have I Got News For You.

When you've been off the TV for a bit you do need to work your way back in, and accept the prejudices of some commissioners. ITV, for example, has advertisers who will want young audiences and selling Brian Conley to some Soho advertising types is a tricky job. If Brian took a daytime quiz and was as bloody funny as we know he can be on it, then there's no reason why he couldn't pitch higher. But maybe he makes plenty in the theatre, or just doesn't want to do, and fair enough if that's the case.

I can see where the BBC was coming from with Mel and Sue and the Generation Game. Bake Off was a massive success among many generations and after losing the show the BBC probably wanted to reunite them as fast as possible. However, it's been notable that Bake Off has done fine without them since.

I suspect some W1A-esque decisions hampered what chance they had to just have fun with it, but beyond that you really need a strong personality to carry this show off. Let's see how it goes though.

Well after the “Gen Game” (what was wrong with the word Generation anyway?) made me want to perform a self-induced lobotomy to rid me of the hideous memory of the experience, it was a blessed relief for Larry G to appear on ITV3. More talent in his little finger than much of the noughties BBC “Light” Entertainment department I feel.

I suppose what’s worse is we can remember the ‘glory days’ of the BBC and what they were capable of within similar tight budgeting.

There doesn’t seem to be much in the way of originality & as a fellow TV Forum writer commented, not many presenters who would be able to command the stage with the gravitas as Brucie & Larry did whilst actually getting on with the game.

Brian Conley would be an excellent choice as he's all 'all-round entertainer' similar to Bradley Walsh but the main drawback with a lot of good choices are they don’t tick any current BBC diversity boxes or are too expensive.

Peter Kay would be a bit of a risk I think even though he commands a stage, but he’s mostly on a sabbatical & it would be good to see his Car Share co-star Sian Gibson to be Anthea or Isla St. Clair, whose contributions to the success of the original can’t be underestimated, as I think without them the show wouldn’t have been able to function in quite the same way and as successfully.

Last night’s debacle seemed to be an attempt to shoehorn Mel & Sue on to a BBC prime-time platform post Bake-Off, which is a show I found much like my cooking.

Lukewarm.

I liked them on their lunchtime ITV chat show which was often hilarious, but Sue Perkins nowadays (on TV anyway), seems to have a haughty manner about her. Can’t really put my finger on it, but a bit like Philip Schofield who now irritates me no end.

She was much better on the travelogues she recently did, where a natural persona is allowed to shine, but the question must be asked on the forced renaming to the "Gen Game"- How the heck did this drivel mess get past the test screening stage?

Similarly the disappointing “Hold the Sunset” which I thought was pretty lame considering the cast.

The Beeb seem to be flapping around for a hit which isn't drama like an swan with the trots doing Riverdance, but TV in general seems to incessantly and obsessively promote people who are unworthy of airtime (such as Gemma Collins?), but this seems to be what passes for ‘celebrity’ ‘these days’.

Crikey, how old do I sound?

Just let me empty my pipe (not that one!)

When you look back at that era many of the big stars really only hosted one big show in their career - the likes of Brucie and Cilla having multiple shows they're remembered for is the exception rather than the rule, and indeed as mentioned above Brucie went into the televisual wilderness a couple of times in his career. Brian Conley had his big hit in the 90s, Bradley Walsh has his defining show with The Chase at the moment and perhaps Mel and Sue aren't destined for anything bigger than Bake Off. It is quite remarkable really that Noel Edmonds has had at least three defining TV shows in his career with Swap Shop, Noel's House Party and Deal or No Deal spanning 40 years of television.

I mean, we go on about the old days and people having tight budgeting, but budgets for TV shows probably peaked in the 90s. Then, Chris Evans could essentially fly half way across the world to chase John Cleese, give away a million quid just to get one up on ITV and so forth. The money is much more widely divided between TV, radio, internet and various other means these days.

Brian Conley is a tricky sell because whatever way you look at it, he's not a performer multiple generations will know. Nowadays you do need someone the audience recognises, otherwise you get "who the hell is this?" (see ITV's new show for people who can't sing last night). And I say that as someone who grew up on his Saturday night ITV schtick. If it doesn't work with Mel and Sue then they could do a lot worse, especially as it's on Sunday night rather than smack-bang on Saturday prime-time. At least then it could pick up a decent audience among older viewers.

In theory, Mel and Sue should have been a decent pick as Bake Off appealed to multiple generations. And, in fairness, we've only seen show one. Another thing that used to happen decades ago was that we gave shows more than one episode to develop. I'm not sure the likes of Only Fools And Horses would have survived in today's "results now" era.

Gemma Collins and Arge? Like someone pointed out earlier, that's the equivalent of Katie Price being on in the 90s - someone the younger audience would recognise. The problem is that the media scene was less fractured back then, so even if the older generation didn't know exactly who Katie Price was they'd have read about her in the newspapers and seen her on ITV and BBC shows. Nowadays unless you've crossed the ITV2 divide you have no reason to know who these people are.