Captain Tom Moore achieved great things in his life. He served his country, and his fundraising efforts last year were nothing short of remarkable. He was, by all accounts, a throroughly marvellous gentleman. I can't imagine you'd find many people who could disagree with that assessment.
At an age of over two decades in excess of the average UK national life expectancy, and having battled with pneumonia for a short time, however, his passing is hardly a massively unexpected eventuality, and, as sad as it is when
anyone
dies - not least someone who did as much good for as many people as Captain Tom did - this display by
Good Morning Britain
seems to be disproportionate in my personal opinion.
Then again, I suppose, this is to be expected; the word 'understated' doesn't seem to feature in the GMB dictionary.
I agree with everything you say. I've found the reaction to Captain Tom in general a little OTT. And I don't mean any disrespect to his memory with that statement - what he achieved last year was to be celebrated, and he really was a selfless man who deserved many of his accolades. But in the aftermath of his fundraising, I found the media obsession with him tiresome. Some reporter or other was constantly in his garden, very possibly at the expense of publicising other good deed doers around the country who could have done with the boost in their attempts to fundraise or give back. The fact he was featured as a "vocalist" on a single pushed it over the edge IMO - that felt like a rather tacky move in line with previous Big Brother winners releasing singles in an attempt to extend their celebrity past its natural length. I don't blame him for that at all, he took the opportunities given, but I do think the media circus was disproportionate.
Similarly, this outpouring on GMB is too much to a cringeworthy level. As Chris says, understated can be more poignant sometimes and I think a simple "in remembrance" slide and a succinct edited feature looking at his achievements and his life would have been a lovely way to remember him. This Disneyfied theme tune and leading the whole show around it just feels awkward.
As an aside, I also feel his fundraising was the perfect opportunity to highlight this government's shocking treatment of the NHS. Our National Health Service should
never
have needed charity like that in the first place, but I feel the media in general has failed to pick up on that as a talking point, and even the government itself is trying to jump on the Captain Tom bandwagon with a "clap" arranged for this evening - despite his biggest achievement only being necessary due to their own failings.
