That gag about a 15 year old girl featuring later being one for the blokes is very off colour, even back in the 90s
You'd think the perving over a 15yr old girl would be more noteworthy than an f bomb.
I guess
Watching it back with modern perspective (and now being in my 30s) Noel's remark at the start of the show regarding the girl was at best poorly worded, as considering in the same sentence he'd stated she was 15 it didn't come across as very appropriate. Similarly a couple of the questions in the 'dredge the wedge' part of the teenager section did seem slightly dubious, and kind of alluded to her possibly having had underage sex.
In terms of the programme itself it does feel like it would have benefited from being 'rested'. It feels like the programme was desperately trying to look modern and retain ratings, and in doing so had lost what made it good. Also the panel beaters set area looks rather cheap, compared to the 'great house' set of earlier series.
I think it's fair to say that the programme (along with many other programmes in the past) benefited from there being no social media for instant feedback/abuse, and no online tabloid website desperate for clickbait. Back then viewers had to write or phone into Points of View, and/or wait until the following day's newspapers.
Last edited by Charlie Wells on 5 November 2019 9:40am
That NTV is far too ambitious for an OB (or three) that are supposed to be secret.
No wonder it all went so horribly wrong here.
The early ones were much more basic, and worked because of that element of surprise.
I think I must have stopped watching the show before then, and thankfully didn't work on any of the later series.
You couldn't do NTV now with all the digital delays - it was a thing of its time.
I guess
Watching it back with modern perspective (and now being in my 30s) Noel's remark at the start of the show regarding the girl was at best poorly worded, as considering in the same sentence he'd stated she was 15 it didn't come across as very appropriate.
I think the Sara Payne murder (followed soon after by Holly and Jessica) really changed what was acceptable in terms of tone in talking about things like that. The tabloids really started going to town on it too. That's not to say there was nothing wrong with it in the first place (it's not the first time this series that Noel has said the teenager is attractive and it's creepy everytime), it just became something people were quite uncomfortable with because of the connotations. Similarly now you probably wouldn't ridicule the subject of gender in a way that was commonplace on TV just last decade. What is acceptable just evolves.
You couldn't do NTV now with all the digital delays - it was a thing of its time.
They do sort of do it now, though, on Singalong Live on Saturday Night Takeaway. And as you say, the surprise is what makes it work.
I haven't seen that, what's the set up?
We did get asked to provide some analogue links for an Ant and Dec show a while back (probably 6 years ago now) for something which delay wouldn't work with.
I did see an old general election programme from 1974 recently, and it had Enoch Powell live in Northern Ireland talking to Robin Day in London - and that was fascinating - the lack of delay in either direction made it a really lively and an exciting exchange.
I think the Sara Payne murder (followed soon after by Holly and Jessica) really changed what was acceptable in terms of tone in talking about things like that. The tabloids really started going to town on it too. That's not to say there was nothing wrong with it in the first place (it's not the first time this series that Noel has said the teenager is attractive and it's creepy everytime), it just became something people were quite uncomfortable with because of the connotations. Similarly now you probably wouldn't ridicule the subject of gender in a way that was commonplace on TV just last decade. What is acceptable just evolves.
The tabloids are interesting here.
I don't look at the website myself, but Private Eye does regularly mention that the Daily Mail Online is full of teenage girls in swimsuits with captions that really do not seem at all appropriate.
Its paper and online versions have different values maybe?
I think the Sara Payne murder (followed soon after by Holly and Jessica) really changed what was acceptable in terms of tone in talking about things like that. The tabloids really started going to town on it too. That's not to say there was nothing wrong with it in the first place (it's not the first time this series that Noel has said the teenager is attractive and it's creepy everytime), it just became something people were quite uncomfortable with because of the connotations. Similarly now you probably wouldn't ridicule the subject of gender in a way that was commonplace on TV just last decade. What is acceptable just evolves.
The tabloids are interesting here.
I don't look at the website myself, but Private Eye does regularly mention that the Daily Mail Online is full of teenage girls in swimsuits with captions that really do not seem at all appropriate.
Its paper and online versions have different values maybe?
Perv Spoof Bosses Axe Wrestling, next to an image of a 15 year old Charlotte Church "she's a big girl now".
According to wikipedia, the Daily Mail had ""close-ups" of the "bikini princesses" Beatrice and Eugenie, who were 12 and 11 at the time" a couple of pages beforehand.
Intrigued seeing Sarah Alexander make an appearance on that episode. I assume it was in character rather than a personal appearance. Very odd and her joke didn't go down well.
That new NTV sting is just dreadful, completely the wrong tone for the programme
Sarah Alexander appears in that role for the rest of the series, it was one of her first big tv roles I think.
The NTV sting was launched at the start of series 7, in fact those dancers were used quite a bit in various bits of the show in a clear attempt to make it a bit younger though they do look cringey now. By the end they were only used for the NTV intro...
Great TV but for all the wrong reasons. *That* was the best they could come with after Noel had walked out?! It all comes across so slapdash and under rehearsed. I do like it took the neighbour to basically say "shall I just go next door?" to work around the technical problems. I'd have thought the first thing to go would have been those awful, cheesy NTV dancers but nope, still there.
Noel literally has his back to the audience at the end of the credits, says it all really.