Saturday night TV

Oh, I rather enjoyed it.

I wasn't home in time for the first show, but saw all of the second installment.

at the top news item on the 10:10pm BBC One news (straight after the YCNY result). It was all that stuff about Gordon Brown warning against a "break up of the UK" attitude (especially amongst Scottish nationalists). Having just been preceeded by a quiz programme that encouraged the main UK nations to be in competition with each other...

Also at closing credits of YCNY. It was a BBC Scotland production. And Scotland came in last place, with a very pathetically low score indeed.

Dancing On Ice is a shameless, thouh admittedly well made, rip-off of the BBC's Strictly Ice Dncing and David Seaman even appeared on the BBC one then did the ITV one. Simon Cowell will be doing a Grease talent show copying the BBC's How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?

I hate it when the channels blatantly copy each other. Don't get me started on the BBC's awful copycat version of You've Been Framed!

Thank goodness a primetime version of The Price is Right is not going ahead.

and what was "BBC's awful copycat version of You've Been Framed!" ?

I believe it was "Caught in the Act" didn't Shane Ritchie host ?

It was awful, compared to the then original incarnation of YBF with Jeremy Beadle on the revolving house.

The BBC don't have a monopoly on dancing shows though do they ? Like ITV don't have on singing contests, and there have been plenty of those on the BBC.

BBC One seemingly dropped the ball on the ice dancing thing, but there was over a whole year between their one off Strictly Ice Dancing and the ITV series appearing. Even if they wanted to do, I don't think BBC One could accommodate the show, ideally it has to go out in the winter and they have other commitments like FA Cup football on a Saturday evening.

And any ice dancing contest worthy of the name needs to have Torville & Dean involved, and ITV secured their services.

The Price is Right - it was a good idea bringing it back at the start and I was all for it. Unfortunately Joe Pasquale is not the best host for the show and times have moved on.

I'd like to see Catchphrase brought back! Why they got rid of it I don't know - nobody could be bothered to host it?

I wouldn't believe everything you read in The People. ITV aren't that stupid.

Allegedly the Dancing on Ice show had been in the works for a few years, though of course it comes across as a rip-off.

It's the BBC's own fault though for just using the SCD format for a one off special, rather than an entire series.

And ITV do a much better job of it too!

That's where I disagree completely - ITV make a right hash of it - it's too long-winded, too many "how did it go, how did they do" moments which make the whole programme too drawn out and too bitty for me.

Well I agree with Brekkie Boy, I think it's fantastically produced.

The problem with Strictly Come Dancing (and the reason I've never watched it since the first series) is that it is the same, week in, week out. The same applies to any talent show the BBC produces, to be honest - someone performs, some judges whose opinions I don't particularly value criticise it / over-dramatically proclaim their love for it, then they use their frankly bizarre out-of-ten scoring system. For me, they're a complete turn-off.

ITV's equivalents, on the other hand, can more often than not be relied upon to be exciting, nerve-wracking, and not a carbon copy of each other.

Speaking about Saturday night on the whole, I can't think of a single programme on Saturday night BBC1 in recent years I've actually been excited about. ITV1, on the other hand, may be hit and miss, but when it's hit, it's fantastic. Think Takeaway, X Factor, even this new Al Murray thing, according to my dad. ITV really know how to put on a good show. The BBC, on the other hand, seem not to.