LL
One has to wonder whether ITV1 has
any
commitment to quality.
Let's face it, quiz telly right now is cheap telly. A good percentage of the satellite channels has opted for this banal route to filling any spare hours it has, so it was only going to be a matter of time before one of the main runners followed suit - and seeing as Quzmania was as good a tester as it could get, it was clear that something along the lines of The Mint was to follow.
However, it seems they've replaced something with (not only) decent presenters and simple format, with a show that has decrepit quality. With the exception of Cat Porter, a stalwart of talking the hind legs off of a donkey on little-watched channels (and pretty bloody good at it too), the crop of hosts they've bagged for The Mint leave a hell of a lot to be desired. As far as early-hours telly goes, it's shocking. The guests look uncomfortable - and commonly misplaced - and the hosts (which tonight include Brian Dowling, who desperately needs a paper bag to present his way out of) leave a heck of a lot to be desired.
Quite simply, it's dreadful. Shambolic. It's a sad sign of the times when dead airtime is filled by cash-cows with complete disregard to quality.
Let's face it, quiz telly right now is cheap telly. A good percentage of the satellite channels has opted for this banal route to filling any spare hours it has, so it was only going to be a matter of time before one of the main runners followed suit - and seeing as Quzmania was as good a tester as it could get, it was clear that something along the lines of The Mint was to follow.
However, it seems they've replaced something with (not only) decent presenters and simple format, with a show that has decrepit quality. With the exception of Cat Porter, a stalwart of talking the hind legs off of a donkey on little-watched channels (and pretty bloody good at it too), the crop of hosts they've bagged for The Mint leave a hell of a lot to be desired. As far as early-hours telly goes, it's shocking. The guests look uncomfortable - and commonly misplaced - and the hosts (which tonight include Brian Dowling, who desperately needs a paper bag to present his way out of) leave a heck of a lot to be desired.
Quite simply, it's dreadful. Shambolic. It's a sad sign of the times when dead airtime is filled by cash-cows with complete disregard to quality.