WE ALL know that no-one in life is perfect. Even the most successful people in television can make mistakes – take Simon Cowell for example.
He has made his fair share of bad mistakes and decisions – “forcibly sacking” Cheryl Cole from The X-Factor USA, robbing glamorous Lucie Jones of a glittering music career by backing Jedward and hiring bumbling David Hasslehoff for Britain’s Got Talent are just of some of the errors of judgement that he had been put up against in recent times.
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| DOOMED: Red or Black? was a terrible idea from the start |
Nevertheless, Cowell is always in for the money and with his TV production company, produced a brand new show which aired last week on ITV. A unique game, stripped across an entire week, in which seven people were given the opportunity to become millionaires, just by being lucky 10 times in a row. Costing £15 million to produce, the biggest press launch in ITV’s history and a plethora of celebrities helping to decide what fate befall the contestants, Red or Black was ready to roll. So what else possibly could go wrong?
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| CONTROVERSY: Nathan Hageman served time, but kept his prize |
Aired across all of last week (bar Tuesday due to England’s Euro 2012 qualifier against Wales), things were initially looking bright, with seven million viewers tuning in to the first episode. However, that was as good as it ever got. After the first episode produced a millionaire, in bricklayer Nathan Hageman from Reading, it emerged that he had a criminal conviction after serving five years in prison for ABH (assault and bodily harm.) The Sun led a nationwide campaign for ITV to strip Hageman of his cash after rules of application for the show forbids anyone from entering with a criminal record. Three further people who were due to appear in following shows for the live studio rounds were subsequently kicked out after this revelation. Surprisingly, Hageman was allowed to keep his prize, despite Cowell’s suggestion that it should go to either his attack victim or be donated to charity.
Out of the remaining programmes, three more millionaires were created. Intriguingly, no women contestant made it to the million pounds spin which led to some experts suggesting whether the show was fixed in favour of male contestants. Challenges used in the programme were also complicated and sometimes meaningless. I mean, since when did starting up a car decide whether you can advance in the game? The challenges set in Wembley Arena were often impressive, especially one which featured footballers Robin van Persie and Cesc Fabregas. Even games held in the live studio were completely way off the scale. Jenson Button and David Coulthard’s go-kart challenge and a “punch-the-sheet” game featuring Amir Khan and David Haye were really the only games that captured excitement. The final game before the million pound spin, entitled “Duel,” was also dramatic as it totally proved the theory of luck needed in the game.
Having the programme itself split into two shows each night was a big mistake as it completely sucked out the tension of the first programme. The live studio set was a mess, looking more like a giant disused bus stop, rather than a high-class set. The programme never had any proper introduction/opening titles at all, considering the theme used to introduce the Red or Black wheel onto the stage was very epic and would have made a great opening theme overall.
Ultimately, the format was a total mess and newspaper critics slated it left, right and centre, with blasted comments including:-
“It’s A Knockout for morons” – Rachel Tarley, Metro
“A sausage factory of sob stories” – Kevin O’Sullivan, Daily Mirror
“The dullest show of the week” – Ken Smith, The Herald
“A spin of a wheel away from total disaster” – Jan Moir, Daily Mail
“It’s so devoid of intellect that it actually sucks nearby intelligence into its vortex.” – Jonathan Liew, the Daily Telegraph
Viewers quickly agreed with the critics and started switching off in their droves. Towards the end of the week, BBC One deservedly thumped Red or Black in the ratings with its standard evening schedule. This proves that Simon Cowell can’t always create a masterclass of show and Adam Crozier, chief executive of ITV, proving once again of his inept ability of keeping full control of the broadcaster all the time. Come back Michael Grade, all is forgiven!
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| SORRY: The contestants didn't get a fair crack of the wheel |
Ultimately, the innocent acts in this debacle are the contestants, for bravely deciding to put their faith into the programme, win or lose. I felt sorry also for the programme hosts Ant & Dec. It’s not right to blame them at all. They did the best they could all week and people have got to remember, they didn’t bring their names forward to host the show; it was Cowell’s idea to hire the pair. It could have been a whole lot worse of course; imagine if Adrian Chiles was employed as host? The show would have been off the air within days!
I think it’s safe to say we won’t be seeing an abomination of a show like this again. Channel Five tried a similar show with Chris Evans in January, ‘Famous or Fearless.’ That was a better show than this disaster and still got axed by Richard Desmond. Now, whether you want to point the finger at Cowell or Crozier I’m going to blame them both, they’re as bad as each other at the moment. ITV showed off all week saying they were Terrestrial Channel of the Year? I must have been living on Mars for the past week! Add Red or Black to ‘Sing if You Can,’ ‘The Premiership,’ and ‘Shafted,’ in ITV’s growing portfolio of disastrous programmes.
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