Just what makes good TV?

Love it or Hate The Only Was is Essex is a huge success, originally devised not for Essex at all, the program based on real people and their real lives in Essex…. And  I love it, but I believe that’s because I have watched it from the beginning, if I was to start watching it now I don’t think I would………Series 4 is long over but because TOWIE is continued though other mediums such as on Twitter and in the Papers it would make no sense for the program to pause between series. So ITV they have launched a Fresh out of Essex Webpisode……... Keeping its audience on track with what’s going on in the stars real lives.  I believe this is the trend many drams doc, dramalitly programs and documentary’s will follow soon.

This week I had my first experience of playing along with Million Pound Drop, and what a new age experience it was, and it got me thinking again about the changing way we not only watch TV but also participate in it…..and how interactive TV is taking over…….Channel 4 are the first to do this in terms of quiz shows with both, Million Pound Drop and The Bank Job offering the ability for the audience to play along at home and have their statistics read out live on TV…..of course participating in live TV shows has come into a new dimension recently with audience members have the ability to tweet and facebook and often fuel the conversation on programs such as This Morning. Have we become so dependent on the internet for TV content how would the programs suffer if the web went down?

Without working it out I guess I watch an average of 70+ hours of TV a week, not this week but as an average…….which probably means my £1 Television is likely to be destroyed very soon. This can be anything from soaps, to the amazing children’s programing that comes out of the BBC, E4’s American dramas, quiz shows, Dramality, real people documentary’s, cooking programs and drama.

            I am studying a media production masters and often contemplate… What makes great TV?

1. Makes you develop excuses as to why you can’t socialize when something ‘that good’ is on.
2.  Is constantly ticking around at the back of your mind wondering what will happen next episode?
3. Makes you want to be on TV.
4. The ability to make you feel every emotion know possible during a half an hour program.

1. Titanic: ITV1 Sunday 9pm episode 2 in the series (we know what’s going down but still worth a view nearly 100 years!)
2. The Tube: is available on Iplayer for a couple more days. Like Airport but a great documentary insight into the London underground network. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01cl522/The_Tube_Episode_1/
3. The Undateables: Tuesday 9pm channel 4- the differences that disabled people face when finding love.
4. The Syndicate: BBC1 Tuesday 9pm- second episode in the series what will happen with the lottery win and more?
5. One born every minute, what happened next: Thursday 9pm Channel 4- revisiting the couples who gave birth on the program to see how they are finding parenthood one year on.