Reviews
Martin Lewis: How to Win at... Board Games (2024)
Why is this a TV special?
So, good ol' Martin Lewis teaches you how to save money... a lot. You see him on many ITV programmes like This Morning and his own programme, The Martin Lewis Money Show. This time, he's teaching you how to win at board games; four to be specific.
First of all, this is yet another example of why ITV's commissioners should reconsider some of the shows that they've been putting on lately. This special is nothing more than something you can easily watch on YouTube and even feels like it was formatted for that in mind. Like, what's so exciting about Martin helping some junior school kids play Connect 4? Sure, he can't turn into a money-prone superhero and save the world from impending doom, as that's just my imagination thinking of something much more exciting than this.
A good thing about this special, yes there is some good as well... is that it's not a blatant product placement farm for Hasbro or Mattel because if it was, it would show that it would be - big time. The other good is that it is educational and teaches some good advice; but once again, if I wanted board game tips then I would go on YouTube, of which you can find many different examples rather than four with an abundance of filler.
Overall, this is yet another flopped commission from ITV proving they can be relevant with the audience. If you want your share of Martin Lewis, just wait until his Money Show goes back on air, or even then; just go onto his website!
Bob the Builder: Roley's Rovers (2010)
Sharon Miller's move to Fixham Harbour... is just like a Thomas episode.
Here's a Ready, Steady, Build! Episode review, which I haven't done before. This is the only episode Sharon Miller has written for the entire Bob the Builder franchise.
So, in this episode, Roley is made the team leader to help refurbish a football pitch. Just like how Thomas is portrayed throughout the Miller era, Roley is portrayed as a raving idiot who does not stop chanting rhymes and doesn't listen to Bob properly on how to do the job, messes up with the other machines three times; and then he says "And it's all my fault" when he gets into trouble just like the T&F characters. As I just stated, the traditional three strikes formula is utilized here as well. I didn't notice it as much as I do with T&F, but it's still there. Ready, Steady, Build! Has quite a number of three strikes-centric episodes.
At least the good thing here is that the rhyming is only done through Roley's chants, and isn't peppered all throughout the episode. However it doesn't make it less annoying.
This episode is not great and isn't worth a watch.
'8 Out of 10 Cats' Does 'Deal or No Deal' (2013)
Fun one-off adult special of one of my favourite game shows
This one-off special came through the depths of another charity crossover event Channel 4 did to celebrate their thirtieth anniversary. Although unlike the Countdown version, this remained a one-off while the other obviously went to series and is more popular than the original EOOTC.
The show first starts off as a plain ol' DOND episode, where Darren Brown is the contestant and Noel is going on and on. But of course, the usual shenigans happen and we swap over to a completely twisted version of the show, where Jimmy Carr is the host and Sean Lock and Jon Richardson are double contestants winning money for the respective charity. A majority of the box openers are comedians (eg, Kathrine Ryan and Rob Beckett) but there are also other faces like Rachael and Suzie from Countdown, and even Nong (the then-most recent £250,000 winner on the actual DOND). Joe Wilkinson is the Banker's assistant but takes the job less seriously than you could imagine, but being what you expect Joe to be like that isn't much of a surprise.
Within the last two-box offer, Sean and Jon deal at £32,000 and successfully give the Banker a spanking as their box had 10p inside. Overall, a fun event that Channel 4 could really do again sometime with their existing lineup of shows.
8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown (2012)
Countdown's younger brother; but much more of a dirty kind.
What was originally a charity crossover Channel 4 did, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown soon expanded as a full series and completely replaced the original EOOTC outright.
So, this adult parody of the Channel 4 game show plays exactly like the original game; Suzie and Rachael are still here; while Jimmy Carr, Sean Lock (until his sad passing) and Jon Richardson take the realms as host and co-contestants with other comedians/people respectively.
I find this show to be a mixed bag. Positively, it does have some crazy moments and some funny one-liners; especially when Jimmy finds some ways to distract the contestants. Negatively, the show does try too hard to be "adult" and "sexy" at times and some of the sex jokes and swearing feel more forced than anything. This is saying something because the original EOOTC was the same, it mostly didn't use swearing nearly as much as this show does, at least about 5 F-bombs, while here it feels like they triple it. The Teatime Teasers and Conundrums are also vulgar but form up to be a standard word; which I would have to admit must take a long time.
Obviously, fans of the original Countdown might not enjoy this because it's much more of a comedy show than a serious word game. But even then, a lot of fans of this show hate the original for being "boring", but it's not meant for their demographic.
Would I Lie to You? (2007)
Three comedians, a bunch of guests - makes up a truthful (or maybe a liarful) panel show
WILTY has been a noteworthy comedic addition to the BBC since 2007, and is produced by the same Banijay division who makes 8 Out of 10 Cats. When compared to other panel shows, it relies less on adult content and more on how obscure things really can be. In fact, you might be able to learn the strange things your favourite celebrities and comedians have gotten up to!
The show is presented by Rob Brydon, with Lee Mack and David Mitchell as team captains. The earlier seasons were presented by Angus Deayton but those aren't as funny until Brydon joined. I think he is the reason why the show improved because he has really good chemistry with his team captains; and considering Mack and Mitchell are funny on their own terms, that's saying something. Even if the episode you're watching has people you don't really enjoy, you can always wait until Mitchell or Mack grabs out their card and reads whatever the heck is on it. On very rare occasions even Brydon has his time in the spotlight.
The only issue I would say is that the show tends to be over as soon as it starts because it's only half-an-hour long. But sometimes it doesn't really matter because this show is incredibly addictive and makes you want to laugh-out-loud to the point that your laugh box has broken.
In comparison to other panel shows this show doesn't stay relevant to the modern times so you can watch a bunch of episodes from various years and still get everything. But I would recommend you don't watch this show with any "autoplay" function on; you will still be watching it until you realise you forgot to go to bed!
Overall, WILTY is certainly a panel show that's unlike any other, and perfect for the whole family to enjoy (most of the time). But once again, avoid turning on any "autoplay" functions on whatever service you have or watch a single episode on the DVDs; you won't stop!
The Last Leg (2012)
Perfect for those who like mocking politics, but nothing else to write home about otherwise
The Last Leg is a satirical take on the recent press, mainly political stuff, hosted by comedians Adam Hills, Alex Brooker and Josh Widdicombe. Initially the show was created as a satirical but true-to-form lookback at the Paralympics which the show still does every two years but as I stated above, it's mostly about political jokes and pop-culture references.
I've never been a fan of this show because I enjoy watching shows that are meant to entertain, not lecture me on being left or right-wing. Of course, as it's an "adult comedy show" there's plenty of sex jokes, shock humour and swearing galore; the three keys to British comedy panel shows.
The hosts... they can be likeable if they want to; but most of the times they're more annoying than anything. Josh is the only one of the trio who doesn't have a disability and he's normally the butt-monkey for whatever reason. Alex is alright, but Adam usually gets on my nerves after a while because he is utterly annoying.
There are plenty of guests as well, some who you wouldn't really expect to see on post-watershed programming as well. There's a good variety to be had there.
Can the show be a bit one-sided? Yeah. Is it not meant for everyone? Of course? Is it for me? Nah. I don't hate this programme as much as I did a couple of years ago but there's still nothing major to write home about.
The Chris McCausland Show (2024)
In comparison to Kate, Chris doesn't really suit a morning show
Cactus TV has been doing these morning shows on ITV for years. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this one especially when compared to Katie Piper.
I have nothing against Chris McCausland, I think he's a good comedian and he has shown on Strictly that your weaknesses can surely become your strong points; by the fact that he is blind and can pull of a great show on the ballroom floor.
Anyways, back to this show. Sometimes when you are a comedian and heavily focus on jokes that pre-watershed doesn't allow, it can be difficult to come up with clean alternatives. I think Chris struggles a little bit with that. The guests have a good range of variety and there is a good range of conversation Chris engages in with them.
This show isn't a favourite, but to fans of Chris you will likely enjoy it more; and who knows, maybe his newer fans will enjoy it!
The National Lottery: Jet Set (2001)
Eamonn Holmes sets across the world in this Lottery tie-in Game Show.
Jet Set is yet another BBC in-house game show created by David Young, and this time it's a tie-in to the National Lottery. And much like with Friends Like These, the main prize is a delightful holiday destination. Eamonn Holmes answers the questions here, and be darned he would ever host a game show again.
The show has three rounds - "In the Red" is when six contestants must answer as many questions as possible within four 60-second rounds. The second: "Play or Pass" has two remaining contestants answering in a best of four points round; one contestant is given a category and can choose to play or pass it over to their opponent.
The winning contestant gets to play "The Final", where they are pitted against the previous week's champion in their holiday destination. They wear headphones and blindfolds and must answer if the lottery ball numbers from the results are higher or lower than the next. Whoever gains the best out of three points is the champion. Studio contestants win the chosen holiday destination and get a spree of pyrotechnics and a snowstorm of confetti all over them. If the previous champion wins, the studio contestant can play again next week.
Overall, Jet Set was a fun fast-paced game show and certainly took advantage of being a National Lottery tie-in, which is likely why the show has never been reran ever since it ended.
Friends Like These (1999)
A cheap and cheerful early-2000's game show
Friends Like These was a BBC game show that broadcast for about four years, and has an extremely simple premise to make it up. The show was produced on a low budget, but it didn't mean that it could be lots of fun, too. Being created by David Young (Weakest Link, Eggheads, most of 12 Yard's earlier productions, etc.) you know what it's like.
Two teams of young adult-aged friends, five girls and five boys; battle it out in a test of wits in various challenges i.e. Minigames, of which four appear in an episode. Challenge range from simple balancing games, to playing arcade racing games, to playing archery... and it goes on. They can't go really in depth, this is a family show after all!
Then, one of the teams wins and they head onto the final Head to Head round, where the team must answer questions about each other and write down their answers on whiteboards. If they happen to succeed... they win a holiday of a lifetime, and that's pretty much it.
The Geordie twosome Ant and Dec presented the first two seasons, and they certainly worked well for a show like this one. After signing an exclusive contract with ITV, Ian Wright took over as presenter... and while he was good, he just didn't fit or suit the show's style.
Friends Like These was a cheap and cheerful Saturday night show that made for great family viewing. The BBC has tried to revive the format for modern times with Vernon Kay and Alison Hammond as presenters, but this reboot never got past the pilot stage. Will the BBC try again? Who knows...
Celebrity Catchphrase (2018)
Not the worst celebrity version of a Game Show, but certainly not the best
When ITV revived Catchphrase in 2013 with Stephen Mulhern as presenter, it was a breath in fresh air and was nice to see one of my favourite game shows return for a new generation. Shortly afterwards they began having celebrity editions which were decent, too. That is until they decided to focus exclusively on this demographic now.
Like, sure enough, the format remains the same and there ARE some genuinely funny moments... but most of the time it's celebrities treating the show like it's a comedy and deliberately getting the answers wrong for the sake of laughter. The Catchphrases are still amusing, and unintentionally laugh riots; i.e. Dicing with Death.
As I said in the title, it's not the worst celebrity game show, but it's certainly not the best. And I say that loosely because most celebrity versions of game shows are terrible.
Ryan's World the Movie: Titan Universe Adventure (2024)
Totally embarrassing this even got a theatrical release to begin with
Ahhhhh, Ryan's World, the YouTube Kids franchise milked out by Ryan's parents and PocketWatch. What was originally a generic toy channel became a franchise with merchandise, a Nick Jr. Television series, video games and various YouTube spin-offs. Now, we have this movie which gained a wide theatrical release and was pulled after only three weeks, not even making a tenth of its budget.
The story involves Ryan's younger sisters being kidnapped and Ryan must save them under his superhero alter-ego the Red Titan after he acts like a jerk to them, leading to the kidnapping. There goes our hero, causing a plot device for the sake of doing so! Some of the other Ryan's World characters also appear in this film but they're one-dimensional and forgettable.
The live-action portions are like amateur night, they barely improve from the YouTube channel itself. The animation is a bit stiff at times but its bright and colourful, and it helps that San-Ei Animation, the studio behind the Doraemon anime is behind this.
But overall... there was a reason why this bombed big time, it came out at the wrong time when Ryan's World isn't as big as it once was... and just feels like more pressure from PocketWatch. Will Ryan ever regret this film once he becomes an adult? Who knows.
This Morning Puzzle Book (2006)
Short-lived spin-off of This Morning that nobody remembers
This Morning Puzzlebook was one of the many shows that made up the short-lived ITV Play channel, being the first programme to air on it. In fact, it's crazy to think that this even existed. As with any other of the shows on the network it's only purpose was to cash-in on the popularity of Quizmania (which already aired on ITV1 and other networks) and Brainteaser (on Channel 5 and YooPlay TV).
So, this show has... well it's what to expect from a phone-in game show. Various presenters you have seen on other shows of this type await a caller, and then they play some of the many games (mainly related to Pop-culture) that you have seen before on Brainteaser, QuizMania, Quiz Call, The Daily Quiz... and so on. There's nothing different about this show than the others. Then came somebody's idea of adding it to the main This Morning (the Phillip and Fern era). Yeah, GENIUS move.,
There is absolutely nothing good to say about it, aside from the fact Alison Hammond presented on there before she became a supreme This Morning megastar. This show put nothing new onto the table for ITV Play and it only lasted about eight months. And maybe that was a good thing because ITV Play was one of the worst concepts ITV had EVER come up with.
The Angry Video Game Nerd: Bugs Bunny Birthday Blowout (2007)
It isn't called an alltime classic for nothing!
This was the first AVGN episode I ever saw, but regardless it's memorable for it's perfect usage of slapstick and funny AVGN-style jokes.
So, the Nerd is reviewing the NES game "Bugs Bunny's Birthday Blowout". As you would expect for a licensed NES game, it's heavily flawed but of course it's not gonna stop the Nerd from cussing it out.
That is until Bugs Bunny appears from out of nowhere. As the game progresses, the Nerd begins to get incredibly frustrated with the game for many issues (too easy, annoying minigames, boss fights, etc.) and of course, Bugs doesn't make it any better where he constantly pesters him with his usual "What's Up Doc?" catchphrase and vulgar alternatives.
And once the Nerd finds out that in the game, the Looney Tunes were playing tricks on Bugs (i.e. Himself), that's when he hits his breaking point and shows him a few tricks of his own. Slapstick galore, and as I stated above this is absolutely hilarious by seeing the Nerd hrashing, and pummeling and overall beating down Bugs. Then in the end, the Bunny gets what he deserved with a face of poop.
Well, Cinemassacre showed how much they were on a roll back then, and this will always remain one of the best Nerd episodes to date.
Jeremy Vine (2018)
Whatever happened to you, Jeremy?
Jeremy Vine is the successor to The Wright Stuff, hosted by Matthew Wright. Here, it's simply named after the presenter himself.
Alright, Jeremy Vine is an okay person for what he is. He did a great job on Eggheads (although Dermot Murnaghan was better) and I guess he's a good radio presenter too but I don't watch the radio.
On this show... all you hear is nothing but right-wing politics, left-wing politics, the government, propaganda, and that's it. Who's idea was it to make this show all about politics? I know the show talks about other topics but they're taken aside! The Wright Stuff had a lot more variety in what the panellists and the presenters talked about, even if there was a lot of sex-related stuff that was talked about.
As for the other segments, Storm Huntley is pretty much the same exact thing and completely wastes the presenting talent of Storm herself. She's always been better at discussions, but the producers need to make her segment more unique.
As for the now-scrapped Alexis Conran & Friends, it was okay because it was at least different. It's previous incarnation as Alexis Conran was another clone of the other two shows. As for the titular presenter i.e. The guy who Channel 5 kept making Air Fryer documentaries with him in, he's fine as well.
Overall, there's nothing noteworthy to say about this show. While Storm and Alexis are decent presenters, Jeremy isn't and acts like the biggest egotistical egghead (no pun intended) you could think up. Avoid this show unless you really like politics.
Run for Your Wife (2012)
Feels like a big excuse to give celebrities their paychecks
Alright, if you've seen in my prior reviews, I took a look at Keith Lemon: The Film, and my thoughts on it are not pretty at all especially when it came to celebrity cameos that had no purpose in the non-existent plot.
Now, we come across Run for Your Wife, which is based on a West End show of the same name. It stars Danny Dyer, who's appeared in other films and television shows, and i'm not a fan of him at all mainly for the fact he's quite annoying. The main female protagonists are played by the late Sarah Harding and TV presenter Denise Van Outen. This was meant to be the big break for both, and of course, it wasn't.
I don't know how faithful or unfaithful this movie is to the original stage play, but if it was either, then I wouldn't know. The celebrity cameos are obnoxious and although it was done for charity it is still way too much - 141 in all! Even Keith Lemon: The Film had way less celebrity cameos than this film did (as much as they were as bad as this was). This film also adds to the many terrible projects Denise Van Outen has starred in over the years (Something for the Weekend, anyone? And no, not the BBC show from 2006-2012, a Channel 4 series from 1999).
I could say that the only good thing is that the film doesn't have disgusting sexual jokes due to it's 12 rating, unlike Keith Lemon. And at least the characters aren't one-dimensional on sexual stuff. But it doesn't mean anyone is likeable.
Aside from the celebrity cameos, there's nothing else to write home about. I wouldn't even say it's a "So Bad, it's Good" kind of thing, either. It's best left aside and although it gets my lowest 1/10 score, it's still no Keith Lemon: The Film.
Poketto monsutâ: Papa Is Idol? False Gym Leader! (2004)
Ash gets treated like a whipping mule, while Team Rocket portray a pathetic Pokemon-stealing plot.
This episode is pretty dreadful and goes way over the top for how stupid it is, even for Pokemon writing standards.
The story is that Norman (May and Max's father, and the Petalburg City Gym Leader) is basically worshipped by the North Petalburg residents. And whenever Ash heads into the scene - he's whipped away like a mule. He gets treated like this solely for comedy and it's overall not funny in the slightest.
Team Rocket's plot - dress up as Norman's own family. Jessie is Caroline, James is Norman, Meowth is May, Wobbuffet is Max. As usual, despite how obvious the two Pokemon are everyone is still fooled. Yet, you can tell that's Wobbuffet in a Max costume!
So yeah, this is a crazy episode, but not funny or good in the slightest.
Poketto monsutâ: Touka Gym! The Fifth Badge!! (2004)
An awesome Gym battle sadly taken apart by the horrible filler ending.
This Advanced Generation episode has Ash battling against Norman. It's a good episode but has a bad ending, but it's surely better than what happened two episodes ago.
Norman in the games is the player's father while in the anime he is May and Max's father. He is normally the hardest leader in the Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald games due to his Normal-type Pokemon. Here, he uses Vigoroth, Slakoth and Slaking - all part of the same evolutionary line. However, Ash took one step forward with Pikachu, Grovyle and Torkoal. Norman used a lot of expert strategies that proved to be quite a tough battle for Ash but he soon made it and won his badge.
There's also a sub-plot where Team Rocket build a secret base. Not much to say there but it was fine.
So, as I stated about the ending... it's horrible. Max was a complete jerk by taking the gym badge away and not accepting the fact Gym Leaders have to lose and not listening to anyone until Norman comes in. Max has already seen how Gym Leaders already lose to Ash throughout the Advanced Generation arc and yes, I know Norman is his and May's father, it's still no excuse. His crying doesn't make it any better, if not even worse. At least he got to knew but this whole scene just felt like filler that wasn't needed.
Regardless, a good episode with great animation and action.
Hardcore Pawn (2009)
TruTV strikes again with another trashy reality show.
Hardcore Pawn is a reality show about the American Jewelry and Loan pawn shop in Detroit, run by Les Gold and his kids. It's yet another dreadful reality show to come from TruTV's schedule, a bit like with Storage Hunters which I reviewed previously.
The show is pretty much formulated with the same plotline - you have customers (normally African-American people) try to offer up an item and the kids assume they're ripping them off and start cussing out the customer.
So yes... the kids. Seth and Ashley are not likeable in any form or another, and the show portrays their sibling rivalry as a major part of the action. Ashley acts like a stereotypical mean girl who peppers her speech with profanities and other words. Les on the other hand, while not exactly likeable either, he is at least tolerable.
One thing I don't really get is why the show negatively portrays African-Americans as being poor people. Isn't that a bit stereotypical as well?
To end it off, maybe the reason why the show is what it is could be because Richard Dominick, who was heavily involved with Jerry Springer, created this series so it explains how trashy it is.
There isn't anything good to say about Hardcore Pawn. It's not funny, nobody is really likeable, and about 60% of its dialogue is nothing but bleeps. There are better shows about antiques and pawn shops out there.
Sesame Street: The Good Birds Club (2011)
Even after the golden days of the show have passed, Sesame Street still engages on great morals and life lessons.
Sesame Street has taught a lot of serious topics over the years including racism and bullying. This episode actually deals with both and points that out with a great moral along the way.
So, Gordon and Big Bird are going through the latter's mail , to which Big Bird given an invitation to The Good Birds Club in the mail, ran by a pigeon. Big Bird raps that he enjoys being himself and heads to Hooper's Store. The gray pigeon on the other hand, is not impressed and thinks he can change Big Bird for himself. He deems Big Bird to have feet that are too big, being too big himself, and being yellow.
Abby Cadabby uses her magic to help her but she and Elmo aren't too sure that Big Bird needs to change. Everytime, Big Bird gets sadder and sadder as the gray pigeon continues to make fun of him. Abby decides that enough is enough and decides that the only thing right is to tell a grown-up.
She and Elmo bring Chris, and he tells Big Bird that he's fine just the way he is and that he is being the victim of a bully, and so do Abby and Elmo. Chris tells Big Bird he can start his own club which is inclusive and allows everyone of any type and size, titled the "Happy To Be Me Club". Big Bird is turned back to normal and the other birds part of the club soon join the Happy To Be Me Club and betray the Pigeon. They soon a reprise of the song Big Bird sing throughout the episode.
Watching this segment, it gives out a great moral that everyone is accepting to what colour they are, what size they are, and who they are as a whole. It also gives a good showcase that racism is a bad thing and that if you are being bullied, make sure to tell someone and ignore the bully.
The thing I would say is that the rap song Big Bird sings is a bit cheesy. Nothing wrong with that, but I kinda wish it was something different.
Regardless, a great episode.
Katie Piper's Breakfast Show (2022)
Katie is the perfect woman to start your weekend.
Cactus TV has produced a lot of weekend shows for ITV, including Weekend, Garraway's Good Stuff, Martin and Roman's Weekend Best! And the other programmes that use "Breakfast Show" in their name. They are pretty much all the same programme just with different names and occasional segment changes.
This show has lasted longer than the other shows (aside from Weekend) and there's a good reason why. Katie Piper OBE is one of the most inspirational TV presenters I know and definitely shows that even with jerks trying to stop or harm you with acid (which is the reason why she has a blind left eye) you don't just stop, you continue on to progress in life.
Anyways, back to the show, Katie makes you feel right in the studio. She has a comfy feel-good personality and she shows major interest in every topic. The segments in the show are also interesting as well.
The only thing I do not like is that it sometimes does pander to the Gen Z audience by showing off challenges and TikTok style short videos, but aside from that this is a great way to start your morning. If Katie remains free, ITV might commission this for a fourth season!
Late Night Lycett (2023)
It tries so hard to be good, but just falls flat on it's face.
So, as the name implies, this is a late night variety show hosted by comedian Joe Lycett in a studio in Birmingham. It's in the slot where The Last Leg normally is on Channel 4, at 10:00pm.
I'll be honest, Lycett is one of the comedians I can take more than most. He CAN be funny, although he does engage in the same dirty humour that most comedians use. Yes, he swears a lot and so does this show, but he mostly puts the focus on comedy towards being twisted and wacky at times. And aside from this show, Lycett is quite a crazy person himself, if you've seen from his marketing stunts and whatnot.
Alright, the whole concept is similar to that of TFI Friday. There are many segments written by Lycett but, as I said in the title, they fall flat. One of them spoofs GB News, which seems like a genius move considering it's a disaster of a network, but nope - it just had to be underwhelming. I don't need to explain, but it just is! When the show isn't being the same vulgar jokes you hear on other comedy shows, it does bring in some funny gags. Katherine Ryan's running gag in Series 1 where she never gets to be on the show shows off Lycett's power to be wacky and slapsticky.
The guests on the show are normally people from the LGBT+ scene. This brings in quite a wide variety of people of various types. However, there are other guests as well, so there is a wide variety. At least it doesn't exclusively feature comedians.
Overall, Late Night Lycett is a let down of a show, but the good points prevent it from being a very bad programme. It's surely better than Smart TV and other panel shows I've watched, which try too hard to be edgy for the sake of being on pay TV.
Peppa Pig: George Catches a Cold (2007)
Portrays illness in a unrealistic fashion.
This episode is not good in terms of plotline. The story is that George Pig refuses to wear his rainhat in the rain and gets sick doing so. Now, to go over the main issues.
The episode's way of showing how you can catch a cold is very unrealistic because you cannot get ill when it's raining outside. You can only get a common cold if you happen to catch an illness or virus that can cause it. In fact, how George is able to catch a cold in the rain within a few seconds also goes unexplained.
George is as per usual, disobedient and does not stop saying "Why?" over the simplest of things. Yes, I know he's two-years-old, but it's still too much. Peppa is as bad, if not worse than her little brother as she doesn't seem to care that George is sick - instead thinking that he's only acting sick for attention.
So overall, not a brilliant episode thanks to it's ridiculous writing and premise of portraying colds in an unrealistic fashion.
Rob Beckett's Smart TV (2024)
Smart TV adds nothing to the adding additions of panel shows.
Rob Beckett's Smart TV is from Talkback Productions, the Fremantle subsidiary that produces the classic music panel show Never Mind the Buzzcocks, which was rebooted for Sky Max two years ago, and this show is also on Sky Max. Smart TV is essentially NMTBC but focuses on television shows instead of music. In some way, it could feel like Telly Addicts as well.
It's hosted by Rob Beckett, a stand-up comedian who has appeared on other panel shows such as 8 Out of 10 Cats and a few projects with Romesh Ranganathan. The team captains are Alison Hammond, the This Morning megastar who you see everywhere on television nowadays, and Josh Widdicombe, who co-presents on The Last Leg and is one of the most frequent panel show guests or presenters. Now, what does this bring together?
That's right, nothing new to the panel show realm. There is absolutely nothing to distinguish this from the other panel shows I have seen. I am not a fan of any of the hosts (well, maybe except Hammond, but only when she has a barrier to keep her dirty side away) and the guests are always the same people you've seen on other panel shows.
The game portion is taken aside by the fact that 60% of the show is nothing but pop-culture references, cheap shock value, crude sex jokes, innuendos, and excessive cussing; problems that a lot of modern panel shows suffer from. This brand of "humour" obviously feels so desperate and when you're aren't blown away by all of that, the hosts all make unfunny jokes that you could likely find funny if you were outside the age demographic for this series. It's exactly what the Sky reboot of Never Mind the Buzzcocks offers up, as while the BBC version did have shock value and swearing it was not incredibly overdone while the Sky reboot increases the swearing solely to say "we're not a free TV network! We can get away with all of this!"
Regardless, Smart TV isn't the worst panel show out there, but it's still repetitive and crude. The game portion is fine, and yet it's pushed aside for lazy shock-value jokes. The hosts are not anything to write home about, and all in all, it just feels like Sky wants to cash in on their other successful panel shows that it seems desperate.
Salty's Lighthouse (1997)
Would have ended up as just another obscure preschool cartoon - only if it wasn't discovered by the Thomas community
Salty's Lighthouse is a pre-school cartoon from Sunbow Entertainment that originally aired on TLC in 1997 and also aired on PBS stations. What makes this cartoon something that a fanbase disowns as being an insult to a famous cult show? Let's find out.
The series centers on Salty, a young boy who enjoys daydreaming and going on adventures. His friends consist of Ocho, an Octopus; Claude, a Hermit Crab; Sophie and Saddie, twin birds; Aurora, the shining light inside the lighthouse; and Aunt Chovie, the owner. With this, the characters learn life lessons and other things you'd expect in pre-school shows. In addition to its animated segments, the show also features live-action wrap-arounds featuring models of tugboats on their adventures. This isn't anything new, but rather stock footage taken from the 1989 British children's series entitled Tugs. Sunbow bought a stake in the show from Robert D. Cardona and passed it off as what you see. In some way, it's sorta like Shining Time Station, as that show used Thomas as its framing segments quite like how this show uses Tugs as its framing segments.
So, now onto the show's quality. It's pretty obvious that this was produced on a low-budget and the animation reflects that. The character designs look generic and Salty himself looks like Tommy Pickles from Rugrats for some reason. The Canadian voice-acting cast is quite small, with only eight altogether split between the Salty and Tugs segments. Quite a lot of the same actors portray different characters in the latter. The Tugs segments commonly reuse footage from one episode to another because the show only had thirteen episodes produced while this show had forty segments, and as this was a pre-school show, the violent and dark scenes were all removed. The characters are generic, wooden, and don't feel relatable. I can't tell anybody apart. The episodes are repetitive because of their formulaic nature - A problem occurs, then they look at the Tugs, then other things go on, and the episode is over. I can understand that this is aimed at pre-schoolers, but it could do better than that.
If I had to say something good, it's that the opening theme is catchy.
Overall, this show isn't fun to watch and as I stated, there's a good reason why fans of Thomas and Tugs disown this show as being shameful.
Celebrity Chase (2011)
Chase those celebrities away for being "funny".
Here's another celebrity spin-off of a popular game show. Easily the worst of it's kind because it essentially turns The Chase from a fun game show with it's own brand of humour into an unfunny "comedy" game show where the audience laughs at everything happening.
As to be expected for a Celebrity game show, the questions are dumbed down from the original civilian version to the point they just feel pathetic. The celebrities are as bad, answering the easy questions badly and I could suspect this is done on purpose for the entertainment value as they're winning money for charity and gain money regardless anyway.
Then, what is worse is that they dumb down the Chasers as well and make them look as stupid as the celebrities are. They're meant to be threatening and serious, but here they aren't - just more people to be laughed at by the viewers and the audience. Once more, I suspect they give out the wrong answers on purpose and to give the celebrities an advantage in winning.
Bradders on the other hand, has also been quite dumbed down and tries too hard to be funny like everyone else. He reads questions much slower and sometimes engages in celebrity talk that's nothing more than desperate filler.
Overall, I hate this show. If I want The Chase, I stick to the original or the Family spin-off. I've not seen the celebrity editions of Beat the Chasers but I can suspect they're as bad as these editions are.