"10 O'Clock Live" - Episode 2

Yesterday the second episode of “10 O’Clock Live” went out. Just like last week I didn’t watch, but I followed the movement on Twitter.

Pre-show tweets were mainly questions about who were going to give the show a second chance, or tweets about people wondering if they should watch “10 O’Clock Live” or “Skins”. The expectations were a bit deflated after last week’s (slight) disappointment. Things almost only could look up.

I’m not sure, but I think the show started late again, like last week. For about 10 minutes into the 11th hour tweets were about how it was time for the show and how it wasn’t on yet. No big deal, might have been the delay with which Twitter shows new tweets.

The first tweets were rather positive; though compared to last week’s introductions anything else was almost impossible. Only a few sour tweeters still found the show ‘shite’. Other tweets were commenting on Jimmy Carr’s suit. If you take with that Charlie Brooker’s hair from last week in account, you start wondering what Twitter will complain/go hot over next week.

Just like last week Jimmy Carr started off with the first segment; the news round. According to Twitter a 100% improvement; some even laughed. Then it got a bit quiet on Twitter. It was hard to make out what was happening. What was happening was David Mitchell’s interview with Alistair Campbell, the former Labour spin doctor.

Mitchell didn’t make as good an impression as last week. Campbell apparently ran away with the interview; Mitchell was not sharp enough. Other complaints were that he kept interrupting. I’m not sure that was during the Campbell interview though. A big improvement about the interview was it was allowed to run for longer giving the interview the chance to develop into more depth.

Next up was Charlie Brooker? I’m not sure, because people were watching the show instead of reporting what was happening. Only a few tweets came through saying Brooker was ‘brilliant’ once again. And for the first time people were happy it was live, or else one joke wouldn’t have made it through the cut.

At some point Jimmy Carr did an interview, but apparently that was not very interesting to tweet about. So nothing to report there for me, because I have no clue what happened then or how it was.

Remarkable Observations
1. Jimmy Carr’s News round has improved considerably. He even managed to claw his way back up to the top 2 presenters of the show.

2. The audience was a bit quieter than during the first episode, though still a bit of a ‘panto’ atmosphere.

3. Lauren Laverne was still underused (note the absence of mention in the above piece).

4. They took more time to explore subjects, particularly notable for the interview with Alistair Campbell. Though the rushed feeling remains, though in a milder manner.

5. David Mitchell’s interview techniques didn’t seem to please Twitter as much. It caused his ranking as top presenter of the show to decline.

6. Swearing on the show seems to be an important ingredient in the show which is not appreciated by all.

What I noticed last evening was how at some point a great deal of the tweets were about the subject instead of about how bad things were going. I think that's a clear sign of improvement. That is what you want people to discuss, not how bad David Mitchell's interviewing techniques are.

Overall the show improved enough for people to be positive. If their reactions had something to do with their expectations after having seen the first episode, I don’t know. Still, I had the feeling the “10 O’Clock Live” team has listened well to the reactions and acted upon it. From what I gather still a long way to go, but certainly on the right way.

Something I planned to do last week, but neglected to do was ranking the presenters. That’s why I’ll do the last week ranking this week on top of this week’s ranking. This week’s ranking is a sum of last week and this week.

Episode 1: 20 January 2011
1. David Mitchell (for his interviewing)
2. Charlie Brooker (for his pre-recorded piece and monologue)
3. Lauren Laverne (ranked 3rd, because her presenting was all right, though her jokes fell flat)
4. Jimmy Carr (last, because his News round felt uninspired and uncomfortable and his Tunesia skit was utter bullshit)(Note: I don't think my blog is a family blog; swearing is a okay, for a bit)

Episode 2: 27 January 2011
1. Charlie Brooker (because he was good last week and this week. He seems to be the most consistent of the four)
2. Jimmy Carr (because after last week’s wobbly start he clawed back wonderfully)
3. David Mitchell (because his interviewing leaves a bit to desire, but last week’s ranking saves him)
4. Lauren Laverne (someone, give her something substantial to do!!!)

Secretly I'm very proud of Charlie for being not as shite as the others. Sorry for the favouritism.

If I was handing out points, which I’m not, I would have to deduct points from all three male presenters (and the production team) for discussing sexism in the media, but not doing anything about it themselves. Lauren Laverne shouldn’t be the ‘token female’ and if she can’t do it, which I can’t tell because she doesn’t get a chance to properly show her abilities, she should be replaced by a female who can do the presenting and the funnies. Victoria Coren still seems a more suitable choice. She wouldn’t let them bully her into a minor role.

For a proper review go to link below:
1. Telly Talk