MSN TV Blog: The Remote Control

Last summer's Big Brother gave us a chance to assess sister show Big Brother's Big Mouth without the indefatigable Russell Brand. In short, it was a mess. Some days it was worth watching (Ian Wright was good), but in the main, it was symptomatic of the mess Big Brother (UK) itself is in; directionless, unfocused, sloppy.

The loss of Dermot O'Leary, the face of companion show Big Brother's Little Brother, has compounded the problems. How to replace him? Well for a start, it takes two. George Lamb and Zezi Ifore have been confirmed as the new presenters of Big Brother's Little Brother. The pair - said to be hugely excited about their new challenge - worked together on E4 Music and breakfast entertainment show Freshly Squeezed. For anyone unfamiliar with them, here you go...

George Lamb has interviewed some of the biggest names in music and film, including 50 Cent, Gwen Stefani, Kiefer Sutherland, Ian Brown, and Lindsay Lohan, to name but a few. Not bad for someone who has only been presenting for a year or so. He's the son of actor Larry Lamb who's been in The Bill and Gavin and Stacey.

South East London 'It' girl Zezi Ifore seems to have tried it all  before becoming an E4 Music presenter; past jobs included DJing and editing a fashion magazine. She's also one half of DJ duo 'Zapotecsoundsystem' with E4's Nick Grimshaw.

It's definitely a new era for Big Brother; George and Zezi have enormous shoes to fill. If you believe the constant rumours that Big Brother 9 is Davina McCall's swansong, change is something fans will have to grow accustomed to. Time will tell whether that will turn out to be a good or a bad thing.

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Today I am mostly lovin' - The fact that I have finally worked out how to connect additional external equipment to my TV using a scart splitter (it should be a GCSE qualification!). Also, Birmingham's relegation (it's called karma for Eduardo). I'm only sorry Bolton didn't go down too.

Today I am mostly hatin' - The change to the Come Done With Me theme music.

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On the day I assert that The Apprentice is becoming a victim of its own success (see TV Shows That Lost It), the best episode of this fourth series so far airs. D'oh! So much for my timing. I still stand by what I wrote though.

 It has to be said, every single second of Wednesday night's card task was glorious. From the moment SurrrAlan chose Kevin Shaw as project manager, I knew we were in for TV gold. And so it proved. The only merchant banker in the village turned in a performance of such astounding incompetence, he should seriously consider working for HM Revenue and Customs delivering child benefit computer discs.

I watched Kevin closely on The Apprentice: You're Fired! He didn't enjoy having his short-comings exposed so mercilessly (and hilariously!) for the nation's amusement. After puffing himself up with a vastly inflated degree of his own self-importance, he was brought back to Earth with a resounding bump. I rubbed my hands in glee at the thought of interrogating...sorry, interviewing him.

I prepared for my Thursday tête-à-tête with the fired candidate as usual. But after a bit of a delay, I received a call from the PR rep informing me that Kevin had a "personal problem" and regrettably, interviews for the day were now cancelled and there would be no re-scheduling. My one chance had gone. Naturally, I tried to ascertain the exact nature of this "personal problem" but no further explanation was available.

My own theory as to why Kevin Shaw was a no-show? Well...of course it's entirely possible that he really did have a "personal problem" so I scanned the papers and internet for bad news: bereavement, house falling down, period pain even! Anything. No mention of Kevin other than a story about some girlie reportedly trying to kiss him (be still my stomach). 

So what am I left to conclude? Let's try this one on for size: after enduring interview after interview in which he was probably (and rightly) slated, ridiculed and belittled, it's possible that he went all Naomi/Mariah/diva on everyone, decided he'd had enough of having his monumental failings rubbed in his cherubic-like face and pulled out of further interviews. Good old Kevin Shaw-t; top entertainment to the bitter end.

Our Apprentice special featuring a fun blog, fab features, galleries, profiles, interviews and more

Today I am mostly lovin' - The running, naked Visa man. Drooooooooool! Nice bum too...

Today I am mostly hatin' - Football. That's all I'm gonna say.

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Regular readers of this blog will know that the first entry of the new month is about looking back. I've perused all the feedback and mail sent in during April. Here's what you've been saying...

I have received a great deal of e-mails in response to my article about The TV Shows That Lost It. Most vehemently oppose my selection of the likes of The Apprentice and ER however, it's the Friends fans who are really up in arms. The e-mail I received from MSN user Andrew is fairly typical of the outrage: "I mean come on - Friends - you will find looking at the television viewing figures for this shot up towards the end of the series! Madness! Re-write this article please! P.S You should have gone to Specsavers."
Good grief, you guys are sooooooo in denial! I loved Friends in the early days but there is no doubt in my mind that its best years were at least five years behind it by the time the final episode aired in 2004. It was much fresher and funnier pre Ross/Emily saga (yawn). In short, I stand by every single word I wrote. 

Kirsty sent in an e-mail saying: "Just saw your article Pop Stars Made On TV - boy did it give me a huge chuckle re-living some of those who were good - and those who were incredibly BAD!" Kirsty continues: "Also read your Blog about Easter TV! I REALLY miss UK TV (having lived here for 4 years now), especially around the holidays (Easter, Xmas etc). TV here in Oz is absolutely awful. I enjoy your articles/features - will keep logging on to read!
Regards and many thanks."
Kirsty, pleased to hear we're making your time in Oz easier. I've given you tons of memories of UK TV, haven't I? If you'd like me to answer some of the questions in your original e-mail, please change your settings so that I can respond.

MSN user Deezy wrote in to say: "I have just noticed your blog for the first time today. I read through some of your articles and enjoyed them. I also think you look like a really interesting person so, I wanted to ask you if you have ever watched or written on  South Park?"
I LOVE South Park but I haven't had the opportunity to write specifically around the show yet - something else always seems to come up. I will do something in time so stick around!

Dohdohbird and Paul sent e-mails in response to my Dallas blog entry about UKTV Gold's disgraceful treatment of the soap's fans. Paul said: "How right you are about UKTV annoying the hell out of many of us Dallas fans..."
Indeed. It's a shame Dallas fans have been treated so shabbily by the broadcaster, but the earlier years are still being aired.

Thanks for all your comments and messages guys. Keep them coming in. That's it for this month as far as the mailbag is concerned.

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