Clip Shows

Not wanting to disappoint those who've come to acknowledge my utter hatred for most things, today I shall be moaning about clip shows.

I'm pretty sure everybody else hates them as much as me, they're hardly an exciting substitute for an actual well-written programme, but I always feel a bit let down by them, like a child who was promised sweets, then given Tunes instead.

I've just sat down to watch last week's Newswipe on the iPlayer, looking forward to an evening of belly laughs topped off with some mild depression as all those serious bits hit home. But no, tonight's (last Tuesday's) Newswipe is a collection of clips from this series and last, apparently giving us an overview of the last two years.

Charlie Brooker is excellent, but I sort of wish instead of having an episode of stuff I've already seen they just cut the series down by one. I'm sure it's funny, and I'd no doubt laugh again, but it's stuff I've laughed at only the previous couple of weeks, I really don't need a reminder this soon.

It's worse when it happens in something like Friends. Let's assume that Friend's has a lavishly detailed plot that blends character development with groundbreaking satire. Now let's imagine the writers just couldn't give any less of a fuck about what to do with an episode. The only reasonable solution is to slash together a bunch of jokes from previous episodes, resulting in an unnecessary series of jokes that have little to do with anything in particular. Though some may argue that is all Friends is.

Of course, the solution to this problem is for me to not watch them. That'd be a start anyway. It's late and I'm tired and Newswipe was a let down, I've not thought this one through very well.

Off to Freeview channel 94 I go!