Although I haven’t been
watching Strictly Come Dancing this series, (or
ever for that matter), I have seen a lot of reviews that all seem to point
towards the same opinion; that Bruce Forsyth should give up as he is making a
fool of himself in front of millions of people every week. This year we have
both decided not to bother with The X-Factor,
and for want of something to watch to accompany a Saturday evening
dinner-on-your-lap type of occasion, we went for Strictly.
Mandi has been dipping in and out of the series for the last few weeks, and
last week we had Kate round who talks through a lot of things so you can’t
fully appreciate it. I did that thing where you initially don’t watch it but
are drawn to it before too long, and have to admit that it isn’t a bad
programme for what it is – a disposable Saturday night shiny floor show. As for
the celebrity contestants, I’ve heard of a few of them although they don’t seem
the type to need this kind of exposure.
As far as Bruce is concerned,
it isn’t his delivery that is at fault. That is to say that he isn’t entirely
to blame. It is the system that is making him look like an old buffoon who
couldn’t joke his way out of a wet paper bag.
Bruce Forsyth has been at the
top of his game for nearly 1000 years; dancer, comedian, actor, singer, all
round entertainer and game show host. In fairness, he was underused by television
in the latter part of his career and sidelined as a game show host; in much the
same way as Bob Monkhouse – a gifted improviser and standup comedian – was towards
the end of his life. It might bring in a lot of money but people forget what it
is that they really are capable of. I’ve never seen Forsyth live on stage but
have seen his An Audience With… on ITV (one of
the last good editions of this franchise before they turned it over to pop
stars with an album to flog) and he demonstrated his range of talents. On stage
he is the master at his craft.
The only other person who has
ever come close to inheriting the Forsyth crown in terms of engaging with an
audience, (both on stage in variety and when marginalised in game shows) was
Michael Barrymore. Mandi and I watched a few episodes of Strike It
Lucky on Challenge a little while ago and both commented on what a
brilliant entertainer he was and probably still is if only he would be given a
chance. However, he is the subject of another blog another time.
While watching Strictly Come Dancing I realised what Bruce’s problem is
regarding this particular show. While he is a brilliant entertainer and can
work a live audience with an ease and skill that someone half his age would
envy, he can’t read an autocue. It isn’t that he has a bad memory; although it
looks that way because he fumbles through scripted jokes and apparent ad-libs,
the simple problem is that he can’t read at distance with his 1,500 year old
eyes. I’m sure that if he was given a script to learn in advance then he would
learn it and not have to worry about looking like a confused old man who has
wandered out of his residential home in his dressing gown. There is another option
of course, leave him in charge as he knows how to put on a show.
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