Over the past two weekends we've seen the culmination of three stalwart Reality TV series' - The X Factor, Strictly Come Dancing and The Apprentice. In all three we found out which contest came out top - but which finale show was the overall winner?
You now have two options - 1) read this live, with series highlights, best bit, lots of long dramatic pauses and plenty of filler, or 2) read this in Sky+ and skip through the crap to find out what I really think.
Well done, you've picked the right option, because my first point against these results shows is the length of time they take for the big reveal. I mean, 2 hours Mr Cowell? The skeptics among us may think that the intention of this is to cram as many ad breaks in as possible - but I'm sure it's actually to showcase as much talent as possible. Exemplified by Chloe Mafia descending from the studio roof.
That's two hours of my life that I'm never getting back. Two very loud hours. If someone said to me that they were going to make me sit for two hours and listen to wailing, (sorry Matt Cardle, but it did get a bit Coldplay on helium at times), screaming, chanting and that Michael Jackson guy singing, I'd be telling them that they'd got the wrong person and I honestly didn't have the information they were after.
At least Strictly gave us a bit of a break to collect ourselves. But, ironically enough, this worked against the show. Annoying as it may be, X Factor built to a distinct crescendo, with tension mounting throughout. Strictly, quite frankly, fell flat.
This has arguably been one of the most entertaining series to date, not least due to contributions from The Widdy. But the standard has been so high throughout, that the finale failed to match expectations.
This year's show dances left a lot to be desired and, due to the change in format from previous years, the couples weren't using these 'all or nothing' dances to win, but win a place in the final two to repeat a dance they had already danced well. Doesn't seem very logical. (Quite why you would be, but if you're reading this Moira Ross, lets see you revert back to the original format next year please. Thanks). Fair enough, the best dancers won - but there was no excitement to it, no "Wow" moments of the past.
This has arguably been one of the most entertaining series to date, not least due to contributions from The Widdy. But the standard has been so high throughout, that the finale failed to match expectations.
This year's show dances left a lot to be desired and, due to the change in format from previous years, the couples weren't using these 'all or nothing' dances to win, but win a place in the final two to repeat a dance they had already danced well. Doesn't seem very logical. (Quite why you would be, but if you're reading this Moira Ross, lets see you revert back to the original format next year please. Thanks). Fair enough, the best dancers won - but there was no excitement to it, no "Wow" moments of the past.
Testament to sticking to a format that works is The Apprentice. Even in the final, the episode followed not only the same format as the series as a whole, but the general format of previous years too. Tension comes from the usual clever editing and the ups and downs of the candidates attempts to win, rather than emotional interviews concerning 'how much this would me to me and my family and my dead dog Bertie'.
Fair enough, there's the usual boardroom spiel, but instead of the cliched shallow sentiments of SyCo, you feel like your getting some straight talking honesty from Lord Sug. And the rest of the show is light hearted and entertaining in a way that the other two aren't. It's a joy, rather than a mentally draining toil to watch. There's no mention of a "journey", no montages and best bits, just an hour of quality TV. While you can can skip through most of X Factor & Strictly and get a feel for the outcome, you'd lose so much by fast forwarding this one. Out of these three, it's the one I'm going to miss most.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed all three series' and was swept up in the finals, but this year, the resounding Winner is (go put the kettle on, order some more Christmas presents from Amazon, watch the last speck of paint in your newly decorated lounge dry)...The Apprentice