Mr Grumpy

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By Mr Grumpy - Fri 26th Oct 2012

 

I was overjoyed yesterday to find that my diet of crappy British TV had plummeted to new depths.

Taste in Television programmes is obviously like taste in general - and opinion for that matter - and as such I appreciate that it will differ from person to person. And equally so, I suppose that this means that one person's crappy daytime TV program is another person's TV gold.

So leaving aside the fact that everybody has the right to watch TV programs to their own taste and choosing, I found it highly ironic to watch a TV program which basically encouraged a forum made up from the general public, where they criticised each other's taste with regards to their homes.

" May the best house win : Viva Espana "

Yesterday afternoon I sat through an hour of watching 4 smug self-satisfied expats tell each other (and most of daytime TV-watching Britain) why they thought their house was better than the rest of the panel.

Despite the fact that (in my opinion at least) the houses weren’t particularly worthy of any comment as nothing really set them aside from any of the gazillions of other properties currently for sale at the moment, I was staggered by the arrogance. Arrogance that any one person can honestly believe that their taste is better than the next, and arrogance that they then see fit to display this arrogance on UK TV.

And before anyone asks why I had an hour free in the middle of a weekday afternoon to watch TV, and why I didn't switch it over to the other side, it was down to the fact that I was bottle feeding my baby daughter and she had fallen asleep on me with the remote control being out of arms reach.

The panel of 4 participants basically proceeded to show off their properties like a zealous and overly proud 'Stage Mum', and showcased their vulgar and ostentatious Wine Cellars and collection of ceramics in the belief that this was somehow worthy of praise and admiration.

They then went on to criticise the other contestants for lacking style and taste and how gadgetry such as a fingerprint entry system on a door was unnecessary etc...

Honestly, the program was so awful I would recommend that anyone looks out for it in future. It managed to skilfully blend 3 of my pet hates : Crappy TV; an unshakeable belief that one's taste or opinion is better than the next; and continuation of the stereotype that 90% of all Expats have nothing better to do with their time other than lie on a beach or take part in these pointless TV programmes.

It seems that there is a growing trend of low-budget British TV programs wishing to cash in on portraying expats as gin-swilling, benefit defrauding, UK turncoats, and I just wondered if any TV producer intended showing the other side of the coin ? Maybe that’s just not interesting enough for a wider audience ?