Robert Peston
PESTON ON SUNDAY
ITV1
SUNDAY 10 am
REVIEW Well not too serious....
When ITV chopped the well worked London Weekend big Sunday morning political slots, with the likes of Brian Walden incisive but lisping, and then the gentler Jonathan Dimbleby in the chair, an early trip to get all the Sunday papers and the then wife pulling together breakfast in bed, well that was Sunday morning set. Bliss for any news junkie.
Then down to the pub to tear apart the interviewees. It was truly major news agenda setting. Long before Sky and annoying things like social media. The slot was basically a forensic grilling of one headline politician either good and bad.
Depending on the state of Waldens pile medication, it would either be a tough interview, or hit right out of the park. 3 inch Ampex video tapes of the shows would be immediately couriered and flown to Washington, they were that important.
Interviews by the two were tight, but ran on for 30 minutes or so, but enough time for the interviewee to hang him or herself a few times, but consider there was little in the way or instant iphone/tablet backed communication. They got away with it.
No cell phones. Sir John Harrison was still at the time making wireless transmitter sets for the military with his tiny Racal Vodata company, then it became Vodata then Vodaphone. The rest is history (Yes I was offered Racal shares at 10p each in 1972 , lots of them .... had I punted just £500 and stayed the course, I would be writing this from my yacht in Monaco. But I didn't. Life's clearly a bitch.)
The point of all this is simply ITV has the cheek to site the difficult to say Peston on on on Sunday (sounds like a piston stroke - Try saying it with conviction...go on...even the sainted 'voice of the balls' would need to give it several tries... ) in the same ionic LWT building... how could they?
So new show, who should be first up but none other than George Osborne, sans high viz jacket, so does he too get his hair cut by Nicky Clark, Pesto did, but Roberts shirt and that suit ??? At a guess Shirt ( too tight, poorly ironed) from George at Asda and the suit (again way too tight) M&S.
The re hipped hippy Eamonn Holmes ( clearly with Mrs Holmes having the final say) has the stage gear look about right, early consult with the Holmes' urgently needed.
Robert Peston did the initial stint with Osborne all of 18 minutes, time enough to get a few press releases type quotes out. The major distraction was the garish set (same set designer as Good Morning Britian? Or did they just put the whole lot on a revolve like the Michael Frayn stage play 'Noises Off' and you physically see the back of the GMB space?
The two guests stapled to their seats FOR THE ENTIRE SHOW behind a weird tear drop shape formica topped table, none other than Alastair Campbell and dumped MP Esther McVey, a former regional telly host and universally hated by disabled people everywhere over her tenure at the DWP (she only seems to have one telly outfit, clearly expensive a few years back, we've seen this one several times.)
Pesto clearly hasn't worked out a role for them or the appearance of the intellectually superior and saintly Allegra Stratton (possibly named after a car and a cufflinks brand...think about it ) hair also by Nicky Clark?
So what do the planners do? Give her a huge interactive telly screen, and very little training, to pull up banal tweets from 'Doris from Dorking'. But for goodness sake no jokes Allegra, Screen Mc Screeny on a post-it note. Enough.
Didn't get the purpose of the Louis F. piece, think he was plugging something but too distracted by all the other bits of business and the urge to channel hop over to Murnaghan on SKY while he was on. Would never happen in Brian Waldens day, he'd immediately know.
Clearly they'll need other talking heads, must get my pundit credentials in before Ryland steals it and installs his favourites... Rylands Pesto on Sunday...you read it here first.
The Book Club segment wasn't. No books for review or advance notice for the viewer. All in all, the format needs work. Pesto needs proper prep. A good scriptwriter, no a REALLY good scriptwriter. No more umms and errs. THe voice work is impressive though, clearly training hard and it works. His bookers also needs huge gonads, as viable names will need more than a glass of warm Proseccio and an Addison Lee passenger friendly fast motorbike to get them all zig zagging around London on a Sunday.
Zig and Zag plus Danny Baker. Might be onto something here? What was the name of the Mastermind Taxi driver? Then Eddie the Eagle might be free... The Hamiltons, now UKIPPERS in Wales; that clearly is a leek too far...
JULIAN BRAY +44(0)1733 345581 Aviation Expert, Journalist & Broadcaster, Aviation Security & Airline Operations Expert, Travel / Maritime & Cruise Industry, NUJ, EQUITY, LIVE ISDN LINK, Broadcast ISDN COOBE ++44 (0)1733 345020 e&oe Old faithful NOKIA: 07944 217476 www.aviationcomment.com
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