I’ve been following these two commentators for a while now, and although alot of their stuff has been stellar, for instance Peep Show is one of my favourite shows and Screenwipe was a favourtie of mine, I can’t help the fact that with repeated viewing and reading of their opinion pieces in the Guardian, these guys are just churning out more of the same cynical format that it’s become banal and close to borderline smugness.
I just can’t shake off the fact that the way in which they convey their opinions about things they dislike has become very formulaic and predictable.
However, what irks me more is that it has produced a following of people who think along the lines of what they do which makes them even more annoying, because it sparks a thousand imitators.
If I had to choose though between them both I’d pick Brooker hands down, has anyone else had a similar feeling towards either of these two people?
See where you’re coming from. I’m not tired of them myself but only because I barely watch tv. I like David Mitchell, but he’s not particularly funny in himself, so I could certainly see him wearing out his welcome.
Brooker has been superb for years with his Guardian piece so it’s natural that it will feel over familiar at times.
Brooker’s TV stuff has been on repeat mode for a while now. Newswipe, How TV Ruined Your Life and his segments on 11oCL are all pretty monothematic. He even reuses the same BG music a lot. I don’t find Mitchell quite as bad.
I still find Mitchell excellent when he’s on a panel show or something similar. He is probably the quickest witted person around. I’ve never been overly impressed with his column or pre-wriiten rants, but when its off the cuff, its still top notch.
Brooker has shifted his persona a bit, and it doesn’t work so well for me. He said when he stopped writing his screenburn column because he was finding it difficult slagging people off, when he might find himself sat next to them on a panel show the following week. I think a large part of his appeal was that he was utterly merciless with pointless celebrities, and it struck a chord with a lot of people. Now he has become part of the entertainment mainstream, and it has definitely blunted his appeal.
Also, he should concentrate on his wipe shows, which I would say are some of the best TV ever made (Newswipe in particular, which was incredibly informative, and incredible funny at the same time). All his other shows tend to come off as cheap copies in comparison.
Funny that, sounds like he’s been co-opted by the establishment, but that’s the thing, his screenwipe format has begun to be imitated, and I’m not talking just about the programme, but his persona as well.
I beg to differ about David Mitchell, he’s on too many panel shows at the moment, which is contributing to my fatigue, actually in fact, could there be a glut of panel shows, which all seem to be trying to act like the next Have I Got News For You, but that’s another thread.
David Mitchell would be the first to admit that he’s smug. He’d probably admit it in a way that even sounded smug. He is a bit overexposed at the moment though - I find him funny, but even too much of a good thing can make you feel sick of it.
Charlie Brooker’s marrying Konnie Huq; it’s now kinda hard for him to criticise people just like Konnie Huq.