SLOW TV FOR DANGEROUS DAYS

Reality TV? awful isn't it?. The thing is that reality TV morphed into a scripted pseudo reality, a route for civilians to become Z List Celebrities. The real reality is documentary in form and there are many excellent examples being made on all platforms.

What Reality TV, in essence, is now Art & Craft TV. From The Pottery Showdown to the Repair Shop via Masterchef we are now entertained by people being creative with their hands; now there's a concept for you. Jeff Ross and his Painting is an oasis of calm that has been rediscovered and is an antidote to the manufactured drama of the fare on ITV2 and The Reality Channels. George Clarke and his  Amazing Spaces features diverse people using their imagination as does Escape To The Chateau and they share an enthusiasm for working with ones hands.

Easy to be cynical about this new Art & Craft TV movement, and of course, there's money being made, but what's inescapable is that these programmes show us people actually making stuff.

This renaissance reminds me of Vision On, Out Of Town and How, of Jack Hargreaves, Tony Hart and Fred Dineage. These shows represent simpler times in challenging times and I find most of them highly therapeutic.