Better Quality (Channel 4)

Member Name: SkyscraperFanClu

Product:	Channel 4
Date:	21/04/09 (6 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A good range of shows across most genres especially comedy .

Disadvantages: Some poor films, some poor production on certain shows

Of the five terrestrial television channels, Channel 4 is probably the best. Their range of programmes is very broad and, though I cannot claim to enoy everything they show, is generally of very high quality.
Channel 4 usually compares well with the opposition, providing more quality entertainment than programmes that are likely to attract huge audiences. Take soap operas, for exmaple. While BBC and ITV flog the traditional, popular and intolerably bland "Eastenders" and "Coronation Street" respectively, both of which regularly draw over 16 million viewers per episode, Channel 4 targets more specific tastes with its' two soaps.

"Brookside" is noted for being more realistic and grittier in approach compared to its' competitors. While this creates a more engaging and rewarding programme, the characters are usually a little more complicated and harder to warm to than the one-dimensional, predictable characters of "Coronation Street", for eample. The other Channel 4 soap opera "Hollyoaks" is deliberately targeted at a yougner audience and therefore targets youth-orientated issues. Both sacrifice popualrity for audience specialisation.
This is not to say that Channel 4 is without its traditional favourites. At the teatime pre-5pm slot, while ITV and BBC capture the younger audience end of the market with children's programmes, Channel 4 has two hugely popular and firmly established quizzes. "15 to 1" is a competitive quick-fire general knowledge game hosted by the likeable William G. Stuart. "Countdown" which follows is presented by the marvellously eccentric Richard Whitely and is a highly original game based on word and number puzzles.

Channel 4 also show a large number of music programmes, including documentaries on more credible musicians than the pop stars favoured by ITV. They also cover dance and music festivals, and show the interesting 'Top Ten' series which focuses on the best performers of a particular music taste or genre.
A particular success of Channel 4 has been their willingness to import some of the major American television shows onto British screens, with huge rewards for the channel. The two hugely popular comedies "Frasier" and "Friends" were particular coups for the channel, especially when they succeeded in securing new episodes of the latter before they reached Sky. These are, however, starting to look a little long in the tooth. The same is definitely true of the medical drama "E.R.". The newer comedy "Ally McBeal" has not been quite as successful as anticipated, although the teen soap-drama "Dawson's Creek" is going from strength to strength.

Channel 4 does have a deserved reputation for being a good channel for comedy. In addition to the major American series it was the channel that brough the excellent "Father Ted", and currently boasts contributions from Graham Norton and Rory Bremner. They also dabble with some interesting dramas, with the new series "Teachers" arousing some interest, and the bizarre "Metrosexuality" arising from the ashes of "Queer As Folk". These are best described as programmes you will either enjoy immensely or detest, which is true of many of Channel 4's programmes.
You can usually expect Channel 4 to add some kind of innovation or new ideas to their programmes. It was Channel 4 who constructed the immensely successful game show / fly-on-the-wall documentary hybrid "Big Brother" after it began to make waves on the continent. It was also Channel 4 who struck the best balance between having a modern-looking news programme (like Channel 5) and a sincere, serious approach (like BBC).

In terms of sport Channel 4 have been showing the excellent worldwide sports programme "TransWorld Sport" for some time, allowinf more obscure sports to reach terrestrial screens. Channel 4's production of the cricket coverage has also been very well received as a major improvement over the old BBC approach. Hopefully their recent acquisition of the right to broadcast the FIA World Rally series will show the same kind of quality.
There are only a few sour points to mention. While Channel 4's films are often very good, especially those produced through "FilmFour", they often frequently use old-fashioned, dated and low-quality films to fill awkward time slots. Midday and sunday are particular graveyards for cheap films. Production quality of original shows occasionally dips, especially with the frankly terrible "Driven", a less enjoyable variation of the BBC's "Top Gear".

On the whole I find more worthwhile programming on Channel 4 than any other terrestrial channel. In terms of quality it frequently outshines the best of the other channels, and rarely stoops to the tedious audience-grabbing depths of ITV.

Summary: Better Quality