C4 Hot List (Channel 4)

Member Name: TigerTiger

Product:	Channel 4
Date:	15/04/01 (833 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great variety of programmes; always something to watch; things for the whole family; where reality tv is at

Disadvantages: Could have better films; some dodgy game shows; can be just plain wierd at times

What's hot and what's not on Channel 4???

Of all the 5 terrestrial tv channels I have to say that Channel 4 gets the majority of my tv viewing. The main reason for this is the diversity of programmes that this offer, from films to sitcoms to soap operas to documentaries, to comedies, it has it all and some.

Channel 4 definitely comes to life at night-time when often is shows those kind of risque programmes that you would just never find on BBC 1 or 2. I'm not talking about porn or erotica (although at times you can find it on there), I'm talking about no holds bared documentaries,. For example, last weekend (April 7th 2001) they showed a documentary called "Hard Core" which traced a British single mother's pursuit of fame and fortune in the US porn industry. I was actually quite shocked by what I saw and the sheer honestly and grit of the programme. It didn't sugar coat it, the US porn industry was shown for what it is, but to do that it had to show the truth and that meant some shocking images and scenes.

**WHAT'S REALLY POPULAR ON CHANNEL 4???**

After reading Heat magazine this week it tells me that the top 10 most popular programmes on Channel 4 for the week ending March 18th were as follows:

1. Celebrity Big Brother
2. So Graham Nortan
3. Brookside
4. Hollyoaks
5. ER
6. Countdown
7. Pet Rescue
8. Time Team
9. The fine art of crime
10. Grand designs

As you can see a real mixed bag of programmes, for all viewers and preferences. Let us consider in more detail the range of programmes that Channel 4 has to offer:

~~Sitcoms/ drama series~~~~

There is little doubt that channel 4 is sitcom land on terrestrial tv. Channel 4 offers it all. It has ER, Frasier, Friends, Sex and the city, Ally McBeal,Spaced, the West Wing, Angel,Dawson's creek and Spin city. For any lover of the all American drama series it is tv para
dise. Ok, E4 may be slightly ahead, but for those people that don't have satellite, cable and digital it is the next best thing. As well as showing the latest episodes it often features repeats, especially of Friends and ER. As you can see ER is by far the most popular of these type of programmes at present.

~~~Soap Operas~~~

I guess the premier Channel 4 soap is Brookside (Premier?). Yes, the Liverpudlian soap contines to pull in 3.87 million viewers per episode on average with it's wide ranging plots. From infertility to infidelity it has the lot. In the past Brookside has hit the headlines with some of its plots. The other C4 soap that has been in the news a great deal with it's controversial headlines is Hollyoaks and I have to admit to being a fan of this myself. Originally created for the teen viewers it has successfully managed to appeal to the whole family and pulls in 3.82 viewers on average per episode. Channel 4 can't quite compete with the 18 and 15 million of Eastenders and Coronation Street respectively, but it's soaps remain popular never the less.

~~~Comedy~~~

With Channel 4's 2nd most popular programme being So Graham Norton it is little suprise that the channel does show some pretty good comedies. Certainly there are lots of things which manage to make me chuckle!! Comedy shows range from the funny to the just surreal. Past shows that have been viewed by many include Ali G, The 11'o clock show, Eurotrash, Smack the Pony, The Adam and Joe show, Whose line is it anyway and Rory Bremmner. Usually there is one hilarious lighthearted programme on each night. In true channel 4 programme the comedies can be quite risky at times, pushing tv comedy to its limits. Some of the most refreshing comedy programmes on the whole of terrestrial though.

~~~Film~~~

Channel 4 has it's spin off film company Film 4 which are behind a number of great British films, thus at times it ca
n ensure premier viewing of some top films. ON the whole it shows a few good movies each week as it managed to get some good sponsorship deals, Stella artois for example. Last week for example in the evening we were shown "The mirror has 2 faces" and "Steel Magnolias". These are just the prime time movies, in fact there are many more, those in the day time and those in the early hours of the morning. I have to be honest and say that I don't think I ever watched a daytime movie on C4, they always seem to be quite old and the movies that went straight to video. However, I have watched the odd late night movie (no not the erotica ones ;O)
however, they do a good line in American meladrama tv movies which is pretty good to keep you awake whilst studying!! Ok, subrscribing to Film 4 will get you a lot more decent films, however, there are worse things to watch....go to BBC 2 for example!

~~~Documentary and reality tv~~~

For me one of the best aspects of C4 are the documentarys and reality tv shows. I mean who can forget the phenomenal success of Big Brother last year, there is obviously a big market for that kind of thing and C4 has filled it. Just recently celebrity Big Brother was the most popular show on C4. Another great example is Shipwrecked where they stranded 18 people between the ages of 18 and 25 on a desert Island and let us watch how they coped. The second series has recently concluded, however another is one its way. If you can class chat shows as reality tv then you can get a daily dose of Ricki Lake or Montel Jordan.

Channel 4 is always showing documentaries on topical issues as well as some quite strange things. I recently enjoyed the Living life by the book series in which they made people try and live by various self help books like "Men are from mars, Women are from Venus" . They also had a series last year where people got to go back in their past and meet their exes to see what went
wrong and what led them to where they are today. That was really interesting, although at times I wondered at people's motives. A lot of programmes of this type which have interested me are the crime ones. At the minute they are showing a series entitled, "The real cracker" and it talks to real like criminal profilers. To be honest this is the most interesting side of C4 for me and I look forward to seeing what they will do next.

~~~Music programmes~~~

If you are interested in music programmes then you may be a little disappointed in C4's offerings. For a start there are not that many music oriented programmes. One of the only ones that I can think of is the top ten series, which has had the bes selling top ten records in many different categories, the top 10 Christmas songs, top 10 holiday songs and top 10 songs to break up to. This is a great series though and is usually on a Saturday night. Otherwise you are limited to the music programmes on T4 the kids/teen section of C4.

~~~Game and Quiz shows~~~

I'm not a big fan of game and quiz shows, I watch Who Want's to be a millionnaire and the Weakest link every now and again, but that is it. However, if Channel 4 is famous for any quiz show it has to be Countdown. In the week days it also features Fifteen to One which in my opinion is pretty dire viewing, however, a lot of people do seem to like it!

~~~Kids shows~~~

In the daytime and at the weekends kids are catered for pretty well on C4. Perhaps not as well as on C4, but there are more child/teen oriented tv series. Everuy day from 9.10am to 12 noon there is a selection of kids programmes. T4 has been created specifically to appeal to the teen viewer, athough me and my friends are all in our twenties and we still watch it, but then to be honest that may be more to do with our liking for the host, the gorgeous Dermot O'Leary. Nevertheless, T4 is a great section of C4 and runs most
evenings for an hour or so to introduce programmes like Dawson's Creek and then on Saturday and Sunday mornings.


**HOW DOES IT REALLY COMPARE TO THE OTHER 4 TERRESTRIAL CHANNELS??**

For me C4 is one of the better terrestrial tv programmes, I think is has a certain edge on the others. BBC 1 and 2 although they can have some quality dramas, tend to be a little conservative. I like the way in which C4 pushes the boundaries at times. ITV meanwhile also has some great shows, however it is too busy trying to compete with the BBC and so sometimes is looks more like BBC3 with adverts. As for Channel 5, well need I say anymore, I watch that for the cheesiness factor and no more. Come week nights if I am browsing the tv guide looking for something to watch I will check out C4 first.

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