Recent content by Slave

As an unapologetic lover of whimsical early Britney, I LOVE IT. And I don't even care if it's just been created by AI.

Indeed! Some may baulk at the suggestion, but I certainly wouldn't be opposed to trialling Eurovision on ITV precisely because it's one of those circumstances where they have a much more immediate commercial interest in who represents the United Kingdom. Regardless of how the BBC chooses the...

As a viewer, I have two major observations of ITV: I don't particularly like how transparently they manipulate viewer votes to suit their narrative. For example, Love Island frequently flits between "vote to save" and "vote to leave" with no rhyme or reason, depending on which couples are at...

This is so depressing. OK, I get that, given the subject matter, it will have little international appeal. Yet, we're talking about a show with almost 10 million viewers! If ITV can't profit from that, it just reaffirms why they need to pump out three hours of substandard Coronation Street...

I guess it just goes to show how poor uptake had been beforehand. Mr Bates vs. The Post Office definitely felt like a bit of a watershed moment for ITVX, though. I'm inclined to think the timing of it helped immensely; it felt very much like coming in the New Year lull, people perhaps had a...

Assuming it's from about series 11 onwards that overlaps with Vera, so it's been a pretty reliable performer across that timespan...except for the most recent series. Not sure what would've happened there...

I don't watch Vera, so I can't attest to its appeal, but I'd guess it's somewhat driven by having an older woman in a role that has been historically male-dominated (A Touch Of Frost, Inspector Morse) and Brenda Blethyn playing it very well. I'm not sure Ridley is quite so unique in that...

At a guess, I'd say Midsomer Murders might be a reasonably consistent performer? I have no doubt it's drifted downwards somewhat after 23(!) series', though.

I won't make a habit of this because it's very much @lolly's domain, but here's the equivalent week just five years ago: 1. Line Of Duty 10.335m 2. Britain's Got Talent 10.117m 3. Coronation Street 7.227m 4. The Bay 6.812m 5. The Widow 6.675m 6. The Victim 6.511m 7. Emmerdale 6.179m 8. Antiques...

I agree it isn't likely. However, one political commentator did make the point this morning that although this is an elected Parliament, Rwanda was not a manifesto policy, so the usual argument of "it's the will of the people" doesn't quite hold the same clout as it might in other circumstances.

I think it's almost worse than that! At least in the 90s, despite the front-loaded push, many tracks still hung around the chart and sold more in the long run than they managed in the first week. Now feels more comparable to the nadir of the mid-'00s when sales were way down, and, in most cases...

I agree that Golden was marketed really well. But it's very much the exception. Disco, I would wager, dropped off a cliff after Magic to most people beyond the fans.

It's typical BMG, no? They did it with the last few Steps albums too. Admittedly, I know Tension isn't really comparable to What The Future Holds in terms of how an album campaign could have played out, but they seem to go for front-loaded sales every time, with little to no interest in anything...

I do love a bit of VAR drama, but that was a harsh end to the match for Coventry.

I think this is it, essentially. I completely see why actual Coronation Street fans are aghast at what's currently happening. To me, the show currently comes across as a bad parody of itself all too often. But the ratings speak volumes: it's seen by more people than its rivals (regardless of...