There’s a documentary on Channel 4 this evening entitled “The Real Pink Panther” which, as The Stage points out, is completely misnamed, as “The Pink Panther” was a jewel and not the criminal (“The Phantom”).
This was my comment for that story which wouldn’t seem to post, but was worth putting here:
I’ve got a broader problem with programmes like this. It’s the all round laziness in titling them. Seemingly, we can’t cope with a more general title for this series of documentaries. We, the audience, are so stupid that we’ll only watch docmentaries with the words “The Real…” in the title.
In the last week, we’ve had The Real Casino Royale and The Real Slumdog Millionaire on Sky One. Then there’ve been The Real Da Vinci Code, The Real James Bond, The Real Stephen Hawking, The Real Charlotte Greys, The Real John Betjamin, The Real Hustle, The Real Rain Man, The Real Dad’s Army, The Real Exorcist… And on and on and on, across most of our broadcasters.
Obviously this is a lazy way to get a known brand/TV series/movie associated with your documentary. But enough’s enough.
I don’t care if you’ve carefully fashioned the most beautifully put together documentary since The Ascent of Man; if it reaches the screens entitled “The Real…” then I simply won’t watch it.
Have we really reached the point where we can only use the Ronson “Says What It Is On The Tin” school of programme naming will let a documentary cut through? If we have, then we’re in a very sorry place.
“The Real…”
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3 responses to ““The Real…””
This is an EPG issue. People scan across multiple channels to see what’s on. You’ve got to grab their attention quickly (and without many words) so they consider what you’re showing.
Hi Adam,
Just to let you know that our temporary glitch with the blogs has been fixed, and your comment is now up there as well.
Thanks for contributing.
Scott
Matt,
Yes – but it doesn’t even accurately tell you anything about the programme.
“The Real Slumdog Millionaire”: Really? It’s based on a novel. It’s entirely fictional as is readily apparent to anyone who’s seen the film.
“The Real Pink Panther”: Is this about a real French detective who went about getting into all sorts of trouble? No it’s not. And I know that it’s not based on anything to do with the film even without seeing it.
Yes we live in a 1 second society where your interest has to be piqued or not. But if you make something good and call it something interesting, I might still watch.
Case in point: this Thursday sees episode one of Channel 4’s “Red Riding.” Is this something to do with the child’s fairytale? Far from it. I’m interested enough to find out that it’s based on a series of novels that I’ve been meaning to read anyway, and will be watching (or at least recording since I’m out that evening) the programme.
Scott:
Glad the blog’s fixed and thanks for posting my comment.