Mike: After the show, we chatted about where we were going and what backgrounds we were from. It turned out that she was born in the same hospital as me, on the same day! Jane loves to talk about herself, and I mean loves. It was hard to stop her after she got going; even the film crew had a struggle!
Jane: After the show, I got to know Mike better and realised that he wasn't such a bad catch after all. He listened to me carefully and was charming and polite, and if he weren’t wearing those terrible clothes, I would have been tempted to marry him right there and then.
Mike: On the way to the airport and on the plane, Jane’s verbal dioreah continued and I seriously began to wonder if I would manage to keep sane over the coming few days. Even when I said I was going to sleep, she still kept telling me about her friends in high school and what she did last summer.
Jane: When we were on the plane, Mike kept wanting to go to sleep. I didn't try and keep him awake as he was becoming less and less talkative which meant he was obviously tired.
Mike: We finally checked into the hotel that night. Just as I thought I had peace at last, Jane decided to ring me using the hotel phone and wanted to talk about what we were going to do the next day. I told her that I was very tired and would discuss it over breakfast with her, she agreed to this and I went to sleep.
Jane: The hotel was marvellous and I decided that we had just enough time to talk about tomorrow without the film crew watching our every move. I phoned Mike in his room but he was still tired and we decided to wait until the next morning.
Mike: The next day was a good one, Jane was warm and friendly and let me talk for once. We set off with the film crew to a crystal clear bay, where we were instructed to learn wind surfing. I can only speak for myself but I think that Jane and I had a great time, by the end of the dad we had fallen in dozens of times and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves doing it.
Jane: When we got to the beach where we were going to do some water sports, we were offered the chance of a walk round the ridge, just above where we were. I would have loved this but Mike didn't seem to want to leave the film crew and had already jumped on a wind surfer to show his defiance. I was totally surprised by this as I though Mike would have loved a romantic walk together.
Mike: In the evening, we went out to a restaurant. Jane was looking a bit tired so I made my best attempt to keep her happy. I tried to keep her amused and tried to start a conversation that she could get into but she didn't seem to want to talk.
Jane: That evening we were at a restaurant. As I had begun to see Mike in a new light, I wasn't sure whether I wanted to make the effort and be romantic. As we started to eat, I knew the holiday would end in tears. At first, Mike spilt wine all over the floor causing a great disturbance to the atmosphere of the restaurant and of our table, and then started to eat. While he was concentrating on eating, he was ok to be with, but after a glass of wine and then attempting to talk at the same time, his table manners were atrocious. He talked with his mouth full, slurped his food and ate noisily. Frankly, I was embarrassed to be with him. I tried to stop him from talking by answer bluntly, but that made him talk all the more. That night was a real let down.
Mike: On the last day, we were free to do what we wanted without interference. We decided to hire bikes and take a ride down the coastline, as it was a nice day. We chatted on the way and stopped at a local bar and had some lunch, the day went quickly and I enjoyed myself immensely.
Jane: The day before we came home, we both hired bikes and took a quick tour of the sights and sounds of the local coastline. Mike was a pleasure to be with, he looked really good after the first few miles, and had really started to 'glow'. We had fantastic discussions about what we had seen and done, dwelling on the happy memories of the past few days. That day was probably my best.
Mike: After the holiday, I think that I would like to follow a relationship with Jane. She made me feel as if I was 'there' and didn't just ignore me. She is a wonderful woman who I most certainly would like to see again.
Jane: After the holiday, I don't think that I will be seeing Mike again. He has a great character, but his great mind is let down by his actions. It's a question of would I like to talk to Mike again? Yes. But would I like to see him? Well...that depends on if he can improve, and that I doubt very much.
A new compère for the show would have to have the same kinds of attributes as Cilla herself. A female host would probably suit the show more, but either male or female would be acceptable. The new host would have to be out-going, friendly, quick-witted etc. They would have to keep the show 'live' and hold its electric atmosphere. They would have to react well to the situations on the show and also any unexpected ones that could arise. A catch phrase would go well for the host (as with Cilla) and an already established celebrity would probably fare better in the ever-changing studio conditions. A key attribute for someone who wanted to be a host would be the ability to get a person out of their shell, and make them feel at ease without 'taking the mick'. To encourage people to be funny would be a tremendous asset and humour to cope with this would be essential.
I would suggest Graham Norton for a new host. This is because he is already established, and has his own show already, with some parts very similar to blind date. He is out-going and funny, and does not feel inhibited when on television. He is used to any eventualities that may occur and is used to dealing with 'normal' people.
As a female compère alternative, Zoë Ball would fit in fairly well. As a veteran of television and radio, Zoë would be ideally suited to the job. She is very warm and friendly, and enjoys chatting to people, whatever their character. She is quite young and so would keep up with the pace of the show, while giving it extra notoriety because of her new techniques.
Part 2 - New Game Show
The new show would be called "Whose date is it anyway?". The host would be as described in part one (out-going, friendly etc).
The show would be as follows: -
A man/woman is introduced and then a set of women/men.
The man/woman describes himself/herself and then each of the set of women/men has a chance to describe themselves and give reasons why they should go on a date with the man/woman.
After each person describes themselves and why they should go on the date, the audience then gets to vote on whether the 'pickee' is suitable. The vote could also be expanded to a phone poll, as so to increase viewer’s participation.
By introducing the format of taking the choice away from the now redundant picker and toward the audience and viewing population, this would attract a large amount of interest.
People would enjoy deciding the fate of the pickee and have an attachment to the person who they have chosen. They would tune in to the show the following week to see how the date went that 'they' organised.
The "Whose Date Is It Anyway?" title reflects that although the pickee that is chosen goes on the date with the chosen for, the actual decision is down to the audience and viewer who then do not have any control over how the date goes.
I think that people would enjoy this show more than most because it allows them to have a say in the course of the action, almost to the point of making them feel 'powerful' or 'godlike'.
The audience knows that the contestants would not be on Blind Date if they did not want to be. The audience wants to have fun by egging on the contestants and to take part in the experience. Egging on guides the contestants and so they feel connected to them. This is part of the show and egging on also increases the excitement of everybody involved as they get "ooooo’s!" from the audience when something provocative is said and "ahhhh’s" when someone is let down or something 'heartfelt' happens.
Gender roles are reversed half way through the show when the traditional scene of boy asks girl is reversed. The lady is put in the 'powerful' pickee stool while the boys are placed out together 'fighting' for recognition. This make the men look slightly weaker and also forces the women to make suggestive remarks which is the usual trait for men. The idea of the show is to impress the qualities of yourself upon the other person thereby succeeding with the other person and getting the holiday. This also means that both the picker and the pickee’s are doing a performance to win a prize.
Blind Date contestant are carefully filtered so that the people with the best quality attributes (out-going, friendly etc) are used in the show, and people with lesser-wanted personalities (depressed, dull etc) are weeded out. The previous are picked so that they will fare well up on stage and so that the lights and cameras will bring out their bubbly characters. The contestants are 'performing' a script that is engineered not to be boring. This keeps the show popular and fast paced. Any contestants have to be very responsive to questions and have the ability to 'act'. The production team picks good 'actors' who can be manipulated to say the things that will make the show enjoyable, but not in a way so that it shows, or looks forced. The contestants make up their own lines and the funnier and wittier they can be, the better.
In Blind Date, people and relationships are won and evaluated in public. For example, the audience and the viewers look carefully at the people and listen to what they are saying, deciding who is suitable for who and how things may turn out if that combination of people are put together. The many people who manage to get through the shows seeding out in the production are the fully analysed by millions of people as to their general appearance and character. I do not agree with the proposition that Blind Date is prizeless. To have been picked to be on television is a prize in itself and although contestants can be themselves and answer questions that are not entirely difficult (it is not a general knowledge quiz), there is the prize of winning attention from the man/woman who picked you and also enjoying the holiday. It hardly needs to be said that winning also means more attention from the cameras the following week.
Programs like Blind Date are extremely popular for an number of reasons, the main being that life itself is about relationships with other people, and that most encounters are a gamble between giving the right impression and having someone like you, or giving the wrong impression and having that person avoid you. Seeing how two people who are complete strangers react to each other in that situation on television fulfils a need to see other people 'go through' the ordeal of chatting up each other and trying to make the outcome good for each of them.
Just because two people are together, it doesn't mean that they don't suit other people. Many people who watch Blind Date would probably enjoy walking down a street and deciding they liked a stranger, and have the chance to get on with them on the off chance.
As to the rights and wrongs of using 'normal' people on television, my opinion is a balanced one. I believe that if a person is informed properly of all eventualities that could occur and all actions and activities that they will have to take part in and still wants to volunteer, then they should be allowed to take part to the fullest extent. By denying some information about what may be to come, the person may feel let down and taken advantage of when they are forced to do and say things that they did not decide to do. If anything could happen that could affect their life seriously, for example affecting their jobs, friends, and future actions I believe that even if a volunteer is found, they should not be allowed to take part. Making a mess of someone’s life may make great television, but it is not the correct thing to do in the long run. The power of the camera can change even normal people. It should be controlled and monitored just like everything else.
