The student's guide to.....TELEVISION--Part 1

Picture this: A student returns after a gruelling day of college, barely managing to drag his person through the door and onto the couch. Any form of college literature, be it text books or photocopies of lecture notes, is gently guided to the bottom of an already dusty bookshelf. After managing to revive himself with the nearest source of sugar, the student reaches for the television remote. Unwind, he calls it. Relax, take a break….you get the idea. The idea however, is completely lost on his mother, who believes that her son should spend his time reading to improve his mind. No reading, he staunchly insists, after all isn’t that why he’s sent to college? Mum goes for a different approach, in an attempt to save this argument—what about reading for pleasure? She manages to procure, as if out of nowhere, a shiny edition of the first Harry Potter book. Oh, I think that’s playing tonight on HBO, the boy mutters before diving head first into the television listings. And with a large, intentionally audible sigh, Mum heads for the kitchen, the words “spoilt” and “eye doctor” emanating from her general direction.

IS THIS YOU? Well, we have some good and bad news. The bad news is that your mum is probably not going to cut you some slack anytime soon. The good news however, is that we have the perfect remedy for your hours of random, pointless, possibly fit-inducing channel surfing. A two-part guide to what exactly you should be watching, T.V programming that could do more than just kill off brain cells. We’re talking about shows that could influence your thinking, creativity levels and general awareness. Or maybe they’ll do exactly what T.V. was meant to do, provide some full-on entertainment. So read on and you’ll find that a television education is not limited to just the Discovery Channel or the 9 o’ clock news.

ON THE LOT: There seems to be no paucity of reality T.V, whether on the English channels or their vernacular counterparts. If it isn’t Simon Cowell playing bad cop on Fox’s American Idol, it’s Rakhi Sawant “being herself” on Sony’s Big Brother ( a diabolically poor rehash of the Channel 4 prototype, I must add). Two seasons on and you’re a victim of T.V show recycling, from “real” footage to Ryan Seacrest jokes to Tyra Banks outfits. And that’s why it came as quite a refresher when Mark Burnett (of The Apprentice fame) and Steven Spielberg teamed up to discover America’s next big director. For an hour every week, you are treated to some actual creativity and talent, courtesy budding young filmmakers from across the globe. And unlike shows like American idol, the studio audience doesn’t contain a phalanx of giggly 14-year old Lizzie Maguires, voting for the contest who they earnestly believe is “like so totally a hottie!” Maybe it’s just my untrained ear, but after a while all these singing sensations seem to sound the same—hitting every note with just as much precision and aplomb as the next guy. I suppose it then becomes all about the packaging or how old a certain contestant is. This is where On the Lot is different; unlike other reality shows, it doesn’t become a national obsession involving millions of crazy fans who create web pages dedicated to their favourite contestant’s fashion sense. The focus is on the art of storytelling that each director possesses. From outrageously funny plotlines to some mind-blowing visual effects, the directors are anything but amateur. Every week, the directors are given a theme within which they are expected to work. Their short films are screened the following week and subjected to a nation-wide vote. And you know the drill; the contestant with the fewest votes gets the boot.

Of course, even a Steven Spielberg offering isn’t infallible. As far as hosts go, Adrianna Lima is purely eye candy, much like her Rock Star: Supernova counterpart Brooke Burke. The judges Gerry Marshall (he directed Pretty Woman) and Carrie Fisher (no your eyes don’t deceive you, that is Princess Leia) are pretty inept. Their two cents are worth...well, two cents—especially the senile Gerry Marshall who will never fails to deliver his weekly brand of cheesy one-liners and quotes. Unsurprisingly, their opinions rarely have any significant bearing on the public vote. However, the saving grace is the guest judge who unexpectedly, is a pretty well-known member of the film fraternity and gives constructive advice. The show’s creators would’ve done well to capitalize on this and advertise the film personality’s presence in a bigger way.
All in all, this is one reality show that is definitely worth your primetime and it plays every Wednesday at 8.00 p.m. IST on Star World.