My first thought was "pull the other one" but no, Channel 4 really is planning a "Wank Week" of themed programmes about masturbation as their latest provocative wheeze.
Of course, if there's a storm of objection they could always tone it down to a "Tug TV" theme night or a "Come Zone" on E4.
The other surprise this week was the BBC's bold change of heart on Panorama - placing it back at the centre of its prime time weekday schedules after years in the Siberia of late Sunday night.
It then occurred to me that these two events were perhaps not entirely unrelated.
Channel 4 clearly feels it's worth risking the wrath of the Daily Mail to break the tossing taboo while the BBC wants to prove it still gives a toss about current affairs.
The truth is that Channel 4 couldn't get away with Wank Week if it didn't have a robustly groovy brand topped off with a shiny public affairs halo.
I loved the quote about the "Masturbate-a-thon" from Horseferry Road :- "We feel this is exactly the type of provocative and mischievous programming that Channel 4 should be covering" - in other words a few hundred men and women rubbing their genitals in public is not just some cheap publicity stunt but is actually part of the broadcaster's core mission.
If it actually gets to air I'm quite sure it will do extremely well - especially among young male viewers. The story, which first appeared on MediaGuardian.co.uk, attracted more hits than the rest of the media items on Guardian Unlimited put together.
What's more, at this summer's Edinburgh TV festival there's a session on why so many young viewers are deserting TV - and the name of that session is "I'd Rather have a Wank".
http://media.guardian.co.uk/columnists/story/0,,1824825,00.html
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
