One of the perceived problems – or perhaps even injustices – in the United States is that, to be a newscaster or a television personality, you basically have to be good looking. Talented or knowledgeable ugly people need not apply – and the same goes for people with any other physical impediments.
It’s not fair, to be sure, but in a highly competitive market, “fair†isn’t what wins out.
That’s not necessarily true in Britain. In fact, that’s one of the reasons we love the British. They can be so darned quirky sometimes.
Nothing could epitomize this more than the fact that Jonathan Ross is a popular television and radio personality.
He first came to my attention on the BBC series, Japanorama, and then Jonathan Ross’ Asian Invasion and now a new series of Japanorama – or, as “Wossy†himself would call them: Japanowama and Jonathan Woss’ Asian Invasion. With his freakishly bad clothes, weird haircut and rhotacistic inability to pronounce the letter “r†he is an odd duck indeed to be a TV and radio personality.
When I first saw him, I just assumed that they found the weirdest guy they could to talk about the weirdness that is Japan. Clearly he is a fan of the Japanese culture, and Asian cinema and is well-versed on the subject and so a reasonable choice, at least on paper.
I can only imagine that the powers-that-be were just laughing the butts off watching the “Wewease Bwian!†skit from Monty Python’s Life of Brian when they decided to employ Wossy for Jonathan Ross’ World of Robin Hood – where for an hour, he repeatedly mangles “Wobin Hoodâ€, “Mawionâ€, “Shewood fowwest†and the “Shewiff of Nottingham.â€
A speech impediment is not funny – in fact, I spent a couple years in speech therapy for a lazy “s†– and so every-time I watch Wossy, I feel guilty because I can’t help laughing. It must be the bright, baggy suits. Yeah, that’s it.
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Interesting to see how a rather odd British institution is viewed from abroad!
You should know the BBC just gave Wossy £18m for 3 years; he not only hosts the most popular chat show but also the flagship BBC1 Film series and has his own radio show too. So he’s quite popular, then.
I first came across him in the early ’90s, he was doing a chat show on Channel 4 back then, quite irreverent and very “new”. His purile humour irritated me; I’m no fan. But I do admire his enthusiasm, even though it is often for things that don’t interest me (Martial Arts movies, Russ Meyer etc) he is so enthusiastic it’s hard not to be affected.
So if it’s quirky to go for a presenter for their knowledge and interest rather than their diction… then I’m happy to be quirky.
Interesting to see how a rather odd British institution is viewed from abroad!
You should know the BBC just gave Wossy £18m for 3 years; he not only hosts the most popular chat show but also the flagship BBC1 Film series and has his own radio show too. So he’s quite popular, then.
I first came across him in the early ’90s, he was doing a chat show on Channel 4 back then, quite irreverent and very “new”. His purile humour irritated me; I’m no fan. But I do admire his enthusiasm, even though it is often for things that don’t interest me (Martial Arts movies, Russ Meyer etc) he is so enthusiastic it’s hard not to be affected.
So if it’s quirky to go for a presenter for their knowledge and interest rather than their diction… then I’m happy to be quirky.
I’m certainly a believer in function over form, but perhaps the bias is culturally ingrained in on those of us on this side of the pond by a lifetime of bad TV. I can’t help thinking, though, “Couldn’t they find someone with the knowledge, enthusiasm and good diction?”
Still, any man who likes Doctor Who can’t be all bad in my book, and any man who renews his wedding vows at Hello Kitty World (Sanrio Puroland) in Japan has a fan in form of my wife.