I have never been a great one for watching television. When living in England my viewing was confined to the news programmes, comedy series and documentaries. Of this last category, one of my favourite presenters was David Attenborough. He was unobtrusive, a voice-over adding to what was happening on the screen with interesting detail. The programme was not about him, but about the topic. That situation appears to have changed.
Last night, I watched part of a documentary on silverback gorillas. I did not catch the name of the presenter, but he worked in the Attenborough mode, allowing one to study the gorillas without distraction. I then switched to BBC 1 to watch something called ‘Secret Britain’. What a contrast! The camera was dominated by the two presenters, particularly by the woman. Spending all of two or three minutes on the ‘secret’, the pair were pictured walking from one spot to another, speaking directly into camera or standing to admire the view being described. The producers of this shallow tripe clearly thought the viewer would be more interested in watching the behind of the female presenter as she walked, than in the view she was there to present. This was straight egovision, and uninteresting for it.
Boadicea's Chariot 
yes, so much TV is like that. Even top sport is infested with self-obsessed ‘experts’. I often watch TV sport with the sound off and restrict my viewing otherwise to crime series and films.
I couldn’t agree more, in fact, many here are complaining about such things Tom. They also seem to think everyone wants to watch reality TV 24/7, total garbage, all of it.
If you like nature programs, look out for Johnny Kingdom, he’s a wildlife cameraman. Google him and you’ll see his place on Exmoor. He’s such a down to earth family man, but his love of wildlife and nature is lovely to watch.
PS, Val, I agree. The latest fad is HD series about ‘extreme’ everything – nature, climbing, surfing, gardening, with breathless Antipodean narrators emptying themselves of superlatives.
All part of the general dumbing-down, Tom. A dumb proletariat is biddable.
It is lazy television, I believe. The Secret Britain series could have been first class had more time and thought been devoted to each ‘secret’. As it is, we raced on the first programme from the tip of Cornwall to deepest Kent. Superficial!
It is the breathless ingenue voices that puke me out!