Boredom express
A NEW ‘SLOW TV’ SHOW ON SBS HAS LEFT MANY VIEWERS DISTINCTLY UNDERWHELMED
IT was billed as Australia’s first foray into “slow TV” but this may have already been derailed Down Under after SBS’s underwhelming The Ghan.
The taxpayer-funded The Ghan: Australia’s Greatest Train Journey, a three-hour slog described as an “immersive journey on Australia’s most iconic railway”, aimed to put viewers in the driver’s seat of the iconic train as it travelled from Adelaide to Darwin.
Airing at 7.30pm on Sunday it was in a prime spot to help slow TV, which has been shown in Europe for years, build up a head of steam.
The problem was after just a few mind-numbing minutes aboard the famed journey – which featured nothing but the Outback and the railway tracks beneath – many people wanted to get off.
Frustrated viewers railed against the lack of commentary and sleep-inducing silence, labelling the show “boring”, “disappointing” and “like watching paint dry” on SBS’s official Facebook page.
And while the program ran uninterrupted by advertising, there were suggestions that the usually dreaded commercials would have been a welcome break in the monotony.
“This is such a brilliant ad for QANTAS,” Michael Leaney wrote. “The television is so dull I can only imagine how riveting the real journey would be.”
Added Phil Bingemann: “Wanted to watch this before deciding to book, first 20 mins was so boring that this is one customer whose mind was made up to go somewhere else.”
A spokeswoman for SBS, which is partially funded by the Federal Government, yesterday confirmed the broadcaster had financed the project.
“The program was fully funded by SBS. Great Southern Rail, the company which operates The Ghan train, made no financial contribution,” she said.
Slow TV originated in Europe a decade ago with hours of relaxing footage of ferry rides, live salmon fishing and even reindeer migration designed to offer viewers an escape from the frenetic pace of modern life.
But slow TV could be on the fast track to obscurity in Australia after the disappointing reaction to The Ghan, which attracted 400,000 viewers nationally.
SBS hoped viewers who stationed themselves in front of the TV for the whole 180 minutes would help out, but even those who had experienced The Ghan, a service that journeys from Adelaide to Darwin almost 3000km away, in real life railed against the show.
“Having done the trip in the Ghan this does nothing at all to promote what a wonderful trip it is,” wrote Julie Sutherland. But not all the feedback was negative, with some viewers welcoming a relaxing alternative to the frenetic television that usually dominates prime time.
On Twitter Mel L asked: “Can a train win Best New Talent at The Logies.”
SBS also said it was “thrilled with the success of the show”.