Your guide to the week’s best TV
New for people watching
There is a pastime, a pursuit, and it is dubbed “people watching”, where people sit back and watch . . . people. Not people who are acting or anything like that. People who are just being people.
I suspect there have been times when we have all been guilty of it and to a degree it is basically a component of human nature.
You hear the comment sometimes, “What on earth is he wearing?”
It is a result of people-watching. One of the popular “theatres” for people watching is an airport terminal lounge where people have no choice but to seat themselves and wait for their flight.
There’s another common saying which relates to this situation. “Ooh you see some sights.”
People sit, wait, look at their watches then simply glance around and take in other peoples’ comings and goings.
It can actually become quite theatrical as all sorts of people from all sorts of lands, carrying and wearing all sorts of things, wander the great lounges either looking for a seat, or just glancing about looking at . . . people.
Another theatre for such things is an actual theatre . . . like the one they stage the Academy Awards in.
The people who attend appear to spend as much time glancing at each other as they do the stage.
So no real surprises in what this unusual pursuit has come to in terms of television value.
It started in the UK where a production company figured it would be intriguing to put a camera in a living room to capture peoples’ reactions and behaviour while they watched television.
Yep, the viewers ended up watching viewers and lo and behold it was a hit. Remarkable.
But it all goes back to human nature. There are a lot of people who want to watch other people simply being other people, but without making it obvious.
So being able to do in one’s own living room, knowing the people being watched can’t watch you back, seems to have rung a bell. A bell which was heard here as the concept has been picked up and rolls out on TV3 on Wednesday in the form of Gogglebox NZ. ● Gogglebox NZ, TV3 at 8.30pm Wednesday: You may watch this and start to feel anxious while you watch other people watching something else. You may experience a sort of Truman Show feeling. You are watching them
. . . is there someone, via the complexity of modern TVs that we don’t understand, watching you?
Basically, 10 standard Kiwi families in standard Kiwi homes are filmed watching television. And of course they all react and respond differently to what they are seeing.
It does indeed sound intriguing but it’s kind of like those castaway style shows
. . . they know there is a camera filming them so can they be really real?
Apparently yes, as according to some of those who featured in the UK form of the show they simply forgot the camera was there, And while some may see it as prying or spying it has to be noted that those who took part did so willingly, another pathway in the colourful world of “reality” television.
So could this be the first step in a sort of “pay to watch people watching something else” trend?
I can see it now. The front rows of cinemas across the world will feature seats facing the wrong way — seats facing back toward the throng who have turned up to watch some mindless special effects science fiction drama.
For people who want to watch the people who are watching the film.
Although I somehow don’t think the idea would catch on given there is a “who are you looking at?” culture in this country . . . and everywhere for that matter.
However, there are exceptions and there are occasions when people watching can be highly entertaining — especially if what you turned up to see isn’t exactly delivering the goods.
I can recall the final stages of an international cricket match where it was more entertaining to watch the antics of the visiting Barmy Army than it was the Kiwi tail-enders who were simply playing out time as they were about 7000 runs behind and there was about 12 minutes of scheduled play left.
There was one chap, in a rather fine Union Jack patterned shirt who looked like a young Benny Hill, playing a bugle
. . . beautifully.
There were standing ovations when he’d complete his tunes.
I think even the batsmen cast the odd glance his way between overs.
Yep, people watching people being people.
I’d personally rather watch the Moto GP.