The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Great benefits from taking a chance on modern TV
You begin to discern the vulnerability behind their front
Apart from some Christmas specials, and Northern Exposure and Father Ted in the 1990s, I have not watched television for about 40 years.
The sparkle went out of it when first Pogles Wood and then Dad’s Army ended and I’ve always preferred Radio 4 and reading. In a moment of curiosity last week, however, I switched on a television and came across something called Channel 5.
It was broadcasting The Great British Benefits Handout in which three families were given £26,000 to seed self improvement.
I had read about such programmes and this seemed like another in a genre designed to make us sneer at those who struggle with life.
The families were brash, coarse and feckless so the producers had picked well. Tony from Hull, who spoke like a Northern club comic, was incoherent when handed a case full of cash.
A younger lad who looked handy with his fists splashed out on a racoon and a single mum you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark close populated her garden with ducks. Unfortunately, the racoon had to be sold when the young lad’s wife failed to pay a £500 fine and the debt collectors came knocking.
Classic sneer material. But as you became acquainted with the characters, you began to discern the vulnerability behind their front.
Tony seemed to hide behind this comedic persona to disguise his own disappointment with life and to carry his family through tough times.
He did pass his driving test, bought a van and started a trading business.
The younger man bought the racoon as part of a children’s entertainment business and he showed flashes of energy and enterprise.
Perhaps the single mother was the saddest case. She was a hard nut and it looked like she was refusing to look for work.
A psychologist detected she lacked confidence and soon had her trawling coffee shops dropping in her CV. With every door knock her confidence grew, the harshness softened and a new person emerged. Her old self had been a shell of protection. I’ll certainly watch again if I can find the programme among the hundreds on modern televisions.