Can someone explain the appeal of shows like Strictly Come Dancing and XFactor?

[NotAllThere]

Quite, but my mother subjects herself (and anyone else in the living room) to it and she is not stupid. It must satisfy some psychological need and I'd dearly love to know what it is. It's not even something you can relax/turn-off and watch because the incessant noise and flashing is actually tiresome to view.

These shows are not put together by accident - I'd actually like to know the psychology behind the shows.

If you start watching it, it becomes compulsive viewing. You get caught up in the stories.

That's why, when a new series starts, I avoid it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WT7yxvAHnUE

[mudskipper]

Outsourcing your plotting? Next thing you will be getting Bobs in to conduct the revolution!

No, I'm good at revolting.

[d000hg]

No objection to the idea of such shows as Saturday night family TV although I don't like them. I do object that we have to have so many, and every "big new show" is just another rehash of the format. Let ITV have X-factor, BBC have Dancing and leave it at that.

[darmstadt]

No objection to the idea of such shows as Saturday night family TV although I don't like them. I do object that we have to have so many, and every "big new show" is just another rehash of the format. Let ITV have X-factor, BBC have Dancing and leave it at that.

Although I think they're all pretty turgid and non-watchable, people seem to forget that back in the days of old, TV wasn't much different of a weekend. You had programmes like the Generation Game, Sale Of The Century, New Faces, 3-2-1, Family Fortunes, Opportunity Knocks and so on....

[mudskipper]

Although I think they're all pretty turgid and non-watchable, people seem to forget that back in the days of old, TV wasn't much different of a weekend. You had programmes like the Generation Game, Sale Of The Century, New Faces, 3-2-1, Family Fortunes, Opportunity Knocks and so on....

Indeed, Bruce has been going for a fair few decades...

[SueEllen]

Indeed, Bruce has been going for a fair few decades...

He's in his 80s so only one or two more to go.

[barrydidit]

He's in his 80s so only one or two more to go.

Unless Cheeseslice's film plot is to be believed...

Even scarier is that he is able to see that some usually normal-looking people are in fact ugly aliens in charge of the massive campaign to keep humans subdued

[minestrone]

x factor used to be decent when it stuck to being a Saturday night entertainment show in which you got a few fruit loops to laugh at.

It started to go wrong when they moved part 2 to a Sunday night, the show was not good enough to follow for 2 evenings in a row. After Leona Lewis done quite well in America they got the impression they were there to find genuinely talented people where really if you watch the show you kind of know that is not going to be the case with the cretins that turn up for audition. They should just bin it now.

[d000hg]

Although I think they're all pretty turgid and non-watchable, people seem to forget that back in the days of old, TV wasn't much different of a weekend. You had programmes like the Generation Game, Sale Of The Century, New Faces, 3-2-1, Family Fortunes, Opportunity Knocks and so on....

True, as Saturday night TV it's just fine really...

x factor used to be decent when it stuck to being a Saturday night entertainment show in which you got a few fruit loops to laugh at.

It started to go wrong when they moved part 2 to a Sunday night, the show was not good enough to follow for 2 evenings in a row. After Leona Lewis done quite well in America they got the impression they were there to find genuinely talented people where really if you watch the show you kind of know that is not going to be the case with the cretins that turn up for audition. They should just bin it now.

Well put on the whole although I disagree it doesn't turn up some really talented people now and then.

[xoggoth]

I can't believe, on a CUK discussion of Come Dancing, nobody has mentioned nice tits. I certainly won't.