STAR RATING: ***** The Works **** Just Misses the Mark *** That Little Bit In Between ** Lagging behind * The Pits
It used to be that America was the land where anybody could be a star, but that is increasingly how it is becoming over here now, and not for the better. A few years ago, Piers Morgan was the high-flying editor of the widely read UK tabloid The Daily Mirror, until a well-publicized scandal in 2004 involving the publishing of fake photos showing Iraqui prisoners being tortured by UK troops put an end to that. Fired from his job and with not a lot else to do but sit around twiddling his thumbs, Piers was left to think about his role at The Mirror, in particular about how he played a big part in building up the careers of untalented, pointless celebrities who had no real claim to fame and the situation as regards that nowadays, with the likes of Jodie Marsh, Abi Titmuss and Rebecca Loos all becoming house-hold names despite having no real claim to be there. Piers has seen the error of his ways (or so he says!) and now wants to do what he can to stop these people getting any more publicity oxygen.
A year is a fairly long time to sit around doing nothing, especially if you're wondering what happened to a life where you had a job that once raked in quite a bit of dough. So, with this documentary, you have to wonder whether Morgan was trying to play to the public conscious a little by commenting on how there's too many pointless celebrities about, like he played up to it by feeding them all the gossip on them during all those years when he was a newspaper editor. In fact, he even sort of admits this at the beginning when he presents the thesis of the show.
Everyone gets a chance to put their points across, from established celebrities like Robin Gibb, Martine McCutcheon, even Michael Gambon (all of whom don't seem to think very highly of the modern trend of 'becoming famous for doing nothing', unsurprisingly, I suppose) to those that are getting the most flak at the moment, such as Loos, Titmuss and even one or two that appeared on Big Brother, most of whom try and justify their celebdom, again, unsurprisingly, I guess. There's even a Top Ten Most Pointless Celebrities List, as well as a chance for some of those with no discernible talent to show themselves in a different light.
Overall, what we have here is a balanced, well made and interesting documentary but one where you have to wonder whether the presenter is really expressing his frustrations or just trying to get back in the public's good books. ****
It used to be that America was the land where anybody could be a star, but that is increasingly how it is becoming over here now, and not for the better. A few years ago, Piers Morgan was the high-flying editor of the widely read UK tabloid The Daily Mirror, until a well-publicized scandal in 2004 involving the publishing of fake photos showing Iraqui prisoners being tortured by UK troops put an end to that. Fired from his job and with not a lot else to do but sit around twiddling his thumbs, Piers was left to think about his role at The Mirror, in particular about how he played a big part in building up the careers of untalented, pointless celebrities who had no real claim to fame and the situation as regards that nowadays, with the likes of Jodie Marsh, Abi Titmuss and Rebecca Loos all becoming house-hold names despite having no real claim to be there. Piers has seen the error of his ways (or so he says!) and now wants to do what he can to stop these people getting any more publicity oxygen.
A year is a fairly long time to sit around doing nothing, especially if you're wondering what happened to a life where you had a job that once raked in quite a bit of dough. So, with this documentary, you have to wonder whether Morgan was trying to play to the public conscious a little by commenting on how there's too many pointless celebrities about, like he played up to it by feeding them all the gossip on them during all those years when he was a newspaper editor. In fact, he even sort of admits this at the beginning when he presents the thesis of the show.
Everyone gets a chance to put their points across, from established celebrities like Robin Gibb, Martine McCutcheon, even Michael Gambon (all of whom don't seem to think very highly of the modern trend of 'becoming famous for doing nothing', unsurprisingly, I suppose) to those that are getting the most flak at the moment, such as Loos, Titmuss and even one or two that appeared on Big Brother, most of whom try and justify their celebdom, again, unsurprisingly, I guess. There's even a Top Ten Most Pointless Celebrities List, as well as a chance for some of those with no discernible talent to show themselves in a different light.
Overall, what we have here is a balanced, well made and interesting documentary but one where you have to wonder whether the presenter is really expressing his frustrations or just trying to get back in the public's good books. ****