A rare find - something that's not bad on C4

The main British TV channels used to have their own distinct personalities: BBC1, good at comedy, but stuffy and middle class in every other way; ITV, warm, cheeky, working class, occasionally crass; BBC2, posh, boring.

Then along came C4, which for many years was exotic, catering for minorities, daring, not timid about offending the establishment (all good characteristics, actually).

C5 …Hmmmm. Always been bland and crap, as far as I’m concerned. And now most of its shows are American. Hey guys! The population you are supposed to serve – guess what? – they’re NOT Americans.

But back to C4. It has lost its way and its identity in recent years, but at least it is producing some ‘original’ home-grown drama – the screen adaptation of ‘Any Human Heart’, William Boyd’s classic literary novel, for instance.
I haven’t seen this drama yet, so can’t comment, but I have read the novel which is very impressive.

The other night I did catch a new comedy sketch offering from C4, entitled The Morgana Show. Morgana Robinson is an accomplished comedian with strong character acting skills – a bit like Catherine Tate.

The new show is funny though not terribly subtle, and some of the sketches could do with reigning in a bit length-wise.

I liked Morgana’s send up of a certain type of fermale yoof and music presenter. In this case it was Fearne Cotton, I think, but such presenters all seem the same to me in their blonde vapidity, so I can’t be certain.

I also liked the over-the-top Hollywood harlot character, but, as I say, some of the sketches were too long, including the one about the daggy schoolboy who may or may not have had Tourette syndrome.

Overall though, Morgana is a good find, holding much promise.