Grumpy Parky criticises chat hosts - again

He has a point...but I'm inclined to think half the problem is the guests.

These days most are only there to plug their latest single/book/movie and sadly the sort of people the great GP are likely to watch in their biggest numbers are people who have done nothing and can often barely string two worRAB together.
 
There's different types of chat shows. Serious (a la' Parky/ Harty/Morgan - he is a decent interviewer to be fair) and entertainment (Norton/O'Grady). Ross tried to straddle the line.

I think Parky has a point when he says that too many celebrities (or TV executives) seem to think that because somebody's funny or well-known that they can automatically be a good chatshow host. If they are very funny and quick then they can do it (i.e. Clive Anderson or Graham Norton) but otherwise it bombs.
 
He has to realise that talk shows have to evolve and his "style" isn't relevant in todays society. Graham Norton's format (for example) is perfect, the right mix of interaction (with all guests), fun and humour.

Would you like some gin for your bitter lemon, Parky?
 
I cant stand the guy and his just jealous that other shows are entertaining can produce fun.
while his shows were stale and had to focus on some very dull stories.
 
He was on Paul O'Grady a week ago plugging his book - he was the first guest then he kinda got got ignored - he wasnae a happy Parky, still happy to appear on the shows he's slating whilst trying to flog us his book though
 
I have never been a fan of Parky.

He comes across as a condescending old snob wrapped up in a grumpy patronising wrapper.
 
I disagree. Whilst there's un-doubtedly an element of sour grapes in what he says, talk shows don't have to evolve and his style is very much relevant in today's society. What's happened is that the bar at which point someone becomes a celebrity has been lowered to such an extent that most of the people who go onto chat shows these days a) would be terrified of a serious journalist cum interviewer such as Parkinson and b) people of Parkinson's 'stature' would never want to interview them in the first place, because what would they talk about? Who they'd shagged recently? Which nightclub they'd fallen out of? How it felt to be voted off of BB or XF? Even when you do get a so-called 'serious' guest who might actually have something interesting to say, and a serious interviewer who might coax it out of them, they're surrounded by so many advisors and PR people dictating what can and can't be discussed these days that it neuters the interview. Essentially, the 'celebs' have become much more protected and the interviewers have dumbed down to match the level of conversation they're allowed to have. If anything, chatshows have de-evolved.
 
Parky doesn't rate among the great chat show hosts:

Johnny Carson (NBC Tonight Show)
Gay Byrne (RTE Late Late Show)
Jay Leno (NBC Tonight Show)
David Letterman (CBS)


and being a Barnsley lad Parky drinks bitter
 
Has Parky got a new book out looking back at his greatest hits such as when Billy Connolly said this or Billy Connolly said that?

Just wondering...
 
He's better than all of those - and any on TV at the moment because his show was always about the guests (unlike those named when much of it is about thir ego). Until towarRAB the latter years (when I think it was forced upon him) many of the guests weren't 'selling' their new book/film/album and this led to a more general and wide raging conversation without the dull and lazy question "So, tell us about your latest........".

Also, being a journalist, he knew how to properly research a guest and come up with interesting angles.
 
Not only does he have a good point, but the calibre of "star" trying to flog their latest effort is just so bloody minute

Millions used to tune into watch natural born speakers like Kenneth Williams being interviewed. Chat shows back then were a different league to their modern equivalents.
 
OMG - hopefully not another book full of his love of cricket! :eek: I always liked his chat show and bought his autobiography a couple of years ago but was quite disappointed as most of it was about bloody cricket!
 
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