Who is listening to The 4 O'Clock Show? Maybe it's meant to be enjoyed with milk and cookies before homework sets in, says Elisabeth Mahoney
One of the oddest new programmes introduced when Radio 7 became Radio 4 Extra is The 4 O'Clock Show, hosted each weekday by Mel Giedroyc and mixing comedy, interviews, stories and quizzes. It's a weird format, blending existing clips from other Radio 4 shows ? Woman's Hour, Front Row, Saturday Live ? with items about forthcoming programmes on 4 Extra, followed by a story seemingly aimed at young teenagers. The idea that they might sit through the lengthy interviews or be enthralled by the guess-the-disguised-voice challenge ("The Daily Dalek") seems remarkably optimistic.
Who is meant to be listening? The school run is the most obvious constituency, except that most people don't have digital radio in their cars. Maybe it's meant to be for getting home after school, enjoyed with milk and cookies before homework sets in (I don't actually know any households that luxuriate in an idyll of this sort from 4pm-5pm, but they may exist): a sort of older, broader Listen with Mother idea. Certainly, it seems aimed at a female listener with children in her midst.
But the overall feel is lifeless. It's partly the awful music that links sections, and also lurks behind continuity announcers on 4 Extra: an insipid blend that adds to the station's rather disembodied atmosphere. When the show does do lively, though, it's almost as strange. Andi Osho presents a weekly look ahead at comedy on the network called Sneaky Peeks ? the name is enough to make you wince ? apparently penned for slightly older children ("We're having a good old oggle!"), brimful of asides they may not be gripped by ("What's happened to the art of ghost-storytelling?")
Some items are worth a listen ? I enjoyed Susan Calman and Lucy Porter talking about being short ("I'm 37 now," said Porter, "but I could grow") ? but it needs more new content and Giedroyc feels underused. Still, at least it's not Ambridge Extra, which is unforgivably dire.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2011/apr/20/radio-head-4-0-clock-show
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