I used to love 'Question Time'. Under the chairmanship of the late Sir Robin Day in the '80's, it was a lively, stimulating political debate show. However, it now rivals 'Loose Women' for sheer inanity.
We are told each week by David Dimbleby that the studio audience is composed of members of the public, yet I spotted Andrew Tinney ( the Chairman of the Young Conservatives ) on one edition some years back and he unsurprisingly supported the Tory Minister's line on Europe. It got me wondering just how many in that theatre are rabid Tory activists. Some weeks it has felt like everyone is. Apart from being grossly unfair 'Q.T.' makes for dull, repetitive viewing.
The quality of the quests is not what it was either, with Z-list celebrities Shilpa Shetty, Davina McCall, and that-boy-who-used-to-play-Nicky Tilsley-in-'Coronation Street' sitting alongside elected politicians. Basil Brush has not been on it yet, but one day he will. Probably the speaker who got up my nose the most was Ann Widdecombe, a rude, pushy woman disinterested in the views of others.
The guests never miss a chance to play to the gallery. I found this out one week when the question was "Should a 16 year old be allowed to win the National Lottery?". A female S.N.P. councillor replied that the winner could use his/her winnings to pay for school tuition fees. No-one laughed. She repeated the comment in a louder voice, until she got the desired effect.
Occasionally someone in the audience makes a right twit of himself. During a debate on whether the age of consent for gays should be reduced from 21 to 16, a man commented: "I don't hold with it as it is defying God!" to which Dimbleby responded: "So its alright to defy God at 21?". The man was speechless.
Then there was the subject of Colonel Qaddafi's chemical weapons factories - should they be bombed? The questioner was adamant they should not be on the grounds that it was unsafe, but then proposed an alternative: "Send in commandos and get them to blow the place up!". Oh yeah, that would have been much safer, wouldn't it.
A new gimmick is text messages flashing up on the screen. These witty comments range from 'Don't like his tie' to 'what a funny looking woman'.
You come away no wiser about many of the issues being debated. Watch 'Newsnight' instead.
We are told each week by David Dimbleby that the studio audience is composed of members of the public, yet I spotted Andrew Tinney ( the Chairman of the Young Conservatives ) on one edition some years back and he unsurprisingly supported the Tory Minister's line on Europe. It got me wondering just how many in that theatre are rabid Tory activists. Some weeks it has felt like everyone is. Apart from being grossly unfair 'Q.T.' makes for dull, repetitive viewing.
The quality of the quests is not what it was either, with Z-list celebrities Shilpa Shetty, Davina McCall, and that-boy-who-used-to-play-Nicky Tilsley-in-'Coronation Street' sitting alongside elected politicians. Basil Brush has not been on it yet, but one day he will. Probably the speaker who got up my nose the most was Ann Widdecombe, a rude, pushy woman disinterested in the views of others.
The guests never miss a chance to play to the gallery. I found this out one week when the question was "Should a 16 year old be allowed to win the National Lottery?". A female S.N.P. councillor replied that the winner could use his/her winnings to pay for school tuition fees. No-one laughed. She repeated the comment in a louder voice, until she got the desired effect.
Occasionally someone in the audience makes a right twit of himself. During a debate on whether the age of consent for gays should be reduced from 21 to 16, a man commented: "I don't hold with it as it is defying God!" to which Dimbleby responded: "So its alright to defy God at 21?". The man was speechless.
Then there was the subject of Colonel Qaddafi's chemical weapons factories - should they be bombed? The questioner was adamant they should not be on the grounds that it was unsafe, but then proposed an alternative: "Send in commandos and get them to blow the place up!". Oh yeah, that would have been much safer, wouldn't it.
A new gimmick is text messages flashing up on the screen. These witty comments range from 'Don't like his tie' to 'what a funny looking woman'.
You come away no wiser about many of the issues being debated. Watch 'Newsnight' instead.