Comments on: Congratulations! You've Become an Exploitative Television Scumbag!

Congratulations! You've Become an Exploitative Television Scumbag!

tiny crocodile — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 08:16:56 -0800

People think working in television is glamorous, but is it really? Is it, really? Is it? Really? Charlie Brooker on making TV (Youtube, NSFW). Selected bite-sized chunks: filming, watching your ideas take shape, being the talent.

Also: on UK imports to the US, on US TV and on editing reality TV. Prev ious ly.

By: miss lynnster

miss lynnster — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 08:27:49 -0800

I'd pay him to stop flinging his right hand around on camera like that.

By: dersins

dersins — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 08:32:07 -0800

People think working in television is glamorous Clearly, these "people" you speak of have never actually, y'know, worked in television. This one is pretty god damn accurate.

By: Grangousier

Grangousier — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 08:42:38 -0800

Also: TV Go Home

By: maudlin

maudlin — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 08:43:24 -0800

Hey, when did YouTube start allowing movies running longer than 10 minutes? That first link is to a 29 minute video. Never heard of Brooker before, but this is cool.

By: DU

DU — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 08:56:25 -0800

Working in television IS glamorous. That's the problem.

By: DU

DU — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 08:59:43 -0800

Hilarious! (And thanks for the NSFW dersins!)

By: dersins

dersins — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 09:07:17 -0800

(And thanks for the NSFW dersins!) What the fuck are you talking about? Because there's cussing? What are you, in kindergarten? And if you are, why the fuck are you clicking links to youtube videos in the first place?

By: vbfg

vbfg — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 09:09:38 -0800

Charlie Brooker has a Guardian column fwiw.

By: Artw

Artw — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 09:15:52 -0800

I think of this one everytime mefites get offended over something stupid or start harping on about something "not really being funny".

By: Spacelegoman

Spacelegoman — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 09:23:57 -0800

A Cunt Compendium is my favorite thing he's done. Nathan Barley in un-watered down form.

By: vbfg

vbfg — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 09:36:18 -0800

I had no idea he was behind that. Blimey, that was a blast from the past.

By: DU

DU — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 09:41:38 -0800

Um...because of the simulated sex and loud orgasms?

By: dersins

dersins — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 09:49:22 -0800

Um...because of the simulated sex and loud orgasms? "I hate offended people. They come in two flavours - huffy and whiny - and it's hard to know which is worst. The huffy ones are self-important, narcissistic authoritarians in love with the sound of their own booming disapproval, while the whiny, sparrowlike ones are so annoying and sickly and ill-equipped for life on Earth you just want to smack them round the head until they stop crying and grow up. Combined, they're the very worst people on the planet - 20 times worse than child molesters..." Thanks for the link to that column, Artw. You're right-- it's entertainingly relevant to metafilter.

By: SageLeVoid

SageLeVoid — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 09:57:21 -0800

i've been working in TV for the past year, this is scary acurate., especially the filming bit.

By: nicolas léonard sadi carnot

nicolas léonard sadi carnot — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 10:03:08 -0800

Outstanding, I loved TV Go Home and had no idea Brooker was on television these days.

By: jessamyn

jessamyn — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 10:06:45 -0800

[a few comments removed - go bitch about NSFW designations in MetaTalk, not in the thread.]

By: cortex

cortex — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 10:21:18 -0800

That's a great bit, dersins. Brief simulated orgasm and all.

By: fearfulsymmetry

fearfulsymmetry — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 11:16:06 -0800

All of Screenwipe is here... Just realised there's an ep there I've not seen... deep joy. I'll save it for later. I've recently read his Screenburn, a collection of his tv crit. Very very funny and perceptive... For a long while I used to buy the Guardian on Sat mainly just to read his reviews. He's got another one out for Christmas.

By: Bovine Love

Bovine Love — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 12:21:02 -0800

Hey, when did YouTube start allowing movies running longer than 10 minutes? That first link is to a 29 minute video. Become a YouTube Director

By: languagehat

languagehat — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 12:30:31 -0800

That guy's very funny, and the video is educational to boot! Thanks for the post.

By: slimepuppy

slimepuppy — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 12:47:31 -0800

This is why I'm not too bitter about not staying on to work in the industry.

By: meech

meech — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 13:20:37 -0800

I work in the industry and his pieces are forwarded as much as Mums forward pictures of baby animals yawning. My favourite is the ideas one.

By: dersins

dersins — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 13:26:41 -0800

This is why I'm not too bitter about not staying on to work in the industry. ..and why I'm bitter I did stay. I keep trying to get out, though. Anyone want to hire a guy in his 30's whose only job skills involve budgeting and scheduling for commercials and crap reality TV shows?

By: jessamyn

jessamyn — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 14:02:36 -0800

dersins: how are your sheetrocking skills?

By: dersins

dersins — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 14:25:03 -0800

let me put it this way-- if they were any good, i wouldn't be helping our nation's children learn all about the sugar delivery systems they so desperately need.

By: tiny crocodile

tiny crocodile — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 04:02:57 -0800

Thanks for the collected works, fearfulsymmetry. That puts an end to my being a productive member of society til at least Monday...

By: goodnewsfortheinsane

goodnewsfortheinsane — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 07:42:50 -0800

Thanks a bunch for posting this. I had already seen this special on BBC a while ago, but never realized it was spawned from an actual show. This post has certainly turned me on to Screenwipe. This guy has posted pretty much every episode to YouTube, and Brooker's writings for the Guardian are a worthwile read, too.