If you thought reality TV contestants were fake, just wait until you meet MAX!
Hello, and welcome to the second week of McKnight on Monday. A place where I share my thoughts on TV stories making the rounds.
DOES AN AI CHATBOT MAKE A BETTER REALITY TV CONTESTANT?
It’s been fascinating watching the latest series of The Circle on Netflix.
In case you don’t know, this is a reality TV show where the contestants don’t get to meet each other. They all live in the same apartment block but are confined to their individual residencies.
And the only way they can communicate is via a social media app called The Circle.
It’s text and image-based, which means the contestants can be themselves or pretend to be someone else.
If it doesn’t sound great based on my description, take my word for it – it’s a really good show!
Anyway, this year producers added an AI chatbot to the mix and the results have been… well, very scary.
Not only has the bot been able to pass itself off as a human, but even when the contestants were told one of them was a bot, the other contestants weren’t able to pick who it was.
This could change reality TV forever.
SICK NEWS PRESENTER REFUSES TO LET REPLACEMENT TAKE OVER
Imagine this. You’re live on air with your prime time news bulletin. The presenter starts acting weird but refuses to leave and let someone else replace him.
What do you do as the producer?
It’s the issue UK broadcaster ITV faced over the weekend when anchor Rageh Omaar started slurring his speech on The News at 10.
As you can see in this post on Twitter, viewers were angry the presenter was made to continue (you can also see the video of what happened in this post).
I wish Rageh Omaar all the best in recovering from this horrible incident which looks like a TIA (mini stroke).
— Rob Boyd, Esq (@AvonandsomerRob) April 27, 2024
ITV have some serious questions to answer for keeping him on air for 28 minutes after onset of his symptoms.
Shame on them as an employer. pic.twitter.com/6WpHo0TdSh
But it turns out Omaar wasn’t forced to continue, he refused to leave the chair to make way for another presenter to take over. That’s according to a report by Daily Mail Online.
After the bulletin Omaar went to hospital and is now recovering with his family. In a statement he seemed to confirm the report after thanking everyone for their well wishes:
‘At the time, I was determined to finish presenting the programme. I am grateful for all the support I’ve been given.’
So, as a producer who has overseen a lot of live television, what would I have done?
It’s a tough one to be sure.
There’s no doubt you have to be guided by the presenter but you would also have to make the final judgement call. As he had already started the program, it becomes harder to pull him off as that would immediately create headlines. It’s something people would notice.
But, it was obvious he should not have continued in that state – anything could have happened.
Ultimately, I believe I would have made the call to pull him off, despite his refusal. I would have told the stand-by presenter to go to another studio and then told the director not to cut back to Omaar.
It is obvious he was not in a position to make the call, so it was up to producers to do it.
They failed in their duty of care.
TARA TO BEGIN SHOOTING NEW SERIES
TV Blackbox contributor Kyle Laidlaw tells me the new series of The Amazing Race Australia begins filming this week.
After an eventful series last year which saw Grant Denyer experience a medical emergency, it will be interesting to see what happens this year.
If your favourite Aussie celebrity suddenly stops posting on social media, you’ll know what they’re up to!
WHEN IS IT LAUNCHING?
I’m a big fan of Colin From Accounts and happy a new season will be coming our way shortly.
But the good folks at FOXTEL got a bit mixed up in their press release touting season 2.
As picked up by a TVBB reader, we published the date in the release – TUESDAY 30 May.
There’s just one problem, the 30th of May is a THURSDAY, not a TUESDAY.
Don’t worry guys, we’ve all been there – the article has been updated!
WHAT IS ROB WATCHING?
Fallout – Prime Video.
A terrific series, even though I’ve never played the game. I’m now re-watching the 8 episodes after becoming addicted (and have now bought Fallout 4 on Xbox ONE).
My wife and eldest daughter, however, hate it. My daughter stopped watching after 20 mins but my wife is still staying the course, conflicted over whether she likes it or not.
3.5 stars.
WHERE TO FIND ROB THIS WEEK
MONDAY – 4BC AFTERNOONS WITH SOFIE FORMICA 2.30pm – 2.45pm
TUESDAY – 2GB/4BC NIGHTS WITH JOHN STANLEY 10pm – 11pm
FRIDAY – 4BC AFTERNOONS WITH SOFIE FORMICA 2.30pm – 2.45pm
