Skins: already old news thanks to E4
I watched Skins on Channel 4 on Tuesday. Enjoyed it, and wanted to talk to a fellow fan. Afterwards, I excitedly asked my mate what she thought of the new series.
"Already seen it." "How?" "On E4." "Oh."
I was immediately stripped of what I thought was a virgin viewing. It was already old news. So we didn't talk about it. Part of the reason for watching it was so I could have a quick post show analysis and discuss what might happen next.
The entire process of watching TV seems to have been revolutionised. Obviously this has numerous benefits by filtering out the crap - but doesn't it take away the pleasure of watching something for the first time that nobody else has seen either? Or the beauty of randomly stumbling upon a programme while flicking through the channels, which happened to me last night when I chanced upon Lead Balloon on BBC4? I certainly hadn't planned to watch Jack Dee pretending to have cancer, but am glad I did.
TV no longer seems something you can share. Watching films with friends still provides us with more of a fulfilling experience. It's as if you have an unwritten contract with your film buddy that you sit down together, in silence for two hours, and then dissect it afterwards. You never do that with TV.
So if TV no longer offers the communal experience that it used to, what does it offer?
Television is becoming like the internet: thousands of people will view the same clip, just not necessarily at the same time. We can watch the programmes we want if we can afford the technology to record selectively; we can read papers and listen to the radio for news; and more and more we are beginning to watch programmes online. I'm sure that nobody who saw it live will ever forget images of planes crashing into the Twin Towers in 2001. Will the internet soon be the place where we go to watch live events too?
Last week almost 10 million people tuned into the X Factor - one of the few appointment-to-view programmes left these days. But is this because we can have a say in its outcome? Until recently, watching TV was always a passive experience. If TV doesn't become more interactive, will it eventually lose its appeal? Or does it just need to stop premiering shows on E4+1 and let the entire population watch them at the same time?
Throughout history, certain TV moments have united viewers from all over the world. Neil Armstrong taking his first steps on the moon, the Beatles appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show, or Princess Diana's funeral. I wonder if the next time a significant event takes place we'll all rush home - or watch it on our laptops.
