Good news: the return of the kids’ version of Gogglebox, Gogglesprogs (Channel 4). In Hertfordshire, best friends Valencia, 12, and Taya, 10, are sharing a sofa and watching The Undateables. “Can you notice it, like, his asparagus thing?” Valencia asks her friend. “Is it asparagus?” No, Valencia, it’s not asparagus, it’s Asperger’s.
But it is a good question. On The Undateables, tattooed hunk Tom has not just Asparagus but Tourette’s, which for him means he has quite violent physical tics. “How did he get a tattoo done with his Tourette’s?” asks Valencia. It’s a question an adult might not be brave enough to ask, or even think to ask, but it’s one I’d like to know the answer to. I’m sure Tom wouldn’t mind answering it. By the way, Valencia, are you sure it’s Tourette’s and not courgettes?
There, in one little section, you have why Gogglesprogs is brilliant. Child critics may not know the right word for everything (some adult critics don’t, either), but that can be really funny. And they’re not just funny; they’re fearless, wise, honest and untainted by prejudice. Excellent critics sometimes, too. “Another stare,” says Edie, as teenage girl Bella and teenage vampire Edward look longingly at each other in the film Twilight. “This is a movie made entirely with stares.” It’s such a good line, and so true.
And the Gogglesprogs are excellent people. They are desperate for Tom and Megan’s date to work out, are full of compassion for refugees, and will often find the good in something that doesn’t obviously merit it – as when they’re shown a programme called The Mad World of Donald Trump. Of the presumptive Republican nominee, 10-year-old Stephanie simply says: “I think he’s got a black heart.” But Dotty, also 10, finds a reason for it. “I think he just had a terrible upbringing, and that’s what forced all this sort of nonsense into his head.”
They all pretty much agree that they – and the world – is not ready for Donald Trump. I’d love to hear what the Gogglesprogs have to say on the EU referendum.
