I don’t particularly think policemen look young these days – but the same can’t be said for the stars of TV shows.
Regular visitors to Dead Guy Towers will know that I have a soft spot for ITV science fiction show Primeval. It features a motley bunch of scientists, geeks and civil servants trying to discover the secret behind anomalies (rips in time which are allowing dinosaurs and sundry scary creatures through).
It’s one of those shows where you don’t want to start picking holes in the plot, or it’ll do an impersonation of a loose hem and fall down when you’re trying to look suave and sophisticated. It is what it is . . . escapist Saturday night TV which appeals as much to my nine-year-old nephew as it does to me.
One thing you learn early on with Primeval is that you don’t want to get attached to your favourite characters, as they’ll all get bumped off. And series three has taken the show in such a weirdly different direction that it bears little resemblance to the previous two series (mind you, I remain to be convinced that bad writing isn’t to blame for some of this …)
And they appear to be aiming at the younger audience this time, with the focus shifting to the UST between cute 20-somethings Abby and Connor. Even the Special Forces army captain looks like he hasn’t started shaving yet (and I have it on the best authority that 25 is too young to be in that position of responsibility).
One of the reasons I gave up on the totally ghastly Demons after 20 minutes was that I had no interest in seeing these young kids running around with their tops off (well, OK, Philip Glenister’s wandering American accent didn’t much help).
And I can see myself drifting away from Dr Who as well, following the casting of Matt Smith in the main role. I had great fun joining in the speculation beforehand and would quite happily have seen either Robert Carlyle or Paterson Joseph get the lead part. But with Nu Who, the reincarnations seem to be knocking ten years off their ages each time, like coy movie leading ladies, with 40-something Christopher Eccleston becoming 30-something David Tennant who at the end of the this year will turn into 20-something Smith.
A friend of mine said briskly: “Those of us over 40 aren’t Dr Who’s target audience.” And we’re probably not Primeval’s either. But if a show’s being marketed as a family one, then the writers need to bear in mind that the older end of the market want to see characters they recognise. And it’s certainly the adults who’ll stick with a show they enjoy, unlike the fickle and wandering youth market. After all, they make up Who’s dedicated fan market who lobbied so hard and so long for the show to come back. Writer Russell T Davies and his successor Steven Moffat are both 40-something fanboys as well. Presumably the casting director isn’t …
