TV rules my world

WELL once again I have let myself go a bit with the blogging but in my defense it has been a crazy few weeks! I've been through emotions I didn't even know existed and, as sad as it is to admit it, the television has influenced a lot of this.

The story starts a few months ago when I got a very exciting tweet from Metro (yes the newspaper!). Now as an up-and-coming journalist, and I use the term in the loosest of contexts because nobody has heard of me at this stage and even fewer would consider me up-and-coming, it was quite a shock to receive a tweet from one of the most circulated freesheets in the country asking me to write for them. They wanted me to direct message them which, as you tweeps will know, you can only do if the tweeter is following you which, unfortunately, the Metro were not. I replied as such and offered them a way to get in touch with me but to no avail and in a few days my excitement had subsided and within a week I had forgotten that my dream had come within my grasp.

Thankfully for me they were very persevering and a few weeks later they tweeted again after following me, I replied and it led me down the path I am now on. I am officially a VIP TV Reviewer for the Metro online and as such am proud to display the badge you see on my blog. This is literally one of the best opportunities to have literally come knocking on my door (HA to my mother who said that THAT would never happen!).

Being in full time work I sadly cannot dedicate all day every day to reading news, writing reviews and generally watching for the next big story. What I can do however, after a long hard day of selling contracts and explaining that Barack Obama owning a Blackberry does actually make you cooler for owning one too, is sit on my overly comfortable sofa, eat my microwavable meal for one and catch up on the soaps, dramas, real life stories and ridiculous countdowns that I have missed during the day. And then write my own opinion about them. It's just Facebook but more long-winded!

So here I am, after a hard week in the real world, losing myself in the world of others. And this week I have been completely gripped by the ITV drama The Jury. Crime thrillers are just my cup of tea so when adverts started showing for the program I knew I would give it a nose, but being skeptical of ITV drama premieres because I do consider BBC One's to be better, I was wary. Within thirty minutes the show had piqued my interest. There were twelve stories to learn, a mans fate to decide and Julie Walters to marvel at. Why was that man going to the tanning salon every day, would the teacher abort the baby and of course did Alan do it??

What I hate most about dramas, and of course what makes them what they are, is cliffhangers. I am an impatient person and if there is a way of finding out what happens next sooner, I will. I am the person who skipped to the last page of Harry Potter to see who died (FYI you can't actually tell from the very last page), the first to grab the remote and switch over to E4 before the credits have finished rolling on Hollyoaks to see if they catch Silas (please note I don't watch Hollyoaks but as I said before, crime thrills me) and probably the only person in the world who would rather be told who I end up with if it were at all possible. So a 5 night drama is the perfect show for me. Yes It still riles me when it ends and I know I have 23 hours to go but the beauty of having a real job as well means that I get thoroughly distracted from the drama on telly by the drama in my own life until I get home and then it's time for the next installment.

So this week has passed in a haze of jurors, phones and more jurors and I do believe that ITV have outdone themselves this time. The show really did have everything; romance, intrigue, suspense and controversy. And the best part of a show like that is that it really makes you look at the society we live in. With the ongoing debate across the drama about whether jury duty is a credible form of justice in modern day society and a look at how 12 different people can come to a unanimous decision it automatically makes the viewer consider what their verdict would be.

The program was directed in such a way that we were not led to a decision, each verdict was given equal weighting so it really was entirely up to us to decide for ourselves. I very quickly decided he was not guilty of the murders, the clincher for me being the glass of water taken to the bedroom as one of the jurors said, you take a glass of water when you go to bed to sleep, not at any other time. But I found myself wondering what if I were a little older or in the same situation as those women, would I take it as a personal attack and therefore return a different verdict? A program that can make you look at the world around you and the decision you make is so rare that ITV should take pride in creating one so powerful.

However, I would heed that they not get overly keen on the idea. Such a program works because it is rare. There are so many shows that stem from seeing a success story in a similar vein (The Hills led to The Only Way is Essex, which led to Jersey Shore, which led to Made in Chelsea which led to Geordie Shore and now my geography of the country is much improved but sadly my IQ is diminished). I think another series in a similar vein would detract from the value that The Jury has given to television at a time when shows can become so predictable and cliche, with so many obvious events and celebrations.

So there it is, my little piece of opinion which will no doubt clog the seas of the average web surfer. In the coming weeks I expect to make a little more social television commentary, especially in the build up to Christmas (it really does start earlier every year!) so please give me any feedback, arguments are always welcome!!