- Sat Nov 07, 2015 6:35 pm
#507649
This past week has probably been my favourite full week of shows since the relaunch. It's still early days and whilst Chris has been in radio for a long time, he's doing a brand new show at a station still trying to find its own footing. There will always be teething problems and I think that will be the case for the next four-ten months. So I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt for now.
I can't disagree with anyone who misses the Chris/Comedy Dave dynamic but I actually don't think Dave would be the right fit for this new show (even if his 'lad' humour would actually fit straight into the Radio X Grr Men policy). Chris has clearly grown up and moved on somewhat, especially with his new love for Los Angeles and how often he seems to be mentioning it on air at the moment. I don't see Dave fitting into that any longer and whilst it would be nice to have the two make peace in their personal lives, I'm happy to not hear Dave on the air.
The ads and music policy are also prone to annoying the hell out of me, but we're just spoilt from so many years of ad-less Radio One shows. Sadly, this is the reality of the situation and whilst I'd love a scenario where the show can command higher fees for fewer adverts, I don't see Global wishing to lose any potential revenue just to placate one star. I'd love to be wrong on that, though.
My only other mild critiques would be that a) I miss the old handovers from Moyles to Whiley/Cotton, and b) Rob DJ's presence only serves to illustrate how much Rachel and Aled added to the show. As much as they played the punch bag role at times, their authority (something sorely lacking from Pippa and Chris) lent itself nicely to features such as the Pub Quiz. Rob desperately trying to make a star of himself, not so much. And if his lines have been written by Chris, I would strongly advise hiring a writer.
All that said, the show IS improving by leaps and bounds with each passing week. Masterman seems to 'get' it now and is jumping in more and more, hopefully moving towards him being more of a straight figure to reign Chris in when required. Pippa is warm in a way that I don't think Rachel ever was (although again, Rachel's strength was being the bossy one). And for what it's worth, I always thought that Dom was by far the funniest person on the team, so I'll never question his contribution to the show. The first 20 minutes of the show are back to being as entertaining as they always were, particularly with the outside broadcast putting Chris in his element. I love to hear Chris at his wits end about something. It's what makes 'zoo' radio so much fun as a format. So any excuse to see Chris rally against the incompetence around him is a win in my ears. No doubt that conflict will manifest itself more and more as this contract winds down.
I also wouldn't be surprised if Chris was all too aware of the need for one more person. He knows this stuff. Remember: his hero was Howard Stern whose popularity and creative peaks always coincided with strong team line-ups: first with Fred, Robin, Gary and Jackie 'The Jokeman' Martling and then bringing in comedian Artie Lange to replace the latter when he left. I would hate for Chris to look to his phone and make a call to Andi Peters, but I'm sure there's someone out there who is suited to the show and can bring back that missing ingredient. Doesn't even have to be a like-for-like replacement - just an extra voice to round the team off nicely.
It's so early into the run though that I'm still just appreciative of his return. Any excuse to actually turn on the radio again!
chrismoyles.net
