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Naughty television pleasures from the noughties
The new millennium brought a rash of great TV. Andy Welch looks back at the past 10 years
Summing up the TV highlights of the noughties, as this decade has annoyingly been nicknamed, is no easy task.
We could start with the reality television boom, the influx of high-quality American TV or the rise of the celebrity chef. But that would be missing the point. Any feature about the changes we've seen so far this century has to start with digital TV.
Although Sky Digital and its short-lived rival, On Digital, were around in the late 90s, this technology truly came into its own at the start of the noughties.
Analogue TV is planned to be switched off in 2012, but as nearly 90 per cent of UK homes have already moved to digital – whether to Sky, Virgin or Freeview, the most popular service – it doesn't seem that change will affect too many people.
And as we've all clearly been so enthusiastic about getting a better quality of picture, that must mean there are still some TV programmes worth watching...
British shows
In the early days, channels struggled to fill all the hours they had in the schedules, and lame TV slot-fillers were abundant. Thankfully as the decade'xxs gone on, stations have found their feet and whatever people might say about declining standards of TV, things are actually in pretty good shape.
Life On Mars (2006) was an original, highly innovative drama starring two of the country's finest actors, John Simm and Philip Glenister.
And while we're talking about John Simm, there's no way we can leave out the BBC's mini-series thriller State Of Play (2003), a taut conspiracy thriller that even Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck and Helen Mirren couldn't better when it was given the Hollywood film treatment earlier this year.
Then there were The Thick Of It (2005), Gavin And Stacey (2007), The Office (2001) The Mighty Boosh (2004), Torchwood (2006), Shameless (2004) and Spooks (2002) as other examples of great British shows made since the turn of the century.
We can't leave Doctor Who out either. It might strictly have started in 1963, but Russell T Davies's 2005 makeover of the franchise captured a new generation of sci-fi fans and has actually managed to improve year on year.
Natural history shouldn't be overlooked either. You only have to look at David Attenborough's Life (2009), Blue Planet (2001) and Planet Earth (2006) to realise that the BBC's natural history department is a world leader in wildlife documentary making.
American imports
We've always had a fixation with big American shows in the UK, but that has been taken further since 2000. We simply love big-budget, long-running series from across the pond, whether it's the thrills and spills of 24 (2002), Prison Break (2006), Battlestar Galactica (2004), Heroes (2007) or Lost (2005), or the gritty realism of The Wire (BBC Two, 2009), whip-smart political drama like The West Wing (2001), comedies such as Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000, US), Arrested Development (2004), Scrubs (2001, US) and Ugly Betty (2007), the ups and downs of the Sex And The City (1999) girls and those Desperate Housewives (2005) or the simply stunning drama of The Sopranos (1999), we just can't get enough of US TV.
Reality TV
Depending on which side of the fence you stand, reality TV is the worst or best thing about TV of the noughties. But whatever your opinion on the merits of Big Brother (2000), I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! (2002), Wife Swap (2003), The Apprentice (2005) you can't deny the way shows of their kind have changed the face of the country.
Anyone can now be a star, you don't need a talent to be taken to the bosom of the nation. Jade Goody was surely proof of that. Now TV execs know the format inside out, there is a generation of new shows such as America's Next Top Model (2007, US) and The Restaurant (2007) ready to introduce young hopefuls to a TV audience. So don't expect reality TV to disappear any time soon.
Talent shows
Not a million miles away from reality shows, talent contests have been one of this century's biggest hits. Of course, there's nothing new under the sun, least of all in television.
The format of Opportunity Knocks and New Faces got a revamp in the shape of Popstars (2001). The talent seemed to get better as the shows went on too. Popstars: The Rivals (2002) gave us Girls Aloud and the current "national sweetheart" in Cheryl Cole, who, as well know, is a judge on X Factor, one of the most-watched programmes of the last 10 years.
We also had Fame Academy (2002), which was less successful, Strictly Come Dancing (2004) to an extent, Pop Idol (2001), which gave us Will Young, and Britain's Got Talent (2007), all which show us that no matter how sophisticated we become as viewers, good old-fashioned entertainment will always be king.
Cookery programmes
There was once a time when chefs were seen and not heard, and their food did the talking. Now, you're no one in the culinary world without your own TV series, and the rather tame-looking programmes of Delia Smith just don't cut the mustard anymore.
During the last 10 years we've seen the rise of ol' potty mouth himself Gordon Ramsay, the delicious Nigella Lawson, the Naked Chef Jamie Oliver (it started in 1999 but didn't take off until 2000), the eccentric Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall and the goggle-eyed genius of Heston Blumenthal and his constant search of perfection. They're household names.
As a nation, we're also glued to food-based reality shows, where real people show off their culinary skills. MasterChef relaunched in 2005 while Come Dine With Me (2005), The Restaurant (2007) and Restaurant In Our Living Room (2009) have all been big hits.
The Greatest TV Shows Of The Noughties, which uses the results gathered in a YouGov poll, can be seen on Channel 4 on Sunday December 27.
Comment: Is digital TV a change for the better?
We simply love big-budget, long-running series from across the pond, whether it’s the thrills and spills of 24 (2002), Prison Break (2006), Battlestar Galactica (2004), Heroes (2007) or Lost (2005), or the gritty realism of The Wire (BBC Two, 2009), whip-smart political drama like The West Wing (2001), comedies such as Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000, US), Arrested Development (2004), Scrubs (2001, US) and Ugly Betty (2007), the ups and downs of the Sex And The City (1999) girls and those Desperate Housewives (2005) or the simply stunning drama of The Sopranos (1999), we just can’t get enough of US TV.
Reality TV
Depending on which side of the fence you stand, reality TV is the worst or best thing about TV of the noughties. But whatever your opinion on the merits of Big Brother (2000), I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! (2002), Wife Swap (2003), The Apprentice (2005) you can’t deny the way shows of their kind have changed the face of the country. Anyone can now be a star, you don’t need a talent to be taken to the bosom of the nation. Jade Goody was surely proof of that. Now TV execs know the format inside out, there is a generation of new shows such as America’s Next Top Model (2007, US) and The Restaurant (2007) ready to introduce young hopefuls to a TV audience. So don’t expect reality TV to disappear any time soon.
Talent shows
Not a million miles away from reality shows, talent contests have been one of this century’s biggest hits. Of course, there’s nothing new under the sun, least of all in television.
The format of Opportunity Knocks and New Faces got a revamp in the shape of Popstars (2001). The talent seemed to get better as the shows went on too. Popstars: The Rivals (2002) gave us Girls Aloud and the current “national sweetheart” in Cheryl Cole, who, as well know, is a judge on X Factor, one of the most-watched programmes of the last 10 years.
We also had Fame Academy (2002), which was less successful, Strictly Come Dancing (2004) to an extent, Pop Idol (2001), which gave us Will Young, and Britain’s Got Talent (2007), all which show us that no matter how sophisticated we become as viewers, good old-fashioned entertainment will always be king.
Cookery programmes
There was once a time when chefs were seen and not heard, and their food did the talking. Now, you’re no one in the culinary world without your own TV series, and the rather tame-looking programmes of Delia Smith just don’t cut the mustard anymore.
During the last 10 years we’ve seen the rise of ol’ potty mouth himself Gordon Ramsay, the delicious Nigella Lawson, the Naked Chef Jamie Oliver (it started in 1999 but didn’t take off until 2000), the eccentric Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall and the goggle-eyed genius of Heston Blumenthal and his constant search of perfection. They’re household names.
As a nation, we’re also glued to food-based reality shows, where real people show off their culinary skills. MasterChef relaunched in 2005 while Come Dine With Me (2005), The Restaurant (2007) and Restaurant In Our Living Room (2009) have all been big hits.
l The Greatest TV Shows Of The Noughties, which uses the results gathered in a YouGov poll, can be seen on Channel 4 on Sunday December 27.
l Comment: Page 12
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