The Fall of Dave

When I was ordering my High Speed Internet almost two years ago I was asked if I wanted a TV package. One single thing influenced me enough to say yes. It was the channel called Dave.

This was the channel that offered all of the best BBC content. You had Dragon's Den, you had QI, Have I got News for You and drips and drabs of whatever else that BBC had produced over the years that was worth re-watching. (And yes, lots and lots of Top Gear re-runs. I'm not trying to say it was all watchable.)

They sold themselves as “the home of witty banter” and they held more or less to that for a long time. If I had my television on and I wasn't watching the simpsons it would be something on Dave. Their sensibilities I felt matched my own.

But that was then, it seems. A channel that I, obviously in error, thought that championed higher tier television has now started producing some of the most putridly imbecilic content I have ever witnessed. It turns out that they never aspired to BBC heights of quality but always cast a jealous eye in the direction of Dark Ages UTV. Although it must be said that they seem to be outdoing even them, at least the dregs of UTV's offerings tended to have a budget.

Now, we are faced with unfunny underaged comedians screaming nonsense for half an hour on a stage, prodded into performing like a chained animal. We are faced with lowest common denominator quiz shows hosted by fallen comedians. We can watch endless reruns of the humourless robot from Red Dwarf drive people around in their van and finally watch celebrities ride amusement attractions for literaly no other reason than the fact it's cheap and people will watch it.

Of course, maybe that's working out for Dave and at the end of the day it's a commercial enterprise and I do not hold that against them. I suppose I'm just disappointed that my Dave has officially become more unwatchable than the Nigerian Christian Rap channel. At least I can go back to day long binges of open all hours on GOLD but I'll be honest, it's just not the same.