Friday Five: Chat Shows

I like chat shows. This is a good thing, because they seem to be making a come-back. When I come home from rehearsal or a show, my mind is still whirling and I need to unwind but don't want anything too heavy. Sometimes I have a drink and listen to music. If he's still awake I talk nonsense with Him Outdoors. Sometimes I watch chat shows and listen to snippets from other people's lives.

You are invited to share on a chat show: you learn what they want you to learn - it's not like it's phone-tapping - but there are also involuntary physical gestures that can lead you to form an opinion about the person on the sofa. The format I prefer is when the guests are seated together so they interact with each other. Michael Parkinson once said that this was the way to get the best show. He could just sit back and enjoy it as the party unfolded. That's what feels comfortable to watch too. I also like the variety feel with musical and comedic acts interspersed with the chat.

5 Favourite TV Chat Shows:

1. Parkinson - Michael Parkinson: simply the best
2. The Graham Norton Show - has an interesting variety of guets and Graham Norton knows how to make them come across well (no filth intended)
3. Rove Live - before he went to LA; Rove McManus was the Australian standard
4. The Kumars at no. 42 - The studied awkwardness and faux-family dynamic with guests who played along with the joke; it just worked
5. Wogan - Terry Wogan may have suffered from over-exposure (he was everywhere in the 80s) but his chat show was actually pretty good.