TV Review – Genius (BBC Two)
Dave Gorman's Television Version of his Radio Inventor Show
Look up “genius” in the Oxford English Dictionary and it reads: “An exceptional intellectual or creative power other natural ability or tendency”. Shakespeare was a genius because of his dramatic prose and huge contribution to the English language. Isaac Newton was a genius for developing the basis of physics and being one of the most influential scientists ever. Bach, Einstein, Beethoven, Leonardo da Vinci and so on, all geniuses.
But if you switch over to BBC Two on a Friday night the word genius is now being used to describe a bicycle machine as punishment for prisoners that can also power homes or 100-metre-high running shoes on a new show called, brace yourself, Genius.
Genius is Dragons’ Den fronted by Trevor Baylis
Of course the usage of the word is not meant to be taken literally in this case but it does show the modern TV fascination with invention. The concept of Genius is that each week a group of wannabe crackpot inventors (eg members of the public) come up with bizarre ideas for problems that don’t exist. Then it’s up to the studio guest celebrity for that episode, along with presenter Dave Gorman, to decide whether their invention is a workable solution or a complete waste of time.
Imagine Dragons’ Den if it was fronted by Trevor Baylis, or American Inventor without genuine lunatics and delusions of grandeur. But unlike Dragon’s Den you get the feeling that when it’s all finished there is no real winner.
Actor Jonathan Pryce joins Dave Gorman
The celeb contributions are fairly good but depend solely on how into the notion they are. The April 3 episode featured actor Jonathan Pryce, who as well as a being a fine thespian was far more charming and funnier than Frank Skinner or Catherine Tate from previous weeks. He also demonstrated his impressive range of voices when testing an idea of presenting weather forecasts in regional accents.
The rejected suggestions section is perhaps the most genius idea. Here Gorman and his guests read out the things that were just too mad to even drag out for five minutes of television, some of which could have come from the mind of surrealist stand-up comic Ross Noble – bikes for people called Mike or a separate number for hoax calls. Three weeks into the series and this is certainly the section that’s worth tuning in for, even if you feel like changing the channel afterwards.
It’s good to have a show where the contestants aren’t merely mocked as complete oddballs who should be shunned from society but are game for a laugh. Yes, some of the people are a bit barmy and sometimes Gorman or whoever is there with him do lay into them but ultimately it’s harmless fun.
Not bad, not Brilliant but also not Genius
Genius has its shortcomings which start with the theme music – a cheery synth number - that could have been ripped straight from Tron. It is very annoying and gets worse each time it’s repeated when a new entrant is revolved on to the set like a weird version of Blankety Blank. This leads on to another problem, the stage is ridiculously vast for a show that consists of people talking and holding stuff up; it would work a lot better if the stage was more intimate and compact.
Gorman, in his enthusiastic manner, also has a nagging tendency to overuse the word “genius” too much, possibly to constantly remind the post-pub crowd just what it is they’ve stumbled into.
Genius is not original or brilliant but it’s far from the worst thing commissioned by the BBC this year. There’s one thing it certainly isn’t though. Er, what’s that word again?
Genius is on BBC Two every Friday night at 9pm.
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