A Major Disappointment

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

COME DINE WITH ME now occupies a large slice of Channel 4's daytime schedule, with episodes running at lunchtime, late afternoon and most of Saturday afternoon. Channel 4's sister station More4 runs more episodes in the early evening. Watching several episodes back to back allows certain themes to emerge: the food selection by each contestant is often repetitive; the contestants have entrenched attitudes; their judgments are affected very much by the desire to win the competition; and all of them are more than ready to act in front of the ubiquitous television camera. Dave Lamb's narration contributes to the overall jokey atmosphere, as he makes fun of the contestants' pretensions. From a sociological perspective, however, COME DINE WITH ME is a fascinating text, as it encapsulates within each twenty-five-minute episode the enduring class, gender and age prejudices of most of the contestants. Anyone who thinks that contemporary Britain has changed in terms of its social structure, as compared with, say, half a century ago, would have their assumptions readily undermined here. Snobberies, racial prejudices, and gender jealousies still exist, even if they are perhaps more politely expressed than they might have once been.

"Come Dine with me, let's dine, let's dine away" (LOL) When I first heard of this programme I thought it was going to be a pretty boring alternative look at the cookery show, but when I tried an episode it actually turned out to be better than I initially thought. Basically four or five strangers or celebrities (I mostly watch the celebrity versions, but I may watch the occasional public version) are invited to each others houses to compete for a £1000 prize. The game is simple, one of the group has to cook a three course meal for the other three or four guests, the guests only have a menu as a guide and clue. So the guests eat the three courses, starter, main and dessert, and after the evening is over we see them driving away in a taxi, and it is there that they mark both the food and the evening out of ten, the winner of the £1000 is obviously the person with the highest score. Narrated by Dave Lamb gives it a little something as well, it is not just a mini guide of how the people are preparing their meals, but he also adds some little comedic one-liners about the people themselves, and what they are getting up to. Celebrity guests have included Ulrika Jonsson, Helen Lederer, David Quantick, Aggie MacKenzie, Anneka Rice, Rowland Rivron, Linda Robson, Toby Young, Lesley Joseph, Linda Lusardi, Paul Ross, Abi Titmuss, Barry and Paul Chuckle, Big Brother 5's Nadia Almada, Big Brother 9's Brian Belo, Big Brother 2's Brian Dowling, Big Brother 10's Sophie Reade, John Fashanu, Neil 'Razor' Ruddock, Michael Barrymore, Jenny Powell, Pat Sharp, Edwina Currie, Janice Dickinson, Samantha Fox and many more. It was nominated the National Television Award for Most Popular Factual Programme. Very good!

In an age where the reality programme is king, alongside cookery, makeover shows, and murder mysteries, 'Come Dine With Me' is one of the better offerings, mainly because of the absolutely awful contestants and the witty, sarcastic voiceovers by Dave Lamb. Without his input, this would not have much going for it.Originally the format was one dinner party per episode, with a group of episodes representing each contest - more recently, this has changed so everything is dealt with during one edition. This has probably gained more viewers as there isn't so much of a commitment involved should you want to see the whole contest leading to the £1,000 prize.

Come Dine With Me is a really wonderful programme. My favourite week so far and probably ever is the week with Isobelle and Bill Buckley (Bill being one of many presenters (but my favourite) of a London radio station).It involves 5 contestants, each whom invite the other four into their homes and hope for a 40/40 score - this, I've never seen done apart from maybe once.The creators usually pick a slightly more hostile person to be in a group of people. They do not tolerate tactical voting.All in all, I love this programme, with much of it's charm coming from the witty lines provided by narrator Dave Lamb.