On the weekend @Drag0nista wrote a very good post that
unfortunately did not get the attention on Twitter that it really
deserved called “The voter doesn’t
always know best”. In fact I would go one step further
than Drag0nista and say that the voters, in general, actually
don’t give a shit at all.
See... the ‘Game of Government’ has really gone off the
boil.
We the vast unwashed no longer see Government as a ‘serious’
entity, it has become a reality TV show produced by the
Australian Media, presented to us on a 24/7 basis, selectively
edited to entertain and promote studio favourites. We all
know that the documentary, though of a much higher quality in
factual presentation, will never rate as highly as drama &
comedy. As long as we are ‘entertained’ who cares about
being ‘informed’?
This shallow presentation of Government from the media and
Government themselves, has resulted in a public that no longer
takes civic responsibility seriously and in many cases, have just
turned off, not being partial to reality TV.
Which came first the chicken or the egg? Jill Dill & Joe
Joker being busier & more self-obsessed may be why the Game
of Government has been dumbed down for public consumption?
Alternatively, the sensationalism and repetition of storyline in
the Game of Government could have resulted in Jill Dill & Joe
Joker’s disdain and lack of interest? That is for someone a
lot smarter than me to work out...
Back in the day, the ‘Game of Government’ was not just
entertainment; the ‘public’ was actually a stakeholder in the
production, as shareholders, our votes actually mattered.
In recent years there has been a takeover by ‘Lobby Groups’ and
‘Industry Stakeholders’ pushing their own vested interests.
Sadly, quite a few of the actors in Australia’s most popular
drama have seen the opportunity to pander to these groups,
resulting in larger roles. Of course with such a large
ensemble cast, competition for the starring roles is
intense. A lot of work behind the scenes, consulting with
the money men, fan clubs and publicists are now a necessity to
get more face time in the show. To the public’s detriment,
this means that the original shareholders of Game of Government,
have been relegated to the sideline, only requiring attention in
ratings season.
Lets look at a couple of pivotal episodes in this show ‘The Game
of Government’:
2003 season: The great land of Australia goes to
War
We had King Johnny of Kirribilli send us to war against the evil
province of Iraq as part of deal he had made with his great ally
King George Dubya of the great land of America. The
peasants were not happy with this move at all. Not to
worry, writers came up with ‘Dragons’ the ultimate Weapons of
Mass Destruction threat, phew, that succeeded in getting the
viewers onside, nothing better than ‘a fire breathing dragon’ to
make the viewer forget they hated that particular
storyline. Too late we found out that the Dragons were
actually just skinks...
2010 season: The Red Queen skewers King
Kev
Wow! Brilliant move by the writers, caught everyone by surprise,
no-one saw this plot shocker coming. Unfortunately after
the initial high ratings for this storyline, viewers decided that
it was actually pretty un-Australian to stab someone in the back,
we prefer fair sword-lay and thought that since we have voted in
King Kev for the Gold Logie that should have kept him in the
starring role. The producers deciding they had a bigger
star, shows the lack of pre-screen testing on this
storyline.
Now we are into our 2013 season of Game of Government and rating
are really suffering. Viewers are turning off in droves.
It has been many episodes since we have seen any peasants being
featured at all? Every episode has been exclusively about
the war between the Red Queen & Prince Tones. The
producers of course have tried to inject some good old-fashioned
intrigue. With the now deposed Kev plotting the Red Queen’s
demise in the background. We have had the Court Jester Mal
Turning Balls interjecting whenever it is inconvenient for Prince
Tones. Then of course there is the cunning cruel Queen of
the west (who is pulling strings but not the leader),
though these characters are not really believable enough to
the peasant fans to keep us tuned in.
In fact, in this most recent season, it has become patently clear
that the producers have extended the contract of ex-Friar now
turned Prince, Tones. Unfortunately for the Red Queen, she
is being written out of the show. The town criers are not
giving her much voice or chance to improve her popularity with
the peasants, so a fan revolt is not likely to save her.
We had heard rumours the show had been sold to a rich
manipulative Lord over the great sea in the land of America, this
could be true? In recent seasons the repetition,
simplifying of storyline, hyping up of fight scenes etc., have
all ramped up, at the expense of good quality drama? In
fact, the massive increase in advertising during recent episodes
seems to confirm this. Many fans are wondering if the Red
Queen, who sent her chief Censor on a quest to stave off this
invasion is going to improve the ratings, as it would bring the
peasants back into the storyline? The many plots at court
seem to indicate this is destined to failure and the peasants
will be further excluded from the storyline to the point where
the Producers have written the peasants out of the show entirely
as redundant?
Quite a few punters are still fans of the Game of Government,
unfortunately, not enough to change the direction the producers
and actors are going in. More often than not Jill Dill
& Joe Joker would prefer to watch Kitchen shows as quite
frankly, they can relate to them more.
The reality show that is Game of Government has forgotten about
it’s audience and is no longer reflecting what the audience wants
or needs, preferring to advance their own careers & push
their own storylines & plots. At the moment, just like
in the ratings off-season we are still watching the Game of
Government, as basically, there is not much else on, the cricket
is crap and the footy seasons are only just starting.
Though once they kick into full gear and a plethora of new shows
hit our TV screens in months to come, the Game of Government will
become irrelevant to the masses and only achieve ratings in a few
selected fan forums and of course, amongst the entertainment
sector, getting Industry awards only.
I don’t know what can bring fans back to this once great show,
maybe more local content? Maybe chatting to the fans &
finding out what they would like to watch? All I know is
that until the stars of the show are actually the “people’s
choice” and the storylines are more believable, the fans will
stay away. :(
What characters & storylines would you change, introduce, to
re-vamp this current season of the 'Game of Government'?
Cheers,
Noely @YaThinkN
PS. Before any Game of Thrones fans yell at me for forgetting the
most popular ‘Imp’, unfortunately I could not find an analogy in
our currently political players. As most fans know, the
highly intelligent, scheming Imp actually has a heart of gold and
‘relates to the peasants’. I am waiting and hoping for one
to have the opportunity emerge...
