'Fun Factory' fails

Press, 11 December 1976, Page 11

'Fun Factory' fails

Bv MARGARET CHAPMAN Television Two now' offers us on four evenings a week a show hopefully called the “Fun Factory.” This is a product of American television which we could very easily do without. Its production style is definitely of the factory variety (you can see them making about three at a time) and the fun is noticeable absent The carefully picked and rehearsed audjence goes into regular spasms of ecstasy at the unfunny comments of compere Bobby Van. It i- hard to believe that Mr Van is as popular as thee make out because although billed as a singer dancer and compere he does as little of all three as he possibly can. The show is broken up hv some of the most unfunny -ketches to ever grace the screen, and the bulk of the fun is giggling American ladies attempting to win huge prizes.

On Thursday' very few’ succeeded. The difference between the “Fun Factory” and “It’s in the Bag" is as big as the Pacific Ocean in both attitude and prizes hopefully it will stay so. The thought of Selwyn asking for a competitor and being swamped by a sea of grasping waving hands is oo gruesome to contemplate but that is how Bobby Van works. It’s a plastic show full of plastic people manoevred by a plastic compere and a showing even once a week would be once too often. At the other end of the evening TV2 offers us “The Box.” I have heard lamentations that. this show was removed from the afternoon spot it once occupied and apart from the fact that it is an hour in length there seems to be little reason to shift it. The characters who people “The Box” are cardboard to say the least — characterisation is nil.

The scriptwriters are probably only doing the work to earn their bread and butter while writing the great Australian novel, and the set and costume designers have a hang-up about yellow and blue—evervthing that could possibly be painted yellow' and blue is.

The sub-plots rely so heavily' on the stuff of soap-opera that you can see them coming three episodes off. Surely there are better late-night soporifics than this. But it could be an incentive for power

saving. Two programmes were worth watching — Dad’s Army” with the cricket match between the wardens and the home guard, and “Conjugal Rights.” The latter’s game was more like ping-pong with Michael as the ball. lan Holm, an actor who specialises in little rotter parts, is ideal as the psyi chologist with the fatal I attraction for women.