R . W . P. R. I. P.

Rip It Up, Issue 137, 1 December 1988, Page 4

R. W . P. R. I. P.

With another year coming to an end the folks in TV Land must be scratching their heads. What to do with that lazy child of theirs, Radio With Pictures'! The show has sagged to an all-time low this year, one of the few things on the box that's less gripping than Friday Night. RHMiPbegan as a half-breed, a dump-bin for video clips too adult for Ready To Roll. But around the time of punk, that alternative was where the excitement lay in music-P With P accrued credibility as. an alternative and, by default ratherthan design, came to fill an "adult" niche in the music market. With the pop boom and consequent video crazes of the early 80s came a new credibility — music videos were entertaining by themselves. But in recent years, 1 988 more than ever, R With Phas become a white elephant. RTR Countdown screens the mainstream pop. Heartbeat City (fronted by the usual 70s and sexist opening credits —a blonde woman in a convertible, give us a break ...) which began as a new dump-bin, now - debuts the latest video clips. The new Pet Shop Boys clip screened on Heartbeat City. So did Ellis, Beggs & Howard, plus a couple more.

What is left for R With PT Crap, mostly;

visually bland clips, dull music, and hasty retrospectives. One R With P" special" devoted to "lovers'laments" this year was particularly infuriating. Think of all the new artists you wanted to suss out on video this year— wegotLynnofTawa. Theformatof the show has become increasingly ragged. R With Pis a weird example of a programme that has become /ess professional as it has aged. If its 70-watt, stumbling presentation is an in-joke, nobody's laughing. The interviews are patchy and uncomfortable and often (as was the case with the Jagger interview) screened too late. Television is the medium of what's happening now, afterall— . trends, gossip, news are its principle fuels. We ha ve read that Dick Driver will not be returning to R With Pin 1 989, but whoever fronts the show only acts as a temporary heat-sink for the blame. R With Phas had many presenters over the years, but the production problems remain constant. The quality of trends and music videos have covered a multitude of sins. So what to do with that neglected orphan? Perhaps I've watched it too long, and a younger wave of viewers craves its every second with enthusiasm... but I doubt it. There is still room in TVNZ's broadcasting schedule for a newsy, informative, good-humoured music video programme. In the meantime we are stuck with Radio With Pictures, that scrappy assortment which you have to fast toward through before settling down to watch the Sunday Science Fiction on Monday evenings. CT

a SILLY 23. The Love Strings Of Mort Garson II nnKin 24. The Wally Stott Chorale II BAND 25.GiantSunflower ■ ■ xrnrmnn 26. The Orange Secweed ■K N ArlE S y 27. Hophash &The Coloured Coat 28, Violent Thimble . 1. Guns And Butter 29. Boeing Duveen& Beautiful Soup 2. Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band 30. The Serendipity Singers 3. The High Revving Tongues 31 .The Flower Pot Men 4. Crispy Ambulance 32. Highway Chile I ;5. Strawberry Alarm Clock . .33,Mouse And The Traps ! 6. Peanut Butter Conspiracy 34. Stiff Kittens 7. Skipßifferty 35. Shag Nasty 8. The Ken Colyer Skiffle Group 36. Zen Bastards 9.MobyGrape 37. Astronautics i 0. Lucas And The Mike Cotton Sound 38. Dumpy's Rusty Nuts , 11. Dermot O'Brian & The Club Men 39. Killer Dwarfs I 12.Spanky&TheGang ’’ • z 40. SigueSigue Sputnik . | 113. Granny's Intentions 41. Slaughter Dogs J 14.BonzoDogDoo-Dahßand : 42. The Wackers \ : f 15. The Reflections 43. Insect Trust > ' • | 16. The New Christy Minstrels 44. Pink Fairies 17. Herbie Going & The Night-Timers 45. Athletico Spizz 'BO 18. Incredible String Band 46.PunishmentofLuxury 19. Cat Mother and the All-Night New Boys 47. Peppermint Trolley Company 2O.Fluff 48. Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick&Tich : ; 21. Honeybus 49. The Nipple Erectors ; 22. Crocheted Doughnut Ring 50. Magic Mushrooms IlsMSHl!Milll®Bß®o®S#ii ■ -.SV..- .