Thursday 20 November 2008

A Corinthian

Only one issue is occupying the minds of the nation this morning - the voluntary departure of John Sergeant from Strictly Come Dancing. Even the newly returned Bryan has fleetingly addressed it. He doesn't know what it means, he says. Well, here's the meaning I take from it, and it's a surprisingly heartening one. I reckon Sergeant's popularity with the viewing public showed that such traditional attributes of the English gentleman as modesty, delf-deprecating humour and a refusal to take non-serious things seriously are still highly valued. Sergeant had all these qualities in spades, plus an almost unEnglish quantity of sheer charm - the nation was won over, but, as Sergeant saw, the joke was wearing thin by the last round, and it was going to turn nasty. The game had ceased to be fun. Sergeant, in the true Corninthian spirit, withdrew with good grace, realising that if a game is no longer fun and ugly tendencies are rearing up, it's not worth playing. John Sergeant, Corinthian - nothing in the contest became him like the leaving of it.

9 comments:

  1. Absolutely agree even though I've never watched Come Dancing. But if you believe the Daily Mail, the BBC may have to fork out thousands of pounds in compensation. This is to reimburse viewers who rang the phones lines to vote for Sergeant but who may now want the cost of the call returned because he has resigned from the show. I just hope this isn't the first signs of something more ominous, namely the City of Liverpool rising up and demanding a formal apology.

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  2. So, John penned his last letter, left it on the sleeping bag, untied the tent flap and wandered out into the Stormy Arctic night, never again to return.
    I wonder if the same fate awaits the remaining inhabitants of the Strictly tent, three days of boiled husky followed by oblivion.
    The BBC constantly refuses to reimburse my license fee, despite repeated requests by phone, fax and Email.

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  3. Comments on the Sergeant Question on the BBC News website are nearing 8,000 - sometimes I think you lot are just not trying. Uhoh - no I recant that - bit of a Bryan moment there. You lot are fabulous. It's quality that counts, not quantity. And I console myself that Patrick Kurp's Anecdotal Evidence, probably the finest blog in the world, barely gets any comments .

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  4. Thanks, Nige, but that's the way I like it. Keeps out the riffraff.

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  5. Who the hell is John Sergeant? The only Sergeant I know of outside the army is Singer-Sargent.

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  6. It's an English thing Susan - though I believe you have a US version of the show he's walked off - Dancing With The Stars, is it? He's a political correspondent who looks like a pantomime dame - O wait a minute, that's an English thing too...

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  7. I like your take on Sergeant-gate, Nige, and agree with it (even though I've not watched a single episode all the way through).

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  8. Susan, JS was the journalist who's mike was famously hijacked by Thatcher in Paris, so sending his career into the firmament.
    Strictly come dancing is high in the audience ratings. Possibly because its hosted by a corpse who can't read an autocue and accompanied by a ditzy blonde with the worst pretendy northern accent ever, and a panel of judges who behave like a sackfull of ferrets. The contestants are a mixed bunch from showbiz, sport and the media, a lot of them are rather good. The pro dancing partners are what you would expect, looking as they do like a bunch of Polish hookers and boy band members.
    Strangely, it can be compulsive viewing.
    Groveling apologies to Nige

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  9. It is compulsive viewing Malty - I can vouch for that. I might even have to post on the subject...

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