The day they finally lost the plot.

ETV will not read this as I do not matter to them. The fact that I turned the nightshow off yesterday off after one hour will not matter to them as I do not contribute to their fortunes. The fact that I cannot contribute to their fortunes even if I wanted to (as I have in the past) simply because their advertised UK number no longer works will also not matter to them.

But what if I was that super-active caller who could no longer get their daily fix. Would I still matter to them ?. Or if I was a still super-active caller and sender of SMSs, especially a Very Important Person who saw their latest contribution to their fortunes dealt with total contempt would I still matter to them if I suddenly stopped ?. So 'picture' the scene. Imagine that regular caller spending his 5 or 10 euro. Message on the screen behind the girl. The sender can see it. Girl responds to the message. The poor guy only wants a song but I am sure he still wanted to see the girl through that song. But that was not enough. So let's really piss this sender off. And here is that 'picture'

[hidden link - please register]

One of the biggest problems with the early days of the VIPs was that the request featured more pictures of the plasma than what the request was about. But it seems that in a desparate ploy to get more messages they just add more and more screens. Screens which add nothing to the content of the program. Screens which will turn off more viewers than attract. And what is more make them moving so if any caller get's a wish or is even on the phone the chances are that their vision will be ruined by these screens and bad camera placement.

A wise old sage once wrote "Give a girl a chair and she will sit down......." Maybe the 2008 version of this should read "Give the guy a chair but make sure it is an electric one"

What set ETV apart from the rest was their delivery. The content has changed. Maybe that is the sign of the times but even with the delivery the appeal was still there. The delivery was in movement. There is little appeal to see a number of girls sitting down waitng for the phone to ring. Furniture should be the props of the delivery not the preamble of it. And that is the curse of the last three studio settings. Too much furniture. Within a few minutes of a show starting all these comfy settings have been taken.

There has been much speculation concerning the return of the 'face of ETV'. Will she return as a model ? Will she return as a director ? Will she fill both jobs ? Will she actually return at all ? And if she does, in what manner would that be ? A grand entrance befitting a queen at the 4th Birthday Party the date of which is almost upon us. But if the rumours that I hear are true, and I have little reason to doubt them at this time, there will be no such grand entrance certainly not at such a party simply because there will be no party. After all a birthday party is a celebration of a birth. It is not a celebration of a demise and I'm afraid that cannot be that far away.