By Simon Wright – Follow
me on Twitter @Siwri88
When Channel
4 decided to proceed with The Jump, they were planning a nice warm-up in this
miserable weather climate of celebrities learning how to compete at winter
sports in the build-up to the Winter Olympics in Sochi. What they got
ultimately was a programme that turned into one of the most dangerous in
reality television history.
The
celebrities who took part ranged from Olympic medallists and pop singers to
glamour models and reality show regulars but it was the general hospital in
Innsbruck, Austria that seemed more accustomed to seeing them rather than the
competition the general public witnessed, both in Austria and on television.
The series
was eventually won by former X-Factor winner Joe McElderry, who beat Donal
MacIntyre in the final. To top it off, both were replacements which defeated
the object of the entire series. So did Channel 4 get it wrong? Was it good
television or too dangerous and more importantly, will it get another series
next year?
The concept of the programme
Initially
planned to be The Alpine Games two years ago, the programme producers offered
the plan to ITV first but they turned it down as they deemed it to be too
dangerous. It seems like their caution was the right move.
Needing a
boost in ratings to compete with programmes on at this time of year such as
Splash, Dancing on Ice and Celebrity Big Brother, Channel 4 put a lot of time
and effort into the programme. Nine winter sports would be tested out,
such as the giant slalom, speed skating and the terrifying skeleton. Experts
including skeleton gold medallist Amy Williams and UK Sport performance
director Graham Bell were brought in to help the rookies tame their fears and
bring out their competitive streak.
They would
compete in these events on a day-by-day basis and the bottom two on each
evening would have to do a live ski jump, with the individual recording the
lowest distance being eliminated from the competition. The idea was there, the
concept sounded good but the execution of The Jump probably backfired.
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| 12 celebrities started but none of these competitors would win The Jump |
What The Jump
did manage was to get a solid crop of celebrities. Taking part were British
Olympic legend Sir Steve Redgrave, former cricketer Darren Gough, 80s pop
singer Sinitta, TV presenter Anthea Turner, ex-Five member Ritchie Neville,
model Melinda Messenger, Pussycat Doll Kimberly Wyatt, comedian Marcus
Brigstocke, hairdresser Nicky Clarke, presenter Laura Hamilton, TOWIE favourite
Amy Childs and socialite Henry Conway.
Little did
they know the injuries they would collect and that none of them would be
crowned winner of The Jump.
Injuries galore
Gough was the
first to go down with injury with various accidents in training and two awkward crashes on the ski slopes in rehearsals before the main show. When he exited on
day three of the competition, the relief was clear to see. His body had taken a
battering and it was pretty silly that medical advice didn’t intervene to pull
him out before serious damage was done.
Henry Conway
was next on the casualty list. An injury picked up during training for the
skeleton event left him with a broken hand and devastated to be leaving the
competition. It opened the door for McElderry to come in as a replacement, defeating MacIntyre in a live ski jump.
One injury is
unfortunate and it can happen on any show, while another taking a pasting can be seen as
careless but once Melinda Messenger was forced to withdraw after suffering
concussion in bobsleigh training, The Jump was quickly turning into a medical
drama rather than a winter sports competition.
The final was
farcical itself. After a nasty accident on the slopes that had worrying echoes
of the crash off-piste that has left racing superstar Michael Schumacher
fighting for his life in hospital, Sir Steve Redgrave was in grave trouble. A
fractured rib left him in deep pain. He battled on in his true Olympic
competitive spirit but he had to call it quits on the morning of the final
event, realising it was a risk too far, even for an Olympian who has achieved
it all in his superb career.
Then, comedian Marcus Brigstocke – a popular
member of the celebrities had a monumental shunt off the final jump of the
risky ski cross event. Screeching in pain from the moment he landed, it looked
distressing to watch. An ankle injury meant he became the fourth contender eliminated
through injury.
The other two finalists also weren’t unscathed. McElderry lost
control in the final event and took a nasty bang to the head but made it to the
final jump-off. MacIntyre, who was growing in confidence with every event, had
a big crash in rehearsals for the jump-off to be crowned champion, cutting his
lip and leaving him with a black eye. McElderry won almost by default – he was
last man standing and it destroyed what promised to be a competitive final night
of action.
Presenting problems
Davina McCall
and Alex Brooker were the co-hosts of The Jump. I’m not Davina’s biggest fan
considering my pure hatred of Big Brother but she has done a superb job hosting
the tense quiz The Million Pound Drop in recent years. Having started her TV
career presenting Don’t Try This At Home for ITV back in 1998, she is no
stranger to shows that ramp up the risk element. On the final
night, Davina proved her daredevil ability by jumping off the K-40 – the biggest
jump in the competition and landed it successfully and with style. Sadly her
presenting control on the programme wasn’t quite up to the same standard. She
hasn’t lost a huge amount by hosting The Jump but it did lack the command that
sometimes a show that struggles needs from its anchor.
Brooker is
most familiar appearing regularly on the panel show The Last Leg. However his presenting ability for this show was disappointing and pretty lame. There was no chemistry between him and McCall and therefore without any leadership from the front, The Jump began to fall down from the word go.
Reception and plus points
Despite the
injuries galore, there were some pluses with The Jump. With it on a nightly
basis, it was easy to follow or simply drop out of. I decided to watch it as it
was something different and it is so much better than Splash. If I wanted to
see diving on TV, I’d just watch a game from the Barclays Premier League on Sky
Sports rather than Tom Daley’s pitiful programme.
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| The Jump held no fears for some, but left many needing medical attention |
Some of the
celebrities showed no fear. Kimberley Wyatt stepped out of the background and
into the limelight. Often overshadowed by former Pussycat Dolls in recent
years, Nicole Scherzinger and Ashley Roberts, Wyatt won many fans with her
attitude to both competition and the way she never gave up. Her dramatic exit
in the quarter-final was a real shame, as she had the potential out of all the
celebrities who started to win it. Anthea Turner was another who should be
praised for taking on anything thrown at her without any fear – something you
couldn’t say about Amy Childs who was a nightmare and eventually wimped out
like a baby on the second evening of competition.
Barry Davies
reminded us all of his golden age in the commentary box. His humour and wit in
guiding the viewer through the events was class. Of course, this is the man who
famously said in the 1988 Seoul Olympics; ‘Where were the German defence, but
frankly, who cares!’
The reception
from TV critics it got though was largely negative. Digital Spy’s Alex Fletcher
wrote: “It was more painful than a snowball in the mouth” whilst The
Independent’s Sally Newall commented: “A bonkers, scary mash-up of Big Brother and
Ski Sunday.”
The ratings
also agreed with the experts. Starting at 2.6m viewers on opening night, fans
of The Jump melted away in the days that followed. By the end, a million
viewers had been lost – with a measly 1.7m tuning in for the final. Even
Australian daytime soaps, Neighbours and Home & Away attracted better
rating figures despite their scheduling last week.
So how would
I sum up The Jump? It was something different and clever that turned into a
television danger zone. While I watched it all the way through for the interest
of something new, I don’t think I’d tune in if it returned in 2015. In fact, I
don’t think many will be shedding tears when this winter sports laughing stock
is put to sleep and into the television graves of reality show failures.
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