Fake reality TV dancers forever worrying about 'the Nationals'

The Advertiser

01-07-2025

Every parent knows what it's like to have to sit next to their kid while they watch some show that is wonderful to them but painful to the adult.
And you end up watching the show so often that it becomes burned into your subconscious.
Such is the case with The Next Step, which my daughter - who is now well into her teens - used to watch when she was little.
Looking at this latest episode (from season 10 so the show obviously has some legs) I can see little about this series set in a pretend dance studio has changed.
It is still based heavily around a fake reality TV vibe, where the actors deliver pieces to camera as their character. Sure, it's a show for kids, but this is a really, really lazy way to provide the viewer with information.
Also, there is still the unceasing quest to make "the nationals" - which is some sort of dance competition that forever hangs over their heads.
I swear they mention "the nationals" at least a half-dozen times in every single episode. It's like it is the only thing that matters for these kids.
Still on the subject of dancing, though unlike The Next Step above, this an an actual reality TV show.
The success of this show is a little surprising - there is apparently enough appeal in the concept of dancing celebrities that two different networks have screened it.
It was first on 7 from 2004-15, then jumped to Ten for two years from 2019 and has now returned home to 7 since 2021.
Maybe it's because the show provides relatively wholesome viewing in the reality TV genre - an area that has come to be sordid, tacky or absurdly niche (seriously, how long before we get a show called Outback Truckers Whose First Name Starts with a T?).
The darkest it gets on Dancing With the Stars are the comments from the nasty judge - and every reality TV show with a judging panel has to have one.
The show is not my cup of tea but I do have respect for the celebs that risk the potential for embarrassment and give it a crack.
And, for the most part, the celebs are actually people you know. No Instagrammers looking to eke out the final seconds of their 15 minutes of fame here.
The reality of this TV show isn't quite as revealing as the title would suggest, but it still offers a slightly different view of life in the cooking game.
Host Tom Kerridge has been a chef for a number of years, switching over to the world of TV - as it seems more and more chefs do.
He is pretty honest about the rough side of hospitality - perhaps more so than his guests.
For instance, Kerridge is pretty open about the problems he - and by extension others - have with alcohol.
He worked hard in the kitchen and then, when service would finish, he'd hit the bottle hard too.
So much so that he admits if he didn't stop he would have been dead.
All the other reveals - like exactly what everyone does in the kitchen - can't compete with that bombshell.
Still, they provide some interesting info. Before watching this show I didn't realise there's one guy in the kitchen whose job it is to put together all the bits and pieces others have been cooking to make the dish that goes out to the customer.
Every parent knows what it's like to have to sit next to their kid while they watch some show that is wonderful to them but painful to the adult.
And you end up watching the show so often that it becomes burned into your subconscious.
Such is the case with The Next Step, which my daughter - who is now well into her teens - used to watch when she was little.
Looking at this latest episode (from season 10 so the show obviously has some legs) I can see little about this series set in a pretend dance studio has changed.
It is still based heavily around a fake reality TV vibe, where the actors deliver pieces to camera as their character. Sure, it's a show for kids, but this is a really, really lazy way to provide the viewer with information.
Also, there is still the unceasing quest to make "the nationals" - which is some sort of dance competition that forever hangs over their heads.
I swear they mention "the nationals" at least a half-dozen times in every single episode. It's like it is the only thing that matters for these kids.
Still on the subject of dancing, though unlike The Next Step above, this an an actual reality TV show.
The success of this show is a little surprising - there is apparently enough appeal in the concept of dancing celebrities that two different networks have screened it.
It was first on 7 from 2004-15, then jumped to Ten for two years from 2019 and has now returned home to 7 since 2021.
Maybe it's because the show provides relatively wholesome viewing in the reality TV genre - an area that has come to be sordid, tacky or absurdly niche (seriously, how long before we get a show called Outback Truckers Whose First Name Starts with a T?).
The darkest it gets on Dancing With the Stars are the comments from the nasty judge - and every reality TV show with a judging panel has to have one.
The show is not my cup of tea but I do have respect for the celebs that risk the potential for embarrassment and give it a crack.
And, for the most part, the celebs are actually people you know. No Instagrammers looking to eke out the final seconds of their 15 minutes of fame here.
The reality of this TV show isn't quite as revealing as the title would suggest, but it still offers a slightly different view of life in the cooking game.
Host Tom Kerridge has been a chef for a number of years, switching over to the world of TV - as it seems more and more chefs do.
He is pretty honest about the rough side of hospitality - perhaps more so than his guests.
For instance, Kerridge is pretty open about the problems he - and by extension others - have with alcohol.
He worked hard in the kitchen and then, when service would finish, he'd hit the bottle hard too.
So much so that he admits if he didn't stop he would have been dead.
All the other reveals - like exactly what everyone does in the kitchen - can't compete with that bombshell.
Still, they provide some interesting info. Before watching this show I didn't realise there's one guy in the kitchen whose job it is to put together all the bits and pieces others have been cooking to make the dish that goes out to the customer.
Every parent knows what it's like to have to sit next to their kid while they watch some show that is wonderful to them but painful to the adult.
And you end up watching the show so often that it becomes burned into your subconscious.
Such is the case with The Next Step, which my daughter - who is now well into her teens - used to watch when she was little.
Looking at this latest episode (from season 10 so the show obviously has some legs) I can see little about this series set in a pretend dance studio has changed.
It is still based heavily around a fake reality TV vibe, where the actors deliver pieces to camera as their character. Sure, it's a show for kids, but this is a really, really lazy way to provide the viewer with information.
Also, there is still the unceasing quest to make "the nationals" - which is some sort of dance competition that forever hangs over their heads.
I swear they mention "the nationals" at least a half-dozen times in every single episode. It's like it is the only thing that matters for these kids.
Still on the subject of dancing, though unlike The Next Step above, this an an actual reality TV show.
The success of this show is a little surprising - there is apparently enough appeal in the concept of dancing celebrities that two different networks have screened it.
It was first on 7 from 2004-15, then jumped to Ten for two years from 2019 and has now returned home to 7 since 2021.
Maybe it's because the show provides relatively wholesome viewing in the reality TV genre - an area that has come to be sordid, tacky or absurdly niche (seriously, how long before we get a show called Outback Truckers Whose First Name Starts with a T?).
The darkest it gets on Dancing With the Stars are the comments from the nasty judge - and every reality TV show with a judging panel has to have one.
The show is not my cup of tea but I do have respect for the celebs that risk the potential for embarrassment and give it a crack.
And, for the most part, the celebs are actually people you know. No Instagrammers looking to eke out the final seconds of their 15 minutes of fame here.
The reality of this TV show isn't quite as revealing as the title would suggest, but it still offers a slightly different view of life in the cooking game.
Host Tom Kerridge has been a chef for a number of years, switching over to the world of TV - as it seems more and more chefs do.
He is pretty honest about the rough side of hospitality - perhaps more so than his guests.
For instance, Kerridge is pretty open about the problems he - and by extension others - have with alcohol.
He worked hard in the kitchen and then, when service would finish, he'd hit the bottle hard too.
So much so that he admits if he didn't stop he would have been dead.
All the other reveals - like exactly what everyone does in the kitchen - can't compete with that bombshell.
Still, they provide some interesting info. Before watching this show I didn't realise there's one guy in the kitchen whose job it is to put together all the bits and pieces others have been cooking to make the dish that goes out to the customer.
Every parent knows what it's like to have to sit next to their kid while they watch some show that is wonderful to them but painful to the adult.
And you end up watching the show so often that it becomes burned into your subconscious.
Such is the case with The Next Step, which my daughter - who is now well into her teens - used to watch when she was little.
Looking at this latest episode (from season 10 so the show obviously has some legs) I can see little about this series set in a pretend dance studio has changed.
It is still based heavily around a fake reality TV vibe, where the actors deliver pieces to camera as their character. Sure, it's a show for kids, but this is a really, really lazy way to provide the viewer with information.
Also, there is still the unceasing quest to make "the nationals" - which is some sort of dance competition that forever hangs over their heads.
I swear they mention "the nationals" at least a half-dozen times in every single episode. It's like it is the only thing that matters for these kids.
Still on the subject of dancing, though unlike The Next Step above, this an an actual reality TV show.
The success of this show is a little surprising - there is apparently enough appeal in the concept of dancing celebrities that two different networks have screened it.
It was first on 7 from 2004-15, then jumped to Ten for two years from 2019 and has now returned home to 7 since 2021.
Maybe it's because the show provides relatively wholesome viewing in the reality TV genre - an area that has come to be sordid, tacky or absurdly niche (seriously, how long before we get a show called Outback Truckers Whose First Name Starts with a T?).
The darkest it gets on Dancing With the Stars are the comments from the nasty judge - and every reality TV show with a judging panel has to have one.
The show is not my cup of tea but I do have respect for the celebs that risk the potential for embarrassment and give it a crack.
And, for the most part, the celebs are actually people you know. No Instagrammers looking to eke out the final seconds of their 15 minutes of fame here.
The reality of this TV show isn't quite as revealing as the title would suggest, but it still offers a slightly different view of life in the cooking game.
Host Tom Kerridge has been a chef for a number of years, switching over to the world of TV - as it seems more and more chefs do.
He is pretty honest about the rough side of hospitality - perhaps more so than his guests.
For instance, Kerridge is pretty open about the problems he - and by extension others - have with alcohol.
He worked hard in the kitchen and then, when service would finish, he'd hit the bottle hard too.
So much so that he admits if he didn't stop he would have been dead.
All the other reveals - like exactly what everyone does in the kitchen - can't compete with that bombshell.
Still, they provide some interesting info. Before watching this show I didn't realise there's one guy in the kitchen whose job it is to put together all the bits and pieces others have been cooking to make the dish that goes out to the customer.