Glory Daze@ 9pm, Thursdays E4- 4 out of 10

The term 'hit and miss' was probably coined with the foresight that E4 was coming along. Every single sitcom/comedy show on E4 is hit or miss, often magically being both. For example, The Inbetweeners? Hit and then miss. Skins? Hit and then miss. Phoneshop? Tragic miss. Big Bang Theory? Hit. And so on.


The latest show to come along is centred on a group of young people (like Skins) that attend an educational establishment (like The Inbetweeners) and is an American export (like Big Bang Theory). Getting some kind of picture here about the conformity of E4's transmission?


Anywho, Glory Daze follows the exploits of a group of American guys as they head off to a college, loosely-based on every single US college show in every single American TV show or film, looking for a place in the college eco-system and documenting all the shenanigans they get up to.


You will never guess what these shenanigans involve. That's right, drinking, drugs and women. Originality is dead you say? Purlease! Though I suppose the diversity is something to applaud; Catholics, Republicans, Chinese, African Americans, Jews, women, all are represented in this equal opportunities 45 minutes of wonderment. Didn't see that in American Pie, did we?


Perhaps the one shred of originality is that the show is set in the 1980s, the pro being the viewer is treated to a killer 80s soundtrack, the con being the audience is subjected to terrible dialogue based on words that were not actually 'hip' or 'rad' back in the 80s and some horrible camerawork where it's meant to look like it was shot on 1980s recording technology but it just makes it look really bright and sunny all the time.


When a show is described in its marketing as a "hit US smash" it might as well say "endorsed by the Pope, Barack Obama and the Queen", for all the amount it's going to sway people. "Hit US smash" basically means very average show as the fact that Glory Daze was cancelled after one series kind of demonstrates. Being canned by the TBS network, that is a low.


All in all, watch Glory Daze if you were a big fan of the 80s and dated humour, avoid if you are a distinctly normal person.

This post also appeared on Pugwash News' wbesite at www.pugwashnews.com