Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe
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''Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe'' is a British television review comedy programme created and presented by
Charlie Brooker Charlton ‘Charlie’ Brooker (born 3 March 1971) is an English screenwriter, producer, presenter, author, cartoonist, and social critic. He first became known for creating and presenting satirical television shows that featured biting criticis ...
and broadcast on
BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002
. The programme contains reviews of current shows, as well as stories and
commentary Commentary or commentaries may refer to: Publications * ''Commentary'' (magazine), a U.S. public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee * Caesar's Commentaries (disambiguation), a number of works ...
on how television is produced.


Format

''Screenwipe'' is presented by comedian
Charlie Brooker Charlton ‘Charlie’ Brooker (born 3 March 1971) is an English screenwriter, producer, presenter, author, cartoonist, and social critic. He first became known for creating and presenting satirical television shows that featured biting criticis ...
, who reviews other British television programmes with a caustic and humorous tone. Brooker analyses specific programmes and genres, regularly making jokes about how programmes are created. Brooker often pays particular attention to more obscure channels on satellite,
Freeview Freeview may refer to: *Freeview (Australia), the marketing name for the digital terrestrial television platform in Australia *Freeview (New Zealand), a digital satellite and digital terrestrial television platform in New Zealand *Freeview (UK), a ...
and cable, such as those dedicated to gambling, shopping, horoscopes and pornography. He explores the probable effects of television on society and the feelings programmes can create in the viewer. One segment of each show is usually dedicated to positive reviews, with analysis on why the style and content are so absorbing. Much of the programme is filmed in Brooker's living room, with shots of him sitting in front of his TV (and laptop) with remote control in hand talking to camera, occasionally bellowing insults or sarcastic comments at whatever happens to be shown at the time, interspersed with shots of TV shows. Occasionally he will make use of props for the sake of humour, including a " seance trumpet" to mock
Colin Fry Colin Fry (19 May 1962 – 25 August 2015) was an English television personality, entertainer and self-proclaimed Mediumship, medium. He consistently professed his beliefs as a psychic and garnered a following across his career, whilst critics s ...
's performance and an
oven glove An oven glove, also commonly known as an oven mitt, is a thermal insulation, thermal insulated glove or mitten usually worn in the kitchen to easily protect the wearer's hand from hot objects such as ovens, stoves, Cookware and bakeware, cookware ...
with a smiley face into which he claims to channel his unfulfilled emotions. When not in the living room, Brooker presents segments on various pieces of television, different genres or peculiarities of production. Instead of actors, these sections often feature members of the ''Screenwipe'' production crew to illustrate points; for example, director Al Campbell as the half-witted satirist "Barry Shitpeas", and researcher Mike Bradley in a number of roles. The series has spawned several spin-off shows which use a very similar format but examine different media: '' Newswipe with Charlie Brooker'', ''
Charlie Brooker's Gameswipe ''Charlie Brooker's Gameswipe'' is a special one-off British, video game culture show by Charlie Brooker, broadcast in September 2009 during the BBC's Technology season. Following on from Brooker's ''Screenwipe'' and ''Newswipe'', ''Gameswipe'' fe ...
'', and ''
Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe ''Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe'' was a British television review programme created and presented by Charlie Brooker. The programme was an amalgam of the earlier ''Wipe'' series, with reviews of current television programmes, news events, games, ...
''.


Episodes

The first full series finished with an extended edition on US television billed as ''Screenwipe USA''. A Christmas special was broadcast on 21 December 2006 and a review of the year 2006 special was broadcast on 31 December 2006. A third series 'with a massively increased budget' (according to a spoof voiceover at the end of the final episode from the second series), was revealed to have been commissioned on 9 May 2007. The third series was preceded by a mini-''Screenwipe'' on 12 May (shown on BBC Two's ''
The Culture Show ''The Culture Show'' is a British magazine programme about books, art, film, architecture, music, visual fashion and the performing arts. The show was broadcast weekly on BBC Two between 2004 and 2015. Early history Launched in November 2004, th ...
''), which reviewed '' Grease is the Word'' and '' Any Dream Will Do''. Shortly after the third series concluded, a ''Screenwipe'' clip show was shown on
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...
, with repeats of the series airing on the channel in the weeks following. The third series featured a number of episodes focusing on specific themes, such as television news coverage and
reality television series Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...
. The fifth series of ''Screenwipe'' began airing on BBC Four on Tuesday 18 November 2008. The first episode dealt with (among other things) Manuelgate and television production costs (and the effect of the credit crunch on said costs). The second was focused on the changes in television advertising throughout its history, and the third was an extended edition composed entirely of Brooker's interviews with prestigious writers such as
Russell T Davies Stephen Russell Davies ( ; born 27 April 1963), known professionally as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer. He is best known for being the original showrunner and head writer of the revival of the BBC sci-fi seri ...
and
Tony Jordan Tony Jordan (born 21 July 1957) is a British television writer. For many years, he was lead writer and series consultant for BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders''. He has written over 250 episodes for the programme since 1989, including the 2008 S ...
. Episode four focused on "mission shows" such as ''The Great British Body'', and featured a parody involving "pee-shyness" (
paruresis Paruresis, also known as shy bladder syndrome, is a type of phobia in which a person is unable to urination, urinate in the real or imaginary presence of others, such as in a public restroom. The analogous condition that affects bowel movement i ...
), while episode five focused on children's programming through the ages. The final episode of the season was a review of 2008. In 2009, the show didn't return for another series, but a review of the year was scheduled as had been the case with previous years.


Style

The humour of the show is usually based on sarcasm and cutting remarks, in a similar style to ''
Harry Hill's TV Burp ''Harry Hill's TV Burp'' (also referred to as ''TV Burp'') is a British television comedy clip series, written and hosted by comedian Harry Hill, and produced by Avalon Television for ITV. The show's format sees Hill take a comedic look tow ...
'', or ''
The Soup ''The Soup'' is an American television series that aired weekly on E! from July 1, 2004, until December 18, 2015, as a revamped version of ''Talk Soup'' that focused on recaps of various popular culture and television moments of the week. Th ...
''. ''Screenwipe'' can be characterised as being intellectually more harsh with Brooker often making surreal moral comparisons between the so-called 'real-world attitude' of certain programmes, and the logical conclusions of that attitude if it were turned towards real life. It often forms the basis for analysis of programmes - such as his review of the ITV musical drama
Britannia High ''Britannia High'' is a British musical drama television series co-produced by Granada Television and Globe Productions for the ITV network. The series focused on the lives of a group of teenagers and their mentors at a fictional London theatr ...
in which he describes the characters as "irritating show-offs" and that the school which they inhabit "in any sane world would have its windows bricked up by the government before the self-satisfied inmates could get out and infect the rest of the population." Brooker is known to be critical of reality television shows such as '' Big Brother'' and ''
The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...
'', and often makes scathing remarks about the sort of people who watch these shows. One example in the 2008 Christmas Special involved a remark about X Factor winner
Alexandra Burke Alexandra Imelda Cecelia Ewen Burke (born 25 August 1988) is an English singer, songwriter and actress. She won the fifth series of the talent television show ''The X Factor'' in 2008. Following the show, she was signed to Syco Music and releas ...
's cover of
Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...
's "
Hallelujah ''Hallelujah'' (; , Modern ) is an interjection from the Hebrew language, used as an expression of gratitude to God. The term is used 24 times in the Tanakh (in the book of Psalms), twice in deuterocanonical books, and four times in the Christ ...
", which Brooker went on to claim is now "ruined forever as a song destined to be played at thick people's funerals". Brooker often displays archive footage of various shows, but alters the viewer's perception through near stream-of-consciousness narration and/or ironic juxtaposition with contrasting footage or sound, e.g. highlighting what he believes is the
organised crime Organized crime is a category of transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a form of illegal business, some ...
feel of a scene from ''
Dragons' Den ''Dragons' Den'' is a reality television program format in which entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to a panel of venture capitalists in the hope of securing investment finance from them. The program originated in 2001 in Japan, where it ...
'' by running the trumpet solo from ''
The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American Epic film, epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling The Godfather (novel), 1969 novel. The film stars an ensemble cast inc ...
'' over the original dialogue. He has also been known to make jokes at the expense of his own show and himself, in particular making light of his resemblance to
Laurence Fishburne Laurence John Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961) is an American actor. Throughout his career, he has gained recognition for his roles on stage and screen as militant and authoritative characters. List of awards and nominations received by Laur ...
, and in the first episode of the third series he claimed he had "a face like a paedophile walrus". Also of note was the deliberate mention of
Victor Lewis-Smith Victor Lewis-Smith (12 May 1957 – 10 December 2022) was a British film, television and radio producer, a television and restaurant critic, a satirist and newspaper columnist. He was executive producer of the ITV1 Annual National Food & Drink ...
, described by the 'TV Insider' being interviewed (and presumably written by Brooker) as "kind of like a rich man's you". Lewis-Smith co-wrote and presented a similar show in the late nineties called ''
TV Offal ''TV Offal'' is a British satirical comedy sketch/archive television series that ran on Channel 4 from 31 October 1997 to 26 June 1998. It was written and narrated by comedian and writer Victor Lewis-Smith, who shared writing duties with Paul S ...
'' which Brooker sarcastically and knowingly claims to have no knowledge of. Despite his derogatory and insulting remarks aimed at many television shows, people, and near enough everything and everyone, Brooker does show his happier side and has spoken of his liking for certain US drama series including ''
The Shield ''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series created by Shawn Ryan and starring Michael Chiklis that aired on FX from March 12, 2002 to November 25, 2008 for seven seasons. The show is known for its portrayal of corrupt police ...
''; ''
Deadwood Deadwood may refer to: Places Canada * Deadwood, Alberta * Deadwood, British Columbia * Deadwood River, a tributary of the Dease River in northern British Columbia United States * Deadwood, California (disambiguation), several communit ...
''; ''
The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created and primarily written by the American author and former police reporter David Simon for the cable network HBO. The series premiered o ...
''; ''
Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American historical drama, period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on cable network AMC (TV channel), AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, with seven seasons ...
''; and the most recent version of ''
Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. It began with the original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel series, '' Galactica 1980'', a line of book adaptat ...
''; as well as the current series of ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
''; and older documentary programmes such as
Jacob Bronowski Jacob Bronowski (18 January 1908 – 22 August 1974) was a Polish-British mathematician and philosopher. He is best known for developing a humanistic approach to science, and as the presenter and writer of the thirteen-part 1973 BBC television ...
's ''
The Ascent of Man ''The Ascent of Man'' is a 13-part British documentary television series produced by the BBC and Time-Life Films first broadcast in 1973. It was written and presented by Polish-British mathematician and historian of science Jacob Bronowsk ...
'', ''
Civilisation A civilization (also spelled civilisation in British English) is any complex society characterized by the development of the state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond signed or spoken languag ...
'', and ''
The World at War ''The World at War'' is a 26-episode British documentary television series that chronicles the events of the Second World War. Produced in 1973 at a cost of around £880,000 (), it was the most expensive factual series ever made at the time. ...
''. Brooker singles out Bronowski for praise regarding his style of presentation describing it as 'a bit like taking a warm bath in university juice'. In a more solemn example, at the end of the final episode, Brooker paid tribute to children's programmes creator
Oliver Postgate Richard Oliver Postgate (12 April 1925 – 8 December 2008) was an English Animation, animator, puppeteer, and writer. He was the creator and writer of some of Britain's most popular children's television programmes. ''Bagpuss'', ''Pingwings' ...
, who had died the week before the programme was aired. Brooker often makes a point of laying light praise upon unlikely targets, such as Milkshake,
Five 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...
's morning programmes aimed at pre-school age children, stating, "There isn't a single piece of negativity in the whole thing and that's what you need at this time in the morning."


Annual Wipe

From 2006 to 2016, the BBC broadcast an Annual Wipe. From 2017 onwards, there was no Annual Wipe due to Brooker's other commitments, with a '' Frankie Boyle's New World Order'' Review of the Year filling the vacant gap. At the end of the decade on 30 December 2019, BBC Two broadcast a 90-minute compilation show entitled "The Best of 2010-2015 Wipe with Charlie Brooker" followed by a repeat of the final 2016 Wipe. In May 2020, BBC Two broadcast "Charlie Brooker's Antiviral Wipe", a 45-minute programme in the style of the Annual Wipes, focusing on the news coverage of, and public reaction to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.


Animations

The show is also notable for using animations produced by internet animator David Firth. To date the show has used eight of Firth's original creations. The 2006 Christmas Special featured a special appearance from Firth's deranged alter-ego, Jerry Jackson, whose cartoon appeared substituting for an animation that Firth had created beforehand. This original animation was rejected by the BBC on the grounds that it was far too offensive to be broadcast on TV. Firth recently announced on his website that the BBC had asked him to produce an animation for each episode of the second series of ''Screenwipe''. Three were shown but the fourth, a Jerry Jackson cartoon, was once again rejected by the BBC. Firth stated in a post on Fat-Pie.com that "Jerry's
artoon Artoon Co., Ltd. (株式会社アートゥーン Kabushiki-Gaisha Ātūn) was a Japanese video game developer established in 1999. It became a subsidiary of AQ Interactive in May 2004 and became a wholly owned subsidiary in June 2005. The team w ...
was about Political Correctness on TV and contained a certain degree of sarcasm, yet sarcasm the TV company didn't see the funny side of, and they refused to use it". The third series saw Firth produce four more short animations (of which three were aired) entitled 'The World Within A Sock', in which a group known as
The Establishment In sociology and in political science, the term the establishment describes the dominant social group, the elite who control a polity, an organization, or an institution. In the Praxis (process), praxis of wealth and Power (social and politica ...
buys the year 2008.


See also

* '' Newswipe with Charlie Brooker'' * ''
Charlie Brooker's Gameswipe ''Charlie Brooker's Gameswipe'' is a special one-off British, video game culture show by Charlie Brooker, broadcast in September 2009 during the BBC's Technology season. Following on from Brooker's ''Screenwipe'' and ''Newswipe'', ''Gameswipe'' fe ...
'' * ''
You Have Been Watching ''You Have Been Watching'' is a British comedy panel game presented by Charlie Brooker, produced by Zeppotron for Channel 4 and filmed at BBC Television Centre (pilot and series 2) and Riverside Studios (series 1) in London. It first aired on ...
'' * ''
How TV Ruined Your Life ''How TV Ruined Your Life'' is a British satirical television series written and presented by Charlie Brooker. Brooker, whose earlier TV-related programmes include ''How to Watch Television'', ''Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe'' and ''You Have Been ...
'' * ''
Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe ''Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe'' was a British television review programme created and presented by Charlie Brooker. The programme was an amalgam of the earlier ''Wipe'' series, with reviews of current television programmes, news events, games, ...
''


References


External links

* * * {{BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy (Programme or Series) 1981–1999 2006 British television series debuts 2008 British television series endings 2000s British satirical television series 2000s British comedy television series BBC television comedy BBC Four original programming Television series about television Television series created by Charlie Brooker Television series by Banijay Television series by Zeppotron British English-language television shows