People love to care a lot about things that don’t matter a great deal.
For example, do you watch The Great British Baking Show on Netflix? If you do, I bet you have a strong opinion about whether one of the guest hosts is doing a good job or a bad job.
Matt Lucas, who was best known before for being half of a duo that made up a sketch show, is bad for the show. I’m not disputing that he’s funny. I also rather like him, sometimes, for his commitment to bad jokes. There’s tenacity in it. I even feel bad about disliking his contribution because I want it to work. The show is comforting viewing on a Friday night and I like the idea that a nutty gay comic can hold his own there. His visibility is important. He’s come in for unfair flack too. People have criticized him for using a bad German accent. They’ve criticized him for using a bad cockney accent. And they’ve criticized him for impersonating the British Prime Minister. Meanwhile, I tend to think such things are basic comic fodder and all fair game. But the truth is, Matt still isn’t working out. There’s something about his chemistry with the bakers and the other hosts. There’s something about his demeanor. As if he can’t wait to cash his cheque (that’s how we spell “check” in England) and get out of there. It’s like he’s not enjoying himself, and it comes across. I don’t know. What I do know is I can’t help thinking that the producers of the show are doing him a disservice. Somebody should have had a real conversation with him and said, “mate, listen. We wanted this to work as much as you do. But let’s be honest, your jokes are falling flat. And you’re kind of making this a bummer for everyone to be around. Viewers included.”
By leaving him in place one tends to think the show doesn’t care. It’s a staple of British life at this point, so the Matt Lucas issue isn’t going to be catastrophic. I don’t like a pile-on. It’s important to be kind to people. Criticizing somebody for this kind of thing feels mean-spirited on some level. But when somebody is a professional entertainer they also need a thick skin. Mr. Lucas’ net worth is £10 million and producers are paying him more than £10,000 an episode. At that rate he should be delivering top quality entertainment or have the good grace to step aside. His sketches on Little Britain were funny and another format will suit him better.
What’s all this got to do with me and my work as a writer and communication consultant? I don’t know. I could try to crowbar it in to making a point but that would feel ham-fisted. A bit like Matt Lucas making a joke on the show. 🥁🤣
I suppose there are a few pertinent things, though. Something can make sense on paper and not work in practice, for intangible reasons. There’s a point where it takes guts for us to call that out. And it means having difficult conversations with people and hurting their feelings. It’s usually easier not to do that, but if you want something to sing, then you do need to do it. And it takes a brave person to do that. It also takes a certain kind of humility to admit to yourself when you’re the problem, and step aside. You can’t win them all and even the most talented and brilliant people don’t always fit in everywhere. These are hard things for us to accept, but to achieve excellence, they need to be thoughts we can talk about. And then again, sometimes it’s alright to be mediocre. After all this is only a television show. Isn’t it?
What about your storytelling? Are you comfortable with it not quite singing? With it being…meh…?
There’s an intangibility to pitching a story. If I put myself in an editor’s shoes, for example, then often a pitch either flies, or it doesn’t. Sometimes I can break down the reasons why. It’s not timely enough. Or the stakes are too low. Or there’s no next step that would keep an audience engaged. It’s yesterday’s news. You know. But sometimes I can just tell you on instinct, “it’s not there.” And I need to be able to trust the people I’m working with to hear me out on such things. Because we all know how demoralizing it can be to try to sell in a story without believing in it completely.
I interviewed an entrepreneur last week about having the courage to “have the hard conversation sooner.” I guess his interview stuck with me. So that’s my magnum opus on Matt Lucas and Bake-off. And I wish you the best, Mr. Lucas. I hope you find a better job somewhere else and I’m sorry this one didn’t work out. It’s not you, it’s me. Well, us. Everyone. You know. It’s everyone watching. And it’s not your fault. But. Have an honest conversation with yourself and call your agent? If they’ve got your best interests at heart and not the size of their…cheque…then they’ll be honest with you, I hope. It’s for everyone’s benefit, not least yours.
