REVIEW: I Can See Your Voice, Series 1 Episode One

 REVIEW: I Can See Your Voice, Series 1 Episode One

It's not often that two shows come along on the same night that are so close in their premise, it feels as though you have watched the same programme twice. Yet here we are, with I Can See Your Voice and Game of Talents airing not only on the same day, but also the exact same time (more or less). Both are guessing games trying to ascertain somebody's talent, both feature celebrities teaming up with everyday people, and both feature Northern presenters yelling for their talent (or lack thereof) to be revealed.

There is one major difference between the two shows however. Whereas Game of Talents' performers all have a skill that our mixture of civilians and celebrities have to identify, I Can See Your Voice boils down simply to deciding whether somebody is a 'good' or 'bad' singer. And that doesn't sit right with me. It feels unnecessarily mean-spirited, especially in the first round - labelled 'First Impressions' - where the civilians and celebrities base it entirely on their appearance. Who determines whether somebody is good or bad at singing? How can you say somebody is a bad singer simply because they look tough and dress like a rugby player?

The fact that the latter turns out to be what the show classes as a 'good' singer proves my point entirely. The people on this show would have us believe that he can't possibly sing well because of these arbitrary factors, and yet when he performs after elimination he turns out to have a great voice. Not only that, but the text on-screen tells us that he has had considerable success in Ireland, and even sold out various gigs on his home turf.

One of the 'bad' singers, a guy who works at a night club, left a particularly poor taste in my mouth because of the way the show treats him as a joke. We discover that he does legitimately perform at his club to a jeering audience, and yet we watch this guy's confidence being potentially shattered by the presenter Paddy McGuinness and the celebrity panel laughing at his performance as the programme's visuals deem him 'bad'. This is a show that feels like it belongs more in the early 2000s, when television was more brutal towards everyday members of society than it is today.

The one saving grace for this show is the talent involved in front of the camera. Paddy McGuinness is a great choice of host for a programme like this; he's funny, likeable and endearing. Amanda Holden, Jimmy Carr and Alison Hammond also work surprisingly well together, possessing tons of chemistry and offering their own fun and unique takes on the potential singers standing in front of them. Danny Jones is a decent guest panelist too, and suits the tone of the show well.

It's just a shame that a better format can't be found for Paddy McGuinness, as his presenting skills are wasted on shows like this. Catchpoint is perhaps his strongest BBC format, and yet it is still a rather low-key affair compared to ITV's light entertainment offerings. He deserves something where he can better showcase his capabilities as a presenter, and I don't think I Can See Your Voice is that show.

Overall, I Can See Your Voice is another poor light entertainment offering from the BBC. The format appears a little cruel and mean-spirited towards the 'bad' singers who give their time to go on this show, and it verges into genuinely problematic territory where the celebrities and civilians are asked to judge based on appearance during the first round of the game show. Between this and Game of Talents, the latter offering from ITV is easily the best of the two, and I certainly will not be tuning in for any future instalments of I Can See Your Voice.

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What are your thoughts on I Can See Your Voice's first episode? Let me know in the comments section.