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SABC3’s replacement for the long-running 3Talk took to the air this week. The #Trending TV brains tuned in to see if it was any good.
An hour of confusion and boredom
It seems that hunks and beautiful legs maketh SABC3’s newest afternoon talk show, Afternoon Express. Add a mix of DIY, cooking, gardening and décor to the guest interviews and live performances, and you have a show that tries to be everything to everyone at once.
While Bonang Matheba, Bonnie Mbuli and Jeannie D have great personalities and poise, the show is a bore.
I fell asleep midway through the second episode and had to play a game of pool to stay awake.
Granted, I am a guy and the show is not really targeted at me, but at least with 3Talk I could stay awake and follow the conversations between Noeleen and her guests.
Three heads may be better than one, but in this case, too many cooks spoil the broth.
It doesn’t make sense to have Bonang as the anchor of the show, interviewing guests alone in the first episode. Then, in the next episode, she takes over the kitchen and shares interviewing duties with Bonnie and Jeannie D.
This is confusing, but I understand the need to show that there isn’t one main anchor.
While a change of presenter and a tweak of 3Talk might have done the trick, this overhaul means the show will have to start from scratch to warm itself to viewers.
This might be something the channel will regret when the honeymoon is over and the numbers don’t add up.
- Siyabonga Sithole
Show needs time to mellow out
Perhaps Afternoon Express’ biggest problem was SABC3 and production company Tswelopele Productions selling it to audiences as a talk show. The late-afternoon hour with Bonang Matheba, Jeannie D, Bonnie Mbuli and a still-to-be-announced winner of the Presenter Search on 3 reality show is not so much a talk show as a variety programme.
Bonang and Jeannie D bring too much of their Top Billing, every-second-counts style to it, but Bonang is an excellent interviewer and lets her studio guests talk and “express” themselves. Jeannie D (still) overtalks, filling every second with a response and overshadowing her guests.
Bonnie is clearly new to this. Given more time, she will hopefully thaw out, relax and settle in.
Then there’s the problem of superlatives. Not everything can be “amazing”, not every star can be “mega” and not every guest can be “incredible”. By hyping up everything, it becomes difficult for the audience to discern or take a cue from the presenter on what is really good and what’s average.
The multifunctional set with its washed-out wood and earthy look is a bit of a disappointment. Brighter paint and pretty thingamajigs would have livened it up.
Afternoon Express isn’t bad and will eventually get better. It just needs to breathe a bit, not take itself so seriously and let go. A bit like Noeleen Maholwana-Sangqu did.
- Thinus Ferreira
