SABC2's new reality show
Showville (Saturdays at 19h30) is a breath of fresh air and very watchworthy. I'm preferring it to SA's Got Talent because the range of acts is very similar but you get so much more from it.
What's so cool is that you really get a clear idea of each town the show visits and the people who give it its heartbeat.
You get to see and know our country and you get added insight into the acts through the show's strong emphasis on both the performers and the people of each town. Those featured so far have been so open and sincere about their lives and they've had interesting and emotional stories that connect you to them and their acts.
The show handles the performances perfectly through quick, pacy editing which means that nothing ever goes on for too long - ideal for the initial audition rounds. The first round of auditions are perfectly timed because there's no time to zone out but you also see enough to decide who the Top 4 acts should be.
The overall structure is pacy too. They spend just right amount of time on each aspect: the auditions, the mentoring and the performance - and the prize is cool - you can really Do something with R10,000.
Rob van Vuuren and Bontle Modiselle are great as the hosts and give valuable advice when they're mentoring. They're light hearted and fun and make everything about the contestants and the town instead of about them. The whole production does this - you can see that people must have had a super time when the show came to town because it gives a strong vibe that it's coming to town for a Good Time.
My only criticism and disappointment lies in the picture quality, which the show can't do anything about. It's the sort of series that you need to see in high quality - you want to see the panoramic views and the towns in sharp clarity but the broadcast quality on a flat screen TV is very dodgy because of the SABC still being in analogue. DTT can't happen soon enough!
Other than that, the production looks good. It obviously has limitations when it comes to the number of camera angles you get because of it being an on-the-road show but you don't need loads of them because the set-up suits the town hall stages and old fashioned curtains.
Overall it definitely gets my vote as a better act than SA's Got Talent.