Dragons' Den

I am not a fan of reality TV, but I do really enjoy Dragons' Den. I concept of the show is simple, budding entrepreneurs pitch there business ideas to the Dragons, all of them leading business people, and offer a percentage of there company in exchange for investment. Some of the people who go onto the show have poor idea or just do not think things thought and it is entertaining watching the Dragons rip them to pieces. However, there are some people who do have good ideas and get the investment there need, such as the man who created Reggae Reggae sauce and the Watford goalkeeper Richard Lee for his shop Dr. Cap. There are also people who have good ideas but do not get the investment they want, normally because the Dragons make them an offer that is unacceptable or there is a hole in the pitch. People who do the best in the show are ones who have a good safety invention or show that there company is already profitable.

The reason why I summarise this program as X Factor for the Middle Classes because people watch it to see people get humiliated, especially the arrogant people and want to see conflict. But there are clever people who come up with very good ideas and Dragons' Den is an interesting program and does show an aspect to how the business world works.

Unlike The Apprentice, the Dragons have moved on in the internet world of Influences. Alan Sugar has not, he doesn't even know what an influencer is, insists on suit, (who wears a tie nowerdays? I would go on in ripped jeans, converse all-stars and a Pixies t shirt just to wind him up!) Occasionally we get a good deal, the dragons fighting each other. My question would be, if this show has been going for 20 years, how many companies, looking for support do they have now, hundreds? They must be spreading themselves very thinly, even just through one series. I suspect they are palmed-off to other staff once the deal is made, because there is no way the dragons could manage all the companies the have a stake in.

We are hardly ever told about how these companies are performing 1,5,10 years on. Reggae Reggae sauce by Levi Roots is probably the only one I remember- because I see it in the supermarket.

They could do with a companion show +5 years to see how each company progressed with honest feedback as to the support they received.

They are lowballed into giving away huge shares of their company, did they do it, did they escape the Dragons, did they fail? How was their experience once they got in the lift, the adrenaline had worn off and they realised they have sold their soul.

Used to like this but it's unwatchable now thanks to the totally unnecessary and constantly repetitious voiceover from Evan Davis.

Evan: Peter is going to ask about the financials

Peter: Tell me about the financials...

Evan: Peter has asked about the financials.

Hugely padded, over and over and over the same thing.

This is another BBC show that started good but is now made by people who have lost all interest in making it worth watching.

A group of self-made millionaires sit on a panel with individual stacks of their own money at their disposal. One by one, inventors, small businesses, entrepreneurs and the occasional nut come to the panel to pitch an investment opportunity to them. As the Dragons get their teeth into the potential and the detail of the offer, some are rejected, some are talked down to a compromise deal and some have the dragons fighting over them.

I watched this the other week because the Guardian often has pieces that refer to it, saying how much fun it is. OK so it is another form of reality show but the business element offered the potential that it would be not just another show where a panel tears a strip out of happy-go-lucky members of the public. After watching one or two episodes though I found it vaguely interesting but a lot less entertaining and engaging than I had hoped. In a way it is interesting to see the ideas (good and bad) paraded in front of the panel and occasionally I find the debate and questioning enjoyable. However too often it is tiresome and obvious with the panellists milking their "tough edge" too much and saying more than needs to be said without actually adding much value to the show. It isn't all their fault though because the show also feels very, very padded to try and make it to the hour running time.

So we get recaps of stuff we only saw a few minutes ago and lots of reaction shots from the "Dragons" that clearly are inserted out of context to try and up the drama. Having Evan Davis wittering on doesn't help either; regularly we have a section where one of the Dragons reject a project because the maths don't stand up, only for it to be followed by Davis narrating "the Dragons' have rejected the project because the maths don't stand up" – as if somehow the audience zoned out for a second there. I didn't like the way he had to keep calling them "Dragons" either, maybe you get used to it but it just sounded funny to me. The "contestants" are mostly worthy but perhaps not worthy enough to get the cash, some are idiots and these are scattered across the show to keep things lively for the audience who want blood as much as triumph. The panellists are so-so but are too tempted to play to caricature and not be "people". I watched some of the most recent series and it seemed to have be happening more and more with some of them.

Overall then a reasonably interesting reality show but one that is padded and a bit too forced on regular occasions. I can see why some viewers like it but for me it was too little of interest spread thinly over too long a running time.

Of course it is flawed, some of the business propositions are ludicrous, and there have been times when the narration has become extremely annoying. Still, Dragon's Den is very interesting to watch. I like the fact that the dragons are straight talking and know what they're talking about, and as a presenter, Evan Davis does have a certain likability about him when he is not annoying that is. Over the years, we have been treated to a number of great inventions, and some hilariously ludicrous ones too. It is also very interesting learning more about how a business is run and all that.

All in all, a perfectly watchable reality show, of course with flaws, but very interesting. 8/10 Bethany Cox