Dragons' Den

Dragons' Den was one of the best British television programmes of 2005! Sadly overlooked by many of the population, due to being shown on BBC Two this was a rare gem in the current mass of soaps, detective dramas, and reality shows.

Admittedly it does rather fall under the reality show banner, but not the "docusoap" one. Britain's first business-based reality show, it has become rather overshadowed by our version of "The Apprentice", which is a shame.

Here the direct competition element of most shows in the genre is toned down, although elements of it still exist in the general make-up of a show where inventors and budding entrepreneurs conduct a sales pitch for their product(s) to five already successful business millionaires. The cruel streak so loved by the British public is here though, with the "contestants" having to lug their item, however bulky or heavy up a flight of stairs before beginning their pitch, and then having to stand in front of five people who already have more money and success than they will ever need, and tell them why they should part with a small amount of said money to help them get a foothold. All this while having to stare at piles of the money on desks in front of the millionaire dragons! Inventions and ideas range from fascinating to plain crazy, and the dragons have no qualms in telling them so! There was actually a surprisingly good success rate in the first series though, with several items getting the funds they asked for from one or more of the backers.

The dragons though, far from living up to some millionaire stereotype are quite a mixed bunch. Peter Jones, the least appealing of them comes across as stuck-up and full of his own importance, and offers very little in the way of constructive criticism, preferring to just scoff and withdraw his cards from the table asap. Duncan Bannantyne adds a touch of crazy Scottishness to the proceedings, as well as a worrying lack of knowledge in some areas. When one week he admitted to not even knowing what truffles were it beggared belief, and makes one feel that his success was rather more down to luck than talent. Doug Richard adds a useful American business angle to the ideas, and is pleasant as well as aloof. Simon Woodroffe, by far the most down to earth of the dragons gives help and encouragement when the others just scoff. And Rachel Elnaugh, the thinking man's Abi Titmuss, adds much needed sex-appeal as well as a sensible balance to the male egos.

With a show this great, the only real complaint one can make is that it is too short. Many of the snippets which were shown of inventions they didn't have time to feature looked highly entertaining, and the show could certainly have done with some "press red button" extra footage! If that had happened I for one would have been a captive BBC audience for many more hours of the evening! Also a promised programme featuring those business wannabes who were signed up, and their progress with their own particular dragon(s) is so far is yet to materialize, but is much anticipated by me.

Roll on a second series I say, and let's get it more publicity next time round! Although The Apprentice is very good, this is AS good, and maybe even better . . .

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.

The idea is simple: entrepreneurs pitch ideas to a group of 5 multimillionaire business investors. The investors ask questions of presenters to clarify, expose pitfalls and negotiate the percentages and dollar amounts offered. The presenters state in advance how much they want to raise and if they don't raise the full amount between all the investors, they leave empty handed.

If you have ever tried to raise money, this is one of the best shows to watch. You WILL learn what a good, tight pitch sounds like (as well as what terrible ones are like). Regardless of whether you agree with the decisions made by the investors, it's worth watching for that alone. You'll also learn what kinds of questions you should expect and what you need to know going into such a meeting.

The questions asked are often insightful and penetrating. It's fascinating to watch how good/bad ideas coupled with good/bad presentations play out.

Faults: The narration is somewhat annoying. The narrator generally spills the beans on what an investor is about to say, so the element of surprise is lost. Also, the investors frequently sound derogatory. It's unfortunate, but there's not much one can do about it - these are real people with their own money and not actors. If you're asking for money here, you better have a thick skin.

If you enjoy thinking out new businesses and how to create or expand a company, this show will likely be fun to watch.

Evan Davis flitters around the set of Dragons Den like a daddy longlegs that has run into a light. Aside from being visually annoying he only seems to be there to tell you things you just saw, are going to see or they didn't have time to show you because of him talking. If that wasn't enough filler for you he has a nice line in generalisations too like "it takes nerves of steel to face the dragons" or "all of todays entrepreneurs are hoping for an investment".

If you ever thought millions of pounds would make you instantly happy take a look at the panel. You've got nervy Deborah Meaden scowling at proceedings while a waxy Duncan Ballentine appears at times to be worked by Peter Jones by way of a lever or something. Kelly Hoppen would be a good investor to work with if you need advice on what shade of brown to paint something but beyond that her presence on the show is mystifying. She's certainly not going to spend any cash and the cameraman seems obsessed with getting shots of her nose. I also feel my lifeforce draining away every time she starts droning on about design.

I do love the show though. Seeing the nonsense people come up with is interesting but you can't help but feel sorry for the ones that have invested their life's savings in an invention that's doomed.

Dragon's Den is a welcome relief in the constant scheduling of the usual type of reality show where people generally people sit around whining and/or swearing for no apparent purpose. The idea is that contestants come to a panel of five 'dragons' (highly successful business people) with a project or concept that they hope to get some investment in. The programme focuses on the business pitch and the reaction of the 'dragons'. It is a strong concept, offering an insight into the way that companies start up and hopefully encourages talented individuals into taking the plunge and setting up for themselves, a class of people that the UK lacks at the moment.

However it keeps in the cruelty that the British are so fond of (how else could someone like Simon Cowell become so popular?). Much of the berating is deserved as some contenders try to get hundreds of thousands of pounds for a small fraction of their tiny company whilst being completely clueless about such simple things as their turnover or net profit, but it often comes across as arrogant rich people ridiculing the dreams of ambitious entrepreneurs. The ridiculous nature of some of the products suggests that either screening applicants was limited or they were let through just for the dubious entertainment value of 'the Dragons' making fun of them. The comments are often unnecessarily barbed instead of constructive, and while this is defended as 'cruel to be kind' frequently it sounds more like the panel are trying to outdo each other to get themselves on the trailer. Some of the panel appear a lot more helpful than others, like Richard Farleigh who usually had some good advice for the contestants who were unsuccessful, while Theo Paphitis comes across as the most shrewd of the bunch.

Apparently Peter Jones is leaving which is not much of a loss as recently he has seemed more interested in boosting his ego and trying to be funny than investing - shame he is about as amusing as a documentary about the Holocaust. Lately also the panel seems to be extremely cautious, almost always refusing to take on a project by themselves, instead trying to get a partnership with another Dragon, which takes away from their supposedly bold entrepreneurial nature. The programme has also declined in quality recently due to the editing which allows you to predict which ideas will get investment by the running order and removes most of the tension. The annoyingly insistent commentary by Evan Davis repeating the rules of show and everything that has just gone on in the show also detracts from the viewer's enjoyment.