Brand\u00a0is\u00a0getting plenty\u00a0of exposure in the British media at the moment as he plugs his new book, Revolution (and there’s no shame in that!).<\/p>\n
It is worth noting\u00a0the differences between the Brand who was interviewed by Jeremy Paxman on\u00a0Newsnight last year\u00a0and the Brand who now faces off\u00a0with Paxman’s dull successor, Evan Davis (see the interview below), as well as\u00a0the differences in the reception of the two interviews.<\/p>\n
On my reading, the media’s patience with Brand is running out. He was supposed to\u00a0entertain us with whacky political ideas above his station as he played the loveable, roguish\u00a0clown. But over time\u00a0Brand has honed his skills, especially on his show The Trews, and is increasingly resistant to being pushed down intellectual cul-de-sacs in\u00a0these supposedly heavyweight interviews.<\/p>\n
Equally he is seemingly finding it harder to hide his irritation at the constant trivialisation of the issues he raises. After all Newsnight is the most serious political affairs show on British TV. Whereas Brand kept his confrontation with Paxman largely friendly and\u00a0humorous, here his impatience makes Davis look like\u00a0the real buffoon. That’s not good TV, at least from the BBC’s perspective.<\/p>\n
A nasty backlash is already brewing, with the liberal media \u2013 of course! \u2013 leading the assault. The Guardian has brought out its big guns\u00a0over recent days: its main columnist Polly Toynbee, with\u00a0Toynbee then recruiting John Lydon (of Sex Pistols fame), followed, most depressingly of all, by the usually astute\u00a0comic Stewart Lee.<\/p>\n
Now\u00a0the Independent is rushing to get in on the act (see here<\/a> and here<\/a>). It trivialises Newsnight’s already trivial interview by focusing on anything but the serious issues Brand\u00a0tried\u00a0to address. This kind of subtle character assassination works – just look at the feedback comments below from readers.<\/p>\n