TV: News programme refreshing

In contrast to the Al Jazeera item on young people conscripted into the Israeli army, Inside Claridges was dull story-telling. Photo/File

Watching our New Zealand news every night is obligatory for most but there are many nights when I find it dreary and boring.

I switched to Al Jazeera on Tuesday (6.30pm, May 13) in time for their world programme, a half-hour current affairs piece which was incisive, letting the pictures and the people tell their story.

There were no shots of the presenting reporters doing their "piece to camera", which was refreshing.

We do get yards of presenters here - whether it be the news, current affairs or breakfast television - it does get tedious. Same old same old faces.

However, I digress.

The Al Jazeera piece was about young Israelis for whom military service is compulsory for most over the age of 18. Men serve three years and women two. The programme showed the discontent, tiredness and stress of the young soldiers who are now questioning their future in Israel.

Many are emigrating to cities in Europe, mainly Berlin. They don't need a visa to enter Europe and Berlin alone has 30,000 Israeli immigrants.

These young Israelis talked freely about having chosen to leave all the restrictions and constraints of life in Israel behind.

This was a news story that was allowed to breathe without constrictions and we saw the real story.

As one young man said, life in Israel, with its military conscription and occupation, was turning young people into monsters in a distorted reality, revealing deep psychological issues which remain unaddressed. Another young man said there was a sense of a lost generation - of people who were deeply troubled and alienated from their own humanity.

And they all talked of living in a "bubble" in Tel Aviv, and that the future of Israel was "hanging by a thread".

This news story showed the agitation in Israel, incredible because it's the very opposite of that Zionist dream when Israel rose 60 years ago.

It was a remarkable piece in that we weren't subjected to stand-up explanations from reporters, so I'll be watching again.

In complete contrast was the first part of a new British documentary, Inside Claridges, TV One, 7.30pm, Thursday.

For those among us fascinated with the lifestyle of the rich and famous, it's the perfect entertainment.

We're told that some of the clients who stay regularly are so wealthy they can order the redecoration of their suite, a jacuzzi spa bath, and for them five or six thousand quid a night is a mere drop in the ocean.

The upkeep of the art deco luxury at Claridges was fairly boring because everyone from the general manager (a German chap) to the housekeeper, the butlers and the maids were very constrained about commenting about the hotel's culture. They were even tighter-lipped about famous guests so it didn't really go anywhere.

We just had a very smallish peek at the lifestyle of people who are rich beyond compare. and maintain a silence that no programme can reveal. This one certainly didn't.