It is a trend these days where everyone yearns to be a star. On social media the number of people who are desperate to become somebody is obvious. With the great influence of Master Chef and like programmes airing on TV a cooking trend began, for instance.  What really caught on like the plague was the baking of cupcakes. Suddenly, cupcakes were available for purchase in every corner.

They came in different flavours, with all sorts of chocolate bars thrown in and some decorated in the most revolting fashion.  Many began bringing along their neighbourhood made cupcakes when visiting. One bite and all you wanted to do was bin them as most of them were so disgusting to taste. Fortunately, that trend faded somewhat and only the better products and those professionally made have survived and are now available in the market.

Talk shows have now become the new trend.  Unlike in the earlier days when a crew was required to produce a talk show, a local TV channel or a smartphone can do the job now.  Once it is decided to embark on this project the host looks around for who is making the headlines and quickly targets these popular people to appear on the show. What surprises me is that these educated individuals agreeing to be guests on such talk shows. I would have thought that they had the presence of mind to do an adequate review and politely say no.

We must also remember that there are different qualities of talk shows. A few are of a high standard, some which are of interest to the general public and then come those in the lower rung that feature all the wannabes and hussies of the country where people yearn to know all their gossip and hopefully hidden secrets. Once a programme is recorded, it is easily uploaded to YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and hopefully a TV station of some sort will pick the recording and run it. 

Thanks to the gullible who long to be interviewed and hope to become stars and be recognized, some clever presenters also profit on this weakness and are rewarded with luxury gifts, clothing, trips and cash benefits. Kudos to these presenters.  I have great admiration for them as they are not wasting their time but profiting. Churning money from such wannabes longing for publicity and a few minutes of fame seems beneficial to both parties.

Nonetheless, there are some very good programmes that have reached great heights, especially the few who have produced excellent video footage and have received YouTube awards and made a lot of money legally. As for the rest, I suppose the majority of the Colombo types are happy with the trashy mediocre productions, which unfortunately does not help raise the bar or be professional.  Then again, they also fade away like flowers in a cemetery.