Media diary – week one

Review: Miranda TV series

The media text I am going to be writing about is the well-known UK TV series Miranda, which is aired on BBC. The programme has been running since the 9^th of November 2009, and is still ongoing. It is based around the award winning actor/comedian Miranda Heart’s life experiences – most of them extremely humorous. The main characters in the show are Miranda herself, her best friend Stevie, her love interest Garry, and annoying – yet witty mother penny. The target audience for this media text would be teenagers and adults of all ages, and could be categorised as being for the Mainstream group, as the channel it is streamed on (The BBC) is a well-known trusted family channel. The general premise of the show s the on and off flirtatious banter between her and the chef next door, and the unusual competitions and games between Miranda and her short, easily amused best friend/manager.

There have been 3 series’ so far and each episode is sadly only 30 minutes long! The show is written by and starring Miranda Heart, who, in the show, runs a joke shop with her best friend, is looking for love, and gets mocked by her mother over her weight! She is a 6ft one woman who often gets mistaken for a ‘sir’ and doesn't fit in with her posh friends from boarding school, as she is extremely socially awkward even more so around men! Miranda is a constant disappointment to her mother penny as she is desperate for her to have a ‘proper’ job as opposed to her joke shop which she loves, and get married. The show revolves around her mother’s desire for her to marry, Miranda’s lack of business knowledge and her childhood best friend having to run the shop, and her friend Garry Preston from university who works in the restaurant next door to her shop. At the end of each episode, everyone comes together and waves goodbye to the audience, which is different as we don’t normally see this in everyday programmes.

There are many ideologies explored in the programme, the main one is about not taking life to seriously. Miranda is certainty not afraid of making herself look stupid and having a laugh and a joke which is shown as she frequently falls over and walks into things. Another ideology explored is about doing what makes you happy, and not caring about what other people think of you. Miranda runs a joke shop with her friend Stevie, and to many people such as succeeder and aspirers this is not seen as being a ‘proper’ or a well-paid, high status job, but to Miranda what matters is being happy and being with people you love. Working in the joke shop proves to be difficult for her as she lacks business skills and is immature, which makes it even more hilarious to watch!  Most people will understand the ideologies presented in the show, however there will be some who will reject them and end up taking a negotiated reading. People might be too serious and not have a sense of humour, meaning they could find this series to be annoying and not able to find the meaning of the ideologies, and not be able to interpret what has been encoded.

The purpose of this media text is for entertainment, the characters are intended to be relatable, and as I’m sure we all have moments we make a fool out of ourselves, by lying in socially awkward situations to impress when we feel uncomfortable. Though they may not be quite as elaborate as Miranda’s awkward moments, as in the first episode, we see her lying to a friend she hasn't seen in years, by saying she is an Olympic gymnast in the ‘bustier’ category and that is why she is not seen on TV.  Soon after this, she ends up accidentally dressing up as a transvestite for her date after being mistaken for a man, there’s something about her character that we find lovable and relatable, as she is not afraid to make a fool of herself, so why should we be? Important lessons can be taken from Miranda heart, as I think she is a good role model to have, she is not a typical woman and she is not afraid to be herself.