Even Better Than The Real Thing is BBC One’s latest bid to freshen up the Saturday night talent-show slot. The show hosted by Paddy McGuiness lines up some of Britain’s most peculiar and downright hilarious tribute acts to perform their idols’ greatest hits.
The first episode, which aired over the weekend, featured a line-up of George Michael, Whitney Houston, Bruno Mars, Amy Winehouse and Little Mix, and seemed set to deliver some fun, light-hearted impersonations of the biggest names in pop.
That’s not what some viewers thought of episode one, though, with many of them taking to Twitter to vent their frustrations.
Nathan Bevan was among the many to compare the show to Stars in Their Eyes:
#EvenBetterThanTheRealThing on ITV is basically Stars In Their Eyes for people who like to start drinking at 10.30 in the morning
— nathan bevan (@nathbevan) September 16, 2017
And Stephen Burns thought it was worse than Madame Tussauds:
It's like a shit madam tussauds! #evenbetterthantherealthing
— Stephen ??????? (@cwtchcaerdydd) September 16, 2017
Some tweeters chose to invent new names for the tribute acts, the standout being ‘Lidl Mix.’
LIDL MIX ??? #evenbetterthantherealthing pic.twitter.com/VVHnT6wzne
— Mr Hits (@darrenjl) September 16, 2017
Various accounts pilloried the Bowie impersonator:
https://twitter.com/deanlaccohee/status/909117234156654592
Is that @rickygervais as David Bowie on #evenbetterthantherealthing ? Thought he was in Oslo? pic.twitter.com/jtIyGL74SK
— Gary Bishop (@gjb1966) September 16, 2017
https://twitter.com/SonidukeSonia/status/909116962336321536
It's that supposed to be David Bowie? Looks like Danny La Rue #evenbetterthantherealthing
— Paul (@paulieeaton) September 16, 2017
Labour MP Stella Creasy wasn’t keen on the format:
Somewhere someone in the BBC is rocking gently under their desk saying 'it was all just a training exercise…' #evenbetterthantherealthing
— stellacreasy (@stellacreasy) September 16, 2017
the 'michael jackson' character alone should trigger an independent judge led inquiry…#evenbetterthantherealthing https://t.co/VtazkwoI7v
— stellacreasy (@stellacreasy) September 16, 2017
In fact, cringe levels were sky-high among many viewers:
Going to see how long I can leave #evenbetterthantherealthing on before my balls crawl up inside my body with embarrassment.
— Grumpyoldtroll (@pjnall) September 16, 2017
But some chose not to take the show too seriously, and are eagerly awaiting their next injection of pop-culture nostalgia.
@PaddyMcGuinness #evenbetterthantherealthing Bloody Brilliant!!! When's the next one ! X
— Julie Parsons (@Jules01anna) September 16, 2017
https://twitter.com/meloniehutchens/status/909131437558902787
And on balance, Twitter itself made the show pretty good.
This is worth enduring purely for the twitter comments ? #evenbetterthantherealthing
— Claire (@KittyBomb1) September 16, 2017
Some of the acts were genuinely brilliant, too:
That George Michael impersonator had his voice spot on. I flicked over & thought it was an old Top of the Pops episode ? #EBTTRT
— The Hairy Hobbit (@bilbobaggins2k) September 16, 2017
It looks like we might even be seeing ‘Liam Gallagher’ in episode two:
Love to know what @liamgallagher makes of his 'lookalike' on #Evenbetter – the bloke looks like Brian Conley. pic.twitter.com/lYHB3hZ0pB
— Andy Bush (@bushontheradio) September 16, 2017
Bring it on.
Words: Joseph Jones