[Flux]

Even though it was undone quicker I'd say it was more successful than the 1996 revamp - it did modernise it and also saw a return to the 1992 style short 5 minute features. The talent and having three main hosts didn't work, and personally would say Amanda was the worse of the trio. I quite liked Paul personally, but it just never quite clicked.

Agreed completely, though I personally feel Amanda didn't shine in the trio simply because she was overpowered by Donna Air trying desperately to cling on to the old style BB! The presenting trio was a bad call (I've always suspected having three presenters was a compromise between C4's preferred Amanda Byram and Planet 24's preference for keeping Donna Air) but like you say a lot of the 2001 revamp was right. Even the look of the show wasn't too far off. In fact, the clip posted by James2001 of Richard Bacon and Donna Air in a green-sofa-less living room is where I thought they'd pulled back the exact right amount from a presentation standpoint. The lighting was brighter, the look of the show was familiar but more modern and sleek, and the graphics looked nice. Had they stuck with a more finessed version of this look and allowed Paul and Amanda to front as a duo for a while I think they could have struck a groove. However it only lasted a week before they went too far with a return to 1990s inspired gaudy interiors which were quickly and cheaply thrown together.

The show needed to evolve to survive, but the production team of the time panicked and stilted any growth it could have had.