"[4] He characterised the song as a "fable about reality TV", which he compared to junk food, saying that "you have an appetite for it, but it doesn't make you feel very good at the end of it.

"[6] The drums on "The Barry Williams Show" were a composite of several tracks played by Manu Katché, which engineer Richard Chappell looped and treated through a sampler.

[8] The lyrics detail the talk show host's desire for "dysfunctional excess" to maintain high viewership ratings.

It was designed by Marc Bessant, who worked with Dilly Gent to find visual material that matched Gabriel's lyrics.

He said that the artwork represented the breakdown of "transmission and reception" and reflected the idea of "human beings voluntarily lost/immersed" in reality television.

[9] The music video for "The Barry Williams Show" was directed by Sean Penn and stars Christopher McDonald as the fictional television host.

Eventually, the blood fills the entire studio as a raging storm with Williams and two show girls stuck on a raft.

During these performances, Gabriel took on the role of a talk show host and would preface the song by telling the audience "Some people say, you are what you eat.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic felt that "The Barry Williams Show" was out of place on Up and characterized the song as "ham-fisted" and "wrong-headed".

[22] Writing for PopMatters, Andy Kerman identified "The Barry Williams Show" as the only "embarrassment" on Up and believed that it reflected poor judgment to release the song as the album's lead single.

"[24] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian believed that the song's lyrics and music sounded outdated, saying that it was "hardly cutting-edge satire" to ridicule Jerry Springer.

[27] Writing for Salon, Jonathan Kiefer thought that Gabriel portrayed the titular talkshow host as an "endearingly contemptible tabloid TV sleaze-monger" and found the song to be "bitterly funny and certainly on target.

"[28] Writing for Record Journal, Allan Sculley thought that the "Barry Williams Show" was a "chunky tune with its share of ear-grabbing moments".

[29]Larry Flick of Billboard described the song as an "acerbic take on the current spate of reality TV programs and their eroding effect on humanity.