Tv Shows

Tv Shows (c)

By

Michael Casey

I’ve decided to write something else, so here is something else, which is an old joke that sounds so much better on Radio, and remember everything I write is radio. Which you Philosophy students can argue about as you drink your Stella Artois, and my old sparing partner may just do that this weekend as he pays us a visit, Dr P will grace us, ok he’ll visit and leave rasping farts everywhere. I did nearly kill him 50 years ago in Grammar school, so he still likes his revenge.

What has this got to do with anything, well nothing, which is a puzzle for you Maths students. When me and Dr P were at school together we all did Latin, and Up Pompeii was a hit new new show set in Latin times, with lots of bawdy humour, so as we learnt Latin at night we  watched the tv show, no doubt it is on Utube, so you can see what I was watching nearly 50 years ago. Decades  later on a tour of Italy I did visit Pompeii and as I sat on a cold stone I pulled faces just like Frankie Howerd, go google for yourselves to see buxom slave girls in togas.

As you grow your taste in tv shows grows and alters. Nowadays I watch too much tv news thanks to the News Channels that are available. I did enjoy Fox too, because it was so outrageously Right Wing, so had great heckle value. But now I do not have it on my tv package, and Fox News was actually removed from Sky, because nobody was watching it in UK, apart from me for heckle value.

I do miss Shepherd Smith as I think he is a good reporter, I always said he was so nice he could be Gay. So I was not surprised when I saw reports he was happy and Gay, so God Bless him, in actual fact I want to put him in a story in Tears for Butcher when a American body is discovered in a bar. Maybe I’ll never get to write it but it would be very funny and Shepherd could win a Pulitzer but decides to bury the story out of respect for his British hosts, and the true source of 70 year old spirits.

I do miss Charles Krauthammer too, he was the grown up on Fox tv shows. So that’s just some of my dirty secrets. What else do we all like, Police Shows. I can remember Ironside as a kid, and I spotted it somewhere on tv recently, detective shows run forever. Cagney and Lacy my mother and sisters liked a lot, now Brocklyn 99 has the big guys daughters called Cagney and Lacy. He’s very funny, and yes I don’t know his or any of their names, but they all make me laugh. The Captain reminds me of my friend Dr P, I’ll tell him that this weekend and no doubt he’ll say, Very Illogical Michael.

The modern Sherlock with Cumberbatch has been a great revelation, though the film version with Robert Downey Jnr is also great as are the Basil Rathbone versions, and I’m old enough to remember the Peter Cushing tv versions. I hope I’ve given you enough ideas as to what to watch, and some insights into my tv viewing.

Now we don’t all just watch Police shows, I have a liking for Art, though art with a small “a” is probably best. No this is not looking at naked women in pictures. My mother spent 10 pennies on a less that A4 size piece of card with a print of a Winter scene on. That was 50 years ago, I still have it, it’s in my bedroom. Because of that event my interest in Art was seeded. I had prints galore on walls, then I upgraded to some nice painted pictures. Before marriage and before kids you can do this, and if you barely drink then you have the funds.

My tv tip for Art is Andrew Graham Dixon, find his site, you can buy CDs of his shows,he really is so erudite, and he truly loves his subject. Or you can watch repeats on the BBC, he really does open your mind without any use of substances. He also did an Art and Food show with his Italian mate, so you could watch that as a taster. It’s always great to discover things with a great teacher/guide and Andrew Graham Dixon is the man. And no he has never heard of me, and never will, not unless we get stuck in a lift together, and then God alone knows what would happen.

Trying different shows does lead to treasure, never say this is not your cup of tea have a watch and listen, and your mind will be expanded. It’s like saying you could never watch a film with subtitles, give it a try and you may discover a whole new world of tv and films, ditto with black and white shows, just give it a try. The whole world loves David Attenborough, so watch similar shows, they don’t have to be his brand, just give things a go.

Korean shows are very funny so have a watch of them, I’m not joking, and watch Chinese serials too on Phoenix if you have that. There is a whole world of entertainment out there. Chinese New Year will be coming soon so find some entertainment variety shows to watch.

Well this has turned into a crib sheet for tv watching, basically I’m saying don’t be too insular. Inform, Educate and Entertain was supposed to be the BBC’s motto, but it can also be your own. Try something new on tv, say once a month. Or try a different take away once a month, you can practice your Korean learnt from tv, and who knows you could end up having rice thrown at you , when you marry that Korean takeaway girl.