Take me out

Mar 21, 2011 by John    5 Comments    Posted under: tv

I feel like I’m supposed to be equally guilty about both of the following for different reasons as they’re both hated by many for different reasons, but some of my favourite TV shows at the moment are either wanky cultural discussion shows or bottom of the barrel trash TV. It’s all that middle brow stuff that I hate.

My guiltiest pleasure of all right now is Take Me Out. Of all the people who usually have Twitter and TV on the go, no one dares admit to watching Take me out, even though the same people are all over X Factor when it’s warbling season. I wonder if they’re afraid of the TTP*.

And then, on The, usually wonderful, Anti Room this morning I start to read the scathing words “Take Me Out is probably one of the most horrendously sexist shows ever dreamed up by a bunch of TV executives. ‘Scraping the barrel’ doesn’t even come close.” and I think “here we go“, all the while agreeing but still thinking “Yes but I can’t stop watching it!“. And then I get to the following line. “But here’s the rub: I. Cannot. Stop. Watching. It.” and I laughed so loud, the cat woke up with a jerk and fell off my desk.

That’s it in a nutshell. It’s the cheesiest shclock in years yet I can’t stop watching. I’m as intrigued as I would be were I watching a documentary about the mating habits of an alien species. To me, people who happily take part in a live cattle market, albeit tongue-in-cheek, are about as alien as they come. Cannot. Stop. Watching. Indeed.

So there we go. The Take Me Out fan club starts here, or rather there. And the TTP* can fuck right off.

*Two big groups you get on Twitter are
1. People watching shit TV but having fun on Twitter giving out about it.
2. The TTP (Twitter Taste Police). People giving out about people watching shit TV but having fun on Twitter giving out about it.

There’s a fine line between the two really but you have to wonder about the latter’s quality time if they spend their night on Twitter giving out about the former’s quality time. No Likey, no lighty!

Psychoville

Jun 19, 2009 by John    5 Comments    Posted under: tv

I was a total League of Gentleman fanboy. Best thing on telly on years. There’s been plenty of decent comedy over the years but it’s just that added twist of the macabre that really made it. And the characters were brilliant, otherworldly yet all too familiar. I did this little project a few years ago using a scene from the League of Gentlemen movie, and while this photo was taken I uttered the revered catchphrase You’re my wife now. So I’ve earned my fanboy stripes.

Well they’re back! With Psychoville. Well, two of the three gentlemen are back, it’s a pity Mark Gatiss is absent. The first episode was on last night it was off to a good start. It’s the same style as League of Gentlemen, great characters, great set design, with just a dose more ‘murder, mystery, suspense!’. Of the new characters, I think the scary clown is a bit obvious – my favourites are David and Maureen, a mummy and her special little boy in an altogether wholesome relationship.

The first episode was a good opener for a long running story and I can’t wait to see where it goes.

BBC2 10pm Every Thursday.

I’ve never heard The Smiths

Apr 22, 2009 by John    5 Comments    Posted under: music, tv

I know sometimes when a task is at hand, other activities take on a magnetic quality including the TV that you’ve been meaning to turn off – but Nigel Havers has been very entertaining on “I haven’t seen Star Wars yet”, a show where celebrities take on experiences not previously experienced.

• I can’t believe he hadn’t seen The Simpsons before. He gave it 11 out of 10.
• I can’t believe he got a tattoo of a scorpion on his arm, in the name of a TV show
• I can’t believe he never heard of The Smiths and thought they were rubbish. Particularly ripping apart, This charming man
• I can believe he never had Le Big Mac before