I think might have been in a post-tennis TV watching slump this week. All the promises of the fabulous programming amounted to nothing and I was left with the usual suspects: Father Ted, Doctor Who, the return of Spicks and Specks, and a one-day cricket match.
Tennis: Men’s Final
Firstly, though you’d thought you’d heard the last of the tennis but you haven’t. The mens’ final on Sunday was heartbreaking and I couldn’t make it to the end. All the way through I had a terrible feeling that Roger would not win. Even when he was playing brilliantly, Nadal always had a comeback. Finally at around 11 I went to bed with a sense of doom. Don’t get me wrong I like Nadal as well, but for Federer time is running out if he’s going to get the number of grand slams record from Pete Sampras. He’s 27 now, which in tennis years (like animal years) is much older than it sounds. It was a little bit sad.
Tuesday: Father Ted
Was a repeat! Still better than the other options, although I did forget to watch the one “after the tennis” show I was going to try, RSPCA Animal Rescue. Maybe I need to put a note in my outlook calendar.
Doctor Who: Very good, although it’s a bit confusing because I am currently watching some of the Martha episodes on DVD. I’m changing my mind about Martha, she is less annoying than Rose, but not as good as Donna. Anyway Catriona does a much better job of explaining it than me over at Circulating Library so go and read that. Let’s just say Zoe Wanamaker was fabulous as a stretched out dehydrating piece of skin and the cat-nun-nurses were fun as well.
Wednesday: Spicks and Specks returns. It’s always the same, relying on the quality of the panel guests for it’s entertainment value. Guy Pearce – hooray! I know he’s made a lot of movies, but why didn’t they mention his seminal role as Mike on Neighbours. Maybe he told them not to. Anyway, there was a fair amount of bagging out of Craig MacLachlan which everyone enjoyed.
Thursday: Nothing. Continued my 30 Rock catching up marathon on DVD. I’m now up to Season 2 but think I shall post about that separately once I’ve sorted out what I think.
Friday: Managed to catch the end of the one day cricket after the Eisteddfod meeting. I absolutely love it when these games go down to the wire like this one did, and as I may have mentioned once or twice on this blog previously, it’s very satisfying when Australia loses. Although, this summer even that’s getting a bit old. Because they never win! I think New Zealand might be my favourite international team actually. Daniel Vettori was right, that Brad Haddin wicket in the previous game was suspect.
And, I kept forgetting to watch The Biggest Loser. I only managed one episode. I’m torn when it comes to the Biggest Loser. Is it exploitative of people with weight issues, or is it caring, sharing, changing people’s lives in an Oprah-like confidence and self-esteem building way. I can’t decide so I think that means it’s both those things at once. But I do love the drama of the weekly weigh-in. Who will go below the yellow line? And the visual corniness when they have to vote and they reveal the names from under the room service tray thingies.
Although I think we all agree that “the walk” that was introduced last season is stupid and time wasting in an attempt to inject further “drama” into a program that already moves at a glacial pace. This time, they picked bracelets out of the gerbra urns. And it takes FOREVER. (Note to producers. I preferred the stone tablets from last season.) But I do like to imagine the director off-screen. “Everyone look sad now”. “Everyone, Ajay’s coming, line up and wait for her to deliver her lines, that are written in peculiarly short Hemingwayesque sentences”. “Everyone, don’t mention the welfare fraud charges”. “Everyone, try not to look bored while we spend the entirety of tonight’s episode, recapping what happened last night”. It is perhaps the slowest show on TV (apart from Test cricket). Maybe that’s why I like watching it. Because when something does actually finally happen, the excitement is magnified. As you might guess, there may be more on TBL in the weeks to come. Especially the trainers, Michelle and Shannon. I prefer the Americans Bob and Jillian. They are fierce. Although Michelle and Shannon have grown on me. It’s interesting to surmise as to whether Shannon’s arm tattoo is real or fake. So when nothing’s happening you can study it for inconsistencies.
What do you mean I need to get a life?
4 Comments »
The Biggest Loser has many techniques for stretching hardly any content over half an hour. My favourite is how there will be a thirty second exchange but they splice in interviews of everyone involved or who happened to be standing around commenting on what was going through their heads at that moment. Truly gripping television (not)
i agree…there is a terrible lot of emoting and recapping…but i find it gripping in a really boring,non-gripping kind of way!
I can’t look away even though it’s so dull…what is this power?
maybe like triple j it’s making me dumber?
triple j is making you dumber??
oh no.
ive been listening every day to that radio station since 1990 … is that what is wrong with me?!
no triple j is not making me dumber. i don’t actually listen to it any more and i don’t think radio can make you dumber.
but over on twitter djfoobarmatt was wondering if triple j was making him dumber. I said I didn’t think that was possible. So rest assured…we’re supposed to get wiser as we get older anyway…aren’t we?
although i think of the two choices the biggest loser would have a greater potential for decreasing our intelligence compared to triple j. i’ll probably keep watching it anyway.