Heart attack

Monday, December 11, 2017

Latest Television Viewing

We're totally captivated by Blue Planet 2. The photography is superb. I have to say I enjoy anything that David Attenborough attaches his name to. We had another wildlife documentary series on last year called 'The Hunt' which was just as captivating. Having recently bought a Hitachi 43 inch HD television,  this type of programme is a perfect viewing when you can see the amount of detail a set of this size reveals.

Carol recently bought a fish tank and we went to Dobbie's garden centre near Bletchley to buy two fish for the tank. I think the two fish are enjoying 'Blue Planet 2'. I'm sure they're watching the fish and other under-water inhabitants from the safety of their tank. There's a rock in the tank with a hollowed-out centre and they hide in this 'cave.' Meanwhile . . .  Alfie, or little Yorkshire Terrier, sits on the back of the sofa, just within view of the fish-tank which has been placed on a bookcase, and seems intrigued by our newest family members. It's difficult to judge what he makes of the fish, but no doubt it's the fact that they're moving about in their round home. We'll have to keep an eye on him to see that he doesn't interfere with the fish in their tank.

I have to say there's nothing like a really good bit of television drama. The BBC is renowned for it's classic adaptations of novels, probably best known for such things as 'Pride and Prejudice' with Colin Firth as Mr Darcey, which has to be the definitive version of the novel. So, when I heard that they were doing a new adaptation of 'Howard's End' I couldn't wait for it to be shown. At least if it's something that is adapted for television you know, generally speaking, that it will be given enough time to play out, unlike a film which will only have a couple of hour's screen time, in which case a great deal will have to be cut in order for it to fit a film's playing time.

'Howard's End,' the BBC adaptation of the E.M. Forster novel is extremely good. I have read the novel and saw the 1992 film version made by Ishmail Merchant and James Ivory and starring Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins. The new 4-hour production had a great deal to live up to. They seem to have spent a lot of time and effort on getting the period right. There's a real sense of place and the settings are well created.

We're currently enjoying a late-afternoon television show called 'Money For Nothing.' It's been running for quite a while. The idea is that Sarah Moore, a very clever designer/entrepeneur, visits local tidy-tips, where members of the public are taking their cast-off furniture, rubbish of all sorts, such as D.I.Y. remnants, doors, shelving, house-clearcut bits-and-pieces and takes stuff she likes (with these people's permission) and has it restored or made into new and exciting pieces of furniture which she then sells on, at a profit, and returns the profit to the people who took the broken and old items to the tidy-tip in the first place. It's part of the new culture of 'make and mend' or 'recycle.' Either this, or these items land up in land-fill. It just goes to prove that anything can be re-used or 're-purposed' into very stylish and chic pieces of furniture. This type of television programming makes a change from antiques and selling houses or mere trivial programmes about celebrities and gossip.

I love a really great comedy on BBC Four called 'Detectorists.' It's  written, directed and stars Mckenzie Crook together with Toby Jones. Very gentle, not laugh-out-loud comedy, doesn't have a cackling studio audience. Makes a change from a lot of comedy which is broad, noisy and brash. It's what I'd describe at thoughtful. There have only been two series and this will be the final series. A shame, but it probably went as far as it could. Hopefully McKenzie Crook will write more for television and probably film. Certainly a good start for a director and writer.

Sorry to say it, but I absolutely hate reality television and in particular, anything with 'celebrity' in the title. I'm certainly not a fan of things like 'Big Brother' or 'I'm A Celebrity, Get Me out of Here.' 'Strictly Come Dancing' drives me mad. I don't mind the dancing, but the hype that surrounds it, plus the awful audience clapping along with the music like tame monkeys and all that surrounds it, just not my idea of entertainment. The Saturday episodes go on interminably, and the comments of such as Craig Revel Horwood are just plain nasty at times. The whole thing is set up so that they get free publicity in the tabloid press and on social media. I'm not convinced that it's all 'live.' The Sunday evening results show must be pre-recorded, basically because I don't believe they'd send the audience home and then bring them back for the Sunday evening show. I still reckon it's recorded after the Saturday night show once the results have been decided.

No comments: