In our house, we’re not great at reading TV guides so shows we might be inclined to watch are liable to pass us by. Marilyn commented today that she thought we were getting behind in Call the Midwife so I went to iView to see whether she might be right. I never found out because my eye was caught by a program called Alan and Miriam: Lost in Scotland. We couldn’t resist, and turned it on.
What a show it is! Alan Cumming and Miriam Margolyes were both born in Scotland and this program gives them a chance to drive around in a campervan revisiting their childhood. Alan is cultured, erudite and witty; Miriam is coarse, earthy and witty. It’s a brilliant show and we’ll look for the rest of the episodes. Outstanding!
What else are we watching? We’ve had a subscription to Acorn TV for a while now and are finding it pretty good value. Apart from shows we have never heard of, like Under the Vines, The Sound, and My Life is Murder, all set in New Zealand, it has lots of old favourites like Poirot and Foyles War.
At the moment, we’ve gone back to the first series of Midsomer Murders, first aired in 1997. The early episodes have held up pretty well; they were old-fashioned to start with and they’re just a little bit more old-fashioned now. But that suits us; we can’t watch the modern, aggressive shows and if we don’t see another dystopian or superhero blockbuster I’ll be a happy man. When did dystopian become a common word anyway?
Gradually we’ve moved away from US shows. There’s a certain air about them which I don’t like: a ruthlessness, perhaps, or a smugness. I suppose TV shows reflect the values of the nation which made them. Australian shows have a naivety, a certain air of apology for trying to copy the big boys. UK shows swing between the farcical and the oh so cool. US shows have a confident, even supercilious feeling as if to say they’re the kings of the medium and let’s not forget it.
I’ll have to develop this idea a bit more; maybe I’ve hit on something.
Otherwise, I hope you're celebrating Australia Day in an appropriate way.
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