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Television

Eh Bien, Mon Ami

Video purchase this week: the ABC Murders episode of Poirot, with David Suchet. This one was made in 1992 and, as far as I can remember, was particularly good. (They’re all good, though. Suchet is wonderful.) Anyway, we’ll be watching it later tonight.

This gives me a reason for mentioning the recent news story about the forthcoming Poirot episodes… four to be filmed this year, the first commencing later this month (Five Little Pigs). Rumour has it that Gwyneth Paltrow will appear in Death on the Nile. Suchet still hopes to film all of the original stories! (total so far: 49.)
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I Must Be Serious

I do watch sport occasionally. Just not football. Football is the work of the Devil. (If you’re American: I mean soccer.) Mostly it’s athletics or tennis I tolerate fairly well.

So Tim Henman’s into the second week of Wimbledon. Again. Will he actually make it through to the final this time? I think, probably not. Having said that, this tendency to slag him off because he’s never won does piss me off a bit. I mean, let’s bear in mind the stream of no-hopers (at least in the men’s game) England has produced, like, for as long as I’ve been alive, pretty much. Tim’s track record is incredibly consistent and creditable.
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TV or not TV

Okay… some television comments, as promised.

Big Brother—I’ve resisted! I resisted the first series almost completely; I wavered a little on the second; and last year, my resolve broke down very quickly and I watched most of it. (Obviously, Jade was robbed.)

Anyhow, this year, I’ve not watched it at all. Not a second. And I’m quite happy about that. In principle, I think it’s an idiotic concept that provides little genuine entertainment. Unfortunately, if you expose yourself to it, it’s almost impossible to not get hooked. The best bet is to avoid it altogether.

A few words on American import shows. In recent years, the Big Two UK terrestrial channels (BBC1 and ITV) have shown almost no American material on prime-time slots, or even close. I’m not sure why. The days when shows like Hawaii Five-O or Quincy would be shown at 8:00pm are long gone. Too many effing house makeovers and airport documentaries to fit in, I guess (read: unimaginative tat that is dead cheap to produce).
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Stranger than Strange

Last night, I watched the new BBC series Strange. There was a pilot for this 18 months or so back, but I only saw half of it. Simple premise: John Strange, defrocked priest, and his pals, investigate and put a stop to evil supernatural stuff, particularly of a demonic variety. Yep, it is as silly as it sounds… but it works pretty well.
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