Watching Television
08/01/12 05:13
I often tell people that I don’t watch television. That isn’t quite true. I don’t watch much television. We don’t have cable service in our home and I am not a fan of very many things that are shown on television. But I do occasionally turn on the television and watch a show or two, especially when I am tired or trying to clear my head of other thoughts.
We now have a local broadcaster that plays re-runs of old television shows on one of its digital channels. When I think of it, I can catch an episode of M*A*S*H, or even I Love Lucy, but both of those shows air earlier in the day than I watch television in my normal routine. I like some of the things on public television. In our area, we get three channels from Public TV. One of them used to air lots of cooking and home improvement shows, most of which do not interest me, but I did watch several episodes of “This Old House.” However, they have switched the programming on that channel to air mostly children’s programs at the time I watch television. South Dakota Public Television is good at showing high school events, including concerts, and I sometimes like to watch those.
I sometimes enjoy an episode of the Red Green Show, a tongue-in-cheek exaggeration of many things male. Their love of duct tape and wacky inventions bring a smile to my face. But over the years I think I have seen so many episodes that what I catch these days are usually shows I’ve already seen.
On Saturday evenings I have found one thing I like on public television. They show British comedies. These are almost all half-hour shows with limited storylines, good character development, excellent acting and a quirky British sense of humor. They occasionally hint at sexuality, but it is implied, not shown. Our station will often show three shows in a row on a Saturday evening. I’m fairly certain they aren’t among the station’s most popular offerings, if for no other reason, that they will be preempted for something else whenever possible. If the station is fund-raising, they show special concerts in place of the comedies. If there are high school sports tournaments, they will be shown with no apologies for skipping the comedies. Anytime there is something more interesting, the comedies are dropped. My suspicion is that they are shown in part because they are inexpensive and not labor intensive for the stations. They don’t need much staff to simply play re-runs from the BBC.
They are more fun once you get to know the characters and develop a sense for British humor.
I got started watching the shows because friends kept recommending that I watch “The Vicar of Dibley.” In that show, Geraldine Grainger is a jolly and down-to-earth Anglican priest. She is appointed to a small country village that makes no apologies for telling her that they expected, and perhaps wanted, a priest who was a man. The church vestry is full of odd characters and the chair seems to be constantly working to get rid of the priest. Still she succeeds in improving the church and the village. It is evident that she really cares for her parish.
But, after a few years, all of the episodes had been played and our local PBS moved on to other British comedies in its time slot. By then I was “hooked.” Before or after the Vicar was shown, I had watched episodes of “Red Dwarf,” “Are You Being Served,” “Waiting for God,” “To the Manor Born,” “Allo, Allo!,” “One Foot in the Grave” and others.
These days one of my favorite shows these days is called “Keeping Up Appearances.” Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced “bouquet”) is totally consumed with trying to keep up the appearance of social status, while driving her husband Richard, her neighbors, the local vicar, and almost everyone else up the wall. Her sisters Rose, Daisy, and Violet make occasional appearances. Patricia Routledge, who plays Hyacinth, Clive Swift, who plays Richard, and Jospehine Tewson, who plays their neighbor Liz all are superb actors, whose exaggerated facial gestures get me laughing every time. Another character, Daisy’s husband Onslow, played by Geoffrey Hughes, is a beer-drinking, overweight and unemployed man who is constantly betting on the horses and smoking cigarettes. However, the character is amazingly well-read, often portrayed with a book and constantly quoting philosophical concepts from The Principles of Condensed Matter Physics, Life Among the Primitives, or A Brief History of Time.
Another show I’ve learned to enjoy is “As Time Goes By.” This gentle comedy has earned higher ratings in the US market than in Britain, perhaps because of its sentimental storyline. The back-story is that Lionel and Jean were lovers when they were young. Jean was a nurse and Lionel a soldier about to leave for Korea. A letter is lost in the mail and they lose touch with each other. Both go on to live their lives. Jean starts a successful business after being widowed and Lionel becomes a coffee grower in Kenya before divorcing and leaving that life behind. They have a chance meeting in their senior years and fall back in love. Like many other British comedies, there are some other quirky characters, notably Alistair Deacon, played by Philip Bretherton. Deacon is a wealthy jet setting publisher who takes a liking to the couple and has on again off again romantic interests in Jean’s daughter and a friend of the daughter. He seems to be able to arrange almost any kind of an event with a few calls on his cell phone.
So I’ve written nearly an entire blog on television – not bad for someone who doesn’t watch television. It does raise the question of why I keep watching the shows. I’ve decided that it may be because there is another British Comedy that shows a religious leader – one that I have yet to catch on South Dakota Public TV. It has just the right name: “Father Ted.” The basic story is that three priests are banished to a remote island with terrible weather. One, Father Jack, is a rambling, inane old drunk. Another, Father Dougal, means well but has no common sense whatever. The only remotely sane member of the crew is Father Ted who tries to keep things in order and deal with the rather strange housekeeper.
Who knows, I may yet become addicted to television. The problem is that the shows I seem to like all were made years and years ago.
We now have a local broadcaster that plays re-runs of old television shows on one of its digital channels. When I think of it, I can catch an episode of M*A*S*H, or even I Love Lucy, but both of those shows air earlier in the day than I watch television in my normal routine. I like some of the things on public television. In our area, we get three channels from Public TV. One of them used to air lots of cooking and home improvement shows, most of which do not interest me, but I did watch several episodes of “This Old House.” However, they have switched the programming on that channel to air mostly children’s programs at the time I watch television. South Dakota Public Television is good at showing high school events, including concerts, and I sometimes like to watch those.
I sometimes enjoy an episode of the Red Green Show, a tongue-in-cheek exaggeration of many things male. Their love of duct tape and wacky inventions bring a smile to my face. But over the years I think I have seen so many episodes that what I catch these days are usually shows I’ve already seen.
On Saturday evenings I have found one thing I like on public television. They show British comedies. These are almost all half-hour shows with limited storylines, good character development, excellent acting and a quirky British sense of humor. They occasionally hint at sexuality, but it is implied, not shown. Our station will often show three shows in a row on a Saturday evening. I’m fairly certain they aren’t among the station’s most popular offerings, if for no other reason, that they will be preempted for something else whenever possible. If the station is fund-raising, they show special concerts in place of the comedies. If there are high school sports tournaments, they will be shown with no apologies for skipping the comedies. Anytime there is something more interesting, the comedies are dropped. My suspicion is that they are shown in part because they are inexpensive and not labor intensive for the stations. They don’t need much staff to simply play re-runs from the BBC.
They are more fun once you get to know the characters and develop a sense for British humor.
I got started watching the shows because friends kept recommending that I watch “The Vicar of Dibley.” In that show, Geraldine Grainger is a jolly and down-to-earth Anglican priest. She is appointed to a small country village that makes no apologies for telling her that they expected, and perhaps wanted, a priest who was a man. The church vestry is full of odd characters and the chair seems to be constantly working to get rid of the priest. Still she succeeds in improving the church and the village. It is evident that she really cares for her parish.
But, after a few years, all of the episodes had been played and our local PBS moved on to other British comedies in its time slot. By then I was “hooked.” Before or after the Vicar was shown, I had watched episodes of “Red Dwarf,” “Are You Being Served,” “Waiting for God,” “To the Manor Born,” “Allo, Allo!,” “One Foot in the Grave” and others.
These days one of my favorite shows these days is called “Keeping Up Appearances.” Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced “bouquet”) is totally consumed with trying to keep up the appearance of social status, while driving her husband Richard, her neighbors, the local vicar, and almost everyone else up the wall. Her sisters Rose, Daisy, and Violet make occasional appearances. Patricia Routledge, who plays Hyacinth, Clive Swift, who plays Richard, and Jospehine Tewson, who plays their neighbor Liz all are superb actors, whose exaggerated facial gestures get me laughing every time. Another character, Daisy’s husband Onslow, played by Geoffrey Hughes, is a beer-drinking, overweight and unemployed man who is constantly betting on the horses and smoking cigarettes. However, the character is amazingly well-read, often portrayed with a book and constantly quoting philosophical concepts from The Principles of Condensed Matter Physics, Life Among the Primitives, or A Brief History of Time.
Another show I’ve learned to enjoy is “As Time Goes By.” This gentle comedy has earned higher ratings in the US market than in Britain, perhaps because of its sentimental storyline. The back-story is that Lionel and Jean were lovers when they were young. Jean was a nurse and Lionel a soldier about to leave for Korea. A letter is lost in the mail and they lose touch with each other. Both go on to live their lives. Jean starts a successful business after being widowed and Lionel becomes a coffee grower in Kenya before divorcing and leaving that life behind. They have a chance meeting in their senior years and fall back in love. Like many other British comedies, there are some other quirky characters, notably Alistair Deacon, played by Philip Bretherton. Deacon is a wealthy jet setting publisher who takes a liking to the couple and has on again off again romantic interests in Jean’s daughter and a friend of the daughter. He seems to be able to arrange almost any kind of an event with a few calls on his cell phone.
So I’ve written nearly an entire blog on television – not bad for someone who doesn’t watch television. It does raise the question of why I keep watching the shows. I’ve decided that it may be because there is another British Comedy that shows a religious leader – one that I have yet to catch on South Dakota Public TV. It has just the right name: “Father Ted.” The basic story is that three priests are banished to a remote island with terrible weather. One, Father Jack, is a rambling, inane old drunk. Another, Father Dougal, means well but has no common sense whatever. The only remotely sane member of the crew is Father Ted who tries to keep things in order and deal with the rather strange housekeeper.
Who knows, I may yet become addicted to television. The problem is that the shows I seem to like all were made years and years ago.