This week I’m going to talk briefly about something we all watch now and again - the dreaded rerun.
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, re-runs make up a bulk of the television programming in our fair country. For those of us who don’t have Sky at home (there is a fear in my household of *one of us watching too much E Channel) they are a fact of life.
I would generally turn off the TV and read a book, or go to sleep, but I’m working on a project at the moment that’s keeping me up a bit, and having the old box on while I’m at it can make for some comforting background noise.
How I Met Your Mother: you know the one. Ted Moseby sits his kids down and tells them about how he met their mother. In case you didn’t get that from the title.
Seven seasons in (with one to go) and he still hasn’t met their mother (terrible love life, huh), so they have been sitting there listening to him babble on for quite a while now. The show may have jumped the shark a little bit by dragging the story out too long, but it's still a good watch, and recently won the 2012 People’s choice awards for best network comedy. Neil Patrick Harris (who won best comedy actor at previously mentioned awards) holds the show up for me. Have you seen his 2011 Tony Awards “Broadway is not just for gays anymore” opening number? If not, you NEED to watch it.
(Ed: and Jason Segel is the best person ever so anything that he is in is automatically amazing OK.)
Even though I’ve probably seen the episode that I watched last night at least three times, it’s still pretty entertaining.
Did you know:
1. Bob Saget is the voiceover when Ted is telling the story to his kids? I’m not sure how necessary it was for them to have an additional person to play grown up Ted’s voice, but whatever.
2. There is a list of functioning websites that are created and mentioned in the show. Check them out.
The Simpsons: ah, that old chestnut. How can I talk about re-runs without divulging into talking about The Simpsons? I can imagine a few groans out there, but remember, in its prime The Simpsons was possibly one of the most clever and popular comedy shows in the world and has a legacy of being the longest running prime time show ever.
I remember the 'Bartman' and seeing the family on a float at the Santa parade. Hell, my Nana even knitted me a Bart Simpson jumper when I was about eight (I WISH I had a photo to show you, that thing was the tits). The first eight to ten seasons are widely regarded as the best. Unfortunately we seem to have grown out of simpler shows such as The Simpsons and moved onto the likes of Family Guy and American Dad, who, in my opinion, cater to the more “shock proof” audience of 2012 compared to those of the 90’s.
The episode that I watched this week was called 'The Debarted' and was a spoof of the film The Departed. It was OK - watchable at best.
Futurama: I've heard a lot of flak about Futurama over the years, and I guess that in ’99 when it first aired, the show had a lot to live up to as Matt Groening’s second major animated series. What people don’t realise is that behind the ridiculous story lines is that a huge amount of ‘easter egg’ work has gone into it. My first encounter with Futurama was about six years ago, by way of two boxed sets gifted to me as I was moving out of a flat.
“All Glory to the Hypnotoad”. Futurama has a huge online fan base, who proclaim it as one of the most intellectual cartoon comedies created. Thousands of memes have been generated from scenes throughout the seasons- including this one. It has more continuity across seasons than any other cartoon. It even has puns written in dechiperable alien languages for those who are dedicated enough to spend their time on it. One dedicated fan has even created a timeline of Futurama’s history, spanning 2000 years. If a show has fans as dedicated as these, then maybe it deserves some of our attention. Or maybe not, you know, if you’re too cool for that stuff.
The Tudors: OK, so I didn’t actually watch it on TV, it was more of a streaming job. But I did watch most of Season Four (The final season, when King Henry VIII Gets all fat and full of Syphilis), and holy shit, it’s pretty good. I’m a bit of a fan of period dramas, and there is plenty of torture and adultery going on in this one people. Oh god, and the poor guy that is sentenced to a beheading and the drunk executioner keeps missing and axing him in the back. Even better, the show is historically reasonably accurate, including the King’s six wives (two of which he had beheaded). These people were a seriously savage bunch. The costumes are amazing too, if you (like me) are into that kind of thing. A friend of mine who introduced me to this show is also the person that got me onto Game of Thrones. But I’ll talk about that one another week.
*One of us - I’m looking at you Sophie.
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