I ended up watching a little bit of "Victoria's Empire", where Victoria Wood visits various parts of the former British Empire, on BBC1 last night, mainly because our Virgin ntl-aswas cable TV service has gone phut so we only have terrestrial and that was the least unappealing programme available. It wasn't very good, telling me nothing I didn't already more or less know, in contrast to the programme I am half watching now, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Dispatches, Channel 4, on India.
"Victoria's Empire" reminded me of a riff on Lee and Herrings' BBC1 series "This Morning with Richard Not Judy" where they invited programme ideas based on 'famous' people's names. My favourite was "Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Huge Furry Wishing Stall", where Hugh F-W tours the country on a big furry throne granting wishes. It passed into family folklore, since which Hugh F-W has been known in our house as "a bit of Huge Furry" - cue for a nice glass of wine and watching someone else muck out pigs, salt a fish or chase chickens.
I suppose we should be grateful it was not "Victoria's Wood", where Victoria Wood tours the country interviewing charcoal burners, wood turners, foresters etc, or indeed "Victoria Gets Wood" where Victoria Wood tours the country interviewing male porn stars.
Nonetheless, being without cable has made me more sympathetic, even nostalgic for Reithian TV; the culture of a nation formed by a small number of publicly funded channels, which try to inform as well as entertain.
Even our son has been quite docile about being deprived of 'Ben 10' and 'Scooby Doo' for a few days, watching lots of 'Thunderbirds' and 'Night at the Museum' instead. But if I have to hear the 'Mr Men' theme tune once more, I will have to chuck a brick through the screen.
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