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Christmas logged

Tuesday, December 26, 2006 by

Come the arse end of Christmas Day, having a second go at the trifle, we switched on five’s Greatest Most Embarrassing TV Moments (or a title something along those lines, anyway – I’m not going to look it up). It dawned on me that I’d actually seen it before, but still… This was a transmission from a dying world when Donna McPhail, Richard Blackwood and Mike McClean still seemed to have some relevance. I enjoyed most of it.

Unlike Little Britain Abroad which actually could have slotted into the aforementioned countdown somewhere within the top 10. That two people could write a sketch which involves Steve Coogan saying, “Don’t press that red button”, and then Matt Lucas pressing that red button (and that was it) boggles the mind. Can you imagine getting up from the computer desk and saying to your colleague, “Right, that’s that one finished, let’s take a tea break”? Talk about insubstantial… This was a terrible, terrible comedown for a show that I’m still happy to admit once loving.

Strictly Come Dancing‘s Christmas spesh was lots of fun, thankfully, albeit utterly pointless – all taking place in a pre-recorded vacuum wherein the champs of the current run had clearly yet to be crowned (cheers to Zoe Ball for making that obvious with her chat about all of the final four being potentially good enough to clinch it). I really did enjoy “Action” Jackson’s routine.

The turkey sandwich viewing today thus far has been a job of work, clearing up programmes recorded on my TV Drive. We’ve had Doctor Who Confidential (very nice, but much too long), Doctor Who (I sensibly left it till Boxing Day, lest it be accused of ruining Christmas Chez Kibble-White for a second year running – although, as it happens it went down pretty well), and – my favourite so far - The Big Time, that episode where Gwen Wotsit cooks at the Dorchester.

How I ache once more for genuine TV characters like Magnus Pyke (he puts the “nuts” into nutritionist, says Esther Rantzen) and Robert Morley (who referred to Gwen as “my darling” throughout). I don’t, however, pine for ’70s cuisine, piped onto the plate and adorned with cocktail sticks and glace cherries.

And now? It’s a DVD of Quatermass and the Pit - the original BBC version. The pace is glacial (I’ve written all this and not missed a plot point) but somehow it feels like perfect post Christmas Day viewing.

What have you been watching?

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