Cream of the crop

I apologize for my rather abrupt ending of my last blog entry. I was finishing the entry before one of my classes and I didn't think of ending it properly. We all think that everything should end neatly in life but it is rarely so. Look at death - most of the time it comes unexpectedly and at that moment do you really think you have finished everything you want to do? Of course not. Hopefully this blog entry will not be like that, although I don't promise anything.

********

In my last blog entry I stated that I don't watch the local shows since of their poor quality, to put it midly. So if I don't watch anything from the local channels, what do I watch?

Recently I watch cooking shows on Discovery Travel and Living. Mainly I watch just to get ideas of what to cook. I can cook but getting ideas on exciting recipes is what sets me apart from the chefs who work in restaurants. I like Jamie Oliver as he makes food simple and not so artsy-fartsy like some other cooks, like Nigella Lawson and Gordon Ramsey.

I try not to watch dramas or any series, only because I know if I watch one episode I have to watch the whole series and that is too much of a commitment. That goes mainly for "24" but I'm waiting for my rotation to finish and am using my two week break to download "House" plus "Doctor Who". I cannot be bothered to wait each week for one episode, so I rather just download the whole series and watch it at my leisure. Probably in the future that will be what TV will be like. Instead of waiting each week to watch one episode, people will subscribe to shows where they can watch in their own time. The problem of advertisement still has to be resolved but I think some people would rather have than the current situation. Loads of people download shows off the internet, mainly episodes that have been screened a long time ago. I'm not in a rush to see that episode and talk about it around the water cooler.

My favourite kind of shows are British comedy panel shows. I constantly in hysterics while watching these shows. I could give a description of each show but Wikipedia and Youtube do a much better job than I could.

First up is "Have I Got News For You" which takes a comical look at the news. It has been going on for more than fifteen years, so it must have something going for it. The best moment is when then-host Angus Deayton had his private rummage with a prostitute revealed in the tabloids and the two team captains, Ian Hislop and Paul Merton, ridicule him during the next show. Enjoy the moment.



Another show is "QI" which is short for "Quite Interesting". You learn something but you crack up at the same time. The most classic moment was in series two's Christmas special when the host Stephen Fry swaps places with constant loser Alan Davies. Just watch and laugh.



Finally the last show I like to recommend is "Mock the Week". For those who know the show it is best described as a mixture of "Have I Got News For You" and "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" which is ironic since the creators of "Mock the Week" and "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" are one and the same. One of the best sketches is Rory Bremner, famed for his impersonations of famous people, performing as George Bush.



I know that the programmes in US and UK have better funding but that doesn't give Hong Kong an excuse to make piss poor TV series. Back in the 80s the TV shows and movies were of top quality. So where did that go? Hopefully Hong Kong people realize that there is much more out there and demand better TV from their local channels.