50 quid bloke

Hurray...

Top of the Pops moves to BBC2: queue standard 30/40-something reminiscing from Stuart Jeffries.

Those weren’t the days. Bohemian Rhapsody was number one for 12 and a half years. Every few
months, I would stare sidelong at my schoolmates for three minutes
while holding an index finger above my upper lip in homage to Ron Mael
from Sparks. Visually challenged DJs who called themselves things like
the Hairy Cornflake, Kid, Diddy David and (worst of all) Tony Blackburn
surrounded themselves with oestrogen-charged pubescents while they
introduced each new act, in order to act out fantasies that would never
transfer to reality.
It’s funny how our generation really think that we ‘own’ things like Top of the Pops and Blue Peter, and that later generations have only ever been drinking from a greatly diluted cup of youth TV.

Anyway, I think the last time I watched TOTP, Mull of Kintyre was number one. These days my encounters with the charts tend to be when driving back from somewhere on a Sunday afternoon listening to Wes on Radio 1 (who must be worried about his new TV competition). Obviously, the entire top 10 is normally populated by huge stars I’ve never heard of. I am turning into my Dad.

A quite wonderful piece of TV research, from The Real Little Britain on BBC 3, where they went and found people who were exactly the same as Little Britain characters. Including Elaine, the scary Weightwatchers woman, And Stuart (above)…the only gay in his Welsh village…

Well, it’s all going Six Feet Under’s way at the moment. I almost gave up on the OC because of that whole idiotic thing with psycho Oliver. Rather like Ryan, it’s something I just can’t forgive Marissa for; and while I’m watching it again, some of my unbridled enthusiasm has been lost.
Watching the West Wing gets tricker and trickier as my beloved has decided she hates it. ‘It’s all mumbling.’ she says before asking a load of questions about what’s happening, which reveals the fact that I don’t quite know what’s happening, and barely catch one word in five that they say. But they’re all very busy and it’s : very important and it’ll all probably end up ok in the end after some tough decisions have been mades.
She has however, also taken time to give me a precise who’s who and what’s what of One Tree Hill. And I can feel it starting to have a pull over me. The only problem is that each character seems to have about five signigicant incidents happen to them in each episode: slow down, I say.
Soprano’s: well, there’s still a few episodes waiting for me on TiVo. Seems that Tony and Carmella’s divorce is going to be quite rocky. Who would have thought it?
Which brings me back to Six Feet Under: God it’s good at the moment. Everyone’s lives are falling apart. Keith’s slept with a woman; and so’s Claire - well almost. Brenda got caught with Nate by Joe - and now they seem back on the cards. Rico’s heading for divorce, and so probably are Ruth and George the geologist. What more could you ask for
Oh, I also saw a documentary about the end of the dinosaurs. Apparently there were two asteroids, not one. Hundreds of thousands of years apart. Or maybe they just caught a cold.

Strange how the TV schedulers set it up so that you either get no good US drama; or all of it. From a complete drought, we now have new Six Feet Under, West Wing and Sopranos all on the go. We’ve also got Nip/Tuck new to terrestrial - although, we all watched that first on Sky One, didn’t we?. And, now, praise be, The O.C is back (sorry: ‘The O.C is back. Bitch.’ as the ads say).
Even though the return episode was pretty much an advertorial for Rooney, and Luke’s transformation from uber jock to friendless geek is slightly incredible, it’s still good to have it back on the (increasingly frantic) weekly viewing schedule.
Meanwhile, my other half (who is normally ahead on these things) tells me that One Tree Hill is really where it’s at. And, will anyone ever believe I really want to watch The L Word because I hear it’s really well written?
Meanwhile, NY-LON has completely passed me by. Still, I think this review tells us it’s pretty much what we expected.

Just finished watching the final episode of The Long Firm, fantastic. I loved the book, but it actually improved on TV thanks to Mark Strong (revealed in Word as being a big fan of Eno and Byrne’s My Life In the Bush of Ghosts…something we can talk about later).
And the final tune as our hero sails into the sunset? The Jam’s Thick As Thieves. Perfect.
And, The West Wing’s back (yes, the plots are getting sillier and sillier, but it’s still the best thing on telly). Oh, and the Sopranos and Six Feet Under both start on E4 next week. And, did I see trailers for a new series of the truly deviant Nip/ Tuck? And isn’t The OC back soon? Haven’t we suffered enough Big Brother?

…that the only reason I like am addicted to The O.C is because it features a lot of scantily clad teenage girls.
I protested and said: “No, it’s because it’s really smart..and well scripted, and, and, and…”. Which, I have to admit has all the plausability of the old “I get Playboy for the articles” brigade. But it’s true. Honest. Really. I promise.
Anyway, I can’t believe I’ve now gone and bought the soundtrack (well, a collection of songs from it - which is very good).
I know. I’m too old. I’ll give it up when the West Wing and Sopranos are back. Promise.

My obsession with the O.C. continues. As ever, someone has gone to a huge amount of effort to put togehter a fan site (complete with campaign to get it back on air in Australia) - most handy of all is an episode by episode list of the music. Very handy: and any teen show that features Jeff Buckley’s Hallelujah; and where the kids have poster of the Jam in their bedrooms is all right by me.

Another of my teenage heroes (I once wrote him a letter asking for his autograph - he never replied), Pete Townshend seems to be everywhere this month - but not always for the right reason.
All started when I bought the NME Originals on the Who: 20 years worth of interviews and reviews which remind you just how exciting and important the Who were at their peak. Then Uncut does Townshend’s first magazine interview since his arrest to mark the 35th anniversary of Tommy, which includes a brilliant covermount CD which as ever with uncut is worth the cover price of the magazine alone.
Next, The Who are back on tour first at the Forum; then the Albert Hall. (Not tempted in the slightest, and can’t find any reviews online yet of the Forum gig)
Anyway, last night I sit down to watch my evening dose of pap and there he is again: only this time it’s as part of ‘Police protecting children’ - a BBC documentary on Operation Ore and the crackdown on paedophiles.
It wasn’t just a brief clip: but full footage of his arrest, and his time with the police. Apparently he had tried to get the footage removed, but didn’t succeed.
The shocking thing was just how old (not surprising given he’s knocking 60) and shabby (again, not really surprising) he looked. Less like a rock star - even an ageing rock star: more like an obviously guilty extra in The Bill.
Don’t think I’ve ever seen that much real footage of anyone getting charged etc.

If you haven’t caught “The OC” yet, you really should.
The New York Times today profiles it’s writer/ creator, the 27 year old (cue major depression) Josh Schwartz and generally raves about it, calling it “a truly smart show… in the guise of something commercial and trashy and fun” and continues:

“The O.C.” has steered clear of both Aaron Spelling-style camp and the soggy earnestness that often characterizes teen drama. Instead, it traffics in fizzy banter and knowing humor — characters watch a teen soap called “The Valley”; the actors’ peculiarities are mocked…[it] is also notable for the way it integrates compelling adult characters into teen drama, bringing the two groups together in ways both realistic and — when the gods of melodrama require it — outrageous (one character hooks up with his ex-girlfriend’s mom).

Sunday nights, Sky One. Saturday night , Channel 4 (with repeats scattered around C4 and E4). Don’t miss.