Small Screen Surfin'
Created | Updated Nov 26, 2003
Well this week's edition won't be long again, simply because I thought I'd already written this and
realised I hadn't giving me... what is it now *looks at clock* 35 minutes before deadline!
Anyway, this weekend saw 'BBC Children In Need 2003', and this year around, it wasn't very
entertaining. Children In Need's variety relies upon what is popular on (British) TV. Problem with
this year is that it's been filled with Pop Idol thus we get the influx of pop bands, pop star and campy bad boy, Simon 'You're crap' Cowell. That, basically, was the entire show with Busted and Sir
Cliff Richards giving themselves away on dates. I've always wondered what these people would do if a male fan phoned in and won.
Comedy was presented through Dead Ringers stars doing a Doctor Who Weakest Link special and a Tony Blair impersonation segment. With the recent protests at USA President Bush's state visit, the charity fundraising did seem to be tainted to some by the Tony Blair/George Bush signatures on a Pudsey Bear 1 giving their support.
Kylie Minogue signed a car which wasn't exactly a thrill and the Reduced Shakespeare Company presented the night in a nut-shell at the end while there was an Eastenders special (no surprises there):
Ozender which was quite painful, and numerous performances from musicals- such as the recent
Rod Stewart Tonight's the Night and the Coronation Street posse doing Grease songs. Quite dismal all round but the important thing is tht more money was raised for kids than last year.
On UK Gold, Doctor Who fans, and me, were presented with Saturday and Sunday devoted to Doctor Who as it's the 40th Anniversary. I have said this many, many times, but as much as I like the concept of Doctor Who, the terribly bad set pieces and bizarre plot expositions never struck me as a show to watch. Especially the deadly Green-painted Bubble-Wrap Slug.
I did, however, enjoy (again) the repeat of the Comic Relief special in which Rowan 'Mr.
Edmund English Bean Blackadder' Atkinson sends-up the show as 'The Doctor'. I've always known
(and seen) enough about the show to find the jokes really funny. Everyone knows what a Dalek is, so
questioning why they have chairs when they have no feet is laughs all round.
The 1999 documentary was also interesting charting the show's beginnings to the 'end' in 1996. Of course this is before the news of a new series and the animated episodes out there in BBCi which is why one of the guys on it talks about how it shouldn't be brought back... oops. Judging by the documentary in how the Doctors are portrayed, it seems more than fitting that Rowan Atkinson should still be Who like his send-up. A send-up of his previous incarnations... Even if Verc (read his Dr. Who story NOW!) or Awix (read 24 Lies A Second NOW!) are screaming at the monitor if they read this, I'm sure they'd much prefer Atkinson to Alan Davies...
Keep Surfin'!
