h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

So, there you are idly watching the programme "The Lost Regiment", the premis of which is to find out what happened to scores of people proclaimed 'missing in action' in various of Russia's bloody conflicts, crackdowns and general anarchy.

Among other distressing material, this appears to involve lots of footage of soldiers shooting each other interspersed with glimpses of forlorn headstones and the occasional helicopter. And as you watch you begin to realise that the backing track is hauntingly familiar. That it is, in fact, the theme tune to Red Dwarf, albeit played at a funereal pace and without the jaunty lyrics. Well, this seems a little odd, but eventually you reason that the Red Dwarf team could quite easily have nicked the tune from somewhere else and go to make a cup of tea.

Suddenly you are called back into the room by the unmistakable strains of Dr Who. Yes, they are still showing blown up bodies as the music bounces on.

You blink, and the music changes to The X Files, which, in your opinion, is a mistake. OK, so the sound editor has got himself a greatest sci-fi hits CD, but The X Files are really quite popular here. So you are not surprised that at this point we abruptly cut back to the studio for the next harrowing story.

Well, it amused me anyhow.