…a man with a stoat through his head.
Yes, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, I first discovered the show back in High School on PBS. I had to be home early-ish on Saturday nights, but my parents didn’t seem to mind if I stayed up late to watch silly TV.
I think the sheer absurdity is what first drew me in. Skits that didn’t have a punch line, segues that made no sense, which is what made them funny, men in drag, and the even-more-absurd-than-the-rest-of-the-show cartoons.
It wasn’t until years later that I found them again and once again on PBS and managed to see all of them…well, almost all of them. Despite watching them for many years it wasn’t until I bought them on DVD that I found I had never seen The Money Programme.
From Spam to Dead Parrots, the six Pythons have given the world some of the funniest moments ever recorded. In The Lumberjack Song, Oh you’re no fun anymore, Whizzo Butter, Nudge Nudge, Confuse a Cat, Upper Class Twit of the Year, the Fish License, Crunchy Frog, the Dirty Vicar and the Ministry of Silly Walks, they have given us comic bits that have become part of our collective psyche.
Every so often I am overcome by the desire to see them again and that time has come again. This time I found them on Netflix and I hope that a little of my monthly fee goes to the five surviving members. They have brought so many smiles to my face and giggles to my lips that I don’t mind sending a little money their way.
Showing posts with label television. Show all posts
Showing posts with label television. Show all posts
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Monday, September 21, 2009
How I Found Funky
Monday is my TV night, but you might be surprised. Now, considering the time of year, you might think that Monday Night Football would be on the agenda, but no, that would be way too simple. Back many months ago, I discovered Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Now, across last summer, I began to follow it nearly religiously. I say nearly because I cannot get religious about anything on TV.
But, my Monday night goes beyond Triple D. The night starts off with Alton Brown’s Good Eats. Alton Brown’s take on a cooking show is unique. You do see him actually do see him cook, but cooking is only part of his show. Good Eats is about teaching. Most cooking shows show you how to make a recipe, but they don’t really teach. Alton Brown takes the time to teach you about cooking, while still teaching you several recipes. It is no accident that one of the lead-in teasers has Alton saying, “There’s a lesson here.”
Tonight’s episodes were pancakes and waffles. Now, most cooks would not bother with a show on pancakes, unless they had a signature pancake that they wanted to demonstrate. Alton Brown teaches us how to make simple, plain pancakes. Well, he does add blueberries to them. I had seen the pancake episode before, that is where I learned that a whisk is the right tool for mixing pancake batter. I still don’t bother with making pancake batter from scratch, but I carefully follow some of the things I learned on the show to make my pancakes come out better. Well, I actually prefer waffles.
After two episodes of Good Eats, we get two episodes of Unwrapped. Unwrapped is not one of my favorite shows, but it is sometimes fascinating. I often go off and fix dinner, or do something else for an hour. Tonight it was dinner, and then making my usually bowl of popcorn to eat during Triple D.
But, finally we come to the star of the evening. Let there be no mistake, Guy Fieri is the star of the show. The restaurants are merely his stage. Now, that is not to say that he steals the shows. He spends most of his time showing off the food and the cooks.
For those who have never seen the show, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives is a restaurant show, where Guy visits three restaurants during each half-hour episode, but there is always something different about that restaurant. What is different depends on the restaurant. They have done restaurants in auto body shops and gas stations. Often it is a restaurant where you can get something that you would not expect, based on the outside of the restaurant, like the fast food drive-in that serves prime rib. Sometimes, it is a type of restaurant in a location you would not expect, like the Mexican restaurant in Lincoln, Nebraska or the Chili Parlor in Seattle, Washington. And sometimes, it is the owner or cook who is unusual enough to draw Guy to the restaurant, like the metal sculptor turned restaurateur, or the….I don’t know what to call any of the others.
The show has become so popular that they now get lots of suggestions, and recently they did a show where all three restaurants were from viewer suggestions. They have done shows all over the country, including some out of the way places that you would not normally associate with great dining, like Salt Lake City, Utah and Boise, Idaho. There are a few things that are common to all the restaurants. The cooks and owners are enjoying what they do. They prepare food from scratch, and it isn’t what you expect.
Tonight’s restaurants were…
LoBello’s in Pittsburg, where they are making many Italian classics from scratch.
Pizzeria Luigi in San Diego, where a native Italian who learned in Chicago is making the best pizza in San Diego, in the words of his customers.
Pasquale’s in Baltimore, another Italian restaurant.
As you can see, I was busy for a few minutes, and I did not take any notes about Pasquale’s. Sorry guys.
They show two Triple Ds back to back, but the second is always a repeat, but since I have not seen them all, I sometimes get two that are new to me.
Then, the evening finishes with another Good Eats, and then they start repeating with the earlier episodes of Unwrapped and then Triple D. I usually don’t sit to everything twice, but I did tonight while I wrote this. I enjoy my Monday night lineup, and I won’t miss it until my beloved 49ers appear on Monday Night Football sometime late in the season.
Come join me some Monday night for the best night on TV.
Oh, and the title, “How I Found Funky”? One of the catchphrases of Triple D is, “If it’s funky, we’ll find it.”
But, my Monday night goes beyond Triple D. The night starts off with Alton Brown’s Good Eats. Alton Brown’s take on a cooking show is unique. You do see him actually do see him cook, but cooking is only part of his show. Good Eats is about teaching. Most cooking shows show you how to make a recipe, but they don’t really teach. Alton Brown takes the time to teach you about cooking, while still teaching you several recipes. It is no accident that one of the lead-in teasers has Alton saying, “There’s a lesson here.”
Tonight’s episodes were pancakes and waffles. Now, most cooks would not bother with a show on pancakes, unless they had a signature pancake that they wanted to demonstrate. Alton Brown teaches us how to make simple, plain pancakes. Well, he does add blueberries to them. I had seen the pancake episode before, that is where I learned that a whisk is the right tool for mixing pancake batter. I still don’t bother with making pancake batter from scratch, but I carefully follow some of the things I learned on the show to make my pancakes come out better. Well, I actually prefer waffles.
After two episodes of Good Eats, we get two episodes of Unwrapped. Unwrapped is not one of my favorite shows, but it is sometimes fascinating. I often go off and fix dinner, or do something else for an hour. Tonight it was dinner, and then making my usually bowl of popcorn to eat during Triple D.
But, finally we come to the star of the evening. Let there be no mistake, Guy Fieri is the star of the show. The restaurants are merely his stage. Now, that is not to say that he steals the shows. He spends most of his time showing off the food and the cooks.
For those who have never seen the show, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives is a restaurant show, where Guy visits three restaurants during each half-hour episode, but there is always something different about that restaurant. What is different depends on the restaurant. They have done restaurants in auto body shops and gas stations. Often it is a restaurant where you can get something that you would not expect, based on the outside of the restaurant, like the fast food drive-in that serves prime rib. Sometimes, it is a type of restaurant in a location you would not expect, like the Mexican restaurant in Lincoln, Nebraska or the Chili Parlor in Seattle, Washington. And sometimes, it is the owner or cook who is unusual enough to draw Guy to the restaurant, like the metal sculptor turned restaurateur, or the….I don’t know what to call any of the others.
The show has become so popular that they now get lots of suggestions, and recently they did a show where all three restaurants were from viewer suggestions. They have done shows all over the country, including some out of the way places that you would not normally associate with great dining, like Salt Lake City, Utah and Boise, Idaho. There are a few things that are common to all the restaurants. The cooks and owners are enjoying what they do. They prepare food from scratch, and it isn’t what you expect.
Tonight’s restaurants were…
LoBello’s in Pittsburg, where they are making many Italian classics from scratch.
Pizzeria Luigi in San Diego, where a native Italian who learned in Chicago is making the best pizza in San Diego, in the words of his customers.
Pasquale’s in Baltimore, another Italian restaurant.
As you can see, I was busy for a few minutes, and I did not take any notes about Pasquale’s. Sorry guys.
They show two Triple Ds back to back, but the second is always a repeat, but since I have not seen them all, I sometimes get two that are new to me.
Then, the evening finishes with another Good Eats, and then they start repeating with the earlier episodes of Unwrapped and then Triple D. I usually don’t sit to everything twice, but I did tonight while I wrote this. I enjoy my Monday night lineup, and I won’t miss it until my beloved 49ers appear on Monday Night Football sometime late in the season.
Come join me some Monday night for the best night on TV.
Oh, and the title, “How I Found Funky”? One of the catchphrases of Triple D is, “If it’s funky, we’ll find it.”
Friday, February 22, 2008
Jeeves and Wooster
Starting new things again.
I first read P.G. Wodehouse many years ago, and quite enjoyed it. I have read a few of the novels, and then I discovered the BBC series starring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie. I totally enjoyed them, and last night I started watching them again. I am not sure that I will write reviews of all of them, but I will write a review of the first, and we shall see about the others later.
Jeeves takes Charge
We are introduced to Bertie Wooster in a courtroom, where he is clearly drunk and where the judge keeps telling him to shut up as he makes feeble attempts to defend himself. After being fined 5 pounds, he is sent home, where he collapses on his bed. The doorbell rings almost immediately, and after a bit of grunting and groaning (by Bertie) we are introduced to Jeeves.
Now that our two heroes are in place, Jeeves makes Bertie a hangover cure, and we are introduced to the world of Bertie Wooster, first, the Drones Club. Now, for those of you not familiar with P.G. Wodehouse or Jeeves and Wooster, you should take note of the name of Bertie's club, for I doubt it is accidental. The Drones Club is filled with idle young men with barely a brain cell between them, but you will understand more of that later. We are introduced to several players in later stories, but some of them are little more than names.
The scene at the Drones club starts with a moose stuck in the door. Yes, a moose, and that is the sort of thing that you should prepare yourself when watching Jeeves and Wooster. As with the books, the most extraordinarily silly things are likely to crop up at any moment. The moose is connected with two of Bertie's cousins, and a club called the Seekers that they wish to join. But, that is not important now (but will be later), so we rush off with Bertie for a lunch with his Aunt Agatha, the "nephew crusher."
Aunt Agatha introduces not only the central theme of this story, but a central theme of all the Jeeves and Wooster stories, romance, or more correctly marriage. Aunt Agatha wants to see Bertie married off to someone appropriate, and Bertie doesn't. It seems at times that Bertie has been engaged to about half of the girls in England, and considerably more than half of the girls who appear in these stories. With a few notable exceptions, these engagements are not Bertie's idea, and he wants nothing more to get out of them.
With ties in neatly with the next step in the plot and the next one of the central themes in the stories. Bertie discovers that his friend Bingo Little is madly in love with the girl that Aunt Agatha wants him to marry. So, Bertie comes up with a brilliant (at least he thinks so) plan to ensure that Anoria (the girl in question) falls for Bingo, leaving Bertie free once again. Now, the plan is not a central theme, though they appear often, the central theme is the inevitability of Bertie's plan going awry, and of course, it does.
The next central theme, one which takes a bit of time to work its way clear in this story, is Jeeves coming up with a plan to pull Bertie from the fire, saving him, in this case, from matrimony to the "athletic" woman with the look like a "sargeant major."
I don't really want to ruin the story, so I will leave it at that. But, this first episode is endearing, silly and loads of fun. Fry and Laurie are perfect as Jeeves and Wooster. The rest of the cast is at least adequate, though they change in later seasons, which is a problem for the series, most of the replacements are not better than the originals, and if you change, it should be for the better. Bertie is easy to like, and Jeeves is a true mastermind.
Hopefully, you will not only check out the excellent BBC series, but also find and read the original stories which are excellent light reading.
I first read P.G. Wodehouse many years ago, and quite enjoyed it. I have read a few of the novels, and then I discovered the BBC series starring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie. I totally enjoyed them, and last night I started watching them again. I am not sure that I will write reviews of all of them, but I will write a review of the first, and we shall see about the others later.
Jeeves takes Charge
We are introduced to Bertie Wooster in a courtroom, where he is clearly drunk and where the judge keeps telling him to shut up as he makes feeble attempts to defend himself. After being fined 5 pounds, he is sent home, where he collapses on his bed. The doorbell rings almost immediately, and after a bit of grunting and groaning (by Bertie) we are introduced to Jeeves.
Now that our two heroes are in place, Jeeves makes Bertie a hangover cure, and we are introduced to the world of Bertie Wooster, first, the Drones Club. Now, for those of you not familiar with P.G. Wodehouse or Jeeves and Wooster, you should take note of the name of Bertie's club, for I doubt it is accidental. The Drones Club is filled with idle young men with barely a brain cell between them, but you will understand more of that later. We are introduced to several players in later stories, but some of them are little more than names.
The scene at the Drones club starts with a moose stuck in the door. Yes, a moose, and that is the sort of thing that you should prepare yourself when watching Jeeves and Wooster. As with the books, the most extraordinarily silly things are likely to crop up at any moment. The moose is connected with two of Bertie's cousins, and a club called the Seekers that they wish to join. But, that is not important now (but will be later), so we rush off with Bertie for a lunch with his Aunt Agatha, the "nephew crusher."
Aunt Agatha introduces not only the central theme of this story, but a central theme of all the Jeeves and Wooster stories, romance, or more correctly marriage. Aunt Agatha wants to see Bertie married off to someone appropriate, and Bertie doesn't. It seems at times that Bertie has been engaged to about half of the girls in England, and considerably more than half of the girls who appear in these stories. With a few notable exceptions, these engagements are not Bertie's idea, and he wants nothing more to get out of them.
With ties in neatly with the next step in the plot and the next one of the central themes in the stories. Bertie discovers that his friend Bingo Little is madly in love with the girl that Aunt Agatha wants him to marry. So, Bertie comes up with a brilliant (at least he thinks so) plan to ensure that Anoria (the girl in question) falls for Bingo, leaving Bertie free once again. Now, the plan is not a central theme, though they appear often, the central theme is the inevitability of Bertie's plan going awry, and of course, it does.
The next central theme, one which takes a bit of time to work its way clear in this story, is Jeeves coming up with a plan to pull Bertie from the fire, saving him, in this case, from matrimony to the "athletic" woman with the look like a "sargeant major."
I don't really want to ruin the story, so I will leave it at that. But, this first episode is endearing, silly and loads of fun. Fry and Laurie are perfect as Jeeves and Wooster. The rest of the cast is at least adequate, though they change in later seasons, which is a problem for the series, most of the replacements are not better than the originals, and if you change, it should be for the better. Bertie is easy to like, and Jeeves is a true mastermind.
Hopefully, you will not only check out the excellent BBC series, but also find and read the original stories which are excellent light reading.
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