crawls into your system while your guard is down

[alexsarll]

"From Hegel to Ali G, respect is the cornerstone of human exchange."
-The ICA there, marvellous.

I find it impossible to tell whether Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital is actually any good, coming as it does so soon after another TV series about a spooky hospital by a horror novelist. I think I'd rather just watch a programme in which Andrew McCarthy is a maverick neurologist who doesn't play by the rules. Except without any of the yucky operations.

Saw my first, and the second ever, episode of Yes, Minister last night. Amusing enough in its way but I suspect if I were in politics I'd loathe it for the same reasons I loathe The Office. And then afterwards it's Newsnight and I realise that it really isn't funny, because it's too true. All anyone in 'power' does is preside, not govern, and politicians spend most of their time engaged in doomed attempts at damage limitation. Great responsibility without great power. I'd feel sorry for the poor b@st@rds except that if I can realise that before going in, they should have done too. To understand all is not to forgive all, it's to damn those with no excuse for not understanding all the more thoroughly.

I was meant to be at capitalflash's birthday last night but simply didn't have the social energy, for which I apologise. And I find myself oddly lacking in enthusiasm for social activity in general. Seasonal fluctuations in the Barry force, perhaps.

Comments

[rhodri.livejournal.com]

I don't know why I'm amazed that you'd never seen Yes Minister before, but I am.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

There are an awful lot of 'classic' sitcoms I've never seen. Not out of antipathy, I just haven't happened to catch them.

[rhodri.livejournal.com]

You want to catch Robin's Nest first, which they appear to be reshowing on Paramount 2 or something. Abysmal. Everything else will seem floor-smackingly brilliant in comparison.

[missfrost.livejournal.com]

Cuh. We got a question about Curve right last night.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Today I learn that they have a Best Of coming out. I was only listening to them because Paxman used the phrase 'fait accompli' and got the song stuck in my head!

[jamesward.livejournal.com]

I think with Kingdom Hospital, it will probably take until the last episode to tell whether or not it's any good.

[hideoustricks.livejournal.com]

I have heard that it's colossally weird!

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Well, let me know if it is and I might watch some more then.

[violentbec.livejournal.com]

i guess the cabinet office hasn't changed much since yes minister came out,which at the time was noted for its accuracy on what it's like there. civil servants=evil sods!

i think sometimes ian aspires to be sir humphrey!

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

And all the civil servants seemed q gay to me so they're clearly a big influence on publicansdecoy.

[violentbec.livejournal.com]

but very few goths.....as to the size of their hands...

[publicansdecoy.livejournal.com]

Last night's apisode was v.good, all about giving tied aid to dodgy countries so they will buy our products. Not that we do that sort of thing these days. Oh no. But my Department was certainly complicit in that in the past.

-x-

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Whereas now, rather than 'dodgy countries', you only deal with 'less non-dodgy countries', right?

[publicansdecoy.livejournal.com]

No, we still deal with dodgy countries, we just don't supply tied aid (or at least, we shouldn't be doing).

Yes Minister is fantastic though. I haven't seen it for years but I like it even more now.

-x-

[rentaghost31.livejournal.com]

Yes Minister is extremely accurate and very funny. As for politicians:

"Saw my first, and the second ever, episode of Yes, Minister last night. Amusing enough in its way but I suspect if I were in politics I'd loathe it for the same reasons I loathe The Office."

In my experience, politicians love shows that feature them - even when the p1ss is being taken out of them left right and centre.(one possible exception to theis rule is Chris Morris who goes. A bit. Too. Far.)
At the DUP conference recently it all got a bit surreal when some politicians were doing impressions of impersonations of other politicians that feature on a local satirical politics show. Confused - hey - welcome to life in Norn Iron politics.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Would that be the disgrace to the medium that is Give My Head Peace?
If satire doesn't go too far, it hasn't gone far enough.

[rentaghost31.livejournal.com]

No - not give my head peace - i wouldnt exactly call that satire, and it doesnt include impressions of politicians - more those of ordinary people.

This is from a newish show called folks on the hill (ie those in stormont) Has politicians cast as witches and vampires etc. kind of like spitting image without the puppets - they use animation instead.

The BBC describe it as "biting political satire". Personally i wouldn't go as far as 'biting' unless of course they are referring to the vampire caricature they use for Peter Robinson .

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Ah, I was unclear whether the characters in GMHP were perhaps based on local politicos.

[rentaghost31.livejournal.com]

no - they are caricatures of the locals.
Which is even more worrying.
I myself have two uncle andys.
And my ex-fiancee looked exactly like billy the policeman (including the fact that he was actually a policeman - but even without the uniform)
Big Merv and Red Hand Luke are the charming east belfast type.
And people wonder why i never married....