Stayed in and watched TV.
Logistically perfect planning. During the afternoon, Ernani was taped, to be watched at some unspecified later date.
Next up - after eating, an important consideration - was 28 Days Later. I'm not a fan of horror films, on the whole, but I did find this worthwhile. I'm loath to say enjoyable, because it was gruesome in places, but I would say the plot hung together, the dialogue was not too cliched, and there was just about enough characterisation. Not the greatest film of all time, but one I would definitely give a thumbs up to.
After that we definitely needed Britian's Best SitCom. The programme showed clips from the Top 50, here is a list of 11-100. Of the 'bottom' 50, Desmonds and Black Books, in my opinion, are sorely under-rated. Jimmy was convinced Desmonds would be Top Ten. The actual Top Ten is here. I would expect that Only Fools and Horses is odds-on favourite, but I actually can't stand Fools and Horses, so I am currently debating between casting my vote for Blackadder or Yes Minister/Yes Prime Minister. The latter because of the tremendous insight it gave into the British Civil Service, which I subsequently discovered to be accurate. The former for Baldrick, and if for no other reason, as pointed out on the programme, that amazingly pathos of that closing scene in Blackadder Goes Forth Instead of having Blackadder succeed in his quest, had him and his men forced to join the advance and fulfil their fears by going 'over the top' to their deaths. This grim image, the frame frozen and then dissolving into one depicting the same field full of poppies, memorably ended the series on a note of dark satire and was a fitting conclusion to a comedy premise that had always sported an underlying intelligence beneath its farcical surface.
which is almost certainly the only time I have wept at a comedy programme.
Throughout the three hour showcase, I realised that I laughed most at the slapstick-type clips. I've heard that laughing at slapstick is an unusually British character-trait. An hon mensh should go to Frank Spencer, of course.
Jimmy commented that people have compared him and his Dad to Steptoe and Son. In measured, neutral tones I replied that I couldn't imagine why.
I have very personal reasons for hating The Vicar of Dibley
Of course, like its precursors, the 100 Great Britains, and the Great Read, this exercise is guaranteed to piss off a substantial amount of people. I am almost certain that anyone reading this will experience strong disagreement with at least something I have said. I am prepared to give this exercise more time than the previous two, because the previous two were about far more serious subjects, and the results said something - something slightly uncomfortable - about this nation. However, with sitcoms, it's such a tiny part of the cultural tapestry, although terribly important on one level, so I will be prepared to accept the results, and even acknowledge Delboy to be a great cultural icon, and the famous falling through the bar flap scene as being one of the great moments of comedy.
What's your favourite sitcom?
