Small Screen Surfin'
Created | Updated Oct 14, 2004
Well I'm back after viruses, spyware, access trouble and time limits. 'Hurray!' The Post faithful shout, probably at the return of Awix while this column returns like the disease that is, knowing it can say these in the intro as they only get at one person: Me!
Anyway... let's-a-go!
The highest game of polo, past life as an elephant and Michael Plain. It can only be Himalaya (with Michael Palin). It had to be reviewed1. After all it came soon after I summarised/reviewed the former Python2's previous exploits. It's around here somewhere. On his sixth journey the Nice One3 travels across the Himalayas through eight countries all for your viewing pleasure, a BBC cheque and a holiday of sorts.
Well what can I say that I haven't said before? Shimalakalaumftiddlybop springs to mind but I'll try.
Himalaya begins with a theme tune. It's not as good as the Around the World's theme for Palin travels but the opening credits are interesting: A CG map of the mountain range that blends into live clips from the journey. It's not exactly 'Wow!' but compared with the others it is impressive.
Essentially with Himalaya I wanted to sees snow en masse. It's a series set about mountains, I need snow. Two episodes down and there've been only two actually shots of snow which aren't far in the background and, to me, the first episode in Pakistan looked like a Scottish moor.
This, of course, doesn't take away from the search for interesting people and places. I don't consider bull racing to be enjoyable - despite being some many hundred of metres above sea level - unless of course you're rooting for the bull to cause chaos, possibly minor injure its captors and make a bid for freedom over the hills and far until it settles somewhere nice and lives a life that doesn't end on someone's plate. Naturally the bull attacked the cameras instead.
It's a shame that Plain's humour doesn't come across much in the first episode but in part two, it's bound to appear when someone calls you Michael Plain, you're going to be reincarnated as the daughter of a rich family in the West, travelling through the pitch black 'Kissing Tunnel' seated next to a man and witnessing the ever-so slightly camp military routine on the Pakistan/Indian border.
More of the same in this case is a complement. After all, the Dhali Llama watches Palin's programmes so they can't be bad. It more or less comes down to whether you're interested in the places Palin goes to. If you've haven't seen the places Palin goes then either physically go there or watch this and get a sample of the outside wooorld! And more often than that, see things which you never thought possible.
That enough? No? Tough!
And now the Small Screen Supplement!
Joan Rivers on Parkinson on The Joan Rivers Position: 'It's on at 11:00pm so it'll be about sex'. It was on (channel) five! If it's not about sex on that channel it's about Hitler...!
Celebrating the Special Special Editions of the Star Wars DVDs here's Ewoks4 and Droids5. Both of which are smegging awful. Probably why the Clone Wars uses no theme.
Keep Surfin'!6
