Blog: So Much Telly

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I've read a few articles lately saying that the current Golden Age Of Telly is coming to an end, as you can no longer get ALL THE TELLY by having Netflix, Prime and a Now TV subscription. In some ways I can see this, as there are loads of Fancy Shows on Apple, HBO etc that I CAN'T watch but to be honest there is SO MUCH GRATE telly on at the moment that I would rather not have the extra hassle of having to watch even more!

I was thinking about this last week as I REELED from the arrival of Ms Marvel on my list of shows to watch, when I ALREADY had Obi Wan Kenobi and Pistol and Night Sky and Missions on the go (as well as the ongoing DELIGHT of Frasier which doesn't really count as New Telly OBVS) and the prospect of TONNES more. "Why are all these shows suddenly coming on, all at the same time, when there have been not many for AGES?" I wondered to myself, foolishly. It took me about a week to realise that maybe, JUST MAYBE, it might be because of that whole PANDEMIC what we had, which probably had as much effect on TELLY MAKING as it did on Me Going Into The Office. "Oh right," I thought. "That'll probably be it."

It has made for EXCITING TIMES for me anyway - I always LOVE the fact that there are all these well-made and exciting science fictions shows on these days, and especially the fact that I can actually WATCH most of them. As I have said previously, when I was but a child such things used to be the sole domain of listings for Thames Television and LWT, while we were stuck with FARMING PROGRAMMES on Anglia, and so I really appreciate being able to access them now. Also, most of them are GRATE.

"Pistol", for instance, was a HUGE amount of fun. I didn't get a whole lot out of the first episode, and considered giving up on it, but then I DID watch the second one and realised that it was basically a follow-up to Birth Of The Beatles. This is one of the all time BEST Rock Biogs, which pretty much set the template for all that followed, with its repetition of All The Famous Stories, loads of Oddly Wigged Actors playing other celebrities, and of course the traditional Sticking Song Titles Into Dialogue. I think it was the bit where Johnny Rotten says to Sid Vicious "We should call you Sid, after my hamster, who is Quite Vicious" and they both go "HANG ON!" that made me love it, but then it goes on to have lots of ace stuff about Being In A Band and also What The 1970s were really like. I loved it!

"Missions" was less good, in that it started off TRES MUCH like a French Blakes 7 in the first series (good story, cheap sets), then became like a French Doctor Who From The 1980s in the second (loads of crazy science fiction ideas that aren't matched by production itself) and then sadly became a French Lost by the end (entirely nonsensical and disappointing).

Still, with those out of the way there was space for MORE shows, so alongside the aforesaid ongoing "Obi Wan Kenobi" (surprisingly good, although maybe that's just because it's not as DULL as "Boba Fett") and "Ms Marvel" (WONDERFUL) I've now got dug into "Stranger Things" series four. I watched the first three series again earlier this year, and was amazed to find that it was even better than I remembered. The BEST bit about it was how GRATE all the characters are - I especially enjoyed the CHARACTER ARC that Steve goes through, and so when a large chunk of the first episode was just him and Robin PALLING AROUND I was very happy indeed. To be honest I would be more than satisfied if that was the whole thing, possibly with Lucas' sister joining in occasionally, so I was mildly disappointed when The Spooky Stuff began. Having said that, I've just watched The Kate Bush episode, which was (SPOILER-FREE REVIEW) bloody brilliant.

And even after all THAT telly I've still got "The Boys" and "Umbrella Academy" and "She-Hulk" and "Only Murders In The Building" lined up, plus getting round to finishing "Night Sky" (which is not QUITE as exciting/funny as the others) and who knows what else. Oh, and the new "Game Of Thrones" of course, and eventualy RTD back on "Doctor Who", and ... well, you get the idea. Truly, there is SO MUCH TELLY!

posted 16/6/2022 by MJ Hibbett

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