Hello and welcome, one and all, to this, the inaugural post of my blog, TV Wonder. Essentially, this blog will hopefully act as a companion guide to your viewing habits: from previews of the following week’s must-see programmes, to honest critiques of the previous week’s worst; from reappraisals of hidden gems, to the slaughtering of sacred cows. Everything you need to know about the glorious miracle of television can be found right here!
To start the proceedings, I thought I’d compile a list of my all time top 10 favourite shows, so as to give you a glimpse into the television that I enjoy, and that will most likely be receiving incessant praise on these pages. So, let’s begin:
10) Monty Python’s Flying Circus
Comedy features rather heavily in this chart, and what better place to start than with the progenitors of alternative humour. The Pythons acted as my introduction to the comedy landscape (well, after the Chuckle Brothers...). Their unique brand of hilarity works on so many levels – how many shows can dart from cartoon-like slapstick involving trout and dead parrots, to acerbic assessments of Britain’s dwindling class system? – it’s almost mind-boggling. Sure, perhaps some of the sketches have dated quite badly but, as a whole, the Pythons' body of work still stands up today as the blueprint for every successful sketch show that followed.
9) The Thick Of It
The first of several programmes from the astonishing genius of Armando Iannucci, The Thick Of It lays bare the politricks of Westminster. The show has taken on an almost prophetic quality – it predicted the Damien McBride ‘e-mail smear’ allegations a whole four years previous. Indeed, one need only look at the recent expenses scandal to realise just how frighteningly accurate Iannucci’s portrayal of government is. It could be an incredibly depressing viewing experience, if it wasn’t for the reliably razor-sharp wit infused within the writing.
8) The Armando Iannucci Shows
Iannucci’s eponymous masterpiece sees his rants against the neuroses of modern living interspersed with cynically satirical sketches targeting TV executives, the middle classes, and Cockneys. In hindsight, the show is a perfect reflection of its time, originally broadcast around 9/11. However, most people never got to judge this for themselves at the time – the show was often too dark for its own good, something most viewers would, perhaps quite rightly, want to avoid at a time of mass international mourning. As such (and also due to the fact that one episode featured a graphic plane crash), the show was pushed later and later in the listings, to the point where, the morning after watching the show, I would wake up for school bleary-eyed, but all the more enlightened for the sacrifice. It recently became available on DVD, so be sure to check it out.
To start the proceedings, I thought I’d compile a list of my all time top 10 favourite shows, so as to give you a glimpse into the television that I enjoy, and that will most likely be receiving incessant praise on these pages. So, let’s begin:
10) Monty Python’s Flying Circus
Comedy features rather heavily in this chart, and what better place to start than with the progenitors of alternative humour. The Pythons acted as my introduction to the comedy landscape (well, after the Chuckle Brothers...). Their unique brand of hilarity works on so many levels – how many shows can dart from cartoon-like slapstick involving trout and dead parrots, to acerbic assessments of Britain’s dwindling class system? – it’s almost mind-boggling. Sure, perhaps some of the sketches have dated quite badly but, as a whole, the Pythons' body of work still stands up today as the blueprint for every successful sketch show that followed.
9) The Thick Of It
The first of several programmes from the astonishing genius of Armando Iannucci, The Thick Of It lays bare the politricks of Westminster. The show has taken on an almost prophetic quality – it predicted the Damien McBride ‘e-mail smear’ allegations a whole four years previous. Indeed, one need only look at the recent expenses scandal to realise just how frighteningly accurate Iannucci’s portrayal of government is. It could be an incredibly depressing viewing experience, if it wasn’t for the reliably razor-sharp wit infused within the writing.
8) The Armando Iannucci Shows
Iannucci’s eponymous masterpiece sees his rants against the neuroses of modern living interspersed with cynically satirical sketches targeting TV executives, the middle classes, and Cockneys. In hindsight, the show is a perfect reflection of its time, originally broadcast around 9/11. However, most people never got to judge this for themselves at the time – the show was often too dark for its own good, something most viewers would, perhaps quite rightly, want to avoid at a time of mass international mourning. As such (and also due to the fact that one episode featured a graphic plane crash), the show was pushed later and later in the listings, to the point where, the morning after watching the show, I would wake up for school bleary-eyed, but all the more enlightened for the sacrifice. It recently became available on DVD, so be sure to check it out.
Be sure to come back tomorrow to discover my 7th, 6th, and 5th favourite shows of all time. And, indeed, feel free to subscribe in order to keep abreast of all the latest goings on in the world of TV.
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