When Mr. Ecclestone took on the role I watched the first of those and, mostly underwhelmed I didn’t bother watching many others. Then Mr. Tennant came along so I thought I’d give him a shot but, again, it just wasn’t working for me.

Regardless I tuned in last night to watch.. er… wossisname take his turn as the new Doctor and, you know what, I might just tune in again next week.

It might have been that the dialogue seemed sharper (“You’re Scottish, fry something”), it might have been that I prefer wossisname to Tennant, and yes I’m willing to admit that the cute red-headed might well have swayed me (although, seriously, the kissogram outfit, was that really necessary?), but I really enjoyed the show.

So, as well as everything else going on in my life at the moment, I also have to contend with being a .. Who-ite? What do you call yourselves? But hey, it could be worse, I could be watching Caprica, ugh!

Yeah, Jack Bauer is back.

I don’t watch a huge amount of TV, although part of me wishes I did as I tend to miss out on some of the conversations over lunch in the office, but if I’m honest I get bored quiet quickly with most shows.

A good example would be Masterchef, I quite enjoy the idea but OH MY GOD, it’s a 15-20 minute programme that’s spun out to fill 30 minutes with tedious and repetitive…. no, I must stop. I can feel my blood pressure rising.

Ohhh which, whilst I remember, is doing fine thanks. Two pills every morning and I’m back down to normal levels.

I wonder if Jack ever has his blood pressure taken?

24 is a simple enough concept. Jack Bauer is a counter terrorist agent in the USA, and each series takes place in a single 24 hour timeframe. There are usually terrorists, agents, double agents, deadly weapons, life threatening situations and a the usual round of bluff and double bluff.

The first series was startling in it’s approach. Lots of fast cuts, short snappy dialogue and multi-layered plots. Frequently you’d be shown something just to keep you guessing, a suspicious look here, a hastily hidden file there. It was engrossing, entertaining and, of course, completely over the top and largely nonsense.

I’m a great believer in the suspension of disbelief for these such things. Be it a TV show or a movie, I’ll happily ignore gaping plot holes, and completely dismiss any notion that what I’m being shown is anything but the truth. It’s a good way to unwind and 24 moves swiftly enough that I can’t guess what’s going on and so it retains my interest.

Anyway, I’ve talked about all of this before so, I guess, I just wanted to say that Jack’s back and I’m a happy bunny!!

I don’t watch a huge amount of TV. I tend to prefer movies and sport but I do watch the odd series, mostly American TV. Things like 24, Grey’s Anatomy, Heroes… I fell away from Lost and Desperate Housewives, and lost interest in The Sopranos when they changed the time slot (this was before we had Sky+). I’ll happily watch 30mins of something entertaining to fill the time, but my boredom threshold is quite low and I’m soon hankering for something else.

So it won’t come as a surprise that, beyond the initial intrigue, I don’t really care who is in the Celebrity Big Brother house. Tommy Sheridan is enough to make me turn off the news, so I don’t see CBB getting much of my viewing time.

I’m also less than interested in who the new Dr.Who will be, despite the fact BBC News think it worthy of a slot. However it does mean that I know there can only be 12 incarnations of the rubbishness that is Dr.Who, and the next one will be number 11 so… soon we’ll be done with them and their crappy special effects and cheesy story lines.

Ohh that was a bit harsh. Oh well.

One thing I don’t watch much of, despite having several channels of them to choose from, is documentaries. So perhaps that will be my get out, instead of watching yet another repeat of Frasier (which, to be fair, still make me laugh), I’ll turn over and watch something from the documentary channels.

Or, you know, The Simpsons.

I’m getting a little fedup watching endless repeats of Friends and Frasier, and whilst Everybody Loves Raymond has some funny moments it’s a little sub-standard. Of course I’m quite content to fill my time with QI, and the like but ultimately I miss watching a good sitcom. I’ve tried most, few are palatable.

I’ll happily admit that I’m quite a fussy TV watcher (which is why I’m currently trying out things like The Wire) easily ditching bog-standard TV fare for a good (or bad) movie or live sport, after which you lose me to gaming, books or other non-TV activities. You seem to be aware you are losing this battle but you aren’t really putting up much of a fight, are you?

Yes, I know those writer people are on strike, but this has been going on for a while now. Lost, Desperate Housewives filled the void for a while but lack longevity, and Heroes is a completely different kettle of fish so don’t even start me on that.

I quite like a good sitcom, and their popularity suggests that others do as well (mind you, that also suggests that Coronation Street has some value.. hmmm) so, when you get a moment, could you please resurrect the concept and write a decent one, please!

Yours hopefully,

Gordon McLean

(And to my readers, ARE there any reasonable sitcoms out there? Am I missing out?)

… bought some new music. More on that in another post though, but it’s been a while. I can always tell when I’m need a new ‘fix’ because I invariably start listening to old favourites on a regular basis.

… been enjoying the chorizo and black pudding tapas that Louise made. Recipe may follow if she can remember what she put in it.

… been cursing Sky+. I had recorded the European Grand Prix and settled down on Sunday evening to watch it (whilst flicking back and forth to the Open golf). What a race! 5 laps to go and Alonso is harassing Massa to try and take the lead when up pops a message on-screen. “End of Recorded Programme”. WTF?! OK, there were some delays because of the rain but I thought Sky+ could handle programmes that ran over their alloted time. Feckers.

… been loving the BBC and Peter Alliss. Like Murray Walker, he will be sadly missed when he decides to hang up the microphone. One choice phrase from Sunday, describing the impact of the championship on local businesses and of their return to normality: “The local newspaper shop will cancel the order for 9000 papers and go back to the usual order of 10 copies of the Dundee Courier and a copy of Men Only for the vicar.”

… sent away two race applications, both a little late so I might not get a place. One 5K in Hamilton in a couple of weeks time, the other a 10K in Cumbernauld in September.

… enjoyed the professionally quashed double-take I received whilst getting fitted for my kilt for my friends wedding. When I asked when the kilt would be ready to pick up, the salesman said he would just phone “Ehh.. Mr. Humphrey I guess… or is it Mr. Beattie, it doesn’t say”. To which I replied “Well yes, either of them would do”. He twitched slightly before glossing over it. Well done Mr. Salesman.

… spent most of the last two days alone. Well not alone but as good as, for “she who must be obeyed” has had her nose stuck in some book or other. Apparently joking about “just reading the last chapter” is verbotin.

… been writing up some posts for my other blog but struggling to finish them for some reason, just can’t quite pull the threads together properly.

… “enjoyed” a hill session on Sunday morning. Apparently some of our jogScotland coaches have sadistic tendencies! I thought they were all nice and fluffy but no, give them a whistle and soon you are sprinting up hills, repeatedly, until all the oxygen on the planet disappears and your legs go all wobbly. Jim, the coach who took us, said that we’d look back on it and realise we’d enjoyed it, everyone laughed. Dammit though, he’s right.