UK folks, a question

[donutsweeper]

This is for the bbc Sherlock fandom, but it's a general British telly inquiry:

I need a show you would consider mindless telly- something airing now that John Watson could plunk down on the sofa and watch without having to commit a lot of brainpower to. If it is something that Sherlock might mock it would be all the better. Any thoughts?

This one is a little more specific, but in your opinion, how likely is it someone like John would have watched Doctor Who growing up? What about Sherlock? Is Classic!Who shown in repeats during the day or late at night ever?

Thanks! *showers you all with donuts*

Comments

[amythest-n-ice.livejournal.com]

What time of day for the mindless crap?

No on the classic WHO, not that I have ever seen anyway, only the so Mary Sue WHO.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

I was thinking either afternoon or late night. But, I'm only just trying to make the scene work so there's no set time yet. If there's any particular show that comes to mind I can make it work.

Too bad about Classic Who though :(

[amythest-n-ice.livejournal.com]

Escape to the Country, Relocation Relocation, Grand Designs, Come Dine With Me, Coach Trip. The first three are all home shows of one ilk or another, Come Dine and Coach Trip are kind of what they say on the lable. Try calling up radiotimes.com and see if you can access that there, that's a TV guide that has all the programe descriptions and crap in.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

You're a star, thanks!

[drunken-hedghog.livejournal.com]

Deal or No Deal is fairly mindless and it seems to be repeated all the damned time, particularly on the digital channels.

I'd say it's likely Watson would have watched classic!Who growing up, but it's not really re-aired much. I can't actually remember the last time I saw an episode advertised, sorry.

[stackcats.livejournal.com]

Maybe Dragons' Den? That can be painfully bad. If you haven't seen it, it's where the general public pitch a sort of sales thing to a panel of investors in an effort to get funding for their inventions. Some of the pitches hit my embarrassment squick *bad*

Or if you want something everyone's heard of, how about Top Gear? Can't see Sherlock being terribly impressed with their antics.

[awanderingbard.livejournal.com]

We have Dragon's Den in Canada too and I agree - I can't stand to watch people embarrass themselves.

Butting in here with the (perhaps) useful information that the yankee version of Dragon's Den is called, for some reason, Shark Tank, if that helps you know what DD is like.

[stackcats.livejournal.com]

That does rather imply that you can persuade a shark not to eat you by impressing it with your inventions. I didn't realise they were so sophisticated!

[awanderingbard.livejournal.com]

Here in North America it's common knowledge that sharks are extremely impressed by socks that snap together for easy finding. ^_^

[stackcats.livejournal.com]

Oh shit, that means they must be planning to evolve feet...

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

Classic!Who should be on all the time there *sighs* oh well, thanks!

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

*giggles madly*

I need to google this show, it sounds *awful*

[awanderingbard.livejournal.com]

If you want to see what some of the shows mentioned are like, you might want to check out 'You Have Been Watching' on youtube. Someone has both seasons of it up there and it's basically comedians and actors taking apart British television. Some of them are ridiculous shows from elsewhere, but the majority of them are British. And it's hilarious as well as potentially informative.

Here's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_You_Have_Been_Watching_episodes) a list of the episodes and what were covered on them.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

oh cool, thanks!

[awanderingbard.livejournal.com]

A word of warning if you're in mixed company - the show isn't shy on the swearing or showing clips of nudity and violence. I was going to edit my comment to add that, but you were too quick, you fiend! :p

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

Ah, thanks for the warning. At the moment my internet is playing silly buggers and too intermittent for youtube to work, but I'll make sure to use headphones when I do watch it.

[mad-jaks.livejournal.com]

NO! Not Grand Designs. I *like* Grand Designs... *weeps*

Come Dine With Me, though *pokes it* Sherlock could have loads of fun with that when they show the guests rooting through the host's bedrooms/cupboards.

[mad-jaks.livejournal.com]

I can't actually remember the last time I saw an episode advertised
About 3 years ago on what was then UKTV Gold... I think. Possibly.

[mad-jaks.livejournal.com]

Actually laughs out loud.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

Oh that could be good.

I'm debating chucking the mindless telly idea though and having John throw in a DVD of old Who for them to watch. For the help_japan fundraiser thing at watsons_woes someone asked for a happy scene between Sherlock, John and their daemons and I was picturing them all sprawled in front of the TV after a long, tiring day, but Sherlock mocking "Tomb of the Cybermen" or something like that might work better for the humor aspect.

[mad-jaks.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I'll leave an actual answer now.

If we're working to the theory that Watson is the same age as Martin Freeman, it's very likely he'd have seen Who growing up.

ETA
Sorry, I had to go doublecheck Benedict Cumberbatch's birthday - though lord alone knows why, I was only looking at the weekend.

It's a lot less likely Sherlock would have seen it. Let's face it, if he *had* he'd probably have known the order of the planets... *mwah*

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

Thanks for this

What about repeats, apparently it's not being shown much now, but did Classic!Who used to be reshown late at night or randomly during the day or something?

[mad-jaks.livejournal.com]

Not really... There was a stage when it was shown *really* late at night/early the next morning on BBC 2, but that was ages ago. The latest repeats were the ones that were airing - No wait, they had Easter Back-to-Back Specials to coincide with New Who starting the last couple of years. Let me go check my LJ-

Easter Specials: http://mad-jaks.livejournal.com/375770.html#cutid1 - so John could have recorded them. Note unfeathered's comment about how they were exactly the same episodes as they'd aired the last time they did a special (it's totally true).

Just about the last Who repeat aired (as part of the ongoing series) was on a cable network: http://mad-jaks.livejournal.com/248252.html

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

Why can't tv air what I want it to?

*grumbles*

[mad-jaks.livejournal.com]

Your guess is as good as mine :(

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

Alright, I need advice- as a Brit what would be best for the following situation?

For the help_japan fundraiser thing at watsons_woes someone asked for a happy scene between Sherlock, John and their daemons and I was picturing them all sprawled in front of the TV after a long, tiring day and watching something mindless on TW- thus my questions, but I'm not sure how well any of the things suggested here would work. What do you think of John popping in a Who dvd and Sherlock mocking "Tomb of the Cybermen" instead?

[mad-jaks.livejournal.com]

Mocking Tomb of the Cybermen works for me - it's incredibly mockworthy *g* Or he can mock John's fannishness, either way xx
Plus kudos for trying to go the daytime tv route, but it's an awful lot of research.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

It turned out to be much more complicated than I'd thought it would be :( But it turned into an excuse to rewatch Two and Jamie, so that works for me! :)

[awanderingbard.livejournal.com]

I hear you on this. If Jeopardy! aired in the UK, I would probably have most of a story written by now. How am I suppose to have someone be an insufferable genius with all the answers if there's no Jeopardy! by which to measure things?!

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

Oh, now that is a very good point. I hate it when you have some great idea planned out but then reality has to intercede.

[phoenix64.livejournal.com]

Clearly Sherlock has to visit the US, because I think that scene/story needs to happen.

[awanderingbard.livejournal.com]

Uh, I may be able to write that? Theoretically. *traps plot bunny in cage*

[phoenix64.livejournal.com]

Not just that, but clearly Sherlock is destined to take the piss out of the IBM computer that recently played on Jeopardy, the one named Watson.

Ooh, and then the computer Watson will get all depressed and I KNOW WHERE MARVIN THE PARANOID ANDROID CAME FROM NOW.

Sorry, um. *rubs my grimy fingerprints off your plot bunny and hands it back*

[noirrosaleen.livejournal.com]

I think it just bred. Can we see two parallel versions of this? 0.0