I haven’t handed in a single piece of work on time this academic year. There are numerous possible reasons for this, ranging from Edinburgh’s dangerously lax licensing laws to the fact that I’m essentially a lazy b*****d. However, I don’t attach any culpability to such minor factors. I blame cable TV.
It’s my Big Brother-obsessed flatmate’s fault really. Desperate to press the mythical red button and enjoy 24 hour coverage of no-mark losers doing very little, she convinced me to sign up with the promise of wall-to-wall Simpsons and all the Buffy I could eat (metaphorically I hasten to add). Which was fine until I went back to university and rediscovered essay deadlines.
Previously the only late night televisual option was watching the Ceefax jobs page into the wee small hours, and even I found essay writing preferable to that. Now there are countless channels showing everything from Spooks to Blackadder, and frankly even old episodes of Charlie’s Angels and The A-Team become relatively appealing compared to pondering a discourse on the delights of attachment theory.
There is also the chance to spoil things for your terrestrially-limited friends, which is always fun. The new series of Smallville (E4, Mondays) is a big disappointment I’m afraid, but hey you’ll just have to take my word for it. Clark ends up with Chloe, by the way. Oops! Sorry about that. Mind you, in a pirate edition somewhere I’m sure he’ll be declaring his undying devotion for his real love, the brooding Lex. Oh come on, you know it’s true.
Meanwhile, programme of the week - again only on cable, sorry kids - was a particularly surreal episode of Angel (Sky 1, Tuesday) in which he was magically transformed into a puppet. Yes, you did read that right. Looking frighteningly like Burt from Sesame Street, Angel went on to kick some evil demon puppet butt while Spike unsurprisingly p***ed himself laughing.
Whether this was Angel’s inevitable shark-jumping moment or just Joss Whedon messing with our heads - remember the musical Buffy episode, anyone? - it was certainly different from anything else I’ve seen on telly this year, and that’s got to count for something. I guess there’s a thin line between taking risks and taking the p**s, and Mr Whedon is clearly unafraid to cross it.
A final mention for Dogs with Jobs (Discovery weekdays at 7 a.m.). I’ve never actually watched this as, like most students, I’m fast asleep when it’s on, but in this week’s episode, Rex the border collie becomes a postie and Pete the greyhound test drives for Ferrari. Probably.
By the way, any chance of an extension?
By Graham Hall
Courtesy of Edinburgh Student Newspaper |
