TV Tan

Welcome to South Manchester on a mixed day, weatherwise. Basically it is raining with occasional sunny intervals, which is typical weather in April. 

Time for silly questions from Sunday Stealing. 

1.  Name a TV series show or shows in which you have seen every episode at least twice:

There are a few but the one that leaps to mind is a typically British comedy show, set in space, called Red Dwarf. It is about a huge mining ship called Red Dwarf, which is 3 million years in the future somewhere out there in the universe after an accident that killed the entire crew except an absolute space bum called Dave Lister. Dave is the last surviving human being and is joined by a hologram of his dead bunkmate called Arnold Rimmer, a cleaning droid called Kryten and a creature that evolved from Dave’s cat, as well as a senile computer. It sounds bizarre but it is hilarious.

Here are a couple of clips. 

2.  Name a show or shows you can't or would not miss:

There are quite a few around to be honest. I’m a geek so there are a lot of sci-fi shows like Dr Who, whatever the latest Star Trek series is (looking forward to the last season of Discovery) plus some recent gems like The Boys and Reacher. There’s some good stuff out there at the moment.

3.  Name an actor or actors that would make you more inclined to watch a show:

None. I don’t really care who is in the show to be honest as long as it isn’t any one of those mentioned in the next question.

4.  Name an actor or actors who would make you less likely to watch a show:  

There’s a comedy series over here called Gavin and Stacey and I have never watched a single episode of it because it has James Corden in it. I was tempted to watch the Friends Reunion but when I found out he was involved I decided against it. 

And of course it goes without saying that any TV programme that involves Piers Morgan will never be shown on my telly box.

5. You're having a lovely dinner party for friends and family.  What will you serve for appetizers, main course and dessert?

Whatever Mrs PM decides to make. If I were the host and she wasn’t around, there would be a good chance that the food would be delivered because what I would serve would be rubbish or perhaps I wouldn’t have the will to spend ages in the kitchen (I can actually cook but I really don’t like to). That said, we have a soup maker so I would have a go at making a soup, followed by either a pasta dish or steak, followed by cheesecake (brought in of course) and some cheese and biscuits with a variety of cheeses from the local cheese shop.

6. Snow storm!  You've got house guests and you're all stuck inside for the night. What do you prepare for dinner.  Will you watch a movie? Which?

See above. I would probably put on a comedy to raise spirits, like Monty Python’s Life of Brian, A Fish Called Wanda or Shaun of the Dead.

7. We are going into New York City for the weekend. Where do you want to go?

I’ve been to New York City twice in my life and I’ve seen quite a few sights, like the Empire State Building, Wall Street and Times Square. If I went again for the day, I know that the city is full of skyscrapers and, being afraid of heights, I would avoid climbing such places. I’ve never really spent that much time in Central Park so I would probably start the day with a walk there, depending on the weather. The first time I was there, I took a boat ride all around Manhattan and I really enjoyed it – I think I would do that again. I would probably go for a walk around Greenwich Village as well. In the evening I would pop to Chinatown for a nice meal to finish off the day.

8. You are going to night school.  They offer courses in writing short stories, painting, piano  or guitar lessons, simple home repairs, baking, and gardening. Which do you pick  (or make up one of your own)  and why?

This is a possibility for me when I retire and I would choose one or more of the following: Piano lessons, Spanish and creative writing. 

9.   Ever been to a Drive In Theatre? Would you like to see Drive In Theatres make a comeback? 

I have been to a Drive-In in Los Angeles way back in 1989, just to cross it off the list of “things to do in America”. What I didn’t realise at the time was that they were fading into obscurity. The people we were staying with had to think about whether there was one in the vicinity. There wasn’t but we found one close enough to make it worthwhile. There were two films on and sadly my ex-wife who was with me at the time did not want to see Star Trek V: The Final Frontier so we had to compromise with Tom Hanks in Turner & Hooch. 

It was a bizarre experience with the sound coming through the hire car’s speakers and I spent a fair amount of time watching the other patrons in their wide variety of cars and vans. I do recall buying a huge bag of popcorn and a giant coke. It was fun in a weird kind of way but I would much rather sit in a proper cinema. 

Still, I crossed it off the list. 

And I think it is probably something that should be left to fade into obscurity as a thing of the past.

10.  Should towns provide community entertainment like bands in the park, fireworks on the 4th, community picnics or is the cost just too much?

Well I wouldn’t have fireworks on the 4th July in the UK because people would walk around with bemused expressions on their faces. However, I would be happy to see bands in the park or community picnics. We do this kind of thing in the UK. In my local neighbourhood we have a an annual festival in one of the local parks and there are quite a few others scattered about the various districts of the city. I’m all for attempts at brining the community together as long as the event isn’t crap (which alas sometimes they are). 

11.  What would you change about your town if you had the power?

I live in the third biggest city in England and it is a city with a lot of satellite towns such as Bolton, Rochdale, Oldham, Altrincham, Bury,  Salford, Wigan, Stockport and Sale and it is easy to get from one place to another with generally excellent public transport. The problem is that this transport mostly goes directly into the city itself and if you want to get from, say Altrincham to Stockport the transport links are not as good. They’re not bad but they could be better. There are apparently steps to improve this. 

12.   How often do you find yourself shopping for groceries?

We typically grocery shop once a week but occasionally we pop to the shop to get something that has run out. 

13. Do you have a favourite night time snack?

Occasionally I have cheese and crackers if I am feeling peckish but it is a rare occurrence really.

14,  Do you buy in bulk and what kinds of tips do you have to save money on grocery shopping?

I don’t really buy in bulk that often but I do say to Mrs PM that for some things it is better to have too much rather than too little. Obviously this doesn’t apply to perishables. 

15. Let's have a picnic in the park.  What foods are we packing and will we cook anything there or is it all prepared ahead of time?

For me a picnic in the park doesn’t really involve cooking things beforehand. I would want to eat snacks, such as sandwiches and crisps (chips in America), with a few other bits of finger food. It would be nice to have a beer or wine too.