TV Programmes: Tarzan / Lone Ranger / Zorro / Black Adder etc.

TV programmes I have recently watched:

My TV antenna is broken so I don’t get the TV. Instead I can borrow out old TV programmes on DVD from my local library. Thanks to the library the programmes I have recently been watching (in lieu of the dreadful Big Brother) are:

The New Adventures of Tarzan (Volume 1) Where’s Johnny Weismuller when you need him? The dude who plays the character role in these 4 episodes is a lousy actor and sports a hair do that would not have been out of place on a band member of Duran Duran or The Human League. The plots are hilariously bad. Here is a plot summary from the DVD cover for just one of the episodes:

Madly in love with Tarzan, Queen Maya stays her hand. Suddenly, the natives notice Raglan lowering a noose through the temple’s chimney hole from above, snagging the Green Goddess and hauling it away. D’Arnot frees Tarzan from the altar, and the apeman rescues the Martling party, who were about to be thrown into a pit of alligators.

The Queen Maya in question is supposed to be Guatemalan (this is a very geographically confused production) but the actress who plays her is a tough peroxide blonde costumed like a 1940s exotic dancer. She staggers through her scene giving the impression that shagging the producers of The New Adventures of Tarzan has left her sore in places she doesn’t wan to think about.

The Lone Ranger (Volume 2) These 3 episodes lived up to expectation. The mask, the rearing white horse, the William Tell overture, the loyal Indian offsider – they were all there. A booming voice announces over the opening credits that the Lone Ranger was a “fabulous individual”. Excellent. The melodrama of the classical music soundtrack contrasts curiously but effectively with the action of the stolid western characters. I could absolutely go Tonto too.

Zorro’s Fighting Legion (Volume 1) 3 episodes from the black and white TV series. Much rushing about on horse back and nearly getting shot, nearly getting dynamited, nearly getting ambushed… but Zorro always escapes and saves the day. He has to. He is wearing the best costume.

The Black Adder – Series 4. Black Adder, Baldrick et al fetch up in the trenches of World War 1 in this series. This is brilliant comedy – hyperbolic writing, British stereotypes and perfect performances. The very last episode is very dark and unexpectedly moving, and it reminded me how great comedy can be a hair’s breadth away from tragedy at times.

Julius Caesar starring Chris Noth, Richard Walken, Richard Harris among others. Formulaic but competent telling of the life and times of the Roman emperor.

Palin on Art This is a pleasant series that features Michael Palin discussing, researching, journeying as a response to some of his favourite art. He visits the places where artists lived and the places they painted and talks to the people who knew them. Recommended for art enthusiasts.

All Aussie Adventures – Series 1 & 2. This is a popular comedy series made in recent years. It spoofs Australian travel programmes and, in particular, Australian travel programme hosts. There is a specific breed of Aussie bloke that reckons he is an alpha male who is expert in everything to do with the great outdoors. These men are to be avoided at all costs. These mock travelogues focus on the misadventures of a character called Russell Coight as he travels through the Australian outback. That Coight is an idiot is obvious to everyone except himself. In every programme he trips over tree roots, falls off gates and pinches his fingers in lids. In each episode he manages to accidentally kill a rare Australian animal, wreck someone else’s car, and alienate whoever happens to be around him at the time. The comedy is broad and, perhaps, predictable, but is well crafted and presented nevertheless. Glenn Robbins is very good as Coight – he times his pratfalls beautifully and he has the mannerisms and vocal delivery (instantly recognizable to any Aussie who has had these deadly programmes inflicted on them) down perfectly. In fact, he reminds me unerringly of a former landlord of mine. This smug bastard was an armchair expert in everything but particularly fancied himself as the adventurous outdoors type. He also was an idiot. Maybe that is why this show appeals to me.

Leunig Animated. This DVD is a collection of short animated versions of Michael Leunig’s cartoons. Leunig is an Australian cartoonist and essayist. He is extremely highly regarded and much loved. His cartoons and essays are regularly published in The Age newspaper here in Melbourne. His humour can be whimsical or caustic, and his cartoons are also often very moving. He is quite capable of commentating on topical affairs or the absurdity of human existence.

Scared Weird Little Guys – The First 15 Years. The Scared Weird Little Guys are an Australian musical comedy duo who are quite well known (at least here in Melbourne where I live). I saw them live for the first (and only) time at the Edinburgh Festival in 2001 or 2002. Until then I had only seen them occasionally and briefly on television, and hadn’t thought that much of them. I went to see their show at Edinburgh because I scored a free ticket. The show was great – it was one of the funniest and cleverest things I ended up seeing at the Festival. SWLG get their laughs from composing and performing funny songs (with the odd cover thrown in). The humour is quirky and impish. Many laughs are to be had from the lyrics, but they also generate laughs from exploiting their superb musicianship and performance technique. At the show in Edinburgh they were making people laugh through the use of key changes and instrumental arrangements in their music. They also have superb diction and use this to great comic effect.

Walking with Cavemen 4 part BBC science programme that uses special effects and heavily costumed actors to trace the evolution from upright apes to Neanderthal man. Very interesting and well crafted.

Life / Survival actually a kids’ nature programme. Beautiful photography.

Robot Chicken cult comedy series from the US. What a pity it wasn’t actually funny.

Also:

The First Eden

Kath and Kim – Series 4

Mythbusters – Ninja Special

Canada – Pilot Guides

Young Ones

Inspector Rex

We Know Where You Live

Feast Greece

1421 – The Year China Discovered the World

7 Periods with Mr Gormsby

Black Books

Billy Connolly in Dublin

Dr Who (Series 3 Volume 5).