| It’s easy to get sucked into information overload. The global ramifications of the war in Iraq, the battle against terrorism and the SARS pandemic are news items that can consume one’s interest and leave a feeling of paranoia.
Fortunately, a solid remedy for the intrusive power of today’s electronic media is fluff, mind candy or whatever you call those television shows you watch for pure enjoyment.
Here, for your approval, is just a sampling of some of the most appealing diversionary choices currently offered on your TV. Each is heavy on entertainment while blissfully light on state-of-the-world subject matter and the rah-rah America overtones invading reality shows like American Idol.
SAMURAI JACK (YTV)
Like Dexter’s Laboratory and the Powerpuff Girls, Samurai Jack is another example of a crudely stylized animated series that delights far more people than just the kiddies. On this show, a square-jawed, stoic samurai warrior has been fired through a time portal by his mortal enemy, Aku, a shape-shifting wizard. Armed with a magical sword, Samurai Jack contends with the continual threats of an unfamiliar and violent world as he battles to return to his own time and a final confrontation with Aku. With many bizarre enemies and a protagonist who says little and destroys much, Samurai Jack delivers several laughs derived from a tantalizing blend of parody and sarcasm.
SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE'S THE LOST WORLD (Space & many other stations)
This show knows what men want in an action series – cleavage and lots of it. Female stars Jennifer O’ Dell and Rachel Blakely are continually falling out of their tops and being thrust into situations where they are captured and forced to wear skimpy slave-girl outfits. According to the logic of this series, if you’re going to battle a ferocious T-Rex, it’s best to have your shirt open to just above your navel. Though this fantasy-adventure romp ceased production in 2000, several channels continue to run episodes from both of its campy breast-infested seasons.
WEEKEND MOVIES (TBS Superstation)
The Superstation, a perennial treasure trove of guilty-pleasure films, has slightly upped the quality of many of its weeknight film offerings in the past year. But thankfully, for fans of no-thought-required cinema, Saturday and Sunday afternoons remain a bastion of mediocrity. The Major League films, Dumb and Dumber, Goldie Hawn’s Overboard, Roadhouse with Patrick Swayze – rarely will you see a midday weekend movie that rates more than two or three out of five stars in any home video guide book. These dubious Hollywood offerings would normally be shunned, but when you’re lying exhausted or hungover on the couch, you’ll be surprised how easy it is to stare your way through a couple of them without flinching. (OK, Roadhouse may be stretching things a bit.)
TLC EVENING FARE
I, for one, am glad that a network pretentiously titled The Learning Channel is not nearly as highbrow as its name might indicate. In fact, this channel delivers plenty of fan-pleasing but not-so-enlightening programs. Most widely known for its transcendent hits Trading Spaces, Junkyard Wars and Trauma: Life in the E.R., TLC cranks up the cheese factor with some of their reoccurring specials. Highly recommended is Monster Hunters, with dateless geeks out in the woods searching for Bigfoots, Jersey Devils and other long-rumoured but never-captured beasts. Also, be sure to seek out the Ultimate Top 10, which takes things like violent crimes, natural disasters and supernatural phenomena and counts them down Casey Kasem-style.
THE WEATHER NETWORK
Here is the safest of television destinations when negative news is overwhelming you. The superbly blow-dried ladies and gents on this channel sit at desks and stand in front of electronic weather maps, smiling and cajoling each other about surprise snowfalls and weird weather fronts. As they giggle and grin, they remain seemingly detached from anything going on outside of their meteorological world. Here’s an example of typical Weather Network banter.
Kim: "Gary, are you going to be out in the garden this weekend?"
Gary: "No, Kim, I don’t think my tomato plants are quite ready for the
Nor'easter in our forecast."
Both: Chuckle enthusiastically.
If you can’t be soothed by something as wholesome as that, then something has to be wrong with you. |
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