Countdown to Bedtime

One of the things about having a blog is that, often, you end up treating it as a bit of a confessional. If you feel guilt, blog it, and an amazing burden is lifted from your hefty (in my case, extremely hefty) shoulders.

Over the Easter weekend, the TV schedules were awash with a type of programming that is pretty trashy, incredibly cheap, but undeniably addictive. I love them. And if I start watching one, I may as well kiss the rest of my evening goodbye. I refer, of course, to those "Top 100" shows.

If you are unfamiliar, they always run thus. Take a topic - perhaps a type of TV programme or film, such as musicals, comedians, "tear-jerkers", horror films, etc etc etc, conduct a loose survey of people to find out which are popular, construct a rudimentary chart which, in reality, is really just an excuse to show lots of clips, and put it on Channel Four for five hours on a Sunday night. Oh, and get Jimmy Carr to do some dry-witted links. And there you are. Bob is, indeed, your mother's brother.

The problem is always that they don't end until about 1am, and you've got to get up the work the next morning, but you're so hooked you have to see what the number one is. This is despite the fact that previous experience dictates that you'll always be inherently disappointed at whatever's number one. You stay up until the crack of dawn, tut at the winner, and then get up for your morning commute approximately forty-five minutes later.

I believe I recall some Channel Four bigwig recently saying that he was going to stop commissioning the Top 100 shows. The reason being, of course, that there's nothing left to count. It's all been done. Top 100 numbers between one and one hundred, perhaps. Now, there's a ratings winner.

I'm waiting, as I'm sure you are too, for the now-inevitable Top 100 Top 100 Shows. If they ever made that, I'm sure the ones I've seen over the last few days will chart highly. Musicals (Number one - Grease), Kids TV Shows (Number one - The Simpsons - that's not a Kids show I shouted at the screen), Tear-jerkers (Didn't actually see the end of that one, but it was probably Titanic), War Films (Saving Private Ryan if I remember correctly) all had me staying up far too late.

Perhaps the Top 100 Jimmy Carr Top 100 Show Links might be an idea with legs. It would at least be mercifully short, and we can all be in bed by ten.