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30 Days of TV - Day 4
( The Days )
Day 4: Your favourite show ever.
If I'd done this meme three years ago, I would have answered Supernatural without any hesitation. Since then, though, SPN has gone downhill somewhat. It's still a show I'm fannish about, but I can no longer declare it my favourite show ever. Shouldn't a favourite be one that didn't break my heart and stomp on it?
I don't know if I have a true favourite. I'm not even sure how to define "favourite".
Shows I've been fannish about (seeking out the fandom, reading and writing fic or meta, going to cons): Hercules/Xena; Highlander/Highlander the Raven; Stargate SG-1; Sentinel; Supernatural.
Shows where I've done some fannish things, but don't really think of myself as "in the fandom": Robin of Sherwood; Star Trek TNG and DS9; Babylon 5; Stargate Atlantis; Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel; Alias; True Blood (that last may yet move to the first list).
Shows I've loved but haven't really done the fandom thing: Farscape; Mutant X; Lois & Clark; The X-Files, Sapphire and Steel; Firefly; Dollhouse; Millennium; Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles; Legend of the Seeker; Blakes 7; Heroes; The Middleman; The L Word; Queer As Folk (UK version); (new) Battlestar Galactica; Caprica; V (both incarnations); Friends; Ally McBeal; Sex and the City; Hamish MacBeth; Cracker; Merlin; Deadwood; Lexx; Dexter, Veronica Mars.
Plus childhood favourites and probably a bunch of others I don't remember right now.
Of those, there's no way I can pick out one and call it a favourite. Do I pick my fannish obsessions? If so, I'd have to choose SPN, and I've been so pissed off with that show lately that it seems laughable to say that's my favourite. True Blood is the only one that's gone more than a season and hasn't let me down...but although I love the show it doesn't inspire me in a fannish way as SPN or HTLJ did (partly because the fandom is all about Eric, and I don't like stalkers). Babylon 5, Alias and Battlestar Galactica I loved until the end but I never felt the need to seek out other fans or do the whole online community thing.
But for the sake of this meme, I'm going declare my all-time favourite a show that most of my friends probably haven't seen: the BBC-made Hamish MacBeth. Based on a series of novels by M.C> Beaton (which I haven't yet managed to read), the show lasted three short seasons, a total of 20 episodes, I think. One of those episodes is almost impossible to find, as it was left off the DVD release. The show is quirky, funny, dark, spooky, heartwarming, tragic and all-round brilliant. I've seen it compared to Northern Exposure and Due South but comparisons are misleading: this show really was unique.
Starring Robert Carlisle in the title role, it follows the fortunes of the people of Lochdubh, a loch-side village in "the wild west of Scotland". The "wild west" thing: although it's not overdone, the format does follow the traditional western. Hamish is the local sheriff, of course, and he has his deputy and sidekick in "TV John" McIver. There's the local saloon run by a married couple, the unscrupulous businessman - a father and son team, the local schoolteacher carrying on a secret affair with the town's "mayor", there's the wealthy landowner and his exotic daughter, the doctor, the newspaperman (or, woman, in this case) - they're all there. The first episode underlines the western theme, as one of the locals is revealed to be an author of Cowboy novels. But it also has psychics and ghosts, ancient conspiracies, rival villages, black widows, mysterious cults, unrequited love, gay love, a little bit of kinky love, fabulous characters both male and female...and did I mention Robert Carlisle?
What I loved most about the show, and still do, is the characters. They are cliches and fully realised characters all at once. Hamish: the village cop who wants nothing more but to live in this small village until he dies, but is just a little too good at the crime-solving thing, so has to avoid the people who might want to promote him. Barney, who runs the local pub: a down-to-earth gent who isn't above buying from poachers or promising the tourists a wee bit more than he can deliver. Doc Brown: the local doctor and, being an educated man, considered an authority by the village, but who isn't above filling his pipe with dope instead of St Bruno. Lachlan McRae, jack-of-all-trades and scheming businessman, whose get-rich schemes never come out quite right; and his son Lachie Junior, sincere and kind hearted, but utterly brainless. Rory, who runs the store and is the local politician, whose long-standing affair with schoolteacher Esme is the secret everyone knows and everyone pretends they don't know. "TV John" McIver: "deputy" to Hamish, the first man in Lochdubh to get a TV set (hence his name) and occasional psychic with dark secrets in his past. Isobel: local reporter in love with Hamish but somehow unable to get it through his thick skull. The Major, Lochdubh's local aristocrat struggling to maintain the appearance of wealth while his estate crumbles, and his daughter, Alex, local celebrity (she's a published author) and former love of Hamish.
The episodes range from pure farce to tragic to dark and almost horrifying, but all tell a story in the unique, quirky style of this community. There's the episode in which a local amateur production of West Side Story sees a near-parallel tale being played out in real life. That's the ep which is hard to find because the BBC failed to license the music for the DVD. An episode dealing with domestic violence and murder is lightened by the difficulties police have investigating the case: the trail where the dead man's car is found permits "no more than two sheep abreast" so getting there is a challenge. Then it turns out the man ran the local fish and game company, so all the blood in his car - a bit misleading. Then there's the sub-plot involving the clandestine sale of lobsters which takes a dark turn itself. An episode involving a series of burglaries by thieves with a fondness for rasberry ripple ice cream is both hilarious and deals with some serious issues too. The episode about drug smugglers involves Lachie Junior finding what he thinks is "cattle cake" washed up on the shore of the loch - he ends up with some very stoned cows! That's the sheer genius of the show: that blend of dark and serious stuff (murder, betrayal, guilt, suicide, and the like) with a quirky humour and always a light touch that allows the viewer to see the funny side even of the most horrible events, yet without seeming to make fun of them in any tasteless way.
I'll write more about some individual episodes later in the meme. For now, suffice to say, this was a really great show and one of the few British-made shows I can say I unreservedly love.
Day 4: Your favourite show ever.
If I'd done this meme three years ago, I would have answered Supernatural without any hesitation. Since then, though, SPN has gone downhill somewhat. It's still a show I'm fannish about, but I can no longer declare it my favourite show ever. Shouldn't a favourite be one that didn't break my heart and stomp on it?
I don't know if I have a true favourite. I'm not even sure how to define "favourite".
Shows I've been fannish about (seeking out the fandom, reading and writing fic or meta, going to cons): Hercules/Xena; Highlander/Highlander the Raven; Stargate SG-1; Sentinel; Supernatural.
Shows where I've done some fannish things, but don't really think of myself as "in the fandom": Robin of Sherwood; Star Trek TNG and DS9; Babylon 5; Stargate Atlantis; Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel; Alias; True Blood (that last may yet move to the first list).
Shows I've loved but haven't really done the fandom thing: Farscape; Mutant X; Lois & Clark; The X-Files, Sapphire and Steel; Firefly; Dollhouse; Millennium; Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles; Legend of the Seeker; Blakes 7; Heroes; The Middleman; The L Word; Queer As Folk (UK version); (new) Battlestar Galactica; Caprica; V (both incarnations); Friends; Ally McBeal; Sex and the City; Hamish MacBeth; Cracker; Merlin; Deadwood; Lexx; Dexter, Veronica Mars.
Plus childhood favourites and probably a bunch of others I don't remember right now.
Of those, there's no way I can pick out one and call it a favourite. Do I pick my fannish obsessions? If so, I'd have to choose SPN, and I've been so pissed off with that show lately that it seems laughable to say that's my favourite. True Blood is the only one that's gone more than a season and hasn't let me down...but although I love the show it doesn't inspire me in a fannish way as SPN or HTLJ did (partly because the fandom is all about Eric, and I don't like stalkers). Babylon 5, Alias and Battlestar Galactica I loved until the end but I never felt the need to seek out other fans or do the whole online community thing.
But for the sake of this meme, I'm going declare my all-time favourite a show that most of my friends probably haven't seen: the BBC-made Hamish MacBeth. Based on a series of novels by M.C> Beaton (which I haven't yet managed to read), the show lasted three short seasons, a total of 20 episodes, I think. One of those episodes is almost impossible to find, as it was left off the DVD release. The show is quirky, funny, dark, spooky, heartwarming, tragic and all-round brilliant. I've seen it compared to Northern Exposure and Due South but comparisons are misleading: this show really was unique.
Starring Robert Carlisle in the title role, it follows the fortunes of the people of Lochdubh, a loch-side village in "the wild west of Scotland". The "wild west" thing: although it's not overdone, the format does follow the traditional western. Hamish is the local sheriff, of course, and he has his deputy and sidekick in "TV John" McIver. There's the local saloon run by a married couple, the unscrupulous businessman - a father and son team, the local schoolteacher carrying on a secret affair with the town's "mayor", there's the wealthy landowner and his exotic daughter, the doctor, the newspaperman (or, woman, in this case) - they're all there. The first episode underlines the western theme, as one of the locals is revealed to be an author of Cowboy novels. But it also has psychics and ghosts, ancient conspiracies, rival villages, black widows, mysterious cults, unrequited love, gay love, a little bit of kinky love, fabulous characters both male and female...and did I mention Robert Carlisle?
What I loved most about the show, and still do, is the characters. They are cliches and fully realised characters all at once. Hamish: the village cop who wants nothing more but to live in this small village until he dies, but is just a little too good at the crime-solving thing, so has to avoid the people who might want to promote him. Barney, who runs the local pub: a down-to-earth gent who isn't above buying from poachers or promising the tourists a wee bit more than he can deliver. Doc Brown: the local doctor and, being an educated man, considered an authority by the village, but who isn't above filling his pipe with dope instead of St Bruno. Lachlan McRae, jack-of-all-trades and scheming businessman, whose get-rich schemes never come out quite right; and his son Lachie Junior, sincere and kind hearted, but utterly brainless. Rory, who runs the store and is the local politician, whose long-standing affair with schoolteacher Esme is the secret everyone knows and everyone pretends they don't know. "TV John" McIver: "deputy" to Hamish, the first man in Lochdubh to get a TV set (hence his name) and occasional psychic with dark secrets in his past. Isobel: local reporter in love with Hamish but somehow unable to get it through his thick skull. The Major, Lochdubh's local aristocrat struggling to maintain the appearance of wealth while his estate crumbles, and his daughter, Alex, local celebrity (she's a published author) and former love of Hamish.
The episodes range from pure farce to tragic to dark and almost horrifying, but all tell a story in the unique, quirky style of this community. There's the episode in which a local amateur production of West Side Story sees a near-parallel tale being played out in real life. That's the ep which is hard to find because the BBC failed to license the music for the DVD. An episode dealing with domestic violence and murder is lightened by the difficulties police have investigating the case: the trail where the dead man's car is found permits "no more than two sheep abreast" so getting there is a challenge. Then it turns out the man ran the local fish and game company, so all the blood in his car - a bit misleading. Then there's the sub-plot involving the clandestine sale of lobsters which takes a dark turn itself. An episode involving a series of burglaries by thieves with a fondness for rasberry ripple ice cream is both hilarious and deals with some serious issues too. The episode about drug smugglers involves Lachie Junior finding what he thinks is "cattle cake" washed up on the shore of the loch - he ends up with some very stoned cows! That's the sheer genius of the show: that blend of dark and serious stuff (murder, betrayal, guilt, suicide, and the like) with a quirky humour and always a light touch that allows the viewer to see the funny side even of the most horrible events, yet without seeming to make fun of them in any tasteless way.
I'll write more about some individual episodes later in the meme. For now, suffice to say, this was a really great show and one of the few British-made shows I can say I unreservedly love.
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I need to rewatch it. Soon!
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