Strange TV obsessions

[Jeremy DEagle]

I've been a way fromt he forum a few weeks and, having seen David's plea I thought I would start a new thread...

What show is on telly that you are strangely obsessed with? I don't mean something like Lost, Heroes etc which tell a story so you have to keep watching but more like...

Come Dine With Me. I started watching this a few weeks ago and now have it Sky plussed. I'm addicted and can't get enough of it! I don't really know why... I do find it hilariously funny, especially when they wheel out the 'stupid northerners' (it always seems to be us poor northerners who are made to look stupid). I've become a bit of a laughing stock at my girlfriend's work but it has had it's benefits. Someone there is equally obsessed and has pointed me in the direction of More 4 on a Sunday, where there is about 3 hours of it in a row!


So the question is, what show is your wierd obssesion?

[Adrian]

I used to love Come Dine With Me, and it absolutely is regionalist, and not in a good way. The first group were yuppy Londoners ("Oh no, I forgot to brown the fillet steak before putting it in the pastry for my Beef Wellington") and the next week were common Northerners - I swear one even made Angel Delight.

We get the American version here, Dinner Takes All. It's still good, especially when there's a group of New Yorkers.

[David]

I've been a way fromt he forum a few weeks and, having seen David's plea I thought I would start a new thread...
Good man! That said, my part of that thread was from way back - meg bumped it up with some fresh observations on quietness, with which I agree!

I don't watch a lot of Come Dine With Me but enjoy it when I do. I think there are various reasons for its appeal. In its conception I'm sure it grew out of the search for yet another cookery prog to fill the nation's stomachs, but of course it's actually got very little to do with cookery. Here we can nose round people's houses, chuckle at their poor taste and delight as their exotic creations go mammary-glands-up. The off-stage bitching and especially the wonderful sarcastic commentary all add to the recipe and as a nice crispy topping we have the essential ingredient of a total b****** in the mix, just to stir our passions nicely.

It's good stuff.

[Star]

I find 'Who Do You Think You Are?' on the BBC, where celebrities research their family trees, fascinating. It often ends up being quite personal - such as Bill Oddie remembering his Mum being admitted to an assylum - and they end up revealing more about themselves than their family I think - like when Jeremy Paxman found out that his great grandparents were virtually destitute and he began railing about the injustices meted out to them.

I suppose, in a way it's the same fascination of peeping into someone else's life as 'Come Dine With Me', but whilst I used to enjoy those 'fly-on-the-wall' sort of programmes, I find them too ready to poke fun at people now and it makes me feel uncomfortable to watch it. I guess that says more about me than the programme.

[megustaleer]

I love Who Do You Think You Are?, and don't think that's a strange obsession at all.
Perhaps that's because Mr meg's family has a fairly exotic history, and we have been able to fit some pieces of the jigsaw together from the family stories of a couple of people featured in the programme.
I'm now hoping that they will feature someone whose antecedents had similar experiences as my grandmother in her late 19th century childhood.

I have occasional periods of watching Come Dine With Me in fascinated horror, but I'm sure the programme started off as a more sensible attempt at social mixing. I have a vague recollection of watching a couple of episodes of the first series, and don't remember it holding people up to ridicule in quite such a blatant manner.

Mr meg and I have watched Master Chef since it was presented by Lloyd Grossman, and are looking forward to tonight's final.
I also admit to being fascinated by Grand Designs - where do they find those people?

[solace91z]

I'm obsessed with 3rd and Bird, which is on Cbeebies. My young lad is particularly taken with birds, so this program had instant appeal for him. For me, its the annoyingly catchy theme tune.

[Minxminnie]

Mr meg and I have watched Master Chef since it was presented by Lloyd Grossman, and are looking forward to tonight's final.
I also admit to being fascinated by Grand Designs - where do they find those people?

I love these too, meg. I love Masterchef right from Greg shouting at the start, Cooking doesn't get TOUGHER than THIS! The invention test in the early rounds is the best, but I'll be rooting for Mat in the final tonight.

I was just talking about Grand Designs today at work - I found a fellow addict. As you say, who are these people? "We are funding the £1.5 million build cost from savings and a small mortgage ... yes, it went over budget, but we managed to raise the rest from family ..." How the other half live, eh? Sadly, they mostly seem to build houses that look very similar inside, all glass walkways and white kitchens. Except the quirky ones, which I like, built from baked bean tins and moss.

I also like Location, Location. More house porn, really.

[megustaleer]

I also like Location, Location. More house porn, really.
Oh yes, house porn! Homes Under The Hammer, and To Buy Or Not To Buy are the ones I like.
I try, if I can, to organise my mornings so that I can watch TV between 10.00am and midday - even to the extent of doing ironing, which I hate, in front of the TV in the spare bedroom at that time. :o

[Minxminnie]

Oh yes, house porn! Homes Under The Hammer,


This is my BIG guilty secret during the school holidays. Oops, it's out now. :o
I can't explain why I like it, I really can't, but I'm a late riser when I'm off and it's perfect waking up telly.

[chuntzy]

I love these too, meg. I love Masterchef right from Greg shouting at the start, Cooking doesn't get TOUGHER than THIS! The invention test in the early rounds is the best, but I'll be rooting for Mat in the final tonight.




Hurrah for Matt! What 'EXCEPTIONAL' food he produced. As for Andy, it was his second go and he must be devastated but I'm sure he'd get a job in a top restaurant (or would have last summer when the programme was filmed?) but things have changed somewhat...