Rant 305 31/10/12 Subject: Half hearted halloween

Rant number 305

I really like halloween me. I like the idea of the festival - the history, the hype, the commercialisation, the plastic crap - the lot. The problem is though, that I live in the wrong country!

England has a really quite half-hearted attitude to halloween. The reason for this I am more than sure - is because retailers are so fucking obsessed with Christmas that they are already peddling stuff in September.

We also have got fireworks night - which I really rather like also (there are explosives and hot-dogs. What's not to love?) The thing is though - that its close proximity (a mere 5 days) to halloween is prone to removing some of the shine.

All this aside - its no excuse. People should embrace halloween and bloody well enjoy it.

Look at the USA in comparison. They have parties and decorations and kids running riot. We have fancy dress down the pubs or (as I overheard someone say) at bingo. Trick or treating seems to be done under parental supervision only to avoid the dangers of strangers - or by chavs who want special brew - not lolly pops.

The halloween stuff is only found in pound shops and is of questionable quality.

You can pop the TV on and watch a horror though can't you?

No.

Year after year, bafflingly - the TV schedulers seem determined to avoid showing anything horror themed on halloween. I mean - on a day called halloween, I thought that maybe they'd like to show a movie - which fitted the theme. A movie called - just throwing a thought in here: Halloween for instance!

The only film that has anything approaching a horrific theme this evening is - The Sixth Sense.
Now, I know that some of you may not have seen it yet - so here is a spoiler alert before I talk about it:

Its shit, and about scary as a puppy wrapped in cotton wool.

It's really bloody disappointing that people show so little initiative!

Rant over.

Rant 138 17/5/12 Subject: Bizarre programming

Rant number 138


Today, at around 7 O'clock I decided to watch an episode or two of Futurama which was on. I like Futurama despite the fact that I have already seen pretty much all of the episodes. Its been long enough that I can watch it again and still enjoy it now.

Now, according to Wikipedia (not always a reliable source I'll grant, but fine in these kind of matters) there have been around 114 episodes to date, give or take some feature length ones.

That presents roughly 60 hours of futuristic cartoon fun to be chosen from.

Why oh why then, was one of todays episodes a Christmas special?

I don't get it. Its spring time: the snow has mostly gone, the birds are chirping in the trees and yet, I am presented with Christmas TV. Why do they think that makes sense?

I've never understood these kind of anomolies in the TV schedules. Are they not allowed to use their brains?

Christmas episodes, Easter specials, Halloween spectaculars. These can all be shown at any time - its madness.

Particularly, as they never put them on at the time that is appropriate. At Christmas, they just show normal episodes, the same applying at all other times. It really bugs me.

Halloween for instance. I like Halloween, not because of any attachment to spiritualism - but because I like horror stories and films.
Each and every year, I think to myself 'they'll put on some horror films on halloween. It's just the right day for it.'

Every year I think that, and every year I am disappointed.

If nothing else, you'd think that they could put on John Carpenters conveniently titled 'Halloween.' First of all, its a fabulous movie and secondly - it just makes sense.

These people show so little imagination, it's bloody bizarre and damned irritating.

Rant over.