London TV 101

After a lot of weekend distractions, I thoroughly enjoyed NOT leaving the house last night and tonight, and catching up on some home stuff instead. Of course, this meant that I watched some TV too, and even TV listings can be worth a photo in the name of cultural anthropology. Here are some of the offerings from last night, on BBC1:

How to tell this isn't the Vancouver TV guide:

1. Shows start at times that aren't on the hour or half-hour. Vancouverites would go berserk.

2. The existence of the 7:20 P.M. show, although I do like the way BBC manages to work gender politics into a show that ultimately was about who could grow the heaviest marrow. Not that I watched it or anything.

3. Name-dropping at 8:30 P.M. I never know who the people are. The easiest way to understand the silliness of celebrity culture is to enter another culture and not have a clue who any of the celebrities are!

4. 8:05 P.M. It's "news and weather" here. They're completely divided. Weather isn't news; it's weather! And from what I've seen, there aren't any of the inane weatherperson antics that embarrass North American newscasts. The weatherperson does not banter with the anchorperson. The weatherperson does not run photos of the day. The weatherperson does not show photos of people over 100-years-old whose birthdays are today. The weatherperson stands beside a map and tells you the weather forecast. It's a welcome novelty.

5. Antiques Roadshow. Okay, some things are the same.