Stephen Fry and the Gutenberg Press
Last night saw your host doing something unusual, or what passes for unusual at La Casa Goldeneye - watching television all night !
In particular a fabulous programme presented by Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry and the Gutenberg Press
I’ll resist labelling him as a National Treasure as seems the norm nowadays but he’s certainly in my Top 3 list of greatest living Britain’s - as you’ve guessed I’m a fan.
This TV show was, to me at least, a shining example of what could and should be done in the multi-channel age. It was superb !
Brilliantly put together, very interesting, educational and enjoyable.
OK, I understand, not every viewers cup of tea - but then soap operas and inane sitcoms are not mine but I still pay my licence fee and deserve to be tossed a bone every now and then !
The programme dealt with the history behind the first machine printed book The Gutenberg Bible. Fry has an ability shared by no others I’ve seen on television in that he seems to be able to appeal to all in this country.
Unfortunately in the UK there seems to be a reverse snobbery amongst many people.
He would traditionally be labelled ‘posh’ or even worse ‘brainy’ - a term used as a negative - though quite how being of reasonable intellect is seen as a fault or handicap worthy of derision I fail to see.
He manages to escape all these clichés, even though in many respects he is a sublime example of a walking cliché.
I thank BBC4 for stumping up some of my money to make the show and hope they’ll do more in a similar vein.
Is there more on TV that I’m missing ?
Did you see the above show ?
Recommendations on things I should watch also greatly appreciated
Regards
Rod
Lindi Lou said,
April 15, 2008 @ 12:37 pm
How right you are (again!). It really is about time we stopped paying to watch an absolute load of mind boggling rubbish. Unfortunately ‘treasues’ such as the one discussed are indeed few and far between and very little thought goes into new series nowadays.
Presumably as you are a fan of the said Mr Fry, I assume you already watch the very entertaining QI; it is somewhat more lighthearted but generally you have to have a certain amount of intelligence to understand the jokes. Perhaps those of us who watch these kind of programmes are labelled as ’swots’ or ‘brainy’; the question is, do we really care? Is it a bad thing to be deemed more intelligent than a large percentage of the population? I’m sure Mr Fry does not think so and neither should the rest of us.
I may have said this before, but I will say it again; never follow the herd (sorry, waffling again).
Rod said,
April 15, 2008 @ 3:08 pm
LL
I do indeed watch QI, they rerun them all on this digital caper which I was advised to get by Jordan - and right she was !
I’d have missed the above as it was on BBC4 had I not listened to her !
A valuable lesson !
rod
Jordan said,
April 15, 2008 @ 3:57 pm
RC
At last you have joined the high-tech world of TV! Glad to be of assistance (yet again.)
See how much you would have missed out on.
Helpful Jordan
Rod said,
April 15, 2008 @ 4:24 pm
Jordan
I am indeed in your debt !
I think I said on this site last year one of my New Year’s Resolutions was …
to take Jordan’s advice more
So don’t tell me to boil my head bvecause I might just do it
Rod the TV Addict
Femme Fatale said,
April 15, 2008 @ 11:38 pm
LL,
I totally disagree with you about having to have a certain amount of intelligence to understand the jokes on QI and resent the fact that you are pigeonholing some of the British public. Who would you class as having a certain amount of intelligence, it would be QI to know? My family and I are avid watchers of the show and understand it all fully, we are normal working class citizens, who have not got their heads stuck up their backsides, as some people appear to have!!!
FF
Princess G said,
April 16, 2008 @ 12:44 am
FF
I have to say that I most definitly agree with you.
You do not have to be that intelligent to understand the comedy on QI. Most of it is very easy to understand and yes, I think that it is a programme that is to be enjoyed by the whole family, not just intelligent people, as you are implying LL.
Although I did not see ‘Stephen Fry and the Gutenberg Press’ I can indeed see where you are coming from when you say it was educational and interesting, as Stephen Fry is an extremely intelligent man and knows many things that we do not. I, myself have learnt a lot of things from watchin QI and other such programmes involving Stephen Fry.
PG..x