Friday Five

1. How many TVs do you have in your home? One.

2. On average, how much TV do you watch in a week? Watch as in pay attention? An hour a day on average – i.e. 7ish in a week. VH1 or, occasionally, MTV is on a bit more than that, though, while I read or sit at the computer – I use it as a sort of radio.

3. Do you feel that television is bad for young children? In moderation, no. As a nanny-substitute, definitely. Also, obviously, it depends on what’s on. I don’t think CNN is suitable children’s entertainment.

4. What TV shows do you absolutely HAVE to watch, and if you miss them, you’re heartbroken? Parkinson, unless it’s repeats. Nytt på Nytt (the Norwegian version of Have I got News for You), definitely. Beat for Beat and Home Front, maybe. Heartbroken is a bit strong, though.

5. If you had the power to create your own television network, what would your line-up look like? Oooh. A lot of the best from BBC – so-called lifestyle television (Changing Rooms, Home Front, Ground Force) and their best dramas (like Pride & Prejudice) and comedies (Blackadder, Jeeves & Wooster) (best as defined by me, of course) and, of course, Have I got News for You. Then add some of the best from NRK (the aforementioned Nytt på Nytt and Beat for Beat), some good movies (again good as defined by me) and some series such as Sabrina the Teeange Witch, for light entertainment. Oh, and M.A.S.H., endless reruns of M.A.S.H., you can never have too much M.A.S.H.
For intellectual stimulation, throw in some good documentaries (Child of Our Time! Changing Stages, Michael Palin’s travelogues, something on the state of the planet, perhaps), and ok, so maybe a five-minute news-update every 4-5 hours or so (no sports, except, perhaps, fencing and snooker), and voilla: 24 hour RagnhildTV (or RobinTV, if you like, it would be a better name internationally, I guess).