Unbelievable TV

[simont]

This seems to be the month for me encountering TV programmes which I can't quite believe are real.

Recently I heard of ‘Sudoku Live’, and I was honestly convinced it was a joke. Then the Gallery caught thirty seconds of it on Friday evening; it isn't. Someone has genuinely turned Sudoku into live television.

I assumed that was a one-off, but today my credulity was strained again by catching sight of a newspaper's TV listing which contained ‘Ann Widdecombe To The Rescue’.

At times like this I want to say ‘you couldn't make it up’, except that somebody evidently could!

Comments

[fluffymormegil.livejournal.com]

I am reminded of the live chess coverage.

[simont]

Do they do live chess coverage on a regular basis, or was the one I remember watching (the 1993 Times World Chess Championship between Short and Kasparov) a one-off?

That one actually made quite good TV, because the commentator team managed to be interesting when speculating about what the next few moves might be and what the likely consequences were. Not to mention the silly bit at the end (once Kasparov had won handily leaving a bunch of spare TV slots to fill) where the two players teamed up and took on the entire commentator team, as personified by Carol Vorderman wearing an earpiece, to demonstrate why they were sitting in the championship seats and the commentators weren't.

[xaosenkosmos.livejournal.com]

ESPN, a major US cable sports network, broadcast Magic: The Gathering tournaments (http://www.mtgnews.com/F/Topic/1078455345048_ESPN2_to_air_all_Magic_PT_and_WorldC.html) on ESPN2 years ago. They broadcast the championships for years before picking up the whole "tour."

It's times like these that i'm grateful for PBS and BBC America. My countrymen have, quite obviously, lost their minds.

[valkyriekaren.livejournal.com]

At least chess is meant to be competitive! This is more like live crossword-solving!