Facebook - 30 Day TV Challenge 1 - 10

My additive personality means that I had to move straight onto the next facebook challenge. Unfortunately my addiction does not stray to television watching so expect to see many of the shows repeated through lack of options.

Day 1: Your All Time Favourite TV Show
Choice: The West Wing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSXJzybEeJM&feature=related

I remember watching this show when it first aired on tv although I have no idea how I stumbled upon it as I would have been relatively young at the time.
I start this tv show every May as it was my go-to background programme for when I was revising. The West Wing is a programme which is too good for background noise and I always ended up watching it more than trying to figure out how to draw the correct table for LIFO/FIFO/AVCO.
There are better dramatic moments than this scene but this is one of the Presidents best put downs on the entire show.
The West Wing will appear more than once on my list. I also passed my exams.

Day 2: Favourite Comedy Show
Choice: Black Books

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EY5-0It0acU&feature=player_embedded

Black Books must be about ten years old now but it hasn't aged and is still one of the most quoted shows in our house and amongst The Nerdy Trio. I will admit that I absolutely suck at it to the point that it becomes a minor occasion when I manage to splutter out a quote.
Dylan Moran, who plays Bernard, wrote the show along with Graham Lineham who also wrote another Irish comedy Father Ted which will appear on the list later on.
The humour is mostly dry, drunken bitter Irish sarcasm with the occasional slap stick set piece thrown in.
The long haired guy is Bill Bailey one of the UK's top comedians and fully deserves this accolade as he is hilarious. Tickets to his show have been purchased for December and we can't wait
If you can find the dvds I'd recommend it

Day 3: Favourite Animated TV Show
Choice: American Dad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyG63u2Rhzg

I was desperate to stay away from South Park as much as I could for the TV Challenge since it appeared too frequently on the Film Challenge.
Luckily I own the American Dad boxsets too so South Park wont be used to extremes this time around.
This isn't the funniest clip from American Dad but I quite like the parking music so you will just have to believe me when I say this show, when it is on form, is very good.

Day 4: Favourite Game Show
Choice: The Crystal Maze

This is where my choices start to get lost in international translation as this is such a cult classic. Basically a team go through the Crystal Maze doing daft challenges in order to accumulate crystals. The more crystals obtained the longer they had to complete the final challenge. This show ran for years and I don't think any team ever won the grand prize.

It is constantly repeated on Challenge tv and it is still a great, if not ridiculous way, to kill an hour

Day 5: Favourite Detective Show
Choice: Castle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5WjSljQTLA

Detective shows are something I don't really watch however Castle is the exception to the rule due to a love of Nathan Fillion in our house (mostly on my mothers side) (that never gets any less awkward) (it gets worse if Firefly is on)

Castle is a procedural show with enough charm to make it watchable but not strong enough on the story arc side to make is better than average or to warrant a place on the dvd shelf.

As per usual the supporting cast are the most underused and entertaining.

Day 6: Favourite TV Show From Your Childhood
Choice: Animals of Farthing Wood

I absolutely loved this show as a kid - I still have all the magazines stuffed in a box somewhere and refuse point blank to let any kids touch them let alone read them. Animals of Farthing Wood ran for 39 episodes and followed the story of a mixed group of animals whose forest had been destroyed and turned into a housing development.

For a kids show it was very story arc heavy (no filler episodes in this show) and at times it was emotionally traumatising. There was one scene in which Mr and Mrs Hedgehog were unsuccessful in crossing the motorway and lost their lives due to being flattened by a lorry. They died holding hands. Cried buckets as a child.
I haven't watched it since I was a kid and the BBC never repeated it or released it on dvd. If they did I would buy it in a heartbeat. They don't make kids tv like they used to!

Day 7: Your Least Favourite TV Show
Choice: Sex and the City

I can find absolutely nothing likeable about this show. I watched the first film in the cinema as a group of girls from my old workplace were going and I couldn't stand a trip to the cinema with me not being part of it. Awful 90mins. I have seen snippets of the tv show mostly due to my inability to find the tv remote and change channel. It just isn't my show at all

Day 8: A TV Show You Just Don't Get
Choice: Katie Price and reality tv in general

This drunken slapper is an ever present feature in UK magazines. Katie Price aka Jordan is a former model who has her own tv show which like a poisonous tumour grew and grew until no matter where you look this woman is constantly in your face. She has an ex-husband, a washed up pop star, who also has is own reality tv show and a soon to be ex-husband who is desperate for his on tv show.
The fans of these shows should be rounded up and hunted for sport. By me.

I blame The Osbornes for starting this godforsaken trend.

Day 9: A TV Show That Went Downhill Badly
Choice: Lost

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKvRn0mel1c

The first season of Lost is amazing tv but the longer it stayed on the air the more ridiculous it became. This is the exact moment I switched Lost off forever.

Day 10: Favourite Television Theme Tune
Choice: Phoenix Nights

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P_U0M8dXJE&feature=related

I had to resist the urge to go for the obvious choice of The A Team but Phoenix Nights deserved a place on the list one way or another. It is another British Comedy show written and directed by Peter Kay who is now the top comedian in the country and on his day is even funnier than the great Bill Bailey.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSWzBnt0dlc

Kay's humour is so British I don't know if any of his shows or his stand-up ever made it to the international market.
All of the music in Phoenix Nights (usually purposely crap remakes of modern artists one of the most amusing being Eminem) was created on a keyboard in Kay's house.
The tv show is funny but the cast commentary is even better.

The next ten days follows in ten days time