Epea Pteroenta

I don't watch much TV; in fact, my viewing dwindled to nearly nothing when the computer first came home, and it's never been the same since. But still there are a few things that it's worth making time for.

Jools introducing the Streets

I've been a big fan of The X-Files since 1993 and own the complete set of DVDs. (It was a collectible offer and it took me two years, but boy, was it worth it.) Despite the fact that it went downhill from season 6 onwards, it's still one of the shows I stop to watch, whether on DVD or catching reruns, especially seasons 2-3, my favourites. That and Babylon 5 are the only shows of my younger days in Greece that I still have contact with, mostly because my husband is the big B5 geek. We only completed our latest marathon a couple of weeks ago.

After moving to the UK I discovered Doctor Who. I'd seen some of the Tom Baker era as a child, and was unimpressed. I remain unimpressed by the Doctors themselves (neither David Tennant nor Matt Smith have clicked in the slightest for me), and some of the companions *coughBilliePipercough* can be beyond annoying, but the wackiness of the entire premise wins, and I watch and enjoy. My three-year-old is a massive fan as well, though he keeps watching for the aliens; Daleks make him happy, Cybermen intrigue him, and Slitheen ('smelly aliens with clicky hands and zips on their heads!') were the ones who drew him in to start with. I actually enjoy Torchwood more, though, after the last two short serials, I'm looking forward to something longer and more episodic, like the first two seasons.

With MTV irrelevant and Top of the Pops defunct, Later… with Jools Holland is hands down the best music show out there. I don't find the much-touted Hootenanny much of a party (unless one is a fan of watching celebrities get drunk off their asses, which I'm not), but the weekly shows are fascinating combinations of established stars showcasing their latest works and relative, or even complete, unknowns given almost equal stage time. I have discovered more artists than I care to count by going on frantic YouTube and Last.fm searches just after, or even still during, watching them on Jools. Priceless.

Finally, I could cite a lot of charming children's series, which I get to follow together with my young one, but I'll opt for just one instead, one that's rather too advanced for a preschooler, but fascinating for anyone whose age has hit the double digits: Horrible Histories. You don't find many educational shows today that manage to be as screamingly funny as that. The history is accurate, and the sketches are chock-full of cultural references that may be lost on the young but make their parents roll with laughter, a lot like the pop culture bits in Terry Pratchett's novels. I have the first two seasons on DVD and can hardly wait for the third to come out. Simon Farnaby (of The Mighty Boosh fame), Matthew Baynton (main frontman of Savage Songs), Ben Willbond, Sarah Hadland and Alice Lowe have definitely become household names. At least in this household.