Gary was talking about a manager who didn't enjoy a visit from the head of the referees Howard Webb. Bundle of Fun Gary said something along the lines "well that manager didn't like Howard's Way." Fellow football pundits Alan Shearer and Micah Richards rolled around with laughter.
Poor old Gary. He then had to explain his joke. "If you haven't got an idea what I'm on about have a search on the Internet."
I don't think he actually said what we had to search for but I quickly cottoned on. He was referring to the BBC drama of many years ago entitled Howard's Way.
And that got me thinking once again about Sunday night television (and for that matter Saturday night).
Sunday evening dramas in particular come under the heading for me of "Preachy Moralistic Dramas." You know they all have a message that they want to impart. They all mix sadness and joy, fun and seriousness. Take the latest "Call The Midwife." I expect I'm going to upset people here by saying I can't stand this programme. But it is typical of Sunday night drama. There have been so many similar that I have forgotten most of them although The Durrells is another example. They tug at the heartstrings and leave you with a washed out feel that you have to take to bed with you.
The problem with most of these dramas is they outlive their usefulness. They carry on long after their sell by date. They just become a watered down version of the original story.
Howard's Way is a prime example. I thoroughly enjoyed the first series, enjoyed the second and then got fed up with it. Homeland was similar. Who remembers Howard's Way? It ran for six seasons and 78 episodes. It went from 1985 until 1990 and surrounded the goings-on around a wealthy yachting and business community on the south coast. I seem to remember it starred Jan Francis.
I suppose the first of those preachy moralistic dramas was Dixon of Dock Green. Readers of a certain age will remember Jack Warner as PC George Dixon. At the end of every episode he moralised on life in general and ended with the famous police phrase Evenin' All. Yu could tell that this drama had outlived itself by the fact that PC Dixon got promoted to Sergeant and ended up with a desk job in the public enquiry office. This was due in no small part to the fact that the actor was 80. No police officer I know was still working at that age. In fact many of those I worked with were retiring in their early 50s. The programme started in 1955 and ran all the way through to 1976 - that's 21 years.
Call The Midwife finishes it's latest run next Sunday. It would have been this week had it not been for the BAFTA awards that seem to get more cringeworthy as the years pass. This one started with an amazingly unfunny sketch featuring the host Richard E. Grant. I have often thought about using my middle initial but it wouldn't work as it would just make me sound Irish - Peter O Steward. People often wonder what the E stands for in Richard E. Grant (ok they don't) but let me tell you it doesn't really stand for anything but is just a twist on his birthname of Richard Grant Esterhuysen presumably from where he gets the E from. He was born in Swaziland. Oh by the way my O is Owen.
Everything about these award shows is false - apart from Colin Farrell. Whilst everyone else in the audience was clutching their sides in mock laughter and pretending they were having a fantastic evening, Mr Farrell looked hugely unimpressed. Every time he was mentioned and the cameras turned on him he looked decidedly peed off.
Whilst we are on the subject of drama - can Casualty on Saturday evening get any worse? The plots have often verged on the ridiculous but last night took not only the biscuit but the whole fruit cake.
Every week seems to bring a new clinical lead to the Casualty department. It's as if all the doctors take it in turn. At present there's this bully who keeps firing people without any authority to do so. Last night a stranger wandered into the department, announced he was a qualified doctor and was allowed to start work. Where was the interview? Where was the appointment? What about references? Who Was He? Who Cares?
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Enough of this nonsense. Let's talk about something much more pleasant.
If you get a chance have a listen to the following You Tube site.
https://youtu.be/f7_Pk0vPT7g
I will explain all tomorrow and tell you a tale of a dear relative who left England for a new life in America.