When I lived in Canada CBC Radio would sometimes play something from the Goon Show. The CBC had a program which ran midafternoons (for the life of me I can't recall the show's name) featuring oddball comedy/musical bits. I still have a tape of Groucho Marx singing excerpts from Gilbert and Sullivan which I recorded off the program.
Monty Python has the same kind of geek cult status in Canada that, say, Star Trek has here: your intelligence is often measured by how well you can unreel lengthy Python quotations. (I still can do most of the "Can you tell me who lives in that castle" scene from "Holy Grail"). Since Canada is part of the British Commonwealth, British programming is common there. When I was last up there about 7 weeks ago I stayed for several days at a friend's acreage and had to sit through "Coronation Street" every day. Somehow he'd become addicted to this show (for those who've never seen it it's a soap opera with comic undertones, one of the UK's longest-running shows, now into its 4th decade I think).
Every New Years, the PBS station I pick up from Spokane when the weather's clear runs a Fawlty Towers marathon. Not tough since there are only, what, 14 episodes?
My mother greatly enjoys "Are You Being Served" and the tart "Waiting For God". She got me hooked on "Keeping Up Appearances" some years ago. I usually catch it on Sat. nights if am not out.
Re Star Wars: I saw the first 3 as they appeared in theatres, though my brother was the one who really wanted to see them. I was pretty skeptical. By the time THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK was released I was cinematically sophisticated enough to enjoy its stylization of old 30s-40s movie serials, particularly the optical wipes used in scene transitions (common in the 30s, rarely employed nowadays). Seeing those massive walker things from the opening scene on a towering screen was great.
I've seen the later installments but was distinctly unimpressed. Maybe if I'd seen them in theatres I'd like them better, but I couldn't brave long lines of geekily dressed fanatics and people who sit and talk about every referent in every scene. I like to choose the company I keep. One of the big gaps between my ex and I was her insistence on seeing every Star Trek film that came out in company with fan club members who donned Spock ears, Enterprise jerseys, fake phasers, etc. She'd begm telling me ho wmuch fun it was, and I'd do an Edgar Kennedy slow burn before banging out of the house and heading for the gym to work off my irritation. I'd say I despise Star Trek but despise doesn't convey the full depth of my loathing. I used to tell my ex she'd love me a lot more if I was short, completely bald, and spoke with a ripe Scottish accent a la Patrick Stewart, whom I've considered suing for alienation of affections...............
