Yes! It's here! In accordance with popular demand (i.e. one person asked for it), I'm proud to present the call for your entries in the Best New Television Programme Idea Competition.
The prize is... well, nothing really. I'm not really a TV channel, unfortunately (indeed, more's the pity, sometimes!). But you do get the enduring respect of the many, many readers of the blog ;-)
Erato's idea was to take a current show and change the parameters a bit, which gave me the idea of Your Money or Your Life German Treasury special - Alvin Hall talks to German Finance Minister Hans Eichel and with his typical admonishing air and pointing finger, tries to find out ways to cut back his burgeoning debt. Watch Eichel's gripping video diary as he tries to keep to Hall's new draconian spending limits, including giving up those beloved opera subsidies...
Or how about French for Europhobes? Conrad Black is your guide, teaching you just enough French to be able to ask if you can pay in Pounds Sterling at your Gîte, complain that your steak isn't well done enough ("it's practically pink!") and insult the French President. First lesson: Nous ne lisons que The Daily Telegraph, vous le savez...
Posted by Eurodan at May 28, 2003 10:50 AMEuro Krypton Factor - Gordon Brown watches smugly as each week a different team of economists tries to complete his 5 tests for Britain's entry to the euro. No one ever does.
Posted by: Erato at May 28, 2003 4:51 PMEspecially since one of the tests consists of constructing a 3D model of the European Central Bank out of clear perspex in 3 minutes!
Posted by: Eurodan at May 28, 2003 5:20 PMAnd we're all dying to see Anders Fogh Rasmussen in the Big Brother house after that fabulous documentary a couple of weeks ago!
Btw thanks to Netscalibur I can now read my mail online in any number of languages, including Bulgarian, Lithuanian, both flavours of Norwegian, and Brazilian Portuguese. Decisions, decisions...
Posted by: Erato at May 29, 2003 10:54 AMReally? What documentary was that? Anything good?
Posted by: Eurodan at May 29, 2003 4:22 PMDanish TV made a fly-on-the-wall documentary covering Denmark's recent EU presidency. Anders didn't come out of it very well, apparently, coming across as patronising, manipulative and rather too keen to hog the limelight - though I think Gerhard Schröder fared even worse. The Economist's review of it was headlined "Fogh pas", which made me chuckle too.
Posted by: Erato at May 29, 2003 4:39 PMWell it's quite interesting, isn't it, the rotating 6-month presidencies of the Council of Ministers.
I did a week observing some meetings a month or so ago, and since it's Greece's turn, a Greek civil servant gets to chair all the committee meetings - of which there are a great number.
There's something rather - dare I say it - Eurovision about it being another country's turn every six months.
Posted by: Eurodan at May 29, 2003 6:54 PMWell I think you've brought those two strands together beautifully there. Yes, instead of all these nonsense about electing a Council President they should hold a parallel contest with the Eurovision when each of the EU leaders gets 3 minutes to demonstrate a 'national speciality' and let the winner take the presidency for the next year.
Posted by: Erato at May 29, 2003 10:41 PMOops - "this nonsense" - sorry!
Posted by: Erato at May 29, 2003 10:41 PMI can see it now - do you think Giscard D'Estaing would fit the role of Eurovision Scrutineer? (Like good old Frank Naef?)
Posted by: Eurodan at May 29, 2003 10:45 PMActually I think he and Geoffrey Howe would make a fine pair of international referees, à la Gennaro Oliveiri and Guido Pancaldi.
In fact surely Jeux Sans Frontières would be the perfect way for the leaders to battle it out? Tony Blair's already shown that he's a master on the slippery slope of public opinion, but I think teaming up with Silvio Berlusconi may harm his chances in the three-legged race...
(sigh) Another day, another editor sacked for not toeing the Berlusconi line. There's a huge dichotomy in the fact that I'm all in favour of the European project and the many good things it brings - like enhanced workers' rights, which no British government is going to introduce off its own bat - yet some of the politicians administering that project are as venal as they come :-(
Posted by: Erato at May 30, 2003 9:53 AMWhat on *earth* was that last post about? Comments spam! Yay!
Posted by: Eurodan at November 19, 2003 9:48 PM