We are now the proud parents of a big black box which takes up a lot of space in our small white box-flat. It cost us $35 (which at the current conversion is just shy of £19) and could have had any number of previous owners. Some of these were not careful, and the remote control has extensive teeth marks. It is fifty fifty whether they are human or canine [ note to mum - remote has been wiped with a disinfected cloth]. So, now when we shell out some more money (sadly much more than $35), for a cable subscription, and a PAL / NTSC converter and some other leads (technology not a strong point), we will be able to watch programmes, or play on our Wii, which sits forlornly in its box, not even unpacked after its cruise from the UK.
In the meantime, we have been graced with 4 free channels. They work brilliantly if we plug in the TV and hang the lead out of the window. One is in Spanish and seems to involve a lot of talking cartoon animals and intense looking females. One is in Chinese but only appears in the evening. Two involve terrible programmes spoken in a form of English, about nothing in particular, and have adverts every three minutes or so. It isn't until the second or third ad that you realise you are watching adverts, such is the quality of the programming.
American TV is going to take some getting used to. I am even wondering whether it is worth getting cable - the idea of paying a monthly fee for this dross isn't appealing, but the adverts are marvellous. It is like watching Tarrant on TV but without the weird Japanese shows. The audacity of the PR here is bewildering and mesmerising. I have found myself turning over when the programme starts to try and catch more adverts.
The news is also thrilling. There are several news casters and the camera jumps from one to the other in a seemingly random pattern, and someone new says something which may or may not be relevant to the story, but its OK, because you forgot what they were talking about three people before.
We do get the Simpson's, Smallville, Reaper, Family Guy, Malcolm in the Middle for free - in short, all of the US programmes which make it over to the UK, plus a lot of stuff which hasn't, but it might do, and lucky, lucky us will have seen it all first.
What I do miss though is Mario Cart, and Super Mario Galaxy and even watching Mike play Lego Star Wars. One thing is certain, with the next pay check, we will get the converter and leads which mean we can play the Wii on our our TV, then we can set up international Mario Cart races. My thumbs are ready.
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