Was home abit earlier than usual today and slept all the way (a couple of hours, perhaps?) until it was time for iftar. After that, managed to zone out in front of the television... Caught up with local sitcoms Maggie & Me and My Sassy Neighbour, after which I channel-surfed to ArtsCentral to watch Material World, an interesting behind-the-scenes look at the working lives of some of the most sought-after interior designers in the US; from whence they derive their inspiration, how they transform their creative visions into reality, and how they suck up to their filthy rich clients. Very, VERY interesting show. Then, I caught abit of Little Britain whilst doing my routine ironing -- that show never fails to crack me up everytime with its wildly imaginative set-ups and zany out-of-this-world humour. It's like the British version of Malaysia's Senario (starring Ah-pek and friends), only much more risque. LOL. Seriously, Brit comedies are in a different league from their US counterparts. Everybody Hates Chris is also becoming a Tuesday night staple but Chris Rock's voice-overs are sometimes so ridiculously upbeat, they're starting to become unfunny.
Recently, one of my friends commented that "Any show or film made in Singapore must not be very good" after he heard I was considering to watch Singapore Dreaming at the cinemas. Eventually, I didn't get to watch the film afterall but I was quite perturbed by that remark. It was probably a sweeping statement delivered for comedic impact but I believe there are many Singaporeans out there who de-value made-in-Singapore programmes. And who can blame them??
My nieces are great fans of the local sitcoms on Tuesday nights and I'm beginning to see why. Maggie & Me has a very original premise (An amnesiac ghost in the form of aggravatingly cutesy Fiona Xie?) and works reasonably well despite a plodding script and unsteady humour, mainly because of the comic talents of Adrian Pang. That guy deserves an award for his valiant efforts! =p
Already into its sophomore season, My Sassy Neighbour is probably one of the best local sitcoms to hit the English medium channel in a long while. Patricia Mok, as the overwhelmingly surreal do-gooder Mdm Tan, is such a scream -- she has the amazing knack of making even the lamest and most corny lines sound genuinely sincere. Cassandra See, Chua En Lai and the rest of the supporting cast are pretty good too and plaudits to the scriptwriters who pepper the show with bits of moralistic messages; certainly more welcome than the preachy-goodness of any of Jack Neo's stuff.
The standards of English-medium sitcoms have definitely improved over the years but I think the new (and much hyped) Yang Sisters airing on Thursdays is quite a step-back, judging from what I've seen. Although Hongkong actress Cheng Pei-Pei headlines the show, the scene-stealer is really Kym Ng but other than that, the debut episode last week was pretty lacklustre.
Yes, I'm a regular couch potato... and I think I lead a very sad life outside of work-hours. *Sigh*
