Not a smorgasbord of delights!

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Chantelle - not camera shy

Somebody should alert the TV schedulers that the date on the calendar tells us we have reached September because apparently they haven't received the memo. This week has hardly been smorgasbord of delights, televisually speaking, and frankly I am rapidly reaching the end of my West Wing boxset and the Mad Men compilation is looking mightily attractive.

I sat down last night with every intention of watching something for the purposes of this TV Watch but it was a struggle and not long before I found myself on the campaign trail with Josh Lyman and Matt Santos (season 6 of WW). I briefly toyed with Fair City where it looks like a family from Gossip Girl have somehow wandered down Carrickstown way! I then made a brief pitstop in Rachel Allen's world but she makes me feel inferior - firstly about my cooking skills and secondly how I look in the kitchen. Don't you find that perfection grates sometimes? Sorry Rachel.

Next stop was Banged Up Abroad which I have a strange fondness for and they seem to have taken a slight detour. Normally we see hippy dippy types who find themselves in far flung places desperate to make enough cash to get them home to mammy. Not so last night - this time it was a group of UN peace-keepers under fire and siege in Kenya and a fascinating tale it was too - although not fascinating enough to keep me from the White House.

I later took a half an hour out in the company of Ultimate Big Brother - a bit late for my tastes with a 10pm start time but reasonably distracting none the less. I will be amazed if Brian doesn't take the honours for the second time. It is interesting to see the difference between Brian the boy and Brian the man. Last time out he certainly had the humour and could deliver a line but ultimately he was a fairly naïve country lad. Not so now - the humour is still there but he has a lot more cop-on and is all the more interesting for it.

Brian's buddy in the house is the other possible winner and that is poor Chantelle. Has she really forgotten the cameras are on her? She has been incredibly open about how hurt she is over the break-up of her marriage to Preston (he's hardly a prize now is he?). For a former married couple to agree to share a house (and don't tell me they didn't know that was going to happen) there must have been a really strong motivation - ie cash. But I wonder if in Chantelle's case she is in there just to spend some time with him?

So what of the other housemates? Ulrika is just too thin and badly needs a proper dinner while The Minister for bad hair, Makosi, is desperately in need of a make-over. I was so distracted last night by her big hair, big earrings, big bangles that I barely heard what she was saying. Dressed like that she was asking for that bee to sting her.

Makosi has a Minister for State at the same department in Michelle Bass while Nick seems a very low-key character considering his reputation. All in all though as a bunch they certainly generate far more interesting interactions that the group that went before.

There are a couple of 8pm and 9pm starts next week so I'll be watching.

It is after all the end of an era.

Bree Treacy