I Want to be Amused.

I occasionally watch an American TV series called Monsters and Mysteries. They take a wild, sparsely inhabited part of the US and construct a ‘documentary’ around local inhabitants who have first hand stories to tell about encounters with nightwalkers, thunderbirds, Jersey devils and so on – crypto creatures that creep out of the hills, the woods, and the darkness to creep out the poor folks who have only assault rifles and exorcists for protection.

Tonight’s episode was set in New Mexico, and it began with the camera panning across an area of desert wilderness. A message in red script (and creepy font) appeared at the bottom of the screen. It said:

Desert wilderness.

Mmm. Prepare to be amused, and amusing it is. That’s why I watch it.

What I find interesting is that American and British approaches to programmes like this differ markedly. The American producer makes sure that however trivial, circumstantial, and speculative the evidence might be, you will believe! The British producer takes the opposite view. However compelling and inexplicable the evidence, you’re a complete fruitcake if you believe a word of it! I’m not sure which I find more irritating.

Still, I continue to be amused. And I can’t wait for the one about Sarah Palin.