On the box

Watching television for a job would be fun for a little while, but the sheer monotony would eventually get to me. Being a critic for the paper would be a reason to keep watching a little longer, but even then boredom would win out. Despite my problems with this job, A. A. Gill has collected together some of his best writing about television in Paper View: The Best of the Sunday Times Television Columns.

In this book Gill applies his blowtorch wit to such topics as costume dramas, sport, cop shows, soap operas, the news and quiz shows. All the time arguing that what is on television is important and should be treated as such, rather than a vehicle to sell ad breaks. Gill is quick ti identify things he doesn't like, and even quicker to take them down a peg or two. Nothing is safe from his gaze, not even nostalgia which also comes in for a kicking.

Overall this book is a fun read, even if Gill has an unnatural love for the word soporific. I enjoyed dipping in and out of this collection, and had a ball as Gill tore strips of some poor bugger, or sinks the boot into another crap program.

Watch more TV, play more computer games

Steven Johnson is a passionate defender of pop culture and his book Everything Bad is Good for You shows this. In this interesting volume Johnson shows how computer games and drama on television help people to build skills necessary for living in the world.

Problem solving, completing set tasks, following complex story lines are skills that can be learnt from pop culture. Johnson argues that popular culture has, on average, grown more complex and intellectually challenging over the past thirty years and this has led to smarter individuals. At no point does Johnson claim that pop culture is better than traditional culture, just that pop culture should not be viewed as rubbish.

This book is very readable and I must say I enjoy the examples Johnson uses to illustrate his points. Well worth reading.