Holiday 23 pt1 TV

 OK, so I'm back from a well earned break, and it has to be said, some highly disappointing weather. We went to Son Baulo in Ca'n Picafort, up on the North East coast of Mallorca. Been before, but mostly in June when the weather is warmer and getting into the low 30's This time its like an English summer, overcast and cloudy with occasional bright spots and the odd storm to spoil it. In fact looking at the weather there and on the mainland it seems to be storms and hail with the odd reports of snow in places. 

My hotel room was basic with a view of a shop and bar.

Whereas my parents got a sea view. If you don't know the area, its known for its outstanding natural beauty and being close to Alcudia, down the coast from the old castle town. There are a few buses running into either Palma or Alcudia and its worth taking time to visit either. 

Anyway two paragraphs in and what you want to know is what's on the box there. Spanish TV is pretty much what you'd expect a few telenovelas and a lot of imported shows from the states. Including a version of Bones and the worst CSI: Miami. English TV extends to either ITV (we saw a bit of this including an awkward interview with a robot on This Morning before they ousted Schofe for bumming a twink.) And the BBC which is largely dire.

German stuff is largely of the RTL / Sat1 style programming with a few other quirks thrown in. Big props to BR Fernsehen Sud, for consistently showing odd programs throughout the day, and night when the insomnia kicked in. Seriously if you are a techno head you have to watch Space Night, a mix of NASA clips and the more trackier drum style of techno / house, you won't be disappointed. 

They also do a pets show called Anna und Die Haustiere.(German) But its more of an excuse to perv over Annika Preil. If I knew German I bet I'd get more out of it.

Catalan I still don't rate and its more local interest with some election nonsense thrown in, which should be concluding today. I'll add a note on who won what if I remember. The other thing was Firo, which celebrates the Mallorquins successfully holding off a siege from the Moors and is a big costumed ball out on the West coast.

Finally we come to the main show. A few English / Spanish shows I've rated. 

Pop / Tiny pop has consistently the best cartoons with Dragonball Super and some weird Post Apocalyptic Pokemon with Team Rocket as a News Crew. 

A version of Vera where its pronounced Bera. Which is my new favourite thing. I never found out if Brenda Blethyn was dubbed in this or just left as is. Props if it was, we can't understand Geordies at the best of times. 

Mein Freundin Conni on ZDF

Based on an old German kids book, I just love the look of this. It's like if they got Ark System Works to make a kids show in the style of Blazblue, not cosmic horror but that sort of 3D style. I still don't understand German but I bet it's proper wholesome as well. YT Clip here.

Finally a duck at an ice rink with that Felix the Housecat mix of Sinnerman over the top.

EDIT. The PeePee party won. Breakdown here  Catalan.

Hiatus

 We'll be doing nothing much for a couple of weeks, as it's holiday season for me. Rest assured this place will be up and running in 2 weeks time. Peace.

Desert Giant

The Mystery of the Desert Giant or the Hardys in California. 

This is not a bad story either in it's original form or in its UK remake. The boys are tasked with finding a missing industrialists son. One Willard Grafton. He and a friend were last seen in southern California, and their plane found in Blythe out in the desert near the desert giants.  

A trip out to Cali with Chet Morton finds that there is a ring running counterfeit cheques out of Mexico and that somehow Grafton is mixed up in this. Chet's latest hobby, Infra Red Photography, is also part of the story, and yes, he does get to use it out in the desert. With a photo of the crooks and such. 

The most notable thing about this is that most of the geography is actually based on real places. The giants exist and are something of a mystery of ancient American folk art. As well as most of the towns and villages stateside being real places, it includes the places for their brief foray into Chihuahua state when pursuing Grafton into Mexico. 

You can read both versions here and here.