Japanese television

I got the tv figured out finally. Apparently, something was wrong with it, and it required someone coming out and fixing it. I wasn't really concerned about getting the tv fixed until I learned that I had to check-in through it in order to get my internet up and running. So now I can get hours of mindless entertainment in a language I don't speak. Also, I have no idea how scheduling is done, so obviously, I have no idea what's going off or coming on. Even better, the only chance I get to watch tv is between 10pm and 2am, and late night Japanese tv is kind of insane.

There are more shows of people doing crazy things than I can count. And by "crazy things" I mean making complete fools of themselves. Last night, I watched a show where four guys had to move around a bunch of crap while their hands were covered in slippery, slimy goo. As a result, they dropped most of it, and they were punished by a woman wielding an air hose. What was the point of all this? I have no idea, but maybe it's because I didn't understand what was being said or what all that writing on the screen was. There are any number of strange "competition" shows, where people continue to do crazy things in order to win . . . something. I don't know what, but at least they all look like they're having fun when they do it. At the time of this writing, I'm watching a show where a bunch of high school girls in gym clothes appear to be judging/beta-testing/guessing about various odd products.

And then there's this crazy show called SMAP (I think; it might also be a band, nobody's been able to give me a straight answer on that). I'm pretty sure it's meant to be a comedy/variety show, because there's skits and cooking and always lots of laughing, and generally, it can be pretty hilarious, even when you don't know what's going on. Naofumi tried to explain it to me, but he even had a hard time doing it, and I don't think it's because of the language barrier, because he's easily my highest level student. It's comedy, that's all I got out of it. And possibly a boy band, I need to check into that to figure it out. Either way, he kinda just shrugged and left it at that.

Late night also seems to be the best time to watch programs about learning foreign languages. English is pretty popular; I've seen about six different programs teaching English. My favorite is the one that uses Anne of Green Gables as its text. It's cute. However, there are other languages taught too. In one sitting, I learned Italian (asking how much something costs), French (the 3 meanings of "comment"), Hindi (various transportation vocabulary), and German (how to ask where to find a good place to eat). Of course, it's all Japanese --> other language, so I doubt I'm really learning much, but it's entertaining. Benni-sensei told me there's a program teaching Japanese to English speakers and she wants me to watch it, but I haven't seen it yet.

There are also lots of random information programs. I watched a documentary on Martin Luther King, Jr, a program about silk worms, a show about a guy wondering around a farm and looking for a place to get horseback riding lessons, sumo wrestling, and the news. Pretty keen, huh?

Wonderfully, at any given time, food is being talked about somewhere. Not just Japanese food either - I've seen mini-programs that had French and Italian-based recipes too. I find that I can follow food programs fairly easily. Not sure if this is because most of my Japanese vocabulary has to do with food or if demonstrating how to follow a recipe is generally universal.

So, even though I got my tv set up for reasons completely unrelated to watching it, I've gotten plenty of amusement out of it already. Most times, I don't really watch it, I just turn it on and let it go. This is partly because I can't stand to leave it off and uncovered, because it's right next to me, and it's creepy seeing me move in its reflection. Turning it on is easier than taking the sheet on and off.

Anyway, that's it. I'm also told there are American programs played late at night, but so far, the only one I've seen is a show called Kidnapped which I wasn't interested in when it was on in the States (it's another one of those failed NBC dramas from a couple of years ago). Oddly enough, two of the new cast members of Law & Order starred in it, which now explains to me why they were brought onto recent seasons of that show. Not that it's a problem; I've always been kind of fond of Jeremy Sisto. I might have watched Kidnapped, but it started at 2am, which is now my bedtime. And it was dubbed in Japanese. Actually, that was pretty entertaining. Oh, but not as entertaining as watching parts of the X-Files movie dubbed in to Japanese. Heh, now that was amusing.

No, wait, the most amusing thing EVER? Alf in Japanese. That's right, Alf. Chew on that one.