Five might not be my usual TV channel spot, but Paul Merton in China is an absolute winner in my books. Having never been to China myself, it was interesting to see china in the eyes of a stranger. To see through the eyes of Paul Merton was even better as this guy is one of my favourite Have I Got News for You panellist. Sure he is no Michael Palin (or god forbid Gavin Stamp), but this guy is hilarious. Who else would pass up a visit to the Great Wall ("just a wall of brick") to have a ride on a home made rickshaw robot?
Beneath all the comedy there were serious issues that were raised by a politically confused China. Officially a "Communist" (it never was) state, China's eager embrace of capitalism proved excessive as is highlighted by the visit to a horrifying French château replica.
The second part of Paul Merton in China is on 9pm bank holiday Monday.
2 comments:
I caught it by accident, and indeed it was pleasantly enjoyable.
From the TV listing though it's only a mini-series of four episodes- why can't we get primetime shows liket his for eight weeks instead of the impending doom of C4's Big Brother?
You reminded me to write up my bi-annual Big Brother rant...!
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