It’s Thursday afternoon and I’ve just woken up from a nap. I’ve been sick for the last thirty six hours (I almost typed years) with a terrible flu-like condition. When I haven’t been asleep, I’ve been watching a fair bit of television.

Yes, I know I could have read a book or listened to the radio, but this bug has been so bad even my brain hurts. Not that daytime television has given it any real challenges.

Today’s midday movie on the Hallmark Channel, Partners, was a case in point. It was described on the IMDB as a movie concerning “an enterprising lawyer , acting on a report that a female colleague is up to make partner, plays up the established rumor that he’s gay in order to better his chances at edging out his competition. Despite the one or two ideological problems you might expect, I thought I’d give it a go. But no, it was appalling for all the obvious reasons… “Son we’ll love you no matter what…” etc, as well as the less obvious reasons including poor script, wooden acting, and low production values.

…and so then I tuned over to the classic family drama, “The Waltons”. Clearly the memory of the series was far better than the reality. Perhaps it was the memory of my first childhood crush on John Boy Walton that made me think it might be worth watching. But no, it was just as contrived and boring… and nothing happens. And besides, we hardly saw anything of my other childhood crush, Jim Bob Walton.

I started to watch a doco or two on the History Channel – Kings & Queens of England, WW2, etc – and then fell asleep for the remainder of the afternoon, which is just as well.

What I hated most, though, was the commercials. In particular, those advertorials aimed at women or older people where the host and the guest speak slowly and deliberately. You know the ones… “So I might lose my house if I don’t save?”, “Yes, you might lose your house”.

I know this is only a random sample, and with a remote control I could have found something a little more delightful on World Movies or ABC. This flu has so affected me, though, that I needed some mental stimulation, but not too much, but maybe more than what was on offer.

Is this what it’s like to have mediocre tastes?