Is it you or is it me? Lately I've been lost at sea

Or at least I think that's how the theme song went. I've been watching a fair bit of old school Shortland Street recently at work, all the early episodes with Dr McKenna, Nick, Carrie, Marj, Stuart Henderson, Kirsty, Lionel, Gina and Leonard, Carmen and Guy, and the inimitable Dr Hone Ropata. It's amazing to see how much the series has changed over the last 17 years (besides Chris Warner's face that is). The old episodes are so slooow, the lighting so dark, the sets so humdrum, and the acting so goddamned static. It really reminds me of the old NZ ‘70s soap 'Close to Home', the close focus on the dialogue rather than the action, and the utter banality of it all.

However, this is not to say that I don't like Shorters. I've followed the series since it began in 1992 (although I clearly remember watching the first ep and thinking it was so bad that it would never take off...erm, yes...). And even though I only dip in and out of it these days, I remember most of the story lines from then onwards, so much so that I'm kinda the 'Shorters Expert' at work (um, yay?). I can't say it's my Most Favourite Thing To Watch Evar OMG, but I do think it's iconic, and definitely a keystone of the media industry in NZ.

But seeing the old episodes got me thinking about what it would be like to watch the entire series from the beginning in a concentrated period of time. This is my favourite way to watch a TV series – a few episodes each day over a number of weeks, it always results in complete absorption into the series’ universe (minor side effects being an overwhelming obsession with the characters, temporary lack of social life, and being regarded as a freak by one’s friends. But who needs friends anyway).

Watching Shortland Street like this would certainly be a challenge. There's over 3000 episodes. At 27 minutes each. That's 1350 hours, which is about 56 days if you watched them 24/7. Or if you decided that you were keen on getting some sleep during that 2.5 months, you could watch 12 hours a day which would take you 3-4 months of your life. What would this do to you mentally? Watching any series like this can really affect your perspective on the world and your relationship with reality. It's interesting to ponder what the effect of 17 years of Shortland Street would be. As a social experiment it would be fascinating. Perhaps I should suggest this at our next staff meeting.

Chercher Le Soda

Am battling an annoying cold/flu thing today, and passing the time by pondering what ever happened to Pepsi? One of the biggest soda brands on the planet - and it's disappeared from NZ shops entirely. I can't find it anywhere. Not that I especially want to, I don't actually drink soda, but it's just once I noticed it's gone I really wanted to know when and why. Did it not sell or was it phased out by the Evil Coke Empire? Did it fall or was it pushed?
However, it can still be purchased at one last, loneliest outlet in NZ - KFC, which is really quite random.
So, does it matter that it's not for sale at dairies anywhere now? Not really, I just find it unnerving when food silently disappears and no one notices until a few years later. I got completely obsessed with Pebbles when they disappeared about ten years ago. I didn't actually want to eat them, I just wanted to know where they had gone. And then, lo and behold, they returned! I have no idea why, but now they're for sale everywhere. Which is fabulous - they're the only candy-coated chocolate sweet that comes in pink (M&Ms have a very limited colour range, and it features brown too much. Overuse of brown is inexcusable in my book).
Anyone remember Pacman chips? Chickadees? Caramilk? And of course, the newest member of the Extinct Food Tribe - Snifters, Sparkles and Tangy Fruits. You bet I'm obsessed with them. And that I bought as many packets I could when they were discontinued. Which, if I was the paranoid-conspiracy-theory-seeking-type, I would suggest was an crafty marketing ploy devised by some evil genius at Cadburys.

On Pie

Last night on a whim a friend and I decided to go to Denny's. At 10pm. In Porirua. Well, it made sense at the time. I hadn't been to a Denny's since the late 90s, as the quality of food wasn't exactly stellar. But that was before my fascination with American food had taken hold. Now Denny's is a place of magical wonderment - Chilli Fries! Buffalo Wings! Root Beer! I decided to channel Twin Peaks and try the Blueberry Pie. Shoulda ordered coffee too, but I got distracted by the 'Soda Pop' (which is really just a Spider - why do we Kiwis call it that? And why was it so good when I was a kid?). I'm intrigued by Pie since it's not such a common thing for dessert in NZ, and I've tried my hand on more than one occasion at making American-style pies (mmm, Cherry Pie). Being Denny's this pie wasn't an amazing, life-changing culinary experience. It was pretty similar to one of those Sara Lee pies you can buy in the supermarche. But as it was accompanied by a swirl of the fakest fake cream that ever didn't come from a cow, and a bright red fake cherry, it looked convincing enough. I happily pretended I was in a diner somewhere in the Midwest and relished it.
Next time I'm coming back for the Chilli Fries. It comes with red meat! And cheese! Both of which I normally do my best to avoid. Ah, I'm going to be so sick the next day. But it will be totally worth it.