Monday, May 26, 2008

O Great Altar of Passive Entertainment

When you are travelling in a foreign country on work, TV is often a refuge from boredom. Of course, if all the channels are in German, and the pay-per-movie channel offers only x-rated entertainment, it can be rather dull. Unless of course you are that kind of couch potato.

But of course, late one night, when the channel that had German soap operas all day suddenly starts showing something very, umm, educational, you tend to get worried. "Did I press that button by mistake?" you ask yourself, as you sink down on your pillow and (okay, i'll admit it) watch in horrified fascination. You change the channel, but your fingers go to the "back" button just to see if it is still there. And it is. Did you really subscribe by mistake?

And then you realise, this hotel bill is going to go to the client and OH MY GOD, it's going to say "xxx-erotische" on your room bill. And your heart pounds faster not because of what's on TV but because your client will never see you the same way again. And you start planning how to leave the country in the dead of night, how to pre-pay your bill with your own credit card, and maybe even how to find another job.

And then there's a commercial break, and the jingles bring you back to earth and you realise, "Oh, this is Friday night entertainment in Germany"! It's not going to be on a bill, it's a free-to-air channel and this is their idea of a weekend bonanza. Phew.

12 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh lord - this is hilarious - I can just about see you biting your nails in a frenzy over the x-erotic bill !Next time check first .

dipali said...

Phew is right! I see you keeping away from the TV on further firang jaunts:)

Suku said...

funny!

the mad momma said...

and you go right back to watching it and being err.. educated!

Thinking Cramps said...

Dipali: You bet. It was scary!

Sbora: :) Yeah, thought it was funny...IN RETROSPECT!

MM: Yeah, to make up for never doing a PhD :)

Bong Mom said...

So you were duly educated :) they might show you a german dubbed SRK starrer too...watch out for the Fri nights

Sue said...

Woah! Close call there!

Unknown said...

Hey tagged

Mystic Margarita said...

LOL! I think those X-rated pay-per-view channels require one to click an option to accept before the visual treats (sic!) appear on screen - so you were safe! :D

Thinking Cramps said...

Sandeepa: Ugh...the mind boggles :)

Sue: Totally. Have learnt never to handle remote controls in the dark!

Eve's Lungs: Due diligence has been shown :)

Mystic: Yeah, if only I had known that for those 120 agonizing seconds!

Anonymous said...

Achha, so you've been educated || How much homework have you got slated? || Do it with Anando ||
See the magic pronto ||That's what you get when you watch shows 'rated' ;-))

Love and hugs:-) Aunty G.

Thinking Cramps said...

Aunty G: Blush.