American Refrigerator - Dave Sutherland

Advantages: Full of entertaining shows...
Disadvantages: ...full of repeats

...Of course, it's the wonderful 'Dave'...the artist formerly known as UKTV G2. Not exactly the most exciting of sounding television channels, so they glamourised it...by called it 'Dave'...because everyone knows a Dave. The concept of the channel is simply a station airing predominantly repeats of entertainment and comedy shows. It doesn't air 24-hours a day, instead it tends to broadcast until approximately 3am each night, and then restarts at 7am, with a bit of mind-boggling Teleshopping thrown in there for good measure. But what does it show? Well during the day it plays repeats of entertainment shows such as Top Gear, Ray Mear's Extreme Survival, Trawlermen, Traffic Cops and Fifth Gear; all seemingly quite 'manly' shows aimed at blokes called 'Dave' presumably... As the day's schedule moves on it tends to focus... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Inventive, ambitious, some fantastic ideas and characters.
Disadvantages: Difficult writing style to get into, loses its way badly towards the end.

...Wot if vair wuz a buk? A buk vat wuz ritten bi a cabbi driva, bout ow ees pisstoff cuz iz boy azbin taken offim, and ow ees pistoff wiv allavem Mums wots makin life difficult fer gud, onist Dads like im! What if this book had been made out of metal to ensure it outlived its author? If, five hundred years later, with catastrophic floods having submerged all but Britain?s highest points, the book were rediscovered? And what if (the last one, I promise!) the words of the Book of Dave were taken as gospel, and life on the small island of Ham organised according to its decrees? Will Self?s 2006 novel looks at what happens when (in the author?s own words) ?people follow something just because it is written in an old book?. In this post-flood world, the residents of Ham (?Hamsters?) abide strictly by the wishes of Dave ? or at least, what... Read review

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Advantages: Shows you what a good president would be like
Disadvantages: rubbish title

...A very good story about a dead ringer for the president. The president of the USA has a stroke, but Dave has been standing in for him and the president has met him. Kevin Kline plays an excellent charecter who is warm and charming, everything the real preasident isn't. Sigourney Weaver plays the estranged wife, who has accepted that her husband will cheat with his secatrays. The chief of staff wants Dave to appoint him as vice president, so they employ Dave to take over after the president's stoke. Dave seems at first to be a yes man. How ever when Sigorney Weavers plans are destryoed for the homeless shelter, we see Dave spring into action and shave £600 million of the budget. He explains that its not a good idea spending 50 million dollars telling the Americans to feel good about a car they already have. The real vice president has... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful