No Contest

A message arrived in my inbox courtesy of the bike-qld e-mail list earlier today. Apparently Channel 9's A Current Affair (an ironic name if ever I've heard one) was re-running it's periodical Bikes vs cars/war on our streets story, the same one it's run umpteen times since 2000 (and very probably before that). It may or may not have run the story in other states. I replied to the list that rather than watch a repeat on TV, I'd go for a ride instead.

So at 6.30pm (or thereabouts), I jumped on my bike and headed for Hinze Dam, and into a beautiful night. The temperature was near perfect, 16-19 degrees C at various times, there was the delightful scent of wattle in the air, and an exquisite touch of humidity -- not enough to be oppressive, but just to provide some hope that it might rain (it didn't). The view across the water from the dam wall seems different every time, given the way the distant light from the coast seems to reflect of the clouds and illuminate the mountains -- tonight there was no moon, but next week it will be back playing it's tricks on the light out there.

Interestingly, it was surprisingly quiet. Admittedly, suburbia doesn't quite reach out that far yet, but even so, it's still normal to see at least a few cars out there. Yet after the Beechmont turn-off, there was nobody! At least not until Robina. Maybe they were all avidly watching ACA -- or was it the show after by that stage? Either way, I think this compensates for the terrible disappointment of missing out on five minutes of tabloid TV.

Just a comment on a related issue. I passed through the centre of Robina in the middle of late-night shopping on the way home, by now there was a bit of traffic around, but I can't say I noticed any discernable change in driver behaviour as a result of that show. In fact, I was even greeted by someone from a neighbouring apartment when I got home. Perhaps people are smarter than I gave them credit for. Perhaps most people can see that show for what it is after all. Having said that, none of the previous re-runs of that story have ever really influenced behaviour all that much in anycase.

This actually puts Channel 9 in an interesting position. If most people are just treating that show as light entertainment as opposed to "current" affairs, why not take this opportunity to save themselves some money by purging Ray Martin altogether? Actually, while they're at it, they might get rid of Daryl Somers and Kerri-anne Kennerley at the same time. Put them all in a little room somewhere with a camera hooked up to a TV monitor. That way they can all pretend they're still on TV, which I'm sure will keep them happy, and save the rest of us from trying to avoid them.

I've even an idea to help Channel 9 fill the re-run void that would no doubt be left if ACA disappeared altogether. Why not re-hash old weather forecasts from the Today show, dating back to the days when Brian Bury used to do them? They're probably about as pertinent as ACA, offer about the same level of variety from one show to the next, and are probably a damn sight more entertaining! If they did that, I might even set up a video tape to catch it in future!