Christmas TV. Bah Humbug!

Christmas is a strange old time for many a reason.

One of them is something I've noticed in myself with increasing regularity over the passing years.

Again, I feel like I'm turning into my father, as I moan to anyone who'll listen, that the Christmas selection of television viewing has been appalling.

But here's the thing.

In this multi-channel era - and I'm in the fortunate position where I have access to all of those channels - how come when it comes to Christmas, we temporarily forget the other hundreds of channels and simply scan the output of the first 4 or 5 like a hawk?

I suppose it must be a heritage thing. We're simply conditioned to watch the first few channels at Christmas because that's all there were in existence when we were growing up.

During the festive season we just revert to type, whether we're the ones who go home to Mum and Dad, or the tradition has altered slightly and they now come round to us.

These telly channels at this time of year have an absolutely massive potential audience, consisting of people all desperate to watch something great, something special, something they can really look forward to with a collective enthusiasm, knowing that once they've munched their way through 4 times their own body weight in turkey and trimmings there's going to be a programme there for them they can slump in front of and enjoy as they unbuckle their belts and wait for the ulcer to kick into full effect.

Instead-what do we get?

The Sound Of Music. Mary Poppins. The Morecambe And Wise Christmas Show from 1973.

Don't get me wrong. All of these were great to watch - the first three or four times.

In the case of Eric and Ernie, I could get up to 13 or 14 times and still be enjoying it.

Unfortunately, we're now on screening 24.

At Christmas, we all make a huge effort. Weeks of planning and preparation go into finding the best presents for loved ones. Hours of cooking and cleaning in anticipation of a ravenously grateful accepting audience.

How come the telly people don't bother?